The dark, scary tunnel above is on the Steinke Basin trail.  I took the picture yesterday as a matter of fact.* At this point the trail heads into an old planted stand of pine tree and continues through a bit of a long dark tunnel before finally emerging back into the sun on the other side.   Now, one thing that is NOT scary is the Halloween hike at Mirror Lake State Park this weekend.  The (non-scary) Mystery Hike begins this Saturday from 5:30 to 8:30 pm down by the beach parking area, and will take you along an easy 1 mile torch lit trail. After the hike, stay warm by the bonfires and enjoy brats, hotdogs, snacks and refreshments that the Friends of Mirror Lake State Park will have for sale. Costumes are optional but definitely welcome! We have a whole ritual set up around Mirror Lake’s  Halloween hike which beings early Saturday morning with a drive out on County Highway A to buy some pumpkins.

A Candlelight Walk will be held here at Devil’s Lake State Park on Saturday, October 31, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. beginning at the Rock Elm shelter at the north shore of the lake. The path for the Devil’s Lake hike stays on the pavement and passes through the Northern Lights campground.  There is usually a big bonfire and snacks will be provided by the Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park.  I’m sure we’ll talk more about Devil’s Lake’s candlelight hike next week.

* If you enjoy seeing pictures from the park and the Baraboo Hills area you may enjoy following along on our Skillet Creek Twitter.  I tend to post a few pics almost every day.