The photo above is a view of the present day river crossing located about a mile and a half south of McGilvray Road. This view is looking west into the river valley. The river level is at about 650 feet in elevation. The highway is at elevation 665, while the average terrain on either side of the valley is at about 710 feet. This results in a drop of about 45 feet when entering the valley, with the road passing about 15 feet above the average water level. The river crossing has a total of 3 bridges.

The new highway alignment was built as Wisconsin State Highway WI-93 in 1953. The designations for highways WI-35 and WI-93 were swapped in 1990 as part of an improvement project for the Great River Road. WI-35 uses the roadway nearest the river in this area, while WI-93 follows the routing of US-53 and WI-54. The city of Trempealeau is 6 miles to the west of this location. The Mississippi River is 4 miles to the southwest.

The photo above is a view of the parking area for the Van Loon Wildlife Area. The trail leading to McGilvray Road is at the far end of the lot near the center of the photo. The photo below is a patch of blacktop pavement that is still visible in a few spots along McGilvray Road. This pavement was last used for through traffic in 1948. Much of the pavement was washed away by floods over the 60 years since the road was an active state highway.

These two photos are views of the roadway as it descends into McGilvray Bottoms. The drop is about 70 feet, with first 10 feet using a set of stairs. There is a bypass for the stairs that will allow mobility challenged people to use the trail. The photo above is looking east towards the parking lot. The photo below is looking west towards Bridge #1. The bridge is just out of view as the trail passes trees located along a river side channel.

These two photos are part of a group of four photos taken near a wooden culvert located between Bridge #3 and Bridge #4. The photo above is a view looking east down the trail past the culvert site. There is no indication of the culvert from this vantage point other than a slight depression in the trail. The photo below is looking down along the north side of the trail. A moss covered timber that forms the edge of the culvert is visible along the lower portion of the photo. There is no water currently running through the culvert.

The photo above is looking south from the center of the culvert. There is a small pond left from a former river channel that is now stagnant and covered with algae. The photo below is a view looking west down the trail towards Bridge #4, located about 1,000 feet to the west.

These two photos are part of a four photo set showing a washout on McGilvray Road between Bridge #4 and Bridge #5. The photo above is an overview of the washout area looking west down the trail. The trail has a depression about six feet deep. It is highlighted by a small gap in the trees. The photo below is looking to the south from the center of the washout. There is no active river channel at this location. Rather, there is rather dense swamp grass that is as much as five feet tall.

The photo above is a close view of the trail at the washout looking to the east. Bridge #4 is visible in the distance. While most of the trail is covered with grass, the washout area has bare spots and is covered with small rocks. The photo below is the view looking west down the trail towards Bridge #5, located 1,500 feet to the west.