Unfortunately, did NOT encounter any spirits. However, I had a wonderful time as I walked around…read moreduring daylight with my boo. Was haunted by bugs- that was it :-P Maybe I'll try again at night time and it'll be creepier. But the park overall was very nice and had beautiful trails. I just was looking for more spooks.

I love the little Lake View Hill Park. It is a county park tucked into a neighborhood with great…read moreold oaks and walking trails. The history though is what makes it unique as it is the wooded grounds around a former tuberculosis sanatorium with cultural remnants from the days when it served Dane County residents. You can find old cement ponds that cascaded down into what is now the parking lot, an old hog barn foundation in the middle of the woods, and more. There are two kiosks on the east and west sides that provide information on the history and current efforts to restore the woods to native species. Check out the website at lakeviewhill.org and Facebook @lakeviewhill for more. Full disclosure that I am on the board of the Friends of Lake View Hill ! Come visit and enjoy the park!

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.

Very cute conservancy in Waunakee that is so peaceful. There are picnic tables at the start and…read morebenches throughout the trail. Also very well maintained.

My husband and I strolled here the other day. It's a beautiful retreat and reminds me of being in…read morethe country even though it is in the town of Waunakee. The trail is not groomed and judging by the paw prints left in the snow the fact that they don't allow dogs is most likely not enforced. However, with the warmer weather the trail is wet and muddy in some spots and I recommend water proof shoes as the trail isn't paved or gravel. The bridges are lovely and there are rest benches along the path. There were also wildlife tracks so if you time it right you may see some deer or large birds. I'm looking forward to walking this when the path is drier. Update: I did go here when the weather was drier and I loved it. The path makes a circle, so if you don't carry a compass or navigation eventually you'll get back to the start. It was even prettier now without the snow and less mud, I'm looking forward to some greenery along the path. While you are close enough to town to see civilization it almost like being out in a natural state.

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.

Nice place to hike! Trails traverse over multiple sites…read morealong the lakeshore and other intersecting trails. Seen some turkeys along the way. Nice prairie grasses in abundance.

Beautiful place to hike, especially in the fall. Magnificent views of Lake Mendota and even the…read moreCapital Building. I stumbled across it my first week living on campus as a hapless freshman and it immediately became one of my favorite spots. I always make sure to stop by whenever I'm back in Madison.

Hoyt park is one of many sneaky natural treasures tucked away within the city of Madison. Easy to…read moremiss, but absolutely worth searching out. I hadn't been to the park in ages, in fact, when looking at the map earlier in the day I'd forgotten that I'd been there before. This is probably because we'd stopped and spent some time at the main shelter, but didn't really check out the rest of the park. Shame on me! We missed out back then; not only does the trail make for a lovely and mostly shady walk, but the history here is fantastic. The park was once a quarry, and it shows because this local stone was used throughout. You can access the park from three areas. First is a footpath next to Hoyt School on Regent Street (street parking only here). The primary entrance is a bit farther up Regent Street, and here is where you'll find the parking lot and the main facilities for the park. Lastly, you can hike down from the the scenic outlook at Owen Parkway. There is limited parking up there and on the street by Hoyt School, so I'd suggest the main lot. Hoyt offers a bit of something for everyone. As you pull into the parking lot you'll notice the stone shelter and restroom facility. There are enough picnic tables in the shelter for a good sized get together (reservable) and a large fireplace on each end. While we were there I saw two different groups cook up something on a teeny fire in there. There's a children's playground near the parking lot, more picnic tables scattered about, and a large open grassy area for soccer, lawn games or frisbee. A basketball court and softball field round out the sporting options. Also, as of June 2015, this is one of 10 Madison parks that will be participating in a pilot program for slacklining sites in the city. Neat! The trail (about a mile total) is a mix of paved and unpaved surfaces. It weaves through the trees and rock formations in a way that really maximizes the 31 acres the park sits on. There are picnic areas with stone fireplaces and tables tucked here and there, and a second shelter full of picnic tables down the path into the woods. A smaller clearing past this shelter opens to a restored prairie area, which was loaded with flowers and butterflies when my friend and I walked through. I noted a few benches here and there where one could sit and watch the pollinators at work. There were raspberries everywhere! At one point we walked past old mossy quarry walls, and up/down stone stairways. There were wildflowers all along the trail, which always makes me happy. We shared the trail with a number of people running through the park or walking their dogs. But beware! Technically dogs are only allowed along Owen Parkway and must be leashed while there (via City of Madison website). I don't know how strict they are at the park if you're caught. Regardless, I was pleased to see so many people using the park in a couple hours time. Unfortunately there are some signs of vandalism once you get into the woods. There are not-so-pretty patches in the fencing where people have tried to get through to the blocked off lower quarry area, and some of the beautiful stone tables have been spray painted. Hopefully the Friends of Hoyt Park are on top of these things; from what I read they're pretty active.

