Wyalusing State Park #32

We had been looking forward to returning to Wyalusing State Park, as we had visited a few years ago in the Fall and enjoyed the park immensely. After stopping at Nelson Dewey, we headed up to Wyalusing along the Wisconsin River Road, it was about a half hour drive, with pretty scenery pretty much the entire drive.

Wyalusing State Park is one of the oldest state parks in Wisconsin, established in 1917, it was part of the original four areas recommended to become state parks as part of a report from the state legislature in 1909. People began arriving in this area approximately 11,000 years ago, with the Red Ochre Culture appearing about 1000 B.C., followed by the Hopewell Indians and the Effigy Mound Builders. If you have time, I would highly recommend visiting the Effigy Mounds National Monument, about a 15 minute drive across the river. The first Europeans to visit the area were Marquette and Joliet, who recorded seeing the meeting of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers in 1673. 

We enjoyed the Bluff Trail, which had outstanding views which we have come to expect from the parks along the Mississippi River. There is so much to do at this park, including canoeing trails, biking, and an astronomy center. There is a nice play area and gift shop, which we were able to explore, (well, we had to, or there would have been a mutiny from G, he can only take so much hiking and car rides). We will be adding this to the list of parks to revisit next year!