Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
County'sPeninsulaStatePark.Devil'sLakeislarger,atmorethan8,000acres,anditdraws
more visitors annually than Yellowstone National Park.
Devil's Lake State Park lies at the junction of three imposing ranges of impenetrable
geology constituting the magnificent—
no
exaggeration—Baraboo Range.
Glaciers starred in the final act, gouging out the eastern half of the range of hills, but
stopping just short of the western edge, where a terminal moraine lies today. The Wiscon-
sin Glacier rerouted glacial rivers and gapped the endpoints of the north and south ranges,
forming a lakebed now fed by subterranean springs. The result is one of the most topo-
graphically diverse areas of Wisconsin—challenging bluffs adjacent to pastoral dairyland,
both next to a tranquil river valley. The natural areas of Devil's Lake are among the most
scrutinized by scientists in the state.
Or maybe, as the Winnebago story of the area's formation has it, giant thunderbirds
warredwiththespirits inthedepthsofthelake, hurlingthunderbolts anddodgingthewater
gods'bouldersandwaterspouts.Thebattleragedforeons,untilthethunderbirdsflewaway
victorious,leavingtherocksandbluffsscarredfrombattleandthespiritsinthedepthslick-
ing their wounds and waiting.
HUMAN HISTORY
The Winnebago Indians were the first known inhabitants of the area, fishing the lake and
hunting nearby lowlands; several burial and effigy mounds are still within the park. Steam
trains opened the Devil's Lake region, but development was slow since the recalcitrant
Baraboo Range made access difficult. After hacking and blasting through, a minor golden
age of hotel building began after the Civil War. While not as extensive as in the Lake
Geneva resort area of southeastern Wisconsin, it was no less posh. Four grand hotels were
raised but, because of inefficient train service and unmanageable vagaries of early summer
weather, by 1910 resort owners gave up, leaving the lodging business to the more mundane
mom-and-pop cottages and minor resorts. In 1911, the land was taken over and made into a
state park.
