Easy parking, beautiful hike. Not too long or strenuous but can be slippery. Absolutely worth it…read more Have the best memories here with my dad!

Highly recommend hiking here!…read more There is a small parking lot. It helps to come early otherwise you may have to find parking somewhere else. We noticed cars just parking on the side of the county road. After you park you have to pay for a ticket and stick it on your dashboard. This ticket will also get you into Devil's Lake which is awesome so you don't have to pay for both. Right by the parking lot they have some area/trail/hiking information as well as bathrooms. This is the start for 2 different trailheads. You can go right for the Parfey's Glen State Natural Area or you can go left on part of the Ice Age trail. We decided to do both with our dogs. We first did the Ice Age trail which was a narrow wooded trail. Beautiful with a good amount of uphill. We did about 3 miles out and back. We could have gone much farther. It was so nice, we only saw 2 other people on the trail. Then we went over and did about a mile in Parfey's Glen. Everyone we saw in the parking lot seemed to do Parfey's Glen, it wasn't too crowded late morning but we saw a good amount of people. Lot of families so definitely a kid friendly hike. It was such a nice hike, it starts on a paved path and then goes to gravel, and then dirt. Along the way there are streams (that you have to cross so bring your hiking boots or shoes you don't care about). Towards the end I believe there is a waterfall but we didn't make it that far with the dogs. I look forward to going back and doing the entire hike.

A beautiful day to be out in the woods. I love trails that are within 30 minutes of Madison. This…read morespot is great and free for hiking. I enjoy the doing the 3 mile blue trail loop. If you're looking for longer combine with other trails or make shorter. They also have an area where your dog may be off leash. Most of the trail is shaded with some open sunny areas. The trail is generally not busy...another reason I love it.

Great place to take medium to larger dogs. There is ample space for them to run. The woods offers…read moreexcitement for them and the lake side is a great place for them to cool off on warm days. This is the best dog park we have ever used. There is a fee for those out of town folks who may wish to run their 4 legged friend. All the dog owners we have encountered are great. This is the place to socialize your dog, do not keep them on a leash because they can feel trapped when meeting other dogs. The dogs figure out how to relate to each other. The only mark against this place are the walkers who don't have dogs who choose to walk thru the park. They seem to be annoyed that dogs run up to them. I don't care because they have acres and acres of amazing paths in the woods to trek, the dogs only have this one smaller place. I say if you don't like dogs then don't walk thru THEIR part of the park!

Beautiful place. Easily the best swimming hole in Wisconsin - and it offers a unique geography that…read moreis extremely rare to find anywhere else in this state. I absolutely recommend checking it out. If you do, however, take some precaution. The locals are pretty butt-hurt about this place. They like to whine and moan about the increase in traffic and how it is "ruining" it. Yes - if you go on a weekend in the middle of summer, it will be pretty crowded. Frankly - I don't think the increase in people ruin the place. If anything, having a larger crowd makes it more fun. It's nice to sit by the waterfall and watch the dumb kids jump 20-30 feet off the cliff walls into the deep water below. It's also nice to have more people around so if you DO get hurt on accident (there are no railings near the cliffs), there are plenty of people around to call 911. I went on a scorching hot Sunday afternoon and there were a lot of folks there, but not enough to "ruin" it. If you want to go when there are fewer people, go during a weekday. I once went and practically had the whole thing to myself. However, if you do dive, take note: it is REALLY REALLY dangerous and actually illegal (if you are caught, it's a $600 fine). When we were there, some kid hit the rocks after diving and broke his leg pretty bad - fire rescue was called out and apparently it happens all of the time. I've never jumped off the cliffs and I still manage to have fun every time I go. So if you do go out there, be extremely careful. Don't do anything stupid. You can enjoy the place without jumping off the edge - no matter what your idiot friends are telling you. Also, be respectful of the land. A lot of people were smoking (cigarettes, pot), playing music, throwing trash around, and my sister was even attacked by someone's dog. Some redneck hippie chick brought her newborn baby to the place - stupid idea. Don't trespass on the nearby cornfield - be respectful. Don't litter. Don't throw your cigarette butts in the water. Don't bring glass beer bottles. Just be nice - you may think you're cool by getting plastered and jumping off the dangerous cliffs, but you're actually NOT. Also, be warned. Baraboo has a pretty unfriendly way of deterring tourism from their town. If you park along the road, or even park anywhere that is NOT the parking lot (which only holds 7-8 cars), you will be towed. It's $200-$350 towing bill depending on the towing company. Apparently, as of two weeks ago, they didn't enforce the parking laws that often. It was only a $10 ticket and they never towed anyone. Now they tow cars left and right. Jerks. Anyway - have fun! Be safe! And for the love of Pete, don't litter. Channel your inner tree-hugger and leave only footsteps.

