What a busy summer this is turning out to be (Despite the rain)!  It seems this year we are seeing an almost 20% increase in visitors over last year’s record of 1.6 million visitors.  Amazing.  The downside is crowded beaches and full parking lots.  All you can really do if you want a bit of space to yourself is hit the park mid-week or during the off-season.  All in all though, it’s nice to see so many people taking advantage of the great outdoor attractions our part of the country has to offer!

BTW if you are into hiking, trail running or fastpacking you may be interested in a review I’ve been doing over the last couple months of Montrail’s Sabino Trail Mid GTX shoes.  Put to the test on the rocky trails of Devil’s Lake State Park.   Click here for the full review.

We can’t guarantee sun, but the beaches are still in good shape at Devil’s Lake State Park.  Some trails out on Steinke Basin including the bike trail are closed or very muddy as well, but all in all the park is in good shape.  Around the area there is some minor flooding but nothing to slow you down.  We continue to be under a flood watch into tomorrow morning and can expect more rain and isolated heavy showers.  If you do come camping this weekend, let’s hope your tent doesn’t leak.  We’ve posted a few high water shots from the park and around the Baraboo area on our Facebook page if you’d like to see more.

It’s Déjà vu all over again!  Pafrey’s Glen is again closed due to recent flood damage.  At the moment we have no idea when the glen will be opened again.  The small bridges that were put in place after the 2008 flood were again washed out making it unsafe for some visitors.  We’ll let you know when the glen is re-opened to the public.  On the upside now is a great time to visit some of the other wonderful natural areas within just a few miles of Devil’s Lake State Park.  Click here for some ideas.

No doubt about it, the mosquitoes are again out in force at Devil’s Lake State Park.  Some areas are worse than others of course, but if you’re out hiking on the Steinke Basin or camping in the Ice Age campground you’re probably suffering the most.  There’s not much you can do to avoid the pesky things other than to slather on the bug spray and try to stay away from low wetland areas.   I’ve also found that if you simply keep moving it will help.  No matter what we do however, it seems we always end up bit eventually.

Do you have a mosquito horror story? Where’s the worst place to get bitten by a mosquito?  Your hand? Between your toes? Share your tales of mosquito woe on our Facebook!

—————————–

* image from WikiCommons “Text of the GNU Free Documentation License.”

Celebrate 100 years of Devil’s Lake State Park by showing off your best Devil’s Lake images! As part of the 2011 Devil’s Lake State Park Centennial celebration the Friends of Devil’s Lake State Park are sponsoring a photo competition in a variety of categories including; Vistas & Landscapes, Plants, Wildlife, Activities, Youth Photographer and more. Local Prizes to the top 3 winners in each category. Photos must be received by March 1, 2011. For details and to enter just download the entry form right here.

• Photo Content Brochure