We visited Buckhorn State Park and Devils Lake State Park on a sunny Labor Day weekend. Buckhorn was lovely. Prairie, wetlands, a nice lake, great hiking, and the best kids' area in a park office we have seen to date. Buckhorn is an approximately 7,000 acre park on a peninsula that extends into Castle Rock Lake. We hiked the Barrens Nature Trail which has a 20 foot observation tower and an eco box on the way to the tower, that plays a message about the park and surrounding area. It was a nice park, we would like to return and enjoy the lake, including a 1.8 mile canoe trail!
Next up was Devil's Lake State Park, one of my favorite parks, and now I feel qualified to say, it's definitely one of the best in the system. Devil's Lake State Park is the largest parks in the system, and has the most visitors, approximately 1.3 to 1.7 million per year. Founded in 1911, Devil's Lake is the third oldest park in the system and has a wealth of history associated with it along with outstanding geographical features. The 500 foot quartzite bluffs offer stunning views of the 300 acre lake. There are 29 miles of hiking trails, two beaches with shelters and concessions, as well as kayak, canoe and paddleboard rentals at each beach location. There is plenty to do in the winter too, with cross country skiing, snow shoeing and ice fishing.
The history of this park is varied and intriguing and can't be covered in a paragraph, (the DNR website has a lot of great information, check it out!) Once the lake started to be discovered by European settlers in the mid-1800s, visitors started flocking to the lake in droves. At one point, there were several hotels, two steamboats that operated on the lake and a golf course. It is even said that the Ringling Brothers Circus, which was based in nearby Baraboo, Wisconsin, let their elephants swim in the lake!
The day we arrived at the park it was so busy we couldn't find parking in the lot, and ended up parking on a road just outside the north beach area. Devil's Lake is such a large park, (9200 acres), it can typically absorb a phenomenal amount of people, with space to spare. On this particular day, there were lines for the bathrooms and for the concessions. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the line to concessions was unbearably long until we got there, (and has already promised G a blue moon ice cream cone). It was ugly, so ugly, when we had to break the news to him that we weren't able to purchase ice cream there. He screamed "Blue moon on my face" all the way back to the car. Luckily, the plethora of people there didn't bat an eye at one screaming kid.
Bottom line, great park, visit not on a holiday! Next stop, Governor Nelson State Park!
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