List of Wisconsin State Parks and Recreation Areas
Park name | County or counties | Area | Year estab- lished |
Body of water | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amnicon Falls State Park | Douglas | 7002825000000000000825 acres (334 ha) | 1961 | Amnicon River | Contains a series of waterfalls and a historic covered bridge. |
Aztalan State Park | Jefferson | 7002172000000000000172 acres (70 ha) | 1947 | Crawfish River | Interprets a partially reconstructed Mississippian culture village that flourished 1000–1300 CE. The site is a National Historic Landmark. |
Belmont Mound State Park | Lafayette | 1961 | None | Features a 64-foot (20 m) observation tower atop a 400-foot (120 m) hill. Operated by the Belmont Lions Club. | |
Big Bay State Park | Ashland | 70032418000000000002,418 acres (979 ha) | 1963 | Lake Superior | Includes a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) beach on Madeline Island, largest of the Apostle Islands. |
Big Foot Beach State Park | Walworth | 7002272000000000000272 acres (110 ha) | 1949 | Geneva Lake | Offers camping and fishing adjacent to a 100-foot (30 m) beach. |
Blue Mound State Park | Dane | 70031153000000000001,153 acres (467 ha) | 1959 | None | Contains observation towers atop the highest point in southern Wisconsin and the state park system's only swimming pool. |
Brunet Island State Park | Chippewa | 70031225000000000001,225 acres (496 ha) | 1936 | Chippewa and Fisher Rivers | Preserves a 179-acre (72 ha) island and backwater channels popular with canoeists. |
Buckhorn State Park | Juneau | 70036990000000000006,990 acres (2,830 ha) | 1971 | Castle Rock Lake | Protects a scenic peninsula on a reservoir formed at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Yellow Rivers. |
Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area | Green | 7002644000000000000644 acres (261 ha) | 1970 | Beckman and Zander Lakes | Offers water recreation on two spring-fed reservoirs in the mostly lakeless Driftless Area. |
Capital Springs State Recreation Area | Dane | 70033000000000000003,000 acres (1,200 ha) | 2000 | Lake Waubesa | Encompasses park properties just south of Madison unified in the centennial year of the state park system. A Native American archaeological site is on the NRHP. |
Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area | Chippewa | 70033272000000000003,272 acres (1,324 ha) | 1971 | Numerous kettle lakes | Interprets varied glacial landforms. The park is a unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. |
Copper Culture State Park | Oconto | 700142000000000000042 acres (17 ha) | 1959 | Oconto River | Interprets a burial ground used by the Old Copper Culture from 3000–2000 BCE. The Oconto Site is a National Historic Landmark. |
Copper Falls State Park | Ashland | 70033068000000000003,068 acres (1,242 ha) | 1929 | Bad River | Contains 7.5 miles (12.1 km) of the Bad River, including a 2-mile (3.2 km) gorge with several waterfalls. A district of CCC and WPA structures is on the NRHP. |
Council Grounds State Park | Lincoln | 7002509000000000000509 acres (206 ha) | 1938 | Wisconsin River | Lies on a riverbank where Native Americans were said to have once held councils. |
Devil's Lake State Park | Sauk | 700410200000000000010,200 acres (4,100 ha) | 1911 | Devil's Lake | Protects a 360-acre (150 ha) endorheic lake in the Baraboo Range, hemmed in by moraines and 500-foot (150 m) quartzite bluffs. The park is a unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. |
Fischer Creek State Recreation Area | Manitowoc | 7002124000000000000124 acres (50 ha) | 1991 | Lake Michigan | Preserves a mile of shoreline flanking the mouth of Fischer Creek. Managed by the Manitowoc County Park System. |
Governor Dodge State Park | Iowa | 70035270000000000005,270 acres (2,130 ha) | 1948 | Two man-made lakes | Preserves Driftless Area topography in memory of Henry Dodge, settler and first governor of the Wisconsin Territory. |
