Camping at Devil’s Lake State Park
It seems like people have been giving us rave reviews of Devil’s Lake State Park (in Wisconsin) since we moved to Illinois:
“The hiking is amazing!”
“It’s beautiful!”
“The landscape doesn’t seem like it belongs in Wisconsin!”
“The lake and beach are great!”
And warnings:
“It’s very popular – you have to book your campsite months in advance.”
Hearing all that, it’s a place we’ve wanted to check out for a long time, and finally did this weekend, with Rachel and her husband! And we did book our campsite months in advance – at the beginning of April. Ha, gave us lots of time to look forward to it, right?!
Unfortunately, with booking months in advance (or really, a week in advance), you don’t know what the weather is going to be like, and our first night (Friday) at the campsite had storms so we decided to head up Saturday morning, instead of camping there two nights as planned*.
It was still really foggy and overcast when we got there, and I wondered if it would clear up! Rachel and I went on a run where we climbed and climbed and we weren’t even awarded with a view! Ha ha. The fog looked neat (and eerie!) though!
We took the East Bluff Woods Trail up
And I have to say, right away, it did feel like we were somewhere… not in Wisconsin. Ha! Devil’s Lake was created 12,000 years ago during the last ice age (source) when a glacier deposited moraines at two gaps between the Baraboo Hills. The Baraboo Hills have been there for over a billion years, and are known for their 500-foot-high quartzite bluffs! Bluffs like that are definitely not something I am used to seeing around here!
Click on image to see larger
After our run, we set up camp, made lunch, and it started to clear up! Beyond the storms the previous night, the temperature was great for camping – we could hike without feeling horrible, and sleep comfortably (as much as you can in a tent, anyway). There weren’t even that many bugs! Whuuuuuut?!?!
Rachel and Steven and I set out for a hike on Saturday. Ha. It turned in to a bit of a epic hike, due to a trail closure. We started out on the easy East Bluff Trail, to get views of the lake and see rock formations…
We saw a whole group hiking with their remote control cars! Fun!
… then when we got to the trail junction, the trail we planned to take down the bluff was closed so we had to hike down a 400′ drop in .3 miles (on the Potholes Trail)! And Steven had his DSLR on him! Eek! That was interesting. I slipped twice, once grabbing a tree before falling, and the second time, landing on my butt. It didn’t help that the lady behind me would say “watch out!” Um… yeah, I am. It was still a bit slick out from the previous night’s rain. That hike down was SCARY! It definitely would have been easier to go up it. We couldn’t believe we saw people carrying babies, going up! I hope they took an easier route down!
We were relived when we got to flat land, and took the long way back, along the Tumbled Rocks Trail on the other side of the lake. I thought it was really cool we got to go all the way around the lake. We hiked nearly 6 miles!
Which means when we got back, we were exhausted. Steven and I took a short nap**, then we all started dinner when we got up. Rachel and I had discussed meal ideas earlier in the week, and she very helpfully made a list of who should bring what (with her bringing much more of the camping supplies – they camp way more than us and it was nice for us to rely on them for some equipment!). We had canned chili for lunch, burgers and potatoes for dinner, and pancakes and fruit for breakfast the next day.
Ha ha, now, a bit about the campsite. The campsites are nice, with lots of amenities at the beaches. We were close enough to a bathroom with actual plumbing (there were pit toilets as well), and single stall showers that were a generous size (!!!). However… we all decided the campsite, in general, was too open for us . We got a site (#163 here) on the very edge, next to the woods, which made it feel more private, but we were right next to a major part of the campground road. And we could still see and hear everyone and everything. Camping isn’t about peace and quiet at a place like that, obviously, but we’re all the type that desire a bit more seclusion.
And we think that because our campsite was really close to the woods, our fire pit didn’t have any holes in it to let air in (so as to keep the fire smaller and under control?), so keeping a fire going took a lot of work! We were able to cook all our food, but not without some frustration (on everyone else’s end – I was all “derpitty do”).
With no fire, and feeling so tired from hiking, we went to bed nice and early on Saturday night! Ahhh! We brought our big (now, only*) tent, and it’s comfortable to sleep in. I did have to get up twice for the venture to the bathroom though, and to get more blankets. And I was having really horrible dreams. Eek!
But I woke up excited for pancakes, and to hike a trail on the opposite side of the lake!
This time, Rachel and Kevin and I went out for a hike. We took the West Bluffs Trail up and the Tumbled Rocks Trail back to where we started.
It was a less challenging hike than the day before, but we still hiked almost 4 miles, and my body still felt it, ha! Rachel and I were really impressed to see people running up the steeper trails. And really, running down them – the declines are no joke! There is actually a race series on these trails – Dances with Dirt – and after hiking there, I just can’t imagine trying to go any long distance there. Although, the course map makes it look like the races stay away from the bluffs. Anyway. Totally not on my radar. Really, hiking made me feel a bit out of shape, so maybe getting a bit healthier should be on my radar! Moving on…
We packed up after our hike, checked out the beach for a bit (brrr! but it felt so good on our legs), then headed home. The campground is about a three hour drive from our house, and I could totally see us going there again – maybe for a day? Rachel was saying how beautiful it is in the fall when the leaves change color! I can only imagine!!!
