Stone Rows of Devil’s Lake
Throughout Devil’s Lake State Park, you can find long linear mounds of rock so old that large trees now grow right through and on top of the rocks. These stone rows offer us a snapshot of the hardships early farmer’s…
Mechanical Weathering, Beautiful!
It’s not uncommon for visitors to Devil’s Lake to think that all of this fallen rock means that the whole park was once a quarry. While there were quarries within the park borders at one time, the fallen rock you…
Now & Then, Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Thank you for being here! We are so thankful for your engagement over the many years we've been at this! Your knowledge, thoughts, comments, ideas, corrections, concerns, and yes, respectful disagreements make this a pretty good job!…
Dangerous Trail Conditions
Some trails at Devil's Lake State Park are clearly dangerous or impassible due to ice and water buildup on stone stairways. We recommend avoiding some trails until weather conditions stabilize. South-facing stairways such as Balanced Rock, Potholes & the CCC…
Fern Dell Ice is Back!
Beautiful ice formations have returned to Mirror Lake State Park! We expect the ice to improve later in the season, but there are some displays going on right now. Fern Dell Gorge is a Wisconsin State Natural Area located within…
Snowshoeing Off Trail
It's snowshoe season at Devil's Lake State Park!! With anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of snow on the ground and more to come this week, it's a wonderful time to get out and explore! And while ice cleats are…
Bats of the Elroy-Sparta State Trail
Just after Halloween, we took advantage of the late-season warmth to ride the Elroy-Sparta State Trail north from Kendall, Wisconsin, up to the first of 3 historic train tunnels, which are some of the main attractions on the Elroy-Sparta. Of…
Deer Gun Hunting Continues
You may see news articles or posts today (11/28) telling us that the deer gun season has ended in Wisconsin, but don't put away your bright colors just yet! While the most popular "deer gun" season ended yesterday, muzzleloader season…
Hey Buddy!
Check out who we met on our Devil’s Lake hike yesterday! It’s a cute little opossum! (Not to be confused with the critter in Australia called a “possum”.) Our opossums got their name from the Algonquian word 'apasum', meaning white…
How Tall Is That?
The Bluffs surrounding the lake rise about 500 feet above the water. This is called "prominence". Prominence is a measure of how tall a hill stands against the surrounding landscape. "Elevation," tells us the distance (or how tall) something is…