Governor Nelson State Park | Dane | 7002422000000000000422 acres (171 ha) | 1975 | Lake Mendota | Contains a 500-foot (150 m) beach, restored prairie, and ancient Indian mounds. |
Governor Thompson State Park | Marinette | 70032600000000000002,600 acres (1,100 ha) | 2000 | Peshtigo River, Woods Lake | In development around a series of lakes and streams. |
Harrington Beach State Park | Ozaukee | 7002637000000000000637 acres (258 ha) | 1966 | Lake Michigan | Features a mile-long beach, a white cedar swamp, and a 26-acre (11 ha) quarry lake. |
Hartman Creek State Park | Waupaca and Portage | 70031417000000000001,417 acres (573 ha) | 1962 | Hartman Creek, seven lakes | |
Heritage Hill State Historical Park | Brown | 700148000000000000048 acres (19 ha) | 1973 | Fox River | Comprises an open-air museum of 25 historical structures and over 11,000 artifacts managed by a non-profit organization. Six of the buildings are on the NRHP. |
High Cliff State Park | Calumet | 70031147000000000001,147 acres (464 ha) | 1954 | Lake Winnebago | Straddles the cliff of the Niagara Escarpment on the northeast shore of Wisconsin's largest lake. A group of effigy mounds is on the NRHP. |
Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area | Dunn | 7002707000000000000707 acres (286 ha) | 1980 | None | Features trails and a 60-foot (18 m) observation tower among hills covered in forest, prairie, and wetlands. |
Interstate State Park | Polk | 70031330000000000001,330 acres (540 ha) | 1900 | St. Croix River, Lake O' the Dalles | Preserves a basalt river gorge joinly with an adjacent state park in Minnesota. The park is within the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve and contains the western terminus of the Ice Age Trail. |
Kinnickinnic State Park | Pierce | 70031239000000000001,239 acres (501 ha) | 1972 | St. Croix and Kinnickinnic Rivers | Offers boat-in camping and overlooks at the sandy river delta at the mouth of the Kinnickinnic. |
Kohler-Andrae State Park | Sheboygan | 7002988000000000000988 acres (400 ha) | 1928 | Lake Michigan, Black River | Preserves dunes, golden sand beaches, and pine woodland. |
Lake Kegonsa State Park | Dane | 7002343000000000000343 acres (139 ha) | 1962 | Lake Kegonsa | Adjoins a 3,209-acre (1,299 ha) glacial lake in rural Dane County. |
Lake Wissota State Park | Chippewa | 70031062000000000001,062 acres (430 ha) | 1962 | Lake Wissota | Features forest, prairie, and a 285-foot (87 m) swimming beach on a reservoir of the Chippewa River (Wisconsin). |
Lakeshore State Park | Milwaukee | 700122000000000000022 acres (8.9 ha) | 1998 | Lake Michigan | Provides urban green space on Milwaukee's lakefront. |
Menominee River State Park and Recreation Area | Marinette | 70036563000000000006,563 acres (2,656 ha) | 2010 | Menominee River | Protects several miles of the Menominee River in conjunction with Michigan's Menominee River State Recreation Area. |
Merrick State Park | Buffalo | 7002320000000000000320 acres (130 ha) | 1932 | Mississippi River | Offers fishing and boating on quiet backwaters of the Mississippi. |
Mill Bluff State Park | Monroe and Juneau | 70031337000000000001,337 acres (541 ha) | 1936 | None | Contains unusual steep sandstone bluffs that formed as islands in Glacial Lake Wisconsin. |
Mirror Lake State Park | Sauk | 70032179000000000002,179 acres (882 ha) | 1962 | Mirror Lake | Surrounds a reservoir whose wooded shores and 50-foot (15 m) cliffs often keep the water mirror-smooth. The Seth Peterson Cottage designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is on the NRHP. |
Natural Bridge State Park | Sauk | 7002530000000000000530 acres (210 ha) | 1972 | None | Contains the largest natural arch in the state and a rock shelter once used by Paleo-Indians. |
Nelson Dewey State Park | Grant | 7002756000000000000756 acres (306 ha) | 1935 | Mississippi River | Encompasses a 500-foot (200 m) river bluff that was once part of the estate of Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor. Stonefield estate is on the NRHP. |
