Sandstone bluffs topped with limestone, two of which are Wildcat Mountain and Mount Pisgah, provide views over the narrow valley of the river and its tributaries.

Wildcat Mountain State Park is open for year-round recreation including hiking, canoeing, fishing, and cross-country skiing.

The first English-speakers to see it were British fur traders who made use of the area after the end of the French and Indian War.

[2] When the first American pioneers arrived in the Kickapoo Valley it was home to the Meskwaki and Sac Indians and later the Ho-Chunk.

The Native Americans were forced from their land in 1837 when the government of the United States compelled the Ho-Chunk to move to points west of the Mississippi River.

The forests of Pennsylvania fed the need for lumber in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and the coal mines of the region.

[2] John Ostrander and William Saubert bought up many acres of land on what is now Wildcat Mountain State Park.

They built their homes near streams that provided a steady supply of fresh water and fish for eating.

The root of the plant was widely used by Chinese people to cure and ward off various types of disease.

Residents of the area harvested the naturally growing ginseng and sold it at market in Woodstock, Illinois.

[3] The term "driftless" indicates a lack of glacial drift, the material left behind by retreating continental glaciers.

Overall the region is characterized by an eroded plateau with bedrock overlain by varying thicknesses of loess.

The bluffs lining this reach of the Mississippi River drainage basin currently climb to not quite 600 feet (180 m).

The Kickapoo River Valley and the park provide a habitat for many animals typically found in the woods of the Upper Midwest.

[6] Wildcat Mountain State Park has more than 20 miles (32 km) of trails that are open to hiking, snow shoeing, horseback riding and cross-country skiing.