When I visit the Elkhorn Wisconsin area I always make time for a hike on the beautiful Nordic…read moretrails. They offer seven trails brteeen .6 and 9.2 miles, which are designated as beginner, intermediate, or advanced. The 2 mile red intermediate trail is perfect as it's about 45 minutes and gets your heart pumping with some steeper elevations.

Quiet, serene and peaceful are words that come to mind when hiking through the Nordic Trail Head. A…read morebreathe of fresh air and a totally enjoyable experience. We haven't even touched a fraction of the trails available to hike down here. This particular location is in the Southern Kettle Moraine forest and takes about an hour or so to get to out of Milwaukee. It is across the street from the famed mountain bike course, John Muir trail system. We were so kindly given some advice and it was wisely heeded. The trails we went on were excellent. Rolling hills and bluffs, some in the woods and some not. Either way we took a 4.5 mile-ish jaunt through the area and were just in awe! It was simply spectacular! Wisconsin in general has some of the best well marked trails one could ask for. We spent most of the time with our dog off leash walking the trail as the place was literally dead! I think that this trail goes slightly unnoticed because of the mountain biking trail next door. This equaled a win win for us! We will be back soon as I want to do the entire 9 mile stretch. Love some Wisconsin hiking! It is the best!

Paradise Springs is a little slice of paradise in Eagle…read more There's a nice paved trail for wandering around the spring fed pond. There's a nice little waterfall that's fun to see and plenty of benches to sit and gaze at the gorgeous scene. If you're into fishing, there's some good sized trout in the pond. It's a great little spot for fly fishing. Stunning little area! Get to it!

Very nice short paved hike and unique historic site. Paradise Springs is a natural spring, with 500…read moregallon per hour output. There's a nice interpretive booklet that helps explain numbered highlights. There's a cool decaying building over the springs, which was purely ornamental, the springs works whether its covered or not. The Petit (Pabst) family owned the property and put in a lot of features like a circular wading pool, a gazebo. The springs were bottled and sold until the 1960s, and another owner ran water powered electric in the early 1900s; the first house with electricity in the area. The pond is stocked w/Brook Trout for catch and release only. And across the way there's an old homestead from the 1860s which is in great condition. This is a nice short hike with lots to learn about.

It was a hot, late summer day, and I just wanted to put my feet in a clear water stream…read more My husband suggested Scuppernong Springs as a possible option. We'd never been but decided to give it a try. We had heard it was a brook trout habitat so my husband brought his fishing gear. There may be some spots to fish but I think you'd have to veer farther off the main trails than we did, so we didn't actually get in any fishing. But, since that was an afterthought, no matter! Did I dip my toes in a clear stream? I did. There's one main trail and several others that branch off from the main trail. We were able to wander a bit, dip our toes in a spot where the spring is coming straight out of the rocks, see what looks like boiling sand (spring water bubbling out of the sand), and wander through the rocky stream with our pants rolled up trying to get a pic of a water snake eating a fish like we were kids. It's a beautiful area for a hike and can't recommend the toe dipping enough. Get to it!

This trail is an excellent alternative to the longer, more strenuous nearby Scuppernong Trails just…read moreeast of here. But unlike those color coded trails, there's more to see along this 1.2 mile trail. Some of the springs are just mesmerizing. Seeing water bubble up from underwater sands is almost hypnotic. Other springs flow out of the ground and hillsides. Although shorter than even the shortest of the neighboring trails, definitely plan on spending an hour here, you'll be stopping often to take in the many features along the trail.

I returned here after visiting about 30 years ago, and was very impressed with the trails. You can…read morespend many days here and still not see all the areas the park offers. We parked at the Oak Opening area and hiked down to Lake Defiance, taking the Lake Defiance Trail. We stopped at the Nature Center to see some displays and chat with the ranger, and then continued our hike. Seeing the moraines, the leftover hills and ridges from the retreating Wisconsin Glacier, 10's of thousands of years ago, was a geologic trip through time. This is a great local state park that does not have an entrance fee! (None of our state parks have entrance fees to the best of my knowledge!) This is a place I can't wait to get back to explore, right in the backyard of the Chicago 'burbs!

Very thankful my son recommended training for long runs at Moraine Hills. His mapping of the route…read moreprovided a great roadmap. There is signage, mileage marking and different surfaces (soft and asphalt). for the trails. The varying elevations provide great opportunities to train well. It did not disappoint. Thank you!!

We were driving from Madison to Kopps in Brookfield and decided to stop by this forest since we've…read morepassed it so many times. We parked at the south unit, where there's plenty of parking, and set out on the trail during the first week of September. Be prepared for mosquitoes; definitely bring repellent and consider wearing dark-colored clothing. The trails are generally well maintained, though some areas have taller shrubs. We saw a couple of Indian springs. Overall, it's a fairly easy and enjoyable hike.

