Heading downhill fast
When winter hits the Baraboo Hills, things can go downhill fast.
This is especially true at Devil’s Head Resort, a hot spot for skiers and snowboarders. Often ranked among Wisconsin’s top 10 ski resorts, Devil’s Head is an ideal home base for winter adventures. After all, it boasts not only one of the highest peaks in Wisconsin for downhill skiers and trails for cross-country skiers, but an on-site hotel to rest your muscles after a vigorous day in the snow.
Devil’s Head is just the beginning of the options for travelers seeking outdoor recreation. If you like to work up a sweat while Jack Frost nips at your nose, read on:
Cross country skiing at Devil’s Lake
Devil’s Lake State Park delivers majestic views and unparalleled outdoor fun year-round. As frost covers the trees atop the towering bluffs, ice turns the lake to stone and snow coats the ground, lovers of the outdoors flock to Devil’s Lake.
The park doesn’t groom trails for cross-country skiing, but there are plenty of great places to blaze your own trail: Roznos Meadow, with flat terrain; Steinke Basin, with rolling loops; and Tumbled Rocks Trail, ideal after fresh snowfall.
Cross-country skiers also should consider Mirror Lake State Park, located just 15 miles up the road. This park features 17 miles of groomed trails and a warming shelter. State park users are required to buy park or trail passes.
Ice fishing in the park
Dedicated anglers don’t let cold keep them off the lakes. We aren’t about to give away all our favorite fishing spots here, but we can tell you that both of the aforementioned state parks are popular destinations for ice fishing.
At Devil’s Lake, submerged trees create habitat that draw trout, perch and walleye.
Mirror Lake is known for panfish, bass, walleye and northern pike.
Hiking high and low
Devil’s Lake draws hikers eager to take on the challenge of scaling its sky-high bluffs. It also attracts long-distance hikers working their way along the Ice Age Trail, a 1,200-mile path tracing the last glacier’s southernmost advance into Wisconsin.
Also part of the Ice Age Trail is the Baraboo Riverwalk, which affords opportunities for urban hiking. Connecting several city parks, this 1.5-mile paved path along the Baraboo River is a favorite among walkers, joggers, pet owners and anglers.
Start your engines
Snowmobile season has been brief in recent winters, with lighter snowfall and warmer winter temperatures. Local clubs like the Baraboo River Runners work to keep trails open, and the Sauk County Snowmobile Association maintains a website that features a trail map.
More and more, the winter motor sport people enjoy is riding ATVs and UTVs. Sauk Country’s network now covers more than 1,500 routes connecting 40 communities. The Baraboo Bluffs ATV/UTV Club helped develop the county’s only public trail system, the Hogsback Trail, which provides families with a slow-moving offroad experience in a scenic setting.
What about the kids?
Options abound for families. Just a mile from Devil’s Lake, Pierce Park Pavilion offers open skating on Sunday evenings. Steinhorst Park on Baraboo’s east side is home to a sledding hill. Sledders also use hills adjacent to Baraboo High School, Jack Young Middle School and the local university campus, contiguous properties located on the west side. And of course, there’s snowboarding at Devil’s Head.
Back to Devil’s Head
The staff here prides itself of pampering its ski slopes almost as much as its guests. And state-of-the-art grooming is just the start of Devil’s Head’s appeal. Its new terrain parks offer long trails, more flow and more rails in one run than any other ski area in Wisconsin. Its long, cruising slopes deliver an exhilarating ride with no harsh bumps.
When you know there won’t be any bumps in the road, you don’t have to worry about heading downhill fast.