We stumbled upon this while staying nearby. It's a nice place to go to forget you are in a city and…read morehas many hidden gems if you have time to look around. There is a pyramid hidden there if you are fortunate enough to find it.

My sister and I came across halfway prairie while visiting Indian Lake for the first time. We were…read moreinstantly curious about the history of the old stone house and barn that are now falling in ruins, and actually would never have realized that Halfway Prairie was there had we not gone to take a look at the ruins! The house is fenced to protect visitors from crumbling stone, but still offers great views and photo opportunities! You can catch a glimpse of Indian Lake across the street. We unfortunately were not able to hike secondary to the large amounts of ice that had accumulated last week, but will definitely return when the weather is better!

This place is easy to miss being that it's only been open to the public since 2014. Prior to that…read moreyou might remember seeing a farm there. Halfway Prairie is great place to shoot some photos, hike, admire what's left of the old stone house and the still standing shed-barn. This parcel is eventually supposed to be part of the Ice Age Trail. Please be respectful of the site and don't go inside the fenced area where the house is. This is a neat place that makes you think about everything those walls have seen. It's located right across from Indian Lake County Park.

Every year my family goes on a big camping trip, and this year we visited Governor Dodge! A first…read morefor us. Looking back, I'd say overall it was A-OK. We booked a double site as we had two RVs and multiple tents. It sure was plenty spacious! However, we all had noted it would have been great to see photos of the site when booking so we could know more that to expect. It was 100% full sun, and truly not chance for shade. Most other sites at this park had lots of tree coverage, which we would have loved and likely swapped to giving the chance. Being in a wide open space in the dead of summer can be tricky. The grounds are massive and well-kept, with tons of great hiking trails. Overall stunning views and vast green spaces. There's two large lakes with options to kayak, canoe, fish, ,etc. Concession stand with tasty ice cream, and a handful of convenience-store type items. Oh and we also definitely enjoyed the playground area with the kiddos. On the bad side: the shower-houses were pretty terrible. At least the one nearest to our site. It was to the point that half of us chose to forego showering all together just to avoid it. We also had a bummer experience at one of the beaches. We arrived around 10am and were all swimming for a few hours (along with tons of other visitors), when the rangers arrived and promptly closed the beach due to dangerous water bacteria. The closing wasn't the issue, but instead allowing 50+ folks to swim and fish in it before doing so. We'd all wished this water testing was done before the beach 'opened' for the day, as it left us fairly nervous having the quickly be rushed out. Overall, plenty of positives to this gorgeous state park - we made some great camping memories! Just hope those few shared pieces of feedback could help for future plans/changes.

What an absolute 'Sconi gem!…read more Anything other than 5-stars is insane! Awesome trail system with great views. The trails are wonderfully maintained. If you just want to laze about on a lake-beach, you can do that too! I have family that live less than an hour from here and they haven't been in 10+ years, that is CRAZY!