Decided to do a little road trip for explore this destination and so glad we did. They have a very…read moregreat information center with hands on experiences for kids. You do need your state park sticker or at least a day sticker to enjoy this otherwise it is free. Very affordable way to spend the day and take in nature. We decided to take a glorious walk on the trails. We encountered some wildlife and I almost had a heart attack when after navigating a big ass hill almost stepped on a garter snake when i was trying to cool down --that little sucker was slithering among the leaves. YIKES!!! It is a mostly wooded dirt trail that is surrounded by many smaller bodies of water on both sides. So cool....the sun shines down between the taller trees and you can hear nothing but the wind, the birds, and some bullfrogs. LOVED IT!

Wow is the Yelp staff fast! The map is now correct. You guys at Yelp are great. So readers…read moreignore the rest of this paragraph. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE YELP MAP HAS THE CMIAU IN THE WRONG LOCATION. IT IS ON HWY. M BUT TO THE EAST OF HWY 53. IT'S IN THE CHIPPEWA MORAINE STATE RECREATION AREA ABOUT 2 MILES EAST OF THE INTERSECTION OF HWY M AND HWY 40. The Chippewa Moraine Ice Age Unit, aka Chippewa Moraine State Recreation Area, has an excellent interpretive center on a beautiful hillside. My wife and I walked one of the trails on a beautiful, crisp fall day in September. Some of the trees have started to change. There are 3 trails that start on the north side of the David R. Obey Ice Age Interpretive Center. Rolling terrain, the breeze rustling the tree leaves, splashes of sun on the forest floor, little kettle lakes: awesome northern forest beauty! Now a little history lesson. From what I know the trail started in the mid 1900's thanks to a guy named Zillmer. A variety of people pursued the idea: they are called the Ice Age Trail Alliance. There is now over a 1000 miles of trail in Wisconsin. Kudos to them! The Interpretive Center is extremely well done. It has quite a bit of hands on things to do that would be great for elementary school kids. (This includes holding a garter snake.) Junior high and high school kids who enjoy geology and animals would like it too. The interp. center is a couple of miles east of the intersection of Highways 40 and M near New Auburn. The staff member on duty was Jeanette: knowledgeable, friendly and helpful Free; no trail fees. It's so beautiful it deserved a donation.

Lovely park to stop at while biking through the area! Just up the hill from the Chippewa River…read more(take the wooden steps down). There are two covered picnic pavilions, two playground areas (one old/one newer style), a stone fire pit, bathrooms (on our visit they were locked but portapotties were available next to the restroom building). Off street parking available. Fenced tennis court and a basketball hoop as well.

What an amazing slice of nature. I love a water feature - always so calming and beautiful. The…read moretrials were pretty accessible and it was crowded with a diverse group of ages and physical abilities. Seriously a great park!

The falls at this park are beautiful!…read more It's a short hike from the parking area ($5 fee to park) to the falls. The trails aren't labeled, but I believe most of them lead to the falls. With the water so high this year, you can hear the falls from the parking lot, so you can literally follow the sound. The trails are unpaved, and not flat and easy. We didn't find many hiking trails other than what led to the falls, but we were on the south side, so perhaps there are more on the north side?

Really nice (I believe pretty new) park with a great location along the Eau Claire River…read more While parts are still under construction such as the splash pad, this park really brings a lot of free entertainment.... walking trails, some outdoor art (which includes this weird sculpture that plays sound when you touch it), and nights of concerts in summer. The best part is the restaurants, food trucks and other retail that surrounds the park. It's a great destination for food and entertainment in the Eau Claire Area. Although there is a lot of parking, spots can be tough to find during evening dining hours. There is overflow parking not too far away however.

We were looking for a place to walk after supper and someone had told us about this park. It has a…read morelovely lake around it, some baseball fields, tennis courts, a great playground area for kids, a museum, picnic areas, fishing spots, etc. We had a nice walk, caught part of a jazz concert, and watched an inning of a baseball game. Lovely area full of green! Coming from the desert, the green was a treat!

Love this place and the surrounding park areas that I assume are part of Carson Park as well. I…read morelove being near the water and to be able to just sit on a quiet bench right at the edge is really nice, and to walk around the rest of the place is nice and peaceful too. Amazing it's in the middle of a big downtown, especially how quiet it is.