It was a fun weekend and we would like to camp again with Rachel and Kevin, and I’d like to become a more efficient camping packer! I did really well this time – the only things I brought and didn’t use were some clothes and s’more ingredients (sadness) – but I feel like I could get better about packing. Despite putting everything in specific bags for certain activities and meals, I still felt like my stuff was all over and I was going back and forth to the car a lot. Hmm, maybe that is what this type of camping is all about?
*Ha, Steven actually camped the previous weekend too, and our small tent was destroyed by a storm the second night, so we were TOTALLY fine with not setting up our tent in a storm, then sleeping
**We woke up when someone drove by and yelled “I am going to eat every one of you!!!” Ha ha ha… ok?
Themocracy
It look beautiful…but yes that hike down would scare the crap out of me! I always cheat when camping and bring a tiny gas burner, very helpful espec when its wet out.
Our friends were saying they should have brought that, but they also felt like that was cheating, lol!
Yeah, Dances with Dirt is known as the toughest trail race in the state. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart.
This is the first summer we didn’t camp in Devil’s Lake. I adore it there and would go practically every weekend if I could. Kevin isn’t as wild about it because he doesn’t like how crowded it is there, which is fair enough. When we went two summers ago it was much nicer because we went on Sun-Tue, so it wasn’t as crowded. It is obnoxious that you have to reserve so far in advance but it is what it is I guess (last year, I got it in my head that I wanted to go there for 4th of July weekend. And we did…but I reserved that sucker in August of the year before! I think by January it was sold out already.). Glad you had a great time! I also really want to do more camping but it is just hard to find the time in the summer. Too many busy weekends.
I think I would like it much better to go in the middle of the week, too! 🙂 I am so not surprised you had to book that early for the fourth!
It seems like it’s easier to fit in one day camping trips on summer weekends, but then it seems like so much work for one night! LOL!
I have such mixed feelings about camping. On the one hand, sounds so fun! I like hiking! Yay nature! On the other hand, I’ve BEEN camping enough times to know that I sleep terribly on the ground, outside, with weird noises and dew in the mornings and lumpy ground and on and on and on.
Our friends actually bring cots so they don’t have to sleep on the ground! And our tent has a raised accordion bed that a blow up mattress fits on 😉 Sleeping on the ground is NOT for me!
Such pretty views!! Now I want to go camping. Sorry you had that commentary for your down hike…I don’t know why someone would think you weren’t being careful and why they would feel the need to say something out loud about you slipping. So strange. Anyway, glad you had a great weekend! 😀
I thought it was strange too. That must just have been her knee-jerk reaction, but ugh.
I showed Kevin the picture of the potholes trail and now he’s slightly jealous he didn’t get to see that!
We had such a fun time! Sorry we stole your cookies. Haha!
Next time you will have to just go up it with Kevin… then take the long easy way down! Hee hee!
I had to eat ice cream Sunday night since I didn’t have my cookies. And peanut butter cups last night 🙁 My life is so hard. LOL!!!!
Can’t wait to see you again!
Egoa! That looks gorgeous! I’m so glad you were able to have a good time despite the weather annoyance on Friday. I had no idea Wisconsin had trails like that- I just thought everything was super flat out here in the Midwest 🙂
There are other hilly trails that I know of in Wisconsin, too! 🙂 And even some by where I live, but not like this! LOL!
Ah Devil’s Lake! I haven’t camped there since I Was a teenager! I was not in the least bit crazy busy then. But it is beautiful. Bummer about the crazy whether but it looks like you made the best of it.
I went camping at Devil’s Lake when I was in college. I tagged along with my then-boyfriend and his friends, I think they would go every summer. It was really pretty, but I’m not really much of a camper. I remember they wanted to go hiking at night and all I could think about was the Blair Witch Project. BUT, I remember we made it up to some kind of overlook and it was worth it. And I do recall the steep inclines that some of the more seasoned hikers in our group attempted.
Camping! I feel like such a slob because since moving to Colorado, we’ve camped exactly 0 times. How sad is that?! It seems as though we should be camping and hiking ALL THE TIME, but we aren’t. Maybe next year?
That looks like a great trip, by the way. It looks as though the weather was pretty great while you were there (bummer that you couldn’t stay the 2 nights though).
Ha! Compared to how much normal people camp, I think you are okay! Or do you feel like you should camp more since you live in CO, now? 🙂
Yeah, the weather was good (temp, wise)!
Yes – I totally feel that we should camp more, now that we are in CO!
This looks like a really beautiful area! (Though that hike does look pretty treacherous, especially with slipper rocks.) I thought you and Steven were kind of “meh” about camping after your experience a few years ago. What made you decide to go again?
(Sad times that you didn’t get to eat your s’mores!!!!)
We had a good time when we went camping a few summers ago, and last summer, too. We’ve wanted to try it more! But we both realized one night is probably enough for us. We were “over it” by Sunday. Not the company, obviously, just camping. Ha.