^Looking west from the central junction in Viroqua (US Route 14, US Route 61, Highway 27), July 2026.

Wisconsin Highway 56 runs east-west in southwestern Wisconsin, serving Genoa, Viroqua, and Viola. The route begins its eastward journey at Wisconsin Highway 35 in Genoa, a town on the Mississippi River. It moves toward Viroqua, winding through the Driftless Region. In Viroqua, US Route 61, US Route 14 and Wisconsin Highway 27 cross from north to south, sharing pavement, and Wisconsin Highway 82 comes from the south to join Highway 56 east. That concurrency with Highway 82 ends quickly, and Wisconsin Highway 56 winds southeasterly to Viola, where it meets Wisconsin Highway 131 among the hills. Wisconsin Highway 56 continues to wiggle its way southeast of Viola, and this will be its final stretch before it ends just north of Richland Center. This eastern terminus is at Wisconsin Highway 80.

An older photo for Wisconsin Highway 56 once took center stage on this page, but it has since been replaced by a newer photo. However, the older photo is still visible at the bottom of this page.

My photo for Wisconsin Highway 56 shows a westbound trailblazer seen by those leaving the intersection in the center of Viroqua, Wisconsin. This intersection has US Routes 14 and 61 going north-south right through the junction. Wisconsin Highway 27 also goes north-south along the two US highways. Wisconsin 56 heads east-west through the junction, and Wisconsin Highway 82 comes from the east to turn south. This western leg shown in the photo is the only leg to carry only one route number. This photo was taken looking toward the west in July 2026 on the way down US Route 14, as I was returning home from the Black Hills of South Dakota.

My older photo for Wisconsin Highway 56 showed a guide marker at the junction with Wisconsin Highway 80, at the eastern terminus of the route. Northbound travelers use this sign to locate the turn onto Highway 56, and this sign is right at the junction. This photo was taken in October 2016 just before sunset, as I was finishing a day trip around southwestern Wisconsin.
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