Most of us are being affected in one way or another by the recent shutdowns and "social distancing" related to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus). The upside for outdoor lovers is that we can still "opt outside." Good for the soul! But…
The news has been floating around for a couple of weeks now, but today we can "officially" report that Devil's Lake State Park's superintendent, Steve Schmelzer, is no longer at the park and has moved to a new position within…
Update (Feb 13th, 2020) - About 15-20 folks attended last evening's Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park meeting to discuss Master Planning for Devil's Lake State Park. There are many details to discuss and many more meetings and public comment opportunities to…
According to an article in the Baraboo News Republic, visitation at Devil's Lake State Park, "rose by about 30,000 from 2018 to 2019" Steve Schmelzer, Devil’s Lake State Park superintendent, estimated about 2.6 million visitors came through the park last…
We spent Friday evening after our hike cleaning up a bus-load of garbage in the Devil's Lake State Park's Steinke Basin Parking lot. We're just a few of the many park visitors who carry garbage bags when we visit the…
Every year there are folks who go the proverbial extra mile to preserve, protect and enhance Devil's Lake State Park and our many surrounding public lands. Often they get little thanks or recognition for their efforts. Here at Skillet Creek,…
3 days ago, Devil's Lake was completely ice-free. Yesterday (Dec 13th), much of the lake had frozen over, but there were many open areas as well. The ice on the lake right now is, as the fishermen in the photograph…
The Merrimac Ferry which connects the villages of Merrimac and Okee, closed down for the season this morning. During the summer the popular free ferry hauled more than 212,000 vehicles (not counting bicycles and pedestrians) and made over 37,000 crossings!…
Suddenly it's winter out there! The trails are covered in a few inches of snow. The popular bluff trails are snowcovered and slippery in spots. Be extra careful on stone steps and along rocky cliff edges. The flatter outlying trails…
A driveway reflector taped to a tree? You never know what you might find while hiking at Devil's Lake State Park. This taped reflector was placed not more than 5 feet off of the Johnson Moraine Trail near County Road…