The La Crosse River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin in the United States. Course The La Crosse River rises in northern Monroe County and flows generally west-southwestwardly into La Crosse County, through the Fort McCoy military installation and past Sparta, Rockland, Bangor and West Salem. It flows into the Mississippi River at the city of La Crosse. In Monroe County, it collects the short Little La Crosse River, which flows for its entire course in Monroe County. Downstream of Sparta, the river is paralleled by the La Crosse River State Trail. See also List of Wisconsin rivers Sources DeLorme (1992). Wisconsin Atlas & Gazetteer. Freeport, Maine: DeLorme. . External links La Crosse River State Trail website Rivers of Wisconsin Tributaries of the Mississippi River Rivers of La Crosse County, Wisconsin Rivers of Monroe County, Wisconsin Mississippi River watershed