List of Wisconsin state parks

Map of State Parks of Wisconsin
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A Wisconsin state park is an area of land in the U.S. state of Wisconsin preserved by the state for its natural, historic, or other resources. The state park system in Wisconsin includes both state parks and state recreation areas. Wisconsin currently has 50 state park units, covering more than in state parks and state recreation areas. Each unit was created by an act of the Wisconsin Legislature and is maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation. The Division of Forestry manages a further in Wisconsin's state forests.

Several Wisconsin state parks contain resources that have been recognized on a national level. Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area, Devil's Lake State Park, and Interstate State Park are units of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve, while the Wyalusing Hardwood Forest in Wyalusing State Park is a National Natural Landmark. Two Wisconsin state parks contain National Historic Landmarks, both of which are Native American archaeological sites: Aztalan and Copper Culture. 15 state parks contain a total of 23 separate listings on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). These are the two previously mentioned National Historic Landmarks, plus Lake Farms Archaeological District at Capital Springs State Recreation Area, Copper Falls State Park, six individual buildings at Heritage Hill State Historical Park (Baird Law Office, Cotton House, Fort Howard Hospital, Fort Howard Officers' Quarters, Fort Howard Ward Building, and Tank Cottage), High Cliff Mounds at High Cliff State Park, the Seth Peterson Cottage in Mirror Lake State Park, the Raddatz Rockshelter at Natural Bridge State Park, Stonefield partially within Nelson Dewey State Park, Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Peninsula State Park, the Roche-a-Cri Petroglyphs in Roche-a-Cri State Park, the shot tower in Tower Hill State Park, Whitefish Dunes-Bay View Site in Whitefish Dunes State Park, Wyalusing State Park Mounds Archaeological District in Wyalusing State Park, and four listings in Rock Island State Park: the Pottawatomie Lighthouse, Rock Island Historic District, Thordarson Estate Historic District, and a water tower.

History

Wisconsin became the first state to have a state park in 1878 when it formed "The State Park". The park consisted of in northern Wisconsin (most of present-day Vilas County). The state owned , which was less than 10% of the total area. There were few residents in the area. Lumber barons were powerful in the area, and they purchased two-thirds of the state's land at $8 per acre. This defeated the purpose of the parks for it didn't save the land from the ax.

In 1895, the state legislature created an act which authorized the state governor to examine some land in Polk County at the Dalles of the St. Croix River to become a state park. In 1899, the legislature approved the purchase of Interstate State Park and it was established on September 20, 1900. Architect John Nolen was hired in 1907 to draft a feasibility plan for a Wisconsin State Parks System and State Parks for Wisconsin was released later that year. The report was the guideline used to set up the state park system. It recommended the creation of four state parks: Dells of the Wisconsin River, Devil's Lake, Door County's Fish Creek (now Peninsula State Park) and the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers (now Wyalusing State Park). Three became state parks, and the fourth became Dells Natural Area in 2005. A State Conservation Commission was formed in 1915 by combining the State Park Board, the State Board of Forestry, the Fisheries Commission, and the state Game Warden Department.

