Jackson County is a large, mostly rural county located in West-Central Wisconsin with a population of approximately 18,000 people. It contains large regions of forested land, which makes it a popular destination for outdoor recreation. The eastern half of the County is nearly all forest and is mostly level terrain except for a few ranges of sandstone ridges. This area was the bed of the large central Wisconsin lake formed 10,000 years ago when the last glaciers melted away, and contains the 120,000 acre Jackson County Forest as well as the 65,000 acre Black River State Forest. This area is very popular for outdoor recreation such as hunting, snowmobiling, canoeing, horse riding, bicycling and cross country skiing..

The western half of the County is part of the driftless (non-glaciated) region of Wisconsin. This area is mostly rolling hills and valleys (known locally as coulees) and is scattered with dairy farms. The land that is too steep for farming is primarily oak forest. Nearly all land in the western half of the County is privately owned. The east half and west half of Jackson County are divided by the scenic and wild Black River. For 10 miles, before reaching the County Seat of Black River Falls, the Black River winds its way through a channel cut into the red granite bedrock. Each side of the river is lined with granite boulders and mature white pine forests. This stretch of the river has almost no development until you reach the City of Black River Falls.