Festge is another lovely little Dane County park that people may not know about. Located right off of HWY-14, only three miles north of Black Earth, it's convenient to Middleton, west Madison, Mount Horeb, Mazomanie, and the surrounding area. I love to hike so I've been on a mission to visit all of the Dane County parks. We're pretty lucky to have such a great resource, and I hope others will take some time to hike, snowshoe, ski, and picnic these scenic spots that have been set aside for us for their significance and beauty.
Over the last few years the Friends of Festge have been doing a lot of work on the park, and this has been more visible over the last year in particular, so it may not have appeared very inviting as they tore down old shelters, built anew, cleared up some trails, and worked on clearing invasive plants and seeding a prairie restoration project. The park had apparently been neglected and vandalized prior. I hadn't witnessed this myself, but started visiting just as some of the shelter work began. The two new shelters as you enter the park are beautiful, and they added new play equipment near the main entrance of the park. I have never stopped LOVING swing sets, so if you see a grown woman gleefully swinging away, that's probably me. This would be a great location for a gathering, aside from the pavilions there are multiple picnic tables with grills. This park could easily accommodate a few different groups spread over the green area.
The park itself isn't huge compared to others, at only 155 acres. However, the trails wind through wooded areas to a bur oak savanna and take you to the tops of limestone bluffs, with multiple scenic outlooks. It's a nice walk. I'll definitely have to take some pictures next time I'm over there. The primary outlook has a beautiful stonework surround and offers views over the Black Earth Creek valley. A second (older) shelter area and outlook will likely be part of a future cleanup and rebuild; you pass secondary restroom facilities and picnic bench at a fire pit as you head towards one of those simple and ubiquitous park benches at the end of an uneven, rocky trail. I've enjoyed a few lovely afternoons sitting in the shade at that bench (when the bugs aren't crazy, of course!). The only downside to the scenic views is that the ridge runs right along the highway, but you're high up enough that it's not as distracting as one might imagine. This second shelter area is not in bad shape, just older. A very large group could gather in this area.
I sincerely appreciate seeing improvements at my parks, so I've continued visiting and not regretted it as I see the progress they're making. According to their site, the Friends of Festge have plenty of future projects and maintenance in the works; including handicap access to the primary outlook. This is one of the main reasons I've fallen in love with the Dane County Parks system; constant investment and renewal of public resources is a win! The volunteers deserve a huge thanks for their work and I look forward to seeing the growth of the prairie restoration area and other future improvements as I continue to enjoy walking these hills and woods along the edge of our stunning driftless area. read more
