Wildcat Mountain State Park #38

We stopped at Wildcat State Park on the way back from visiting Perrot and Merrick State Parks. It was just a few days after the area experienced some very heavy rains, which made our hike extra challenging. At this park, you can drive to the top of the "mountain" (really, there aren't mountains in Wisconsin, doesn't mean there aren't great views and steep climbs though!), and see the view from there. We did take advantage of this option, and noticed a lot of great camping spots with spectacular views. We then drove back down to start the hike up.


So....the hike up was one of the toughest hikes, if not the toughest hike we have had this summer and fall. The compounding factor was the rain I mentioned previously (that's my attempt at foreshadowing), which must have also created the ideal environment for the mosquitos to really get in one more party before the cold weather arrived.


We took the Hemlock Nature Trail, which starts next to the Kickapoo River, and winds its way up Mount Pisgah, an elevation of 1,220 feet above sea level. The first part of the trail was fairly muddy, enough that we were sliding around on the way, not a big deal, unless you actually want to keep a brisk pace, which we did.


This trail was pretty much straight up, with a lot of switchbacks. If you were so audacious as to stop your backbreaking pace to catch your breath (me), or pick up bows and arrows aka sticks (G), the mosquitos descended with a cacophony unlike anything I've ever heard, and I have lived in Wisconsin my entire life. However, it was so worth it! The view was spectacular and most likely due to the less than ideal trail conditions, we saw only a few other people during our hike.


Wildcat Mountain State Park has several horse trail loops totaling 15 miles and offers 24 campsites for equestrians available. Canoeing and fishing are popular on the Kickapoo River, and snow shoeing and cross country skiing are available in the winter. Wildcat Mountain received its name when in the 1800s a group of farmers were upset because their sheep were being killed by a bobcat, or wildcat. They formed a hunting party and the wildcat was shot near the top of the mountain, and the hill was from that point on, known as Wildcat Mountain. It is a nice park, with a lot of option for activities in any season. Next stop, Natural Bridge State Park!

Perrot State Park #37

Perrot State Park is located in Western Wisconsin where the Trempealeau River meets the Mississippi River, and has awe inspiring views from 500 foot cliffs that rise above the surrounding landscape. The hike here was tough, basically straight uphill, but the view was well worth it. Luckily G had started to wear out just a bit at this park, so he consented to ride for at least half of the hike.

This park has 12.5 miles of hiking trails, and the nice thing is there is a wide variety of trails, so one can undertake any diffiulty hike they desire. I guess we were really looking for a challenge, as we found ourself on Brady's Bluff Trail, which not coincidentally took us to the top of a bluff. The park is 1,270 acres, and the land was donated by John Latsch, a wealthy grocer who became a conservationist after escaping a storm while canoeing in the Mississippi, just to be forced off the land on which he had taken refuge by a local farmer.

Latsch requested the park be named after Nicholas Perrot, a French explorer, who was one of the first Europeans in the Upper Mississippi river area. The area donated was the site of a camp used by Perrot and his men during thewWinter of 1685-1686. It was ideal because of the nearby river, the bluffs to protect the group from the winter weather, and prairies with abundance wildlife. The area was again used for a French fort from 1732-1737.Although these were the first Europeans to explore the area, Native Americans habitated the area long before that. Research shows that tribes were in the area known as Perrot State Park as long as 7,000 years ago.

If you have traveled to any state parks (or read any part of this blog:), there's a good chance you have heard about the Civilian Conservation Corp or the CCC. The CCC was a project created by the government during the Great Depression to create work projects for young men. The men lived on site at the state parks, and their wages were mostly sent home to their families with just $6 given to them personally a month.

The CCC created shelters, buildings, beaches, and trails that are still used to this day. They built the trails to the top of Brady's Bluff as well as the shelter at the top. G kept remarking that it "smelled" in the shelter at the top. Although we, (and some nice strangers), kept telling him that it was the smell of old wood and damp and wasn't that offensive, he maintained it smelled and didn't spend more than a few minutes in there at a time.

This park was outstanding, definitely one of the favorites on our list. I wish we had more time here. As it was, we were able to get in a good hike, have a picnic and enjoy some scenic overlooks. This is definitely one that we will return to as soon as possible! Next stop (same day), Wildcat Mountain State Park!