List of Wisconsin state parks and recreation areas

Park Name	County or Counties	Size		Year established	Water Body(s)	Remarks
		acres	ha
Amnicon Falls State Park	Douglas		1961	Amnicon River	Contains a series of waterfalls and a historic covered bridge.
Aztalan State Park	Jefferson		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 observation tower atop a hill. Operated by the Belmont Lions Club.
Big Bay State Park	Ashland		1963	Lake Superior	Includes a beach on Madeline Island, largest of the Apostle Islands.
Big Foot Beach State Park	Walworth		1949	Geneva Lake	Offers camping and fishing adjacent to a beach.
Blue Mound State Park	Dane		1959	Ryan Creek	Contains observation towers atop the highest point in southern Wisconsin and the state park system's only swimming pool.
Brunet Island State Park	Chippewa		1936	Chippewa and Fisher Rivers	Preserves a island and backwater channels popular with canoeists.
Buckhorn State Park	Juneau		1971	Castle Rock Lake	Protects a scenic peninsula on a reservoir formed at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Yellow Rivers.
Campbellsport Drumlins State Park	Fond du Lac		1971	None	A unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve.Template:Rp
Capital Springs State Recreation Area	Dane		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		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		1959	Oconto River	Interprets a burial ground used by the Old Copper Culture from 3000 to 2000 BCE. The site is a National Historic Landmark.
Copper Falls State Park	Ashland		1929	Bad River	Contains of the Bad River, including a gorge with several waterfalls. The park is listed on the NRHP.
Council Grounds State Park	Lincoln		1938	Wisconsin River	Lies on a riverbank where Native Americans were said to have once held councils.
Cross Plains State Park	Dane		1971	None	A unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. Consists of land owned by Dane County, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Devil's Lake State Park	Sauk		1911	Devil's Lake	Protects a endorheic lake in the Baraboo Range, hemmed in by moraines and quartzite bluffs. The park is a unit of the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve.
Fischer Creek State Recreation Area	Manitowoc		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		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		1975	Lake Mendota	Contains a beach, restored prairie, and ancient Indian mounds.
Governor Thompson State Park	Marinette		2000	Peshtigo River, Woods Lake	In development around a series of lakes and streams.
Grand Traverse Island State Park	Door		1970	Lake Michigan	Protects of land on Detroit Island. There is currently a movement for this and surrounding lands to be established as a national lakeshore.
Harrington Beach State Park	Ozaukee		1966	Lake Michigan	Features a mile-long beach, a white cedar swamp, and a quarry lake.
Hartman Creek State Park	Waupaca and Portage		1962	Hartman Creek, seven lakes
Heritage Hill State Historical Park	Brown		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		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		1980	None	Features trails and a observation tower among hills covered in forest, prairie, and wetlands.
Holzhueter Farm Conservation Park	Jefferson		2009	None	Under development. Managed by Jefferson County, owned by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Interstate State Park	Polk		1900	St. Croix River, Lake O' the Dalles	Preserves a basalt river gorge jointly 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		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		1928	Lake Michigan, Black River	Preserves dunes, golden sand beaches, and pine woodland.
Lake Kegonsa State Park	Dane		1962	Lake Kegonsa	Adjoins a glacial lake in rural Dane County.
Lake Wissota State Park	Chippewa		1962	Lake Wissota	Features forest, prairie, and a swimming beach on a reservoir of the Chippewa River (Wisconsin).
Lakeshore State Park	Milwaukee		1998	Lake Michigan	Provides urban green space on Milwaukee's lakefront.
Lizard Mound State Park	Washington		2022	None	Contains 28 effigy mounds in excellent states of preservation, walking trails and interpretive signage. Originally established as a State Park in 1950, it was taken over by Washington County in 1986. It was deeded back to the state in 2021 and redesignated a State Park in 2022.
Menominee River State Park and Recreation Area	Marinette		2010	Menominee River	Protects several miles of the Menominee River in conjunction with Michigan's Menominee River State Recreation Area.
Merrick State Park	Buffalo		1932	Mississippi River	Offers fishing and boating on quiet backwaters of the Mississippi.
Mill Bluff State Park	Monroe and Juneau		1936	Unnamed swimming pond	Contains unusual steep sandstone bluffs that formed as islands in Glacial Lake Wisconsin.
Mirror Lake State Park	Sauk		1962	Mirror Lake	Surrounds a reservoir whose wooded shores and 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		1972	None	Contains the largest natural arch in the state and an NRHP-listed rock shelter once used by Paleo-Indians.
Nelson Dewey State Park	Grant		1935	Mississippi River	Encompasses a 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		1934	Little Sugar River branch	Preserves mature forest and restored prairie.
Newport State Park	Door		1964	Lake Michigan	Comprises Wisconsin's only wilderness-designated park.
Pattison State Park	Douglas		1920	Black River	Contains Big Manitou Falls, the highest waterfall in Wisconsin and the fourth-highest east of the Rocky Mountains.
Peninsula State Park	Door		1909	Green Bay	Contains a golf course, summer theater, group camps, and lighthouse on nearly of shoreline on the Door Peninsula. The 1868 Eagle Bluff Lighthouse is on the NRHP.
Perrot State Park	Trempealeau		1918	Mississippi and Trempealeau Rivers	Features bluffs bearing rare goat prairie communities on their southwestern faces.
Potawatomi State Park	Door		1928	Sturgeon Bay	Protects steep-to-sheer shoreline on the Door Peninsula.
Rib Mountain State Park	Marathon		1927	None	Straddles Rib Mountain, one of the highest points in Wisconsin.
Richard Bong State Recreation Area	Kenosha		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		1948	Little Roche-a-Cri Creek	Contains a outcropping bearing the NRHP-listed Roche-a-Cri Petroglyphs.
Rock Island State Park	Door		1965	Lake Michigan	Encompasses most of vehicle-free Rock Island, accessed by two ferry rides at the tip of the Door Peninsula. Four listings are on the NRHP, including the 1836 Pottawatomie Lighthouse and inventor Chester Thordarson's 20th-century estate.
Rocky Arbor State Park	Juneau		1932	Unnamed creek	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		2002	Straight Lake	In development around a lake surrounded by mature forest and glacial landforms.
Tower Hill State Park	Iowa		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		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		1948	Kickapoo River	Comprises a steep ridge overlooking the Kickapoo Valley.
Willow River State Park	St. Croix		1967	Willow River	Contains a waterfall in a sandstone gorge and a lake.
Wyalusing State Park	Grant		1917	Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers	Occupies a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. The park's hardwood forest is a National Natural Landmark and a district of prehistoric mounds is on the NRHP.
Yellowstone Lake State Park	Lafayette		1970	Yellowstone Lake	Surrounds a reservoir built in the lake-poor Driftless Area.

List of former Wisconsin state parks

Park name	County or counties	Area		Year founded	Year closed	Body of water	Remarks
		acres	ha
Lost Dauphin State Park	Brown		1947	1974	Fox River	Surrounded the cabin site of Eleazar Williams, once rumored to be the Lost Dauphin. The state still owns the land (as of 2017), now known as Lost Dauphin Park.
Old Wade House State Park	Sheboygan		1953	1992	Mullet River	Now run by the Wisconsin Historical Society as the Wade House Historic Site

See also

• List of Wisconsin state forests

External links

• Wisconsin State Park System
• National Parks in Wisconsin
• State park service in Wisconsin