The St. Croix starts just over twenty miles south of the south shore of Lake Superior, in Wisconsin’s northwoods. It flows out of a swamp at Solon Springs; the Brule River flows north out of the same wetland.

The river drifts down 15 miles and then reaches a reservoir, the St. Croix Flowage. There’s a dam at its outlet, and below it begins the rushing river which is designated a National Scenic Riverway. The lake itself is not federally-protected.

The video above from real estate agent Jean Hedren shows off the lake: Ringed by pines, plied by pontoons and paddlers, wild and quiet. It features scenes from Lucius Woods Park in the town of Solon Springs and elsewhere.

“The Gordon-St Croix Flowage is one of the best-kept secrets in northwestern Wisconsin,” Hedren writes. “With its 29 miles of meandering shoreline, this 1913-acre flowage is one of the most pristine, quiet lakes remaining in the entire region. Most of its shoreline is public land that’s unlikely to ever be developed.”

She also points out that its water is so clear that a Secchi disk is visible eight feet deep. The Gordon-St. Croix Flowage Association, the St. Croix River Association, and others all work for the lake’s protection.

Read about recent conservation efforts in the headwaters in Heidi Figg Parton’s recent article.