The photo above shows the end of Point Douglas. Looking north and west, the point is at the far end of the railroad life bridge. The Mississippi River flows on the left side of the bridge. The Saint Croix river flows under the lift bridge from the right. The parking lot with the cars is in Wisconsin. Minnesota is on both the left side of the Mississippi, and on the far end of the bridge between the Mississippi and Saint Croix. Below this point, the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin is the Mississippi River. Above this point, the border is the Saint Croix river.

This is one industrial strength bridge. Everything is massive, from the steel in the truss sections, the large counterweights, the massive towers, and the huge motor assemblies at the top of the towers. The bridge has to be strong to endure the pounding that it takes day in and day out. The trains come through here about every 10 minutes, and they don't slow down below 40 miles per hour. Given all the recreational boating in the summer, the bridge is operated frequently.

Given the volume of trains, and the public parking right next to the tracks, this is a great place to go train watching. Just be careful to keep off of the tracks. A fast moving train that is throttled down can sneak up on you before you know what has hit you.