The Pine River Trail in Richland County, Wisconsin is a 14.3-mile multi-use recreational trail located…
When you spend a lot of time telling folks about all of the cool places they can see in our area, you sometimes wrestle with the realities out there that may make that experience less enjoyable for some. As regular travelers ourselves, we know that anything from traffic issues to unexpected high prices or even excessive vandalism can be a real disappointment. That’s why we always endeavor to share our full experiences and insights so that guests to our area can come prepared, know what to expect, and feel welcomed in an honest way. I think of a good friend who would say, “We’ve got a beautiful guestroom prepared for you but yeah, there is some serious traffic noise outside.” That’s honest and that’s life! Now we can be sure to bring our earplugs and we’ll have a much better time!! That’s how we work here too… So…
Amazing Sandstone
From Wisconsin Dells north to about Necedah, there are some amazing sandstone formations to see. If you like this sort of stuff, then it’s certainly worth planning a half day’s road trip north from the park to check out some of these awesome features. If you have your Wisconsin State Park sticker already, the only costs will be gas and snacks! There’s Roche-A-Cri and Mill Bluff State Park of course. Both have killer staircases that will take you up to awesome views! But, there are also quite a few smaller, but super-cool formations that are preserved in county parks and pull-overs. Some of our favorites are Petenwell Bluff near Necedah, the Castle Rock Wayside along the interstate in Camp Douglas, and two we’re going to show you today, Rabbit Rock & Ship Rock.
Ship Rock Wayside
Ship Rock is on a wayside about 8 miles or 10 minutes east of Roche-A-Cri State Park near Abbotsford, WI. This is a surprisingly impressive feature standing above the landscape. Like most of these sandstone features it was once most likely an island standing in a shallow sea (But that’s another story for another time!). There is a small, rough trail around the feature as well as a few picnic tables provided which are great if you’ve packed your lunch. (We didn’t see a restroom.) And THIS is where the “truth-in-advertising” comes in, there is a lot of graffiti on the rocks as well. Chances are, if you’re not picnicking, you’ll spend about a half-hour or so here.
More Ship Rock Photos
Rabbit Rock County Park
Rabbit Rock is located in Big Flats Township of Adams County. It’s north of Roche-A-Cri by about 8 minutes or 6 miles however you want to look at it. Rabbit Rock isn’t quite as impressive IMO as Ship Rock, but if you follow the trail around, you’ll find you can pretty much hike right up to the top of the rock which offers an awesome view of Roche-A-Cri which stands out of the flat landscape to the south. Again, you have to come to this location expecting to see broken glass and graffiti as well. If you hike around and climb up to the top again, plan on a half-hour to 45 minutes here. There are some picnic tables too, so this might also be a good lunch stop.
More Rabbit Rock Photos
Roche-A-Cri In The Distance 
Mixed Historic/Modern Carving 
Awesome Arch, Heavy Graffiti 
Park Sign
Road Trip?
The route I’ve mapped below takes about 3 hours to drive (Not including how long you stop at each location). It begins and ends at Devil’s Lake State Park and takes you to see; Roche-A-Cri State Park, Ship Rock, Rabbit Rock, Petenwell Bluff & Rocky Arbor State Park before returning you to Baraboo. That’s a lot of sandstone! If you have more time, you can easily add the Castle Rock wayside and Mill Bluff State Park to make a day of it!
Final Thoughts
When we travel, we always think of our camping spot or whenever we’re staying as a basecamp and from there we try to get out and see all that we can in the time we stay. What is really cool in the Baraboo area is that the landscape changes quickly in all directions. Rolling hills to the south, the flat marshlands to the east, the awesome Driftless region to the west, and of course, the amazing sand counties to the north. That’s a lot of variety available to you within fairly short drives. We hope you can get out and explore.
Oh yeah, and about that graffiti, we hope that by calling it out, maybe folks will get inspired to clean it up a bit too. We’ll see!
Enjoy and stay safe!
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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