There is a dock for Catfish Creek Canoe Access here. Also the Catfish, Calcite & Mesquakie trails take off from this area as well as a trail to the Julien Dubuque monument.
Canoes: The burned and “dug-out” canoe and the bent and stitched together birch-bark canoe are surely close to the “wheel” as one of he most important inventions of man. Paddling south on the great Mississippi river from the Wisconsin River were the first recorded travelers, Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet who landed near here in 1673. Voyageurs, adventurers, military and speculators came later visiting the Mesquakie (Fox) Indian village located on the bank of Catfish Creek.
An early arrival here by canoe was a French-Canadian, Julien Dubuque. He gained the friendship and trust of the Mesquakie Chief Peosta and reportedly took his daughter Potosi as his wife. Today’s designer canoes and sleek kayaks beach here to paddle the Catfish and enjoy the panoramic views of the river valley from the final resting place (1810) of Julien Dubuque.