New Glarus Woods State Park | Green | 7002431000000000000431 acres (174 ha) | 1934 | None | Preserves mature forest and restored prairie. |
Newport State Park | Door | 70032373000000000002,373 acres (960 ha) | 1964 | Lake Michigan | Comprises Wisconsin's only wilderness-designated park. |
Pattison State Park | Douglas | 70031476000000000001,476 acres (597 ha) | 1920 | Black River | Contains 165-foot (50 m) Big Manitou Falls, the highest waterfall in Wisconsin and the fourth-highest east of the Rocky Mountains. |
Peninsula State Park | Door | 70033776000000000003,776 acres (1,528 ha) | 1909 | Green Bay | Contains a golf course, summer theater, group camps, and lighthouse on nearly 7 miles (11 km) of shoreline on the Door Peninsula. The 1868 Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is on the NRHP. |
Perrot State Park | Trempealeau | 70031270000000000001,270 acres (510 ha) | 1918 | Mississippi and Trempealeau Rivers | Features 500-foot-high (200 m) bluffs bearing rare goat prairie communities on their southwestern faces. |
Potawatomi State Park | Door | 70031225000000000001,225 acres (496 ha) | 1928 | Sturgeon Bay | Protects steep-to-sheer shoreline on the Door Peninsula. |
Rib Mountain State Park | Marathon | 70031528000000000001,528 acres (618 ha) | 1927 | None | Straddles 1,924-foot (586 m) Rib Mountain, one of the highest points in Wisconsin. |
Richard Bong State Recreation Area | Kenosha | 70034515000000000004,515 acres (1,827 ha) | 1963 | Several small lakes | Supports recreational activities, including ATVs, falconry, hunting and sled dog training, and model aircraft on the site of the abortive R.I. Bong Air Force Base. |
Roche-a-Cri State Park | Adams | 7002604000000000000604 acres (244 ha) | 1948 | None | Contains a 300-foot (91 m) outcropping bearing the Roche-a-Cri Petroglyphs. |
Rock Island State Park | Door | 7002912000000000000912 acres (369 ha) | 1965 | Lake Michigan | Encompasses most of vehicle-free Rock Island, accessed by two ferry rides at the tip of the Door Peninsula. The 1836 Pottawatomie Lighthouse, inventor Chester Thordarson's 20th-century estate, and several other structures are on the NRHP. |
Rocky Arbor State Park | Juneau | 7002225000000000000225 acres (91 ha) | 1932 | Preserves sandstone outcroppings similar to the nearby Dells of the Wisconsin River along one of the river's former channels. | |
Straight Lake State Park | Polk | 70032780000000000002,780 acres (1,130 ha) | 2002 | Straight Lake | In development around a lake surrounded by mature forest and glacial landforms. |
Tower Hill State Park | Iowa | 700177000000000000077 acres (31 ha) | 1922 | Wisconsin River | Interprets a reconstructed shot tower where lead shot was manufactured 1832–1860. The tower is on the NRHP. |
Whitefish Dunes State Park | Door | 7002863000000000000863 acres (349 ha) | 1967 | Lake Michigan, Clark Lake | Protects dunes that formed across the mouth of a bay. A district of eight habitation sites dating from 100 BCE to 1800 CE are on the NRHP. |
Wildcat Mountain State Park | Vernon | 70033643000000000003,643 acres (1,474 ha) | 1948 | Kickapoo River | Comprises a steep ridge overlooking the Kickapoo Valley. |
Willow River State Park | St. Croix | 70032891000000000002,891 acres (1,170 ha) | 1967 | Willow River | Contains a waterfall in a sandstone gorge and a 172-acre (70 ha) lake. |
Wyalusing State Park | Grant | 70032628000000000002,628 acres (1,064 ha) | 1917 | Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers | Occupies a 500-foot-high (150 m) bluff overlooking the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. A district of prehistoric mounds is on the NRHP. |
Yellowstone Lake State Park | Lafayette | 7002968000000000000968 acres (392 ha) | 1970 | Yellowstone Lake | Surrounds a 455-acre (184 ha) reservoir built in the lake-poor Driftless Area. |
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