This is a fun section of the ice age trail just outside of Belleville. It has some nice elevation…read morechanges and the beautiful outcroppings are very cool. I like the different topography included on the trail. There is a really nice flat space on top of the ridge to enjoy the view. Dogs are allowed if they are on leash.

Our friends live about 10 minutes from this park and recommended we check it out, so we stopped by…read moreafter visiting them. There's a huge rock formation that definitely catches your eye, but the path leading up to it isn't well paved. You'll need to navigate through some tall brush if you plan to climb up. I wouldn't suggest attempting it unless you have proper shoes and decent balance (or a good core!). We saw a few adventurous teenagers make the climb, though. Aside from that, there are several nearby trails that are much better maintained and perfect for a casual walk or light hike. Overall, it's a nice county park with plenty of parking spaces to explore, especially if you're in the area and want a bit of fresh air and nature.

Discovered this park while looking for a hiking spot after visiting Mt. Horeb. Only 6 minutes drive…read morefrom Mt. Horeb and what a great hidden gem. We parked at Pop's Knoll which has a gravel parking lot for about 20 vehicles. About 100 meters from the parking lot is an area with a covered shelter with picnic tables and a toilet room. What really surprised me about this park was how well the trails were maintained and marked with numbers so you have reference points to know where you are on the park map. Consists of multi-use trails for hikers and horseback riders, as well as hiking trails for pedestrians only. A good mix of trails through corn fields, wooded areas, and grassy paths along streams. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed at all times. I highly recommend.

Even on an overcast winter afternoon this arboretum was lovely to wander around. Almost completely…read moreempty, only saw a few other hikers. Free. Plenty of parking. A nice option for a safe, free walk in the woods in Madison. I'll be back in the spring!

I had a work meeting at the Arboretum and took a walk on a few trails during my lunch break…read more There's plenty of parking, though none of it is shaded, so it can get pretty warm on sunny days. The facility has a few meeting rooms with good audiovisual equipment, plus a small library and reliable wifi. There's only one bathroom, but it does the job. The trails are well maintained, and I even spotted a couple of cranes while walking. Overall, it's a peaceful spot that works well for both meetings and a quick nature break.

What we liked: lots of songbirds, easy access to paths, and the quiet! You don't have a ton of…read moreprivacy, but since there are a LOT of empty spots it's manageable. Everyone we saw had tents or simple popups. Since there is no electricity there wasn't music blaring. People were friendly and chill. Dogs were well behaved and leashed. The vibe was great! Three stars mostly because the vault toilets are some of the worst I've seen. Survivable, but there aren't any working lights. The light from the outside that lets in fresh air through an open screen over the pit. Don't look. But it's hard not to when you need light. We glamped a bit with a Trelino portable composting toilet (highly recommend, no need for chemicals or fuss) as well as a bag shower we got from Walmart. The water near campsite 3 has poor water pressure. Use the one further down by the toilets.

We have passed by this park a number of times but had never stopped. It doesn't have the Wow…read morefactor of many of the other great state parks in Wisconsin. But we finally went here to meet friends on a warm late May Sunday for a hike. We did the big loop around the perimeter of the park about 5 miles - boy there are a lot of hills. Very deceptive. The trails are well marked and in good shape. We did see the walk-in camping spots which looked interesting and somewhat private but pretty close to highway 69. There was a small picnic area where we ate our lunch afterward - it was nice enough. Overall not a bad park but it just doesn't have the big draw of nearby parks like Blue Mounds, Gov Dodge, Mirror Lake, etc.

Owen Conservation Park is a great park right in the heart of Madison. It's open from dusk till…read moredawn, has a paved parking lot, and restrooms on site. The well-maintained hiking trails wind through both shaded wooded areas and open prairie sections. In the winter, the trails are designated for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, with maps at the parking lot and throughout the park showing the routes. In the summer, the prairie trails are mostly grass, while the wooded paths are dirt. Wildlife is abundant--you'll often see wild turkeys and occasionally find mushrooms along the trails. I enjoy this park for its accessibility and being so centrally located. The only downside is the road leading from the main street to the parking lot--it's narrow in places, has many potholes, and sometimes requires pulling over in the grass for oncoming cars. Despite that, Owen Conservation Park is a wonderful spot for hiking and enjoying nature in Madison.

Love this place for walking short or long walks. Interesting things to find. Love taking pictures…read morefor my Grandkids who live far away. Once I saw a pair of turkeys walking down path together.

Last Saturday we were so stir crazy from this long winter we headed out to Waunakee to explore…read more After a quick stop at DD for breakfast we stopped at Schumacher farm for a quick geocache. We found it by simply googling "things to do in Waunakee". Great hiking trails, huge barn to explore, During warmer weather there are 5-6 programs you can be a part of such as prairie restoration and chicken wrangling. The website has a fun history lesson: http://www.schumacherfarmpark.org/about. It is a 40 acre farm filled with trails, historic buildings, and summer programming. Definitely worth checking out. We will be back - when it is warmer! :)

Whilst in the area, I decided to drive to the state park since it was right here. I turned where…read morethe sign said Blue Mound State Park... but to be honest, I couldn't actually find the park. I must have been there or right by it because there was the sign announcing it, but it was just driving through the wooded area; I never saw a place to pull out that was a park. I didn't see any trails crossing the road, either, so I'm not sure what was up. I did see four deer whilst driving through, so that was pretty cool. There are probably better parks in the area.

Camp Site #22 is very nice and away from road noise. The sites are a little bit close together, so…read moreyou will definitely see and hear your neighbors, so if you have good ones, great! If you have ones with dogs and kids, there's going to be noise. And this is a great campground for kids because there is the nearby Cave of the Mounds attraction, which is why we stayed here. We don't have kids and haven't been to this attraction, so we didn't know it is mainly meant for children. We hiked up to the towers and had great views. During fall when the leaves are changing this is a beautiful place to camp. There is a nearby general store that sells fire-starter, which came in really handy because most of the wood was wet and the Camp Host sign said they had fire-starter, but there wasn't any in the storage area where all the wood was kept. We had a great time biking the trails, going to nearby Military Ridge State Trail, and seeing one neighbor's starry light show at night in their campsite. The bathroom near Site #22 was the biggest, cleanest, and most well-maintained in all the State Parks we've camped in. All in all, a great family campground.

Quarry Park is one of the few Madison parks that allows dogs on-leash to walk in the park. This is…read morelikely because this park is primarily here to serve mountain bikers. The park consists of a wooded area laced with crisscrossing dirt mountain biking trails. Get ready to bust a glute because the hills here are steep! But the pooches will have fun; they love getting to charge up and down the gravel hills. The park seems to be seldom utilized; on several trips here we only ran into a pair of mountain bikers once and never any other other hikers/dogs. Don't look for official signage or a parking lot because you won't find it. There is plenty of street parking available on Steven's St. and there are random trail entrances along that side of the park.