Lake Pepin, named for Jean Pepin who settled on its shores in the late 1600s, is the largest lake on the Mississippi River.
On the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin, Lake Pepin is located approximately 60 miles downstream from Saint Paul.
Although Frontenac State Park takes up a large part of the Minnesota side, the largest city on the waterfront is Lake City, best known as “the birthplace of waterskiing.”
Interestingly, the lighthouse at the entrance to the Lake City Marina is the only working lighthouse on the entire Mississippi River.
Other interesting facts; the first written history of Lake Pepin identifies the French fort, Fort Beauharnois, built in 1727.
It was also written about in the first and second books in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series.
Lake Pepin has also had its fair share of alleged sightings of a monster similar to the Loch Ness.