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Lock and Dam #6 is located at the southeast end of the Village of Trempealeau. Turn south from Hwy 35 onto Fremont Street. Continue south, across the railroad tracks and veer right to the river. There is a visitor observation area to view lock operations.

Below, a towboat is pushing its load of barges out of the lock, along the banks of the Mississippi River. Modern towboats have replaced the smoke-spewing paddlewheeler of old. 

On the Upper Mississippi River, one towboat can push up to 15 barges full of grain, petroleum, gravel, coal, chemicals and many other products. Shipping by river is the most efficient method of transportation available today. Fifteen barges pushed by one towboat and an eleven man crew can carry as much grain as a three-mile long train or a line of semi-trailer trucks 34 miles long!