I had a terrific hike in this small, off the beaten path, park. It is located on the banks of Lake…read moreMendota, near Madison, WI. We were staying at the Holiday Inn in Middleton, and I decided to check out this park. I went there around 7am, and maybe it gets crowded later in the day, but there were just a few fishermen putting their boats in at the marina. The maintenance people have done a great job cutting trails through the fields. There is a paved trail also (for bicycles and hikers), but I didn't take it. I sure wish I lived closer to this little park! Living in Cincinnati, it is just a little too far for me to drive.

We were looking for a place not too far away to get out and enjoy our recent snow. Given we had…read morejust bought a state park pass we decided to go to the close-by Gov Nelson Park to cross country ski. There is no additional fees for using the trails unlike some other state parks. It was a weekday so it was pretty empty - good for us. There was a fresh inch of snow on top of a good base. We skied the un-groomed Woodlands trail which was very nice and then the groomed Morningside trail which was better. The grooming really helped. If it were windy that trail would be a bit exposed. We will definitely return to ski.

We rented kayaks on Mira Lake. It was one of the most beautiful kayaking trips we've taken. We did…read moreit an early fall, and it was absolutely perfect. The scenery is beautiful. The water was calm. And there weren't a lot of other people kayaking at the time. Highly recommend if you're in the Dells area.

Wonderful State Park! Memorable experience! Would certainly plan to return!…read more Our big annual camping trip with the family recently took us to Mirror Lake, a spot that was new to all of us. It's an easy distance from where we live in Milwaukee, as it's in close proximity to the Wisconsin Dells. That said, even though we were deep in the woods camping, there was plenty of civilization close by should we have needed to restock on anything. Since we had quite a big group, we booked a double-site and boy did we luck out. I think we had the largest double that was available. It fit two large RV/campers and five tents, leaving ample room for tons of chairs around the fire pit and the big picnic tables provided. Oh and they are *electric campsites* which can be hard to find! No water hook up though. Not too far down from our site was the big shower houses/bathrooms. And let me just say, these are NICE! Like very nice. And very clean. Probably the best campsite bathrooms I've ever seen. I feel as though the building was very new / freshly redone. Other pros: plenty of lake activities (we rented both kayaks and pontoon boats), great walking paths (freshly laid wood chips and clear signage), lakeside beaches, and various playgrounds for the kiddos. Oh and fun planned experiences by the park - it was "Smokey Bear's birthday" when we were there and they had a firetruck on-site, water games, bday treats, prizes, and a meet and greet with the bear himself. A hit with our kids. Even if you're not camping, this state park would be wonderful for a day trip!

Definitely wear solid shoes with good traction if you plan to climb the rocky trail to the top. Oh…read moreboy. I only made it half way, it's quite challenging! Very steep in parts. If you don't want to climb up to catch the views, there is still beauty all around and you can walk by the lake or around the flatter trails. $16 was the daily fee for my car, as I have Illinois plates. I'm guessing it's cheaper for folks who live in Wisconsin. I will have to return in the spring to see the colors! But this state park was gorgeous, even on a chilly March day!

The State Park is absolutely amazing! The trails, lake, Rangers and Ice Age store employees were…read moreall amazing. What lowers this down to a three star review instead of a 5 star were the conditions of the Shower/Flush toilets building and Non-Flush Toilets at the Upper Ice Age Campground. Both were extremely dirty and needed a good cleaning. The number of incests and variety thereof rival that of the Indiana Jones movie, Temple of Doom. It was impossible to use the men's non-flush toilets without crunching over the collection of unidentified "creepy crawlers" calling that place home.

5.14.24 - Great park with playground, beach, ducks, covered picnic area, benches along the hike,…read morerest shelters, clean restroom.

Great little park for all sorts of activities. Honestly one of my favorite places in town. The…read morewalks are nice, there are so many different paths, and the scenery is idyllic. There's also a beach for fun and swimming. A lot of fishing also goes on here. There's a good sized shelter with plenty of tables too. A great place to hang out with family and friends or just enjoy some time on your own outside.

This was super easy and fun for my first kayak experience. I really enjoyed my day. Staff was…read morefriendly and helpful in helping me figure things out

No wake area, perfect for kayaking!…read more Mirror lake rentals is inside the park, so you do need to get a state park pass for your vehicle. It is $10 a day, or $35 for the entire year. It is recommended that you book in advance if you are a large group, as the kayaks seem to be limited. It is a very popular place, as the scenery changes dramatically. The lake its' self is rather small, but is connected to windy rivers that are lined by orange cliffs. There is a nice mixture of shaded areas, as well exposed sunny areas. There are many beaches to pull up onto, and a dam at the end of the course. The lake is very friendly for beginners and experts. Kayaks are $10 an hour or $25 for a half day. It takes about 2 hours to get to the dam and back, more if you go casually and like to stop a lot like we did!

Every year my family goes on a big camping trip, and this year we visited Governor Dodge! A first…read morefor us. Looking back, I'd say overall it was A-OK. We booked a double site as we had two RVs and multiple tents. It sure was plenty spacious! However, we all had noted it would have been great to see photos of the site when booking so we could know more that to expect. It was 100% full sun, and truly not chance for shade. Most other sites at this park had lots of tree coverage, which we would have loved and likely swapped to giving the chance. Being in a wide open space in the dead of summer can be tricky. The grounds are massive and well-kept, with tons of great hiking trails. Overall stunning views and vast green spaces. There's two large lakes with options to kayak, canoe, fish, ,etc. Concession stand with tasty ice cream, and a handful of convenience-store type items. Oh and we also definitely enjoyed the playground area with the kiddos. On the bad side: the shower-houses were pretty terrible. At least the one nearest to our site. It was to the point that half of us chose to forego showering all together just to avoid it. We also had a bummer experience at one of the beaches. We arrived around 10am and were all swimming for a few hours (along with tons of other visitors), when the rangers arrived and promptly closed the beach due to dangerous water bacteria. The closing wasn't the issue, but instead allowing 50+ folks to swim and fish in it before doing so. We'd all wished this water testing was done before the beach 'opened' for the day, as it left us fairly nervous having the quickly be rushed out. Overall, plenty of positives to this gorgeous state park - we made some great camping memories! Just hope those few shared pieces of feedback could help for future plans/changes.

What an absolute 'Sconi gem!…read more Anything other than 5-stars is insane! Awesome trail system with great views. The trails are wonderfully maintained. If you just want to laze about on a lake-beach, you can do that too! I have family that live less than an hour from here and they haven't been in 10+ years, that is CRAZY!

Awesome with a playground, restrooms, picnic tables, restrooms, boat access, and sand. I'm here on…read morea Friday morning and there are people here eating lunch while ducks quack and boats stroll by. If the weather keeps up, I may just go for a swim! It may get a lot busier during weekends but very pretty and very relaxing.

The beach is very small. There is no lifeguard and no roped-off areas for swimming. The marina is…read morevery close to the swimming area and the boat load-in is also right next to the swimming area, so boats are frequently going by. Fishing also occurs nearby. There are very few people here, maybe because it's a holiday. The water is pretty gross. Lots of rocks and seaweed everywhere. The shore smells like fish and you will only be walking in seaweed or rocks in the water. I did not put my head underwater because it was so gross. It is NOT deep at all. I almost waded out to the nearest sailboat in the marina and the water was only to the top of my waistband (I'm 5'11"). This might be a nice place for lounging in a boat. It was okay for swimming, but not the best.