The Deke Slayton Route is named in honor of WWII veteran, test pilot, astronaut and local hero Deke Slayton. Deke was born on a farm near Sparta, WI and graduated from Sparta High School before joining the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor was attacked. This route is broken into 3 distinct parts. One part explores all of the hills and valleys between Sparta and Black River Falls. The second part covers the area between Sparta and West Salem and includes the famous Mindoro Cut. The third part is actually located south of Interstate 90 and fills in the gaps between other routes in the area. Regardless of which section you are riding, there are a variety of roads from tight and twisty to wide open and speedy. When you are in Sparta, take the time to visit the Deke Slayton Memorial Museum and get your picture taken with Deke! Outside of Sparta is F.A.S.T. Corp with larger than life fiberglass figures. This route also includes access to 3 Wisconsin Rustic Roads (# 31, #54, and #91). If you plan on riding the Deke Slayton route (and you should!) consider staying in or near Sparta. It is central to this route and it makes a great staging area with easy access to multiple Driftless Area routes.
Approximate Mileage: 250 Miles
Estimated Riding Time: 6.75 Hours
Road Surface: Paved
ATTRACTIONS:
Sparta: Deke Slayton Memorial Museum, F.A.S.T Corporation, Monroe County Courthouse, West Central Model Railroad, Ben Bikin’ Statue
Cataract: Wegner Grotto, Glass Church, Little Falls Railroad and Doll Museum
Mindoro: Mindoro Cut
Rustic Roads #31, #54, and #91
A Paper Map is available for this route.
Motorcycle Rides, Black River Falls, Tomah, Sparta, Norwalk, Leon, West Salem, LaCrosse, Onalaska, Melrose
Deke Slayton Route
If you are riding with a group, we ask that every person using our route for navigation purchase their own copy.
In order to encourage this, we are happy to offer a discount for group purchases. Please contact us after purchasing 1 item at full price, and we will set up a coupon code that will give everyone in your group 50% off of the same item.
Our digital routes are designed to operate in most GPS devices. In addition to GPSs, our routes should work with several smartphone apps. They will NOT work on Google Maps or Apple Maps.
If you plan on using a smartphone app, we recommend the REVER app. REVER will work with both Android and iOS and in addition to navigation it has many other great features.
For best results in REVER, download the route to your computer first, then import into your smartphone. Turn by turn may not work, so we recommend that you utilize the "Follow the Line" option.
You can get 20% off your first year’s subscription to REVER by following THIS LINK.
AND using this coupon code at checkout: Driftlessforless.
By using this link and coupon code a portion of your subscription fee will go to support Driftless Roads USA.