The Kettle Moraine State Forest (southern unit) encompasses a few campgrounds, many hiking trails,…read moreOttawa Lake, and is home to two of the best mountain biking trails in the State. Easily accessible from Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, it feels remote without being too far from the closest cities. I've camped in the Pinewoods Campground here for many falls- and biked both the Emma Carlin and John Muir Trails. The mountain biking is great, but (as a novice) I always bump the given difficulty levels up a notch. Medium is Difficult, etc. Ottawa Lake campgrounds is good for families who want direct access to the Lake. The Lake has a beach, a fishing pier, a dog pier, kayak/canoe launch. Pinewoods sites are actually really secluded. True to name, they're amongst towering pines. The facilities are cleaned once a day. Scuppernong Trail is a great system of a few hikes amongst the pines, and the Scuppernong Springs Nature Trail is an easy hike with bubbling springs, that the family will love.

While this was a spacious park, I don't think it's worth the daily pass fee of $7. There is a good…read moreamount of parking available and a small pond for people/dogs to play in. Checked out some of the trails but they weren't too well maintained. We primarily stopped by for a beer garden and car show. If you don't pay the fee beforehand online, you'll receive something in the mail about a month later. Surprised they charge this much considering they don't put more into their park. I'd rather check out a different free park in the area, like Whitnall.

I've been here before over the years for the trails and dog parks. You need a day or year pass for…read moreparking. The year pass is worth it if you would visit more than 6 times/visit any of the other Waukesha Parks. I went this past visit with my pup to paddle board- I personally wouldn't go again for this since it really is a pond and the water is a bit stinky and quite yucky! If we would have fallen in the water I would have been so upset so we only did one lap and then I let him play some water fetch. I do love the expanse of trails however and it looks like they have a beer garden set up as well. I'll come back just not for the water portion here

For something to get out us out of the house this last year, my wife and I seek out new trails…read moreevery chance we get. Seeking most options in Washington, Ozaukee and Waukesha Counties. Glacier Hills is one of the best. The simply fact that with the hilly nature makes it very scenic and just the right amount of challenge. The trail coming into Friess Lake is pretty special. We will be back for sure.

This park is the best. Every time I go here I meet a cool doe. And it's got some amazing foraging…read more I don't usually eat mushrooms (not in love with the texture), but if done right, they're pretty good.

This park is a great place with a little bit of everything. Four great trails, each reasonable…read morelength for a short family hike - longest is 1 mile; shortest is 0.5 miles. There are There's lots of different terrain ranging from springs and wetlands with a variety of vegetation, to up some hills for pine trees and deciduous trees common to Wisconsin. The trails have numbers which sync up to descriptions. You can overlook a lake - or be in a wilderness and feel you're away from it all. There are picnic tables at varying places on the trails as well as small grills and the pavilion has a hook up for electronics. There is additional parking just a bit past the main entrance. And it is free.

Archeological site for Mississippian culture featuring mounds and stockades. Pay to park online…read moreusing your mobile. Don't miss out the museum next door. A nice short/quick waaround the site

Paid $21 for parking and trails, out of state visitors. There were not enough trail facts to…read moreengage us and then for the price of admission, no benches or even one garbage can. Boring walk that did not meet our expectations given the wealth of possible information we would have loved to learn. Brought dogs and had to carry poop bags throughout visit and stinky in car all the way home. Not that impressed, save your time.

I liked the mountain biking here a lot. As a beginner I found challenging trails but nothing…read moredangerous for me so that was good. I liked the mix of technical and flow on the different trails. Only lack of a star because the trails were not always labeled well causing us to get lost a couple times.

Leo (the bulldog) and I enjoyed a hike at CamRock park. Dog park permit required, fyi. You can…read morepurchase annual passes through the city/county or else buy a daily pass on-site. This park seems predominantly geared (pun not intended, I swear!) towards mountain bike riders but there are several loops that hikers can also enjoy. (Mountain bikers need a trail pass too, fyi. Daily or annual passes can be purchased on-site). We didn't come across too many other people while we were here, despite it being a gorgeous fall day. We did meet up with one dog off-leash running with a biker. Scrraaappppe!! (dragging out soapbox) Argh! I get it - for many people they think their dog is well-behaved so they don't need to be on a leash. Well, there are rules for a reason and when people disregard those and let their dog off-leash when they shouldn't, parks crack down & change rules to not allow dogs at all (um, look at most Madison parks as a prime example). People with "well-behaved dogs" forget that #1) other people may be afraid of dogs and your off-leash dog is especially scary to them and #2) other dogs you encounter may be dog-aggressive or leash-aggressive so if your dog runs up to them, oooh boy! ANYway, back to CamRock. This was a fine spot for hiking and I'd go back if I were in the area. However, if I were driving from Madison I would probably opt for Indian Lake over CamRock for a hiking trip. I would definitely like to go back to CamRock in the spring though for some mountain biking, those trails looked like fun!