South Lake Road Inside Devil's Lake State Park Faces Abandonment by Town of Merrimac A…
Devil’s Lake State Park draws approximately 2.7 million visitors a year: more than any other property in the Wisconsin State Parks system. But most of those visitors have no idea how the money they spend actually flows through that system, or how little of it comes back to the park they’re standing in. We reached out to the Wisconsin DNR for the numbers. Here’s what the 2025 data shows.
How Much Money Does Devil’s Lake State Park Generate?
Devil’s Lake State Park generated $4,317,199 in visitor fees in FY2025. That breaks down into two main categories: $2,225,282 from annual admission stickers and $2,091,917 from camping and other park fees.
Two additional revenue streams round out the picture. The park’s concession operation contributed $366,612, and a federal Ice Age Trail grant added $343,011, directed specifically toward staff wages.
Does That Money Stay at Devil’s Lake?
Not most of it. About 28 cents of every dollar generated at Devil’s Lake comes back to fund park operations there. (See the graphic at the top of the page.) The rest flows into the broader Wisconsin State Parks system — 50 state parks, 44 state trails, 15 state forests, 9 recreation areas, and 8 river and resource areas.
That system includes smaller properties that cost more to operate than they generate. Devil’s Lake, with the highest visitation in the system, is one of the parks that carries others.
What Does the Park’s Share Actually Pay For?
The roughly $1.2 million that returns to Devil’s Lake covers full-time park staff: park superintendents, managers, rangers (who handle maintenance and trail work in Wisconsin; law enforcement is a separate function), and the park’s naturalist. It also funds seasonal employees who staff entrance gates each summer, handle restroom maintenance, and keep day-to-day operations running, along with the supplies needed to support all of it.
Law enforcement is funded through an entirely separate line. The DNR’s Conservation Warden program contributed an additional $614,652 in support at Devil’s Lake — a layer most visitors never think about but benefit from on every visit.
What Happens to Concession Revenue?
When you buy a meal or rent a kayak at Devil’s Lake Concessions, 12% of the company’s annual gross goes to the state. That money doesn’t return to the park directly; it flows into the broader system the same way fee revenue does.
What Role Do the Friends of Devil’s Lake Play?
The gap between what the park generates and what it costs to operate well is real. That’s where the Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park comes in.
In FY2025, the Friends took in $188,050. That money moved in three directions: roughly $54,000 went directly to the park through events, programming, nature center support, memorials, equipment, and physical improvements. Another $51,000 supported the merchandise and firewood operation that helps sustain the organization’s ongoing work. The remaining $82,000 covered Friends staff, insurance, marketing, and other organizational costs.
How those pieces fit together, and the separate capital campaign for a proposed interpretive center, deserves its own treatment. We’ll cover that in a follow-up post.
What About Major Construction Projects?
Seven construction projects totaling $6.81 million were approved for Devil’s Lake in 2025 through the currently threatened Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. The work includes road resurfacing, toilet and shower building repairs, water fountain replacement, a new kayak launch, and HVAC work at the North Shore Chateau. Most of this construction is expected to begin in 2026.
Stewardship funding is a separate capital stream, not part of the park’s day-to-day operating budget. The two don’t overlap.
A Note on the Parks Segregated Fund
Park fee revenue doesn’t go into Wisconsin’s general fund. It goes into a dedicated Parks Segregated Fund — a distinction worth understanding.
The catch: the DNR can’t access that money without legislative authorization. The legislature controls how much spending authority is released each budget cycle. In a May 2024 investigation, Silent Sports reported that the legislature was blocking the DNR from accessing its own Parks Segregated Fund, which at that time held approximately $20 million, even as park infrastructure deteriorated across the state. That’s a separate but related conversation about how Wisconsin chooses to invest in its public lands. Read the article here.
The short version: Visitors fund the system. The system funds the park. A dedicated group of volunteers and donors fills what remains.
Revenue and operational figures in this post are based on information provided directly by the Wisconsin DNR and publicly available sources. The $20 million Parks Segregated Fund figure was reported by Silent Sports in May 2024. Some numbers may be approximated or subject to revision.
For nearly 30 years, 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 out of 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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