October 31, 2026
We were blessed with more gorgeous late October weather, so after our first indoor spin session of this fall, we decided to head back out in Calypso and take advantage of the warm days!
Our first stop was Governor Nelson State Park, only 30 minutes from our home. Governor Nelson is a day use only park (no camping allowed) on the shores of Lake Mendota.
Even though there are subdivisions on three sides of it, it manages to feel somewhat secluded. There are 6.5 miles of hiking trails. We enjoyed the Woodland Trail, 1.2 miles that winds through the woods and includes three effigy mounds.
In the winter some of the trails are groomed for cross-country skiing. If we get snow this winter, we plan to check it out.
We also explored the fishing pier and the beach. The beach was very nice!
Next we headed to Natural Bridge State Park, a little ways outside the cute town of Sauk City. It is also a day-use park.
Natural Bridge is a quiet, remote park of 530 acres. You pull into the small parking lot with an information board and a bathroom. A paved trail meanders into the woods. It eventually turned into an easy to follow dirt trail and you turn a corner and there it is! Natural Bridge is a naturally carved arc about 25 feet high and 35 feet wide with a cave below it that was used by indigenous people for centuries! The cave is documented as one of the oldest inhabited sites in the Upper Midwest!
The arc was carved by uneven dissolving of mineral deposits holding sand grains together. After many years of erosion by water, frost, wind and gravity, the arch happened. It is the largest natural arc in Wisconsin. Even though it was a beautiful Saturday, we were the only people there. It felt like a special place.
After Natural Bridge, we finally made our way to Devil’s Lake State Park.
Devil’s Lake is the largest and most popular state park in WI. We’ve been here MANY times. But we have never camped here, so we had to change that.
Devil’s Lake is a 360 acre lake surrounded by sheer bluff faces. A glacier rerouted the WI River, which carved the gorge. Then the lake was formed by two glacial plugs.
There are several theories about the name. The Ho Chunk called it “Spirit Lake”. The white settlers apparently changed the name. There is so much wonderful history at Devil’s Lake. In the early 1900s nine daily passenger trains brought tourists to the lake, and there were four hotels on the lake’s shores.
Now, there are no hotels. But, there are three campgrounds. At this point in the season, only Quartzite Campground was open. It is close to the Nature Center and a short walk to the beach. We had a site on the outside of the ring and had nice woods behind us. We should have used the levelers though. Tim almost rolled out of bed. Surprisingly, the campground was almost full. It was Halloween night. Tim went for a campground walk and saw a family carving their jack-o’-lanterns.
Devil’s Lake has great hiking! The Ice Age Trail also passes through the park. Since we have hiked almost every trail before, we decided to just enjoy what might be our last campfire of the year, and stayed put.
November 1, 2026
Daylight Savings Time ended last night. We enjoyed our extra hour of sleep. When we were ready, we headed out to investigate two State Natural Areas that I had heard good things about.
First we went to Pewit’s Nest. Pewit’