My wife and I camped here for a weekend in mid-July. Weather wasn't too hot or humid luckily. We…read morehad heavy rain Friday evening but were prepared so actually enjoyed drifting off to sleep with it. Woke up to all our belongings still dry and the sun drying things up. We ended up hiking around 6 miles of the park. Tried our hand at fishing off the fishing pier but no luck, lots of algae bloom. The lake was a lot clearer but we didn't have a boat or canoe. The bathrooms were super clean and updated. Showers are free and well lit. Will definitely be back!

This is a nice sized state park. The friendly lady at the gate suggested that if we wanted a harder…read moretrail, to go all the way to the end of the drive and take the beaver trail. We did. It was a beautiful trail, unpaved (my preference), but kept up. Not all the trails were marked, so either get a map at the front gate or take a picture of one you find. We also took a couple other trails - all enjoyable. The bathrooms are pit toilets in a decent setting (I've definitely experienced worse). Because of the size, beauty, and diverse offerings, it would be easy to spend a day at this park. Day parking fee is $11.

I have hiked here several times and will be leading my second group hike during peak fall color…read more This park is a hidden gem off the beaten track outside menomonie, Wi. There are about 7 miles of heavily wooded trails, all hardwood and as the name implies, very hilly! If you are looking for a nice challenging hike in a gorgeous heavily wooded setting, this is the place to go! There is a 90 foot fire tower at the center of the park which gives you an amazing view of the chippewa valley below. There are also several little green covered ponds which are nice to walk around but not get in! The trails are well maintained and wide (turf and dirt). Bugs didn't seem to be a problem even in the summer. This park is free to visit and enjoy! Plenty of parking in two different lots plus a nice picnic shelter and tables at the center of the park.

Nice. Small state park. Nice hardwood Forrest , simple hiking paths two nice scale parking lots…read more The path maps were well maintained and intuitive to use. It made a first time visit quite enjoyable!

Nice park to walk on and see the animals. The interstate noise is close. You can get pretty close…read moreto some of the animals. There are paved paths to walk on. It's on the north end of Wakanda park. It's free.

Fantastic ! Hike up to the tower and then up in the tower …read more Spacious parking area . Nicely maintained trails. Have fun !

I've had Timm's Hill on my bucket list for DECADES! I climbed the tower on Rib Mountain when I was…read morea kid, only to find out later that Rib Mountain is NOT the highest point in Wisconsin. Well, today, finally - MADE IT, MA! TOP OF THE WORLD! (An obscure reference to James Cagney as Cody Jarrett.) At least, the Top of Wisconsin! It's Timm's Hill near Ogema, in Price County. At an elevation of 1,951.5 ft (595 m) above sea level, it is the highest natural point in the state. (The hill has a prominence of 425 feet - that means it rises 425 feet above the surrounding grade.) While you make a great deal of the 425 feet by vehicle, the rest of the climb is by your hoofing it up an improved trail. There are two benches on the trail where you can rest before reaching the summit. Once you get to the summit, there is a a county owned observation tower that you can climb. (80 steps, if I counted correctly.) The tower is adjacent to a fire tower that is actually centered on the geological marker that indicates the actual height is 1,952.868 feet about sea level. (The marker is mounted in a concrete pylon that might add an extra 1.368 feet, but I am speculating.) The fire tower is taller than the observation tower, so except for the fire tower struts, you have an unobstructed view of 30 miles in all directions. The park's gate is open May through October 7:30am-9:30pm.

The lower park area and the boat launch area are both really nice, but the actual trail is…read moreseemingly nonexistent guesswork and really dangerous - typically being an inch or two from a near-sheer cliff into the water. Worse, the path isn't cleared by anyone (i.e. forestry or park services) and so you can't actually see the path and it's complete guess work on extremely slippery leaves before it just disappears entirely and you're left with no idea where is safe to go. Pretty disappointed after looking forward to trying to go to the peak of this big hill for a romantic little hike. Also kind of gross and weird you have to pass through a toilet paper factory to get here? There is such a dissonance between a factory and hiking up a woody hill that it just makes it feel weird. The two stars are because I'd love to give 5 stars to both the boat launch and the park areas if they were listed by themselves. Without those included this is just a 0 for me.

The base of Mt. Simon is a blast! I always came here to go frolfing and they have a nice, medium…read moredifficulty range, with 9 holes in total. There's usually a decent amount of people playing, but the park itself is really well kept. There are several volleyball nets, a boat landing, and even a few pavilions set up for patrons. Some of my best summer days were spent here frolfing and just meeting new people who all share a love of the sport.