State Highway 33 is one of the oldest roads in Wisconsin. Prior to European settlement, the foot trail from Port Washington to Horicon was the most traveled of seven trails that met in Horicon Marsh.

A road was constructed to provide access from Lake Michigan to the fertile hunting grounds of the marsh, to provide food for the crews of ships on the lake. It eventually became Highway 33.

You can travel "coast to coast" on 33 -- from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River -- but this column will deal with a stretch from the I-39 exit near Portage to La Crosse on the Big River.

This stretch is scenic and ripe with history. Portage in Columbia County uses the slogan "Where the North Begins." It's named for the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a portage between the Fox River and the Wisconsin River that was recognized by Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet during their discovery of a route to the Mississippi River in 1673.

Portage emerged because of its unique position along the one and a half mile strip of marshy floodplain between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. By the end of the 17th century, the Fox-Wisconsin waterway, linked at The Portage, served as the major fur trade thoroughfare between Green Bay and Prairie du Chien.

In the 1780s and 1790s, traders built their posts and warehouses at each end of The Portage. In 1828, the federal government recognized the strategic economic importance of The Portage and built Fort Winnebago at the Fox River end.

As you continue west along 33, you come to Baraboo. This town is known primarily as the site for the Circus World Museum. It also is home to the International Crane Foundation, the world's foremost organization dedicated to the study and conservation of the world's 15 species of crane.

Aldo Leopold's famous Shack and Farm, celebrated in A Sand County Almanac, is also in the Baraboo vicinity.

The nearby Baraboo Hills are designated one of the "Last Great Places" by the Nature Conservancy because of unique rocks, plants and animals. Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin's largest state park, contains large areas of the Baraboo Hills.

Continue west by the small town of La Valle and you start to enter the Driftless Region, known for its unusual karst geology, hills and rock escarpments. Hillsboro in Vernon County bills itself as The Czech Capital of Wisconsin. You can find some delicious food and plenty of Czech culture in this small town.

The Hillsboro Trail outside town offers a great path for hiking, biking and snowmobiles. The 400 Trail also is nearby at Union Center.

West of Hillsboro, you arrive at Ontario and Wildcat Mountain State Park. The latter is one of the true gems of the state park system, in this writer's opinion, and a relatively well-kept secret.

You can rent a canoe in Ontario and paddle through Wildcat and down the Kickapoo River. You'll also find some wonderful hiking trails in Wildcat and perhaps one of the most beautiful vistas of the Driftless area from the main observation point in the park.

As you continue west, you enter Amish country. Dozens of shops, mostly right on Amish farms, offer goods ranging from maple syrup and candy to bentwood rockers and other crafts. Don't bother these people on Sundays though.

Cashton serves as a hub for many of the Amish. This town also is becoming a hotbed for alternative foods and energy. Organic Valley maintains a large distribution facility there for its organic milk products. A new bio-diesel plant has located in Cashton.

The stretch of 33 from Cashton to La Crosse is known by locals as The Ridge. Along it you'll find small communities like Middle Ridge and St. Joseph, and beautiful views of the hills and valleys to the north and south.

Leo and Leona's, the historic tavern that has been featured on OnMilwaukee.com a couple times, can be found along this stretch.

If you're a golfer, you also should stop to play Irish Hills, right before 33 starts to descend the hill into La Crosse. It truly has one of the best natural layouts in the state and offers spectacular views of the Mississippi valley to the west.

You can send your 33 journey to La Crosse. Several attractions of that city have been featured in this column, so we won't repeat them here.

From La Crosse, you can take The Great River Road up and down the Mississippi, go into Minnesota or take a variety of great routes back east.