If you set up a time machine at Devil's Lake State Park and traveled backwards…
Located in Wisconsin, Devil’s Lake State Park is a popular destination known for its stunning natural beauty and unique geological features. However, over the years, many myths and misunderstandings have surfaced about the park. In this series, we’ll explore one of these myths and uncover the truth behind it.
What are some of the common myths or misunderstandings you’ve heard about Devil’s Lake State Park? Please share the Devil’s Lake stories you’ve heard in the comments. If you know the real answer, share it, or I’ll add it to my list for a future post.
Today’s Myth – “I’ve heard that if you crawl through the opening of Elephant Cave (Located on the park’s East Bluff Trail.), it opens up into a larger cave.”
Quick Answer? Nope. It just ends.
Long Answer – The area around Elephant Cave and Elephant Rock (which actually looks more like a bison, but that’s another story!) is one of the most geologically fascinating in the park. It’s a spot where multiple distant eras are all visible at once. (And one era is just missing altogether!) If you look head-on toward Elephant Cave, you can see three distinct geological features:
The oldest rock is the Baraboo Quartzite, which forms the left side of the “cave.” The right side of the cave is composed of more recent sandstone that was deposited against the quartzite. Finally, the top layer is a conglomerate or pudding stone, a mix of various rocks that was deposited last, covering both the quartzite and sandstone.
Imagine a time when all that sand was pushed up against the quartzite. Back then, the “cave” may have been just an open gap. Later, it was covered by the conglomerate layer on top. If you want to dig more into the geology of the area, I’ll leave some great links at the bottom of the article.
Now, back to that rumored cave that you have to crawl into. Well, a few years back, I put a GoPro on a long stick, creating what looks a lot like a geological colonoscopy video! [See Video On YouTube] In the “end”, we learned that if we get through that first small opening, we do indeed come to the end of the cave. But man, wouldn’t it be cool if it were real??
Interestingly, there is another rumor of a much larger cave hidden on the West Bluff that, I was told, is only known to a few “old climbers”. Hmmm, if you’re an old climber, I’d love to hear about it! 
Videos To Learn More!
Geology Lite! – Devil’s Lake Rocks with naturalist Susan Johansen-Mayoleth
Geology Deep Dive! – Geology of Devil’s Lake from geologist and author Steven Baumann.
For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.
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