Yellowstone Lake State Park
This is a great park to wear your everlasting border collie out at. Photo by Jordan Goebig.
With a three day weekend staring us down, we decided to see where we could get within a few hours of Central Illinois (and Adam wanted to see some snow!). Letting our love for beer and cheese guide us, we ended up in southern Wisconsin. Due to the amount of snow on the ground, we opted to overnight at a cheap motel in New Glarus, WI, and started our first morning at Yellowstone Lake State Park, in Blanchardville, WI (about 20 minutes from New Glarus).
Trail Conditions
1 - 13 miles of trails for hiking, skiing, and snowmobiling
A majority of the trails are loops that connect to one another, making it easy to adjust your distance as desired. The longest trail (Blue Ridge) also allows snowmobilers - though we did not encounter any - and is an out and back, not a loop.
The trails are nice and wide to accommodate skiers. There are also lots of ups and downs, most likely also for the skiers. We enjoyed getting our heart rate up, but be prepared with snacks and water (no matter the season) if you’re spending the day on the trails.
The “inner trails” like Oak Grove, Oak Ridge, and Windy Ridge, keep you in the forest, but there are several prairie-heavy trails. The longest trail, the Blue Ridge, weaves through the whole park…so you’ll see it all!
The trails are really well-marked, with maps at many of the trail intersections.
Things We Love
The lake and the topography of the park are just beautiful. The views as you get to the top of some of the major hills allow you to see the whole Wisconsin countryside, it’s a memorable experience.
Even on a snowy and chilly Saturday morning, we managed to see plenty of deer, birds (including a few close encounters with wild turkeys), and several eagles. We saw more wildlife in this park, than I think we’ve seen in the last six Illinois hikes.
The forest is dense and packed with not only my favorite pine trees, but is home to a variety of vegetation. On the Oak Grove trail, you’ll encounter some beautiful rock formations as well.
The people of Wisconsin. Why are they so nice?! We didn’t encounter many folks out on the trail with our pup, but the few we did were friendly, happy to see a pup, and even gave us some animal sighting tips. Thanks humans for making us feel welcome!
Things to Know
There is a large campground on-site, but they were closed for the snowy season. We hope to take a trip back and check it out when the weather is a little more favorable.
This park has a lot of different activities for families, including both a people swimming beach and a separated dog beach area.
They do allow hunting and trapping the park, so be mindful of when you visit and check their website.
If you’re trying to get some decent hiking mileage in, this park is near New Glarus State Park and Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area.
Park Map