Progress

Time and time again I’ve heard that Wisconsin doesn’t have any good hiking. After all, how could it possibly have a trail worth your time when it doesn’t have any mountains, or canyons, or oceans? Well, I’m here to prove to you that it does. (I’m here to prove that it has a trail worth your time, not that it has mountains or oceans, because, spoiler alert, it doesn’t.) Anyway, I stand by the natural beauty of the state. I’m not saying that Wisconsin has the absolute best hiking around, because that’s not true either. Especially since I don’t believe that any one location could be the best. What I’m saying is simple. Wisconsin has natural beauty that makes it unique and worth exploring.

To showcase the natural beauty of the state, and to prove the naysayers wrong, I have a goal and this page to track it. My goal is to visit every state park and forest in Wisconsin. My goal is not to hike every inch of every trail in every park, because that would be madness, but instead to visit them all and get a feel for what they have to offer, the highlights, the scenery, what the park is all about. It is my hope that you find some inspiration and inspire me in return. Let’s hike!

 

Wisconsin State Parks and Forests:

(Note: There seems to be disagreement online about an extensive park list. This list is a combination of a few different lists that I will revise as I go.)

Hiked there, done that…

Amnicon Falls
Aztalan
Big Bay
Black River State Forest
Blue Mound
Brule River State Forest
Brunet Island
Buckhorn
Capitol Springs State Recreation Area
Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area
Governor Dodge
Governor Nelson
Harrington Beach
Hartman Creek
High Cliff
Hoffman Hills State Recreation Area
Kohler-Andrae
Lake Kegonsa
Lake Wissota
Mill Bluff
Mirror Lake
Natural Bridge
New Glarus Woods
Pattison
Peninsula
Perrot
Point Beach
Roche-A-Cri
Rocky Arbor
Tower Hill
Wildcat Mountain
Willow River
Wyalusing
Yellowstone Lake

Left to Explore…

• Belmont Mound
• Big Foot Beach
• Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area
• Campvellsport Drumlins
  
• Chippewa Flowage
• Copper Culture
• Copper Falls
• Coulee Experimental State Forest
• Council Grounds
• Cross Plains
• Devils Lake
• Fenley State Recreation Area
• Fischer Creek State Recreation Area
• Flambeau River State Forest
• Grand Traverse Island
  
• Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest
• Governor Knowles State Forest
• Governor Thompson
• Havenwoods
• Heritage Hill
• Interstate
• Kettle Moraine State Forest – Northern Unit
• Kettle Moraine State Forest – Southern Unit
• Kinnickinnic
• Lakeshore
• Lapham Peak Unit – Kettle Moraine State Forest
• Loew Lake Unit – Kettle Moraine State Forest
• Lost Dauphin
• Menominee River State Recreation Area
• Merrick
• Nelson Dewey
• Newport
  
• Northern Highland American Legion State Forest
• Pike Lake Unit – Kettle Moraine State Forest
  
• Potawatomi
• Rib Mountain
• Richard Bong
• Rock Island
• Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area
• Straight Lake
  
• Turtle-Flambeau Scenic Waters Area
• Whitefish Dunes
• Willow Flowage Scenic Waters Area

Bonus Hikes!

(not managed by the Wisconsin DNR – county parks, other state’s parks, etc.)

• Cherokee Marsh North Unit – City of Madison park
• Mt. Hollywood Trail, Griffith Park – City of LA, CA
• Bidwell Park – City of Chico, CA
• Waihe’e Ridge Trail – Wailuku, HI
  
• Chapel Gorge Trail – Wisconsin Dells