Definitely wear solid shoes with good traction if you plan to climb the rocky trail to the top. Oh…read moreboy. I only made it half way, it's quite challenging! Very steep in parts. If you don't want to climb up to catch the views, there is still beauty all around and you can walk by the lake or around the flatter trails. $16 was the daily fee for my car, as I have Illinois plates. I'm guessing it's cheaper for folks who live in Wisconsin. I will have to return in the spring to see the colors! But this state park was gorgeous, even on a chilly March day!

If you have a love for hiking like I do, you'll enjoy the hiking options at this place! I completed…read morea 4 mile hike up the rocky trail (ensure you bring good hiking shoes with good traction! -- rained the day prior to me going, slightly slippery in locations) - I would say if I were to rate the difficulty, I would give a 4 of 10. If you hike, it's a cake walk.. if you don't , just take your time but you can do it! The views are 100% worth it, I went on 4th of July so there were a ton of families out -- hiking, grilling, and even in the water simply enjoying life! The hike I did started as the Ice Age Trail, which went up rocky terrain, provided amazing top-side views of the water and gave Birds Eye view. Transitioning into a decline with slippery surfaces that you must take you time on, finishing into a street level access to a new trail called Tumble Rocks Trail. This now provided ground level view of the beautiful water and scenery, including the infamous "Tumbled Rocks"! Would recommend, so many hiking options.

We rented kayaks on Mira Lake. It was one of the most beautiful kayaking trips we've taken. We did…read moreit an early fall, and it was absolutely perfect. The scenery is beautiful. The water was calm. And there weren't a lot of other people kayaking at the time. Highly recommend if you're in the Dells area.

Wonderful State Park! Memorable experience! Would certainly plan to return!…read more Our big annual camping trip with the family recently took us to Mirror Lake, a spot that was new to all of us. It's an easy distance from where we live in Milwaukee, as it's in close proximity to the Wisconsin Dells. That said, even though we were deep in the woods camping, there was plenty of civilization close by should we have needed to restock on anything. Since we had quite a big group, we booked a double-site and boy did we luck out. I think we had the largest double that was available. It fit two large RV/campers and five tents, leaving ample room for tons of chairs around the fire pit and the big picnic tables provided. Oh and they are *electric campsites* which can be hard to find! No water hook up though. Not too far down from our site was the big shower houses/bathrooms. And let me just say, these are NICE! Like very nice. And very clean. Probably the best campsite bathrooms I've ever seen. I feel as though the building was very new / freshly redone. Other pros: plenty of lake activities (we rented both kayaks and pontoon boats), great walking paths (freshly laid wood chips and clear signage), lakeside beaches, and various playgrounds for the kiddos. Oh and fun planned experiences by the park - it was "Smokey Bear's birthday" when we were there and they had a firetruck on-site, water games, bday treats, prizes, and a meet and greet with the bear himself. A hit with our kids. Even if you're not camping, this state park would be wonderful for a day trip!

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.

stunning such a nice informational ride out there beautiful walk. Would recommend for all agesread more

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!

Really liked this quick stop for a jaunty little hike before moving on our way…read more Loved the views and thankfully it was pretty quiet on a Monday afternoon. A bit of an uphill climb at the start but very manageable, especially compared to nearby Devil's Lake. There is a decent sized parking lot at the bottom of a hill driving in so you can usually find a spot. Recommend if you're in the area!

It's a fairly steep, but not too long hike to get to the top, but wow, the view is great. It's not…read moretoo busy up there, but I would not bring kids since there are cliffs there. My wife was nervous when I even got close to an edge.

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!

I cannot believe I didn't know this hidden gem existed. Their sunflower days are absolutely…read morestunning! It's definitely an attraction close to Madison that's not to be missed. To be honest, I have only ever been to the Pope Farm Conservancy for the sunflowers. But it seems like a beautiful place to stop year round for a hike or to cross country ski. It gets crowded during their sunflower days, so it's best to go during off hours. The Conservancy does an excellent job marking off parking spots and directing traffic. They have plenty of volunteers to answer questions and everything appears to be very well run and organized. People come to take family photos, have a picnic, or just go for a nice stroll to watch the sunset over a beautiful field of sunflowers. However, leave your dog at home because pets are not allowed. The sunflower days attraction is free however donations are accepted. Definitely worth a trip to the far west side of Madison.