Parfrey’s Glen is located about 4 miles east of Devil’s Lake State Park and is administered by the park. Norman Carter Fassett while chairman of the Natural Areas Committee from 1945 to 1950, selected Parfrey’s Glen as the first state Natural area in Wisconsin.

At its uppermost part, the glen reaches a depth of nearly 100 feet and embraces a mountain-type stream flowing through its floor. The Glen’s walls are sandstone embedded with pebbles and boulders of quartzite. This quartzite is conglomerate, sometimes referred to as a “plum pudding” stone. The sandstone layers represent ancient sandy beach.

Because the Glen contains many unusual and rare flora, visitors must stay on the trail from the lower parking area to the top of the glen and retrace their steps back. The Path is about 0.8 miles long.

In recent history the glen has been changed drastically by powerful floods, the most recent in 2008. Parfrey’s glen was again opened to the public in 2009, although the man-made trails & bridges destroyed by the flood were not replaced.

To reach Parfrey’s Glen Just take Hwy. 113 south out of Baraboo and turn left on DL. The entrance will be on your left a few miles down. The entrance is a bit hard to see, but if you get to the Old Schoolhouse Restaurant, you passed it. Just turn around and go back about a half mile. To find Parfrey’s Glen on a map just go to our Devil’s Lake Trail Map.

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