Lake Kegonsa State Park
Lake Kegonsa State Park is a state park in Wisconsin, United States, on the northeast shore of Lake Kegonsa. It is located in Dane County southeast of Madison, Wisconsin. The park consists of a mix of oak woodland, prairie, and wetlands. Known for its campground, beach, and approximately of hiking trails, the park offers swimming, fishing, water-skiing, sailing, and a boat landing.
Lake Kegonsa, a glacial lake, covers and has a maximum depth of over. It was created by a glacier during the Wisconsin glaciation of the last ice age approximately 12,000 years ago.
History
Lake Kegonsa has been occupied by the Ho-Chunk people for fishing, hunting, recreation, and as a campsite for thousands of years prior to European settlement. A fishing camp was located on Sugar Bush Point, where Lake Kegonsa State Park is today. A camp at the lake's Yahara River outlet that sheltered 106 people in 11 lodges was reported in 1829.European settlers, many of whom were Norwegian immigrants, began using the area around the 1860s, calling it Sugarbush. Recreational uses included hunting parties, trapping, boating and fishing, picnics, and camp meetings.
In 1961, the implementation of Wisconsin's Outdoor Recreation Action Program called for three state parks located along the Interstate system: Willow River State Park, Mirror [Lake State Park], and Lake Kegonsa State Park. Lake Kegonsa State Park was established as a state park by the State Conservation Commission in October of 1962, with land acquisition taking place from 1962 to 1965 and initial development from 1965 to 1966. The park officially opened on August 12th, 1966.
Recreation
Lake Kegonsa State Park offers multiple recreational activities and amenities to visitors, including fishing, boat launch access, a swimming beach, hiking, camping, and picnic areas.Lake Kegonsa is fished year-round and most notable for walleye and panfish. It is stocked with walleye & northern pike by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Northern pike can be caught seasonally, and smallmouth bass and crappies are also frequently caught. Ice fishing is popular on the lake during the winter, which mostly yields panfish, but can and can occasionally yield good opportunities for perch, northern pikes, and walleyes. Muskellunge are occasionally present.
There is a boat launch in the park which can be used by kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, sailboats, and motorboats. The park has a designated swimming beach and bathhouse facilities nearby. Due to blue-green algae blooms during the summer, the beach may be closed.
There is a family campground with 96 campsites and six group camping sites accommodating groups of up to 20 campers.
The park has six named trails spanning over five miles, with routes along the lake and through the different habitats of the park. The White Oak Nature Trail is a loop through the park's 80-acre white oak woodlands oak woodlands which passes by two areas with effigy mounds as well as the former pine plantation. The Prairie Trail consists of a joined north & south loop, and passes through restored prairie areas.
The Bluebird Trail loop leads through prairie and woodlands to the upper picnic shelter. The Oak Knoll Trail is paved and leads from the beach on the lake's shoreline up to the boat landing. The Wetland Boardwalk Trail is a short boardwalk ending in a wildlife viewing platform.
There are also of designated snowshoe and winter hiking trails, and about are groomed for cross-country skiing.
Archery-only hunting and trapping are permitted in open areas of the park during the spring and fall/winter Wisconsin state parks timeframes. Gun hunting is not permitted in the park.