Devil’s Lake
A popular hiking and camping destination for Wisconsinites and Illinois residents, Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo, Wisconsin offers beautiful bluff views and a peaceful lake free of motorized boats.
View from the East Bluffs
Know Before You Go
To enter the park, even for a day trip, you will need to purchase a State Park sticker, which can be purchased from either the South or North Beach. You can see current prices for 2023 annual and day passes on this link. There are different price points for adults, seniors, residents, and non-residents.
Campsites fill up very early in the park. Annual campers will book their favorite sites a year in advance. Book early! First-come first-serve sites are no longer available at the park.
The North Beach is the most popular side with a larger concession stand, swimming area, and better access to the hiking trails. Often, Google Maps will direct you to South Beach unless you specify that you want North Beach.
Allie and Murphy in the kayak enjoying being rowed around the lake by AJ
The Lake
If you want a quieter beach, go to South Beach.
There is a dog beach on each side of the lake. The larger one is on South Beach, but there is one by the boat launch on North Beach, as well. This is a good area to train puppies who are not as used to the water, as there are less dogs and people in the water.
There are concessions on both sides of the lake and in the Ice Age campground. These stores offer food, ice cream, firewood, basic camping supplies, and souvenirs.
No gas-powered boats are allowed on the lake, but smaller craft such as kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards are allowed. You can rent these watercraft, as well as a paddle pontoon boat from either side of the lake. See rates here.
Watercraft rentals on North Beach
The Trails
The two most popular trails are the East and the West Bluff trails, which offer beautiful views of the lake from up in the bluffs.
The East Bluff trail splits off into smaller trails that you can take to see the iconic rock formations, such as Devil’s Doorway and Balanced Rock.
The steep rock steps on some of these trails are very slippery. Hiking shoes with good grip are recommended.
Recommended route for East Bluff: Take the East Bluff trail and stop to see both Devil’s Doorway and Balanced Rock, and you can take either the steep and intriguing descent back down on Potholes trail through a gap in the red rocks (as the name suggests, there are many potholes in the rock formation) or the CCC trail, which will lead to South Beach and offer an up-close view of rock climbers. From there, you can walk on the flat path across South Beach to continue hiking around the lake…either taking the West Bluff trail or Tumbled rocks, or you can walk back along the East side of the lake along the unused railroad tracks. We love jumping into the water to cool off or finding a peaceful rock to sit on and dangling our tired feet in the water.
We recommend the East Bluff if it’s your first time to the Park or if you’re looking for a more strenuous hike. However, our favorite side is the West Bluff for its less-crowded trails. Our usual route is to take the flat Tumbled Rock trail from North Beach, which traverses large boulders along the lake and then climbing up the bluffs from the South side to take the West Bluff Trail back to North Beach.
Listen to our podcast episode on Devil’s Lake to hear more insight into the trails.
The Campsites
Quartzite: The most popular campsite and the most family-friendly. Wide open and grassy (good for RV camping) with a playground, electric and non-electric sites, and a modern shower building.
Ice Age: Popular with tent campers, as only non-electric sites are available. Lower Ice Age is both wooded and open, and Upper Ice Age is completely wooded (beware of ticks and mosquitoes). There are pit toilets but running-water bathrooms and showers are also available. There is a camp store in this campground.
Northern Lights: Both electric and non-electric, mix of woody and open sites, small playground and small but modern shower and bathroom building.
All sites have fire pits with a grate for open-fire cooking.
In The Area
The town of Baraboo is quaint and cute with lots to offer, including:
Parfrey’s Glen State Natural Area offers hiking through a gorge
Circus World Museum (Did you know Baraboo is the birthplace of the Ringling brothers?)
The Wisconsin Opry, a dinner theater
Several lavender fields (Rowley Creek Lavender Farm, New Life Lavender and Cherry Farm, Devil’s Lake Lavender)
Dog-friendly Tumbled Rock Brewery and Kitchen (live music, great pizza)
Balanced Rock Winery
Baraboo is close to the Wisconsin Dell’s, which offers countless amusement and water parks