It was really fun don't get me wrong and beautiful but not worth it. You do have to pay for parking…read moreit's about 10-16 bucks depending if you live here. They have mostly everything blocked by rails so it took us maybe 10 minutes. If you do want to see more of this place bring water shoes and go into the water. We were unaware of that so we did not prepare unfortunately but it's really not worth it to stop here in our opinion.

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.

As a relatively short person, 5', I love the feeling of being immersed in sunflowers!read more

I read about Sunflower Days in a recent summer piece on Madison, and was happy that my Madison…read morevisit coincided with opening weekend of this year's sunflower bloom. The sunflower bloom is definitely worth the trip and parking lot traffic and walk up the hill- it's simply amazing. Over 500,000 sunflowers will bloom in a one week period! There's a bit of an uphill climb to get from the parking areas to the sunflowers and the farmland, so expect that. This is a free event, so feel free to donate to the conservancy, cheapskates! There's as much or as little walking here as you want. Get a few pics of the sunflowers and go home, or walk around the whole sun field, walk past the oak savannah and prairie, or walk around the whole farm (which is quite a hike)! Bring water, bring a blanket, bring a picnic!

Great place to hike, nice combination of prairie grasses, woods, water and wildlife…read more Very scenic and inter weaves with other local trails. Nice place to hike and not difficult!

The Lakeshore Path and Preserve- how could one give it fewer than five stars! Lakeshore Path is a…read moreMadison and UW-Madison treasure, as it serves as an exercise and walking oasis between the Memorial Union, Lakeshore Dorms, Athletic Practice Fields, Graduate School Housing and Picnic Point. Walk, run, bike, the oaks and pines on one side, Lake Mendota on the other? Lakeshore Path is five stars all the way, U Rah Rah, Wisconsin!

As a lover of WI's dying prairies, having this remnant prairie so close to Madison, WI almost seems…read moretoo good to be true. A great place to watch the seasons change from the first hint of greens in the spring to the vibrancy of summer and the rich tones of fall. Go mushroom foraging, take a walk, take so many pictures you run out of storage on your iphone!

I'm a bit amazed by how good all the reviews for the Conservancy are on Yelp and Google, given how…read morelittle of the conservancy gets you away from houses or streets. While a fairly nice space in and of itself, those that gush about it apparently have never seen the other 85% of the area that is much more beautiful. It is a nice place to take a hike if you don't have the time or means to get out of the city proper. However, Pheasant Branch itself is a brackish, polluted stream. There are plenty of trout streams within a 15 minute drive of town that are much cleaner and more picturesque. The trails themselves are usually pretty busy, so I've never really felt like I'm getting away from it all. That all said, have at it! If you want to get a hike or jog in, especially with your dog or your kids, don't let me rain on your parade. You can see enough of what it's like yourself from all the posted photos. I do encourage you to cast your net a bit wider, to Donald Park, Indian Lake, or any of the much more secluded and beautiful places just minutes away from Madison.

What a beautiful site to see in the Wisconsin Dells area! As far as I know the only way to access…read moreit is via the Dells Boat Tours. The 2 hour tour stops at the gulch and lets you walk around and explore for roughly 20-30 minutes. There is a bathroom and concession stand at the end of the trail and plenty of natural beauty to see along the wooden planked trail. Very easy to navigate and walk. Highly recommend a stop here!

Awesome experience being surrounded by the beauty of the upper dells! Only wish there was more to…read morehike and that is accessible by cars and not just via a boat ride.

I returned here after visiting about 30 years ago, and was very impressed with the trails. You can…read morespend many days here and still not see all the areas the park offers. We parked at the Oak Opening area and hiked down to Lake Defiance, taking the Lake Defiance Trail. We stopped at the Nature Center to see some displays and chat with the ranger, and then continued our hike. Seeing the moraines, the leftover hills and ridges from the retreating Wisconsin Glacier, 10's of thousands of years ago, was a geologic trip through time. This is a great local state park that does not have an entrance fee! (None of our state parks have entrance fees to the best of my knowledge!) This is a place I can't wait to get back to explore, right in the backyard of the Chicago 'burbs!

Very thankful my son recommended training for long runs at Moraine Hills. His mapping of the route…read moreprovided a great roadmap. There is signage, mileage marking and different surfaces (soft and asphalt). for the trails. The varying elevations provide great opportunities to train well. It did not disappoint. Thank you!!

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.

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.