This year at Devil’s Lake, the annual First Day hike will be a twilight hike/snowshoe…
Everyone in the Devil’s Lake region is in a holding pattern right now as we come to terms with the steadily building confidence that we will have a pretty big snowfall on Saturday. It’s hard to clean up the park or plant trees in a heavy snow!
Weather Forecast
The National Weather Service has posted a winter weather watch for our area on Saturday, April 27th, which says in part…
A strong late season winter storm will bring a widespread 5 to 7 inch snowfall to southern Wisconsin Saturday into Saturday evening.
Snowfall rates during the afternoon will likely reach 1 inch per hour. Warm pavement temperatures will cause a rapid slushy accumulation that will be difficult to travel in. Temperatures falling below freezing Saturday night will cause any standing water and slush to freeze. - Read Full Watch
That said, Friday (Today) will still be nice and sunny and 60F. Sunday the snow will melt quickly with a mostly sunny Sunday and a high of 47 – Read Forecast
Trail Report
As you can imagine, the state of the trails this weekend is dependent on the coming snow storm. Generally, hiking trails in the park remain the same as last week, but Saturday and Sunday could be bad. Here is our Full Trail Report.
Activities & Events
Various events are planned for this weekend at Devil’s Lake State Park. Keep an eye on your favorite information sources for cancellations. We’ll be covering that info on our Facebook Page as we get updates. Here is what had been scheduled;
UPDATE: CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER FORECAST – Saturday, April 27, 9 am to Noon at Devil’s Lake – Get Your Bike Ready For Spring – Join the bike specialists from Wildside Action Sports to find out what you need to do to get your bike ready for the season. Bring your bike for some hands-on experience with their professional bike mechanics. They’ll cover basic bike maintenance, how to fix a flat, how to keep your brakes and gears lubed, and much more. Meet at the Nature Center’s Parking Lot.
Saturday, April 27, 10 am to 1 pm – Trails Work Day at Devil’s Lake State Park – Volunteer and help work on the trails at Devil’s Lake. We’ll work on blocking off “non-official” trails on East and West Bluff trails. All tools will be provided, but you may want to bring a pair of work gloves and water along too. Stay for the whole time or come when you can to help. Meet at the Nature Center.
Saturday, April 27, 10 am to 1 pm – NatureWorks LLC Work Day at Devil’s Lake State Park – They plan to start at 9 am. This organization has adopted the East Bluff Trail. You can help cut invasive shrubs and use brush to block unauthorized trails in and around East Bluff State Natural Area (on the top of the East Bluff) They’ll be concentrating work efforts around the prairie and the Devils Doorway trail segment. No skills needed, you will be trained onsite.
Saturday, April 27, 8 am to 3 pm – The Altay Classic Trad Climbing Challenge 2019 at Devil’s Lake State Park – Click here for details.
Website Updates
If you’re stuck inside tomorrow, stop back here and check out some of the many updates here at DevilsLakeWisconsin.com. As you know, we had a major facelift earlier this month and I am still adding content almost daily.
In the campgrounds section, in addition to the campsite image galleries, I’ve added updated “Bathroom & Amenities” galleries for each campground. Check out the showers, fire rings, and even the pit toilets… I didn’t photograph every one, but enough to give you a clue on what to expect!
For geology buffs, be sure to explore our Discovery section where I’ve added a new video, “Geology of Devil’s Lake” by author Steve Baumann. There’s also a lot of “intro” geology articles there as well including topics like, “Did glaciers make the lake?“, Why are the rocks pink?” and more.
And In The End…
So, get out today if you can! We all know how hard it is to predict the weather, especially this time of year but it really does look like snow is on the way. We’re simply going to recommend that you watch the weather and stay safe. If for some reason the forecast is a flop, well, we’ll be out working on trails!
For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.
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