On August 8, I visited the most newly developed State Park and the oldest. The newest is Straight Lake State Park, near Luck in the northwest corner of the state. Straight Lake is fully contained within the 2,066 acre park. So is Rainbow Lake. I hiked the trails in the Rainbow Lake area. Overall, the … Read more21. Straight Lake State Park
Brunet Island State Park is, not surprisingly, an island. It’s at the confluence of the Chippewa and Fisher Rivers, near Cornell. It was the second park visit on August 7, and I camped here. My campsite was near a little inlet on the Chippewa. I could stroll a few feet from the campsite to the … Read more21. Brunet Island State Park
Lake Wissota, near Chippewa Falls, was formed by construction of a hydroelectric dam in the early 1900’s. It didn’t become a state park until 1961 and didn’t open for park use until 1972. According to the park brochure, it was the 45th state park. And, it’s the 13th largest at 1,062 acres. There are 18 … Read more20. Lake Wissota State Park
The Park System brochure calls Pattison State Park “one of Wisconsin’s cornerstone parks.” It’s certainly impressive. And, located just 15 miles south of Superior, it’s at the northwest corner of the state. It’s a half hour drive from Amnicon Falls State Park to Pattison State Park, so was easy to take in both parks on … Read more19. Pattison State Park
The last day of the five-park tour, July 18, took me to two waterfall parks near Superior — Amnicon Falls and Pattison. And they were the first park project hikes with another hiker — niece Julie. Thanks, Julie! Amnicon Falls is a relatively small (825 acres, 2.75 miles of trails) but beautiful park about 10 … Read more18. Amnicon Falls State Park
It was a great day to be on an island. The second day of the five-park tour, July 17, was Big Bay State Park day. The 2,475 acre park is on Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands located off the tip of the Bayfield Peninsula in Lake Superior. While the southern part of the … Read more17. Big Bay State Park
Council Grounds State Park was the second stop on the five-park tour. It’s near Merrill, about a half hour north of the first stop at Rib Mountain State Park. I visited Council Grounds on the same day as Rib Mountain, July 16. It was nice to be heading north. The southern part of the state … Read more16. Council Grounds State Park
The trail system at Rib Mountain State Park deserves some sort of an award. Maybe it has already gotten one. Anyway, when I visited the park just outside of Wausau as the first stop on a five-park tour on July 16-19, I was really impressed with the condition of the trails. They were exceptionally well … Read more15. Rib Mountain State Park
Sunday of the long Fourth of July weekend was a pretty busy time for the beach part of Big Foot Beach State Park. Boats were tied up all along the beach, and there were lots and lots of people in the water. It was a perfect day to go to the beach. On the other … Read more14. Big Foot Beach State Park
First full day of summer, June 22, seemed like a good day to visit Yellowstone Lake State Park. It’s about an hour southwest of Madison, near Blanchardville. The drive is beautiful, with Google routing me on some county roads along a ridge through farm country. According to the park system visitor guide, the park is … Read more13. Yellowstone Lake State Park