A great local park with pavilion, picnic tables, grills, fishing dock, boat sandbox for the kids,…read moreand a small boat/kayak launch. The park is well maintained and clean. There I a nice walkway along the edge of the pond as well.

Stayed here for a summer weekend and enjoyed great weather , a beautiful lake! One of the best kept…read moresecrets near Madison! We spent 1 day on the lake and another in Madison which is only 20 minutes away. An overall great stay !!

Stayed @ Lake Ripley Lodge for 3 nights, 4 nights with my boyfriend. It was a lovely stay. Very…read moreCozy, relaxing and the views are breath taking. The fresh roasted coffee on the front lawn and looking out @ the lake will never be forgotten. Fire Pits at night looking into the sky with the million dollar lake views. The homemade baked goods in the morning reminded me of my grandmas home cooking. I highly recommend this. The owners of this bed and breakfast make you feel at home.

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!

Pam and Phil are the best. I have been a client here for a little over a year now and have had…read morenothing but positive experiences. They put a lot of care into all the horses there. This is a hunter/jumper barn with a great lesson program. Private lessons are offered for all skill levels - beginner (never been on a horse) to advanced. They have ponies for small riders and beginner-safe horses. You don't need to have any of your own equipment, as everything is provided. Currently, I'm leasing a 16.3hh thoroughbred. I love him! This is just one of the many opportunities here for advancing your riding skills. I've been riding for 13 years now, and still have much more to work on. Pam is really great about finding local clinics to go to or even just for fun horse-related events in the area. In the past year, I've done the Racine Pony Club Hunter Pace and a Brad Hall clinic. We also go to the IronWorks schooling shows regularly. Meinpferde Farm is super laid back, which I love. Even though the trainers are primarily focus on hunter/jumper training, they welcome boarders of all disciplines. It's a very welcoming place. There's also a large hunt field in the back, where sometimes we ride. There are jumps set up there too, so it's super fun! In addition to lessons and boarding, they have a breeding program. It's a great place to go pony shopping! Their horses are very sweet and eager to learn.

Bartel's Beach is a small park along Lake Mills that offers families plenty. There's a playground…read morewith your typical slides and swings. There are benches under shaded trees and some BBQ grills if you want to have a little cookout. But the big draw of Bartel's Beach is the actual beach part. Yes there is sand at Bartel's Beach but more importantly, it offers a safe spot to swim away from all the water sports found on Lake Mills. There's an area probably 100 feet out and 400 feet wide that's bouyed off just for families to enjoy swimming. Now, there aren't any lifeguards on duty so if you come here with the kids you know what to do. I'm not sure how deep the water goes but my kid isn't the most daring either lol. Oh, and there's also a public restroom so go there and not in the lake! And that's really it for Bartel's Beach. Whether you're looking for some sun where the cool breeze coming off the lake feels great or you're on the hunt for a little swim spot for the kiddos (or yourself), you can do way worse. It can get a bit crowded so come early and get yourself a cherry spot!

After being certified on vacation last month, I was looking to get some dives in locally. I found…read moreout that Madison Scuba was having a dive weekend and I called them to get more info. Even though I had a bunch of questions, they were awesome about answering every one and made me feel welcome to join the dive even though I had limited experience and didn't know anyone. I stopped by Madison Scuba to rent my equipment and they were super helpful and again, I gained more confidence about the upcoming dive weekend. The dive weekend was great. Although I was a newbie, they never made me feel like it. They were always very inclusive, patient, and understanding. Had I known what I do now, I would have become certified with them instead to receive way better training plus they are $200 cheaper than what I paid on vacation. I highly recommend the instructors at Madison Scuba!

I needed to get scuba certified before a fast-approaching trip, and MadisonScuba helped me find a…read morequick and easy way to get it done within my time constraints. Affordable, and worth every penny -- the staff is enthusiastic and the course is efficient and thorough.

Rob is the most experienced bowling guru I have ever met, Top notch in everything about his…read morefacility.

So I signed up for a bowling league this year, but ran into a problem where my fingers were either…read moretoo big for the holes in the ball or the holes were so wide I had to use a death grip to throw the ball. It was exhausting. Decided to break down and get my own ball. After looking online and realizing I'm far out of my depth, I called here. There's more to bowling than expected. Side note - call and set up an appointment. They do walk-ins but life is easier all around if you call ahead. Anyway, once I got in we discussed what precisely I was looking for and what I'd been doing. Then we went back to look at my form on the in-house practice alley. I've been doing it all wrong. Honestly I'm not surprised. Next step was picking a ball. Given that I'm used to yeeting the ball as hard as possible and now I've been taught to actually have a bit of technique we went with a medium ball. It's actually heavier than what I've been using, but the ball does most of the work now. Tons of finger measurements later, the ball was drilled right in front of me, capped, and cleaned up. After that, we went back to the practice alley (which is pretty sweet, not gonna lie) to see how everything fit and worked. A few adjustments and I was good to go. So far as pricing goes, they explained that they make a set amount off each ball instead of some sliding scale. This means they work to get you the ball that works best for you, not just the one that's making the most profit. Given that I got a ball, custom fitting, drilling, and adjustments done (as well as a bag and a few accessories) I feel I got my money's worth. I think this is going to raise my average quite a bit once I get used to it. Would definitely recommend.