 

Merrick State Park #36

Merrick State Park, Perrot State Park, and Wildcat Mountain State Park were undertaken on one weekend, when we also took G to his first overnight at a hotel (obviously he loved it, pool and pizza, what could be better?)

Merrick was our first stop, followed by Perrot and Wildcat. Merrick was very quiet, we didn't see anyone else when we were visiting, which we have noticed is not unusual for many state parks we have visited during the "off-seasons". Merrick is 322 acres and is situated on the banks of the Mississippi River, surrounded by the Coulee region. It is a park that is most popular for fishing, canoeing and hunting, and has two boat landings with an adjacent canoe landing to support these activities.

Unfortunately, since I have yet to trust I can keep a 2 year old in a boat, we weren't able to partake of these options. We did enjoy a very nice and peaceful hike along the Mississippi River, the park has two miles of easy trails to enjoy. There is a conservation and nature center that is open during the summer months and weekends in the Spring and Fall. G's favorite part of this hike was definitely the brightly colored mushrooms we came across as we walked. He wanted to touch all of them, which is understandable, (they were really pretty!), but luckily, we can still pick him up an bodily move him, so we did just that. :) 

Merrick State Park was established in 1932, with land donated by John Latsch. Latsch was a wealthy grocer who was canoeing on the river, when he was caught in a storm. He took shelter on the banks under his overturned canoe, but was forced off by a local farmer. It is said that Latsch was so shaken by the event, the next day he requested his agent purchase all of the land the incident had taken place on that day.

By the time Latsch died in 1934 at the age of 73, he had acquired more than 18,000 acres. The 229 acres he donated to the State of Wisconsin became the core of Merrick State Park. Latsch requested the park be named after George Byron Merrick, famed steamboat captain and historian of the bygone days of heavy steamboat traffic on the Mississippi River. All in all a nice park, and they have winter activities like cross country skiing and show shoeing! Next stop (as you know from above) Perrot State Park!

Governor Nelson State Park #35

Governor Nelson State Park is a day use park offering a sand beach, boat launch, fish cleaning facility and playground area. It is located on 10,000 acre Lake Mendota and has great views of hte capitol and downtown area. There are 8.4 miles of trails, that wind around effigy mounds, through wetlands and prairies, and forests. This is a popular park for visitors who boat and fish on the lake.

We visited on a sunny September morning, and were surprised (as we actually frequently are), that there weren't any other visitors to be seen. We hiked over to the beach, out onto the pier to enoy the view (G was camera shy today). There is a great playground there that G loved, and as you may have guessed, refused to leave. So, it was yet another park where we carried him out of the playground area under an arm, while he exercised his right to yell...very loudly. Next stop, Merrick State Park!

Buckhorn State Park and Devils Lake State Park #33 and #34

Somehow, we thought visiting state parks on Labor Day weekend would be a feasible undertaking. And we were half right, but as lifelong Wisconsin Residents, I'll just say, we should have known better...

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!

 

 

 



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!

Nelson Dewey State Park #31

We visited Nelson Dewey State Park and Wyalusing State Park on the same beautiful summer day. Nelson Dewey was up first, and is dedicated to the memory of the state's first governor. Dewey is an interesting figure, first working as a clerk for land speculators, and later practicing law and eventually elected as governor at age 35 in 1848. Unfortunately, his personal life was slightly bumpier, as after his term as governor when he moved back to Cassville, he became estranged from his wife, who moved to Madison with his children. He spent a great deal of time trying to revive Cassville, and ultimately suffered a stroke while arguing a case in 1889 and died shortly thereafter.

The park is a lovely tribute to his memory with breathtaking views of the Mississippi River and the surrounding countryside. Visitors are able to drive to many of the scenic views throughout the park, but there are still hiking opportunities to see even more. We had the best picnic spot to date, (see pic below!) Dewey's house and a few other older outbuildings are on the grounds, and tours are offered during the summer months. There is a living history village, "Stonefield", located across the road from this park, and although we didn't have time on this day, we would most definitely return in the future when G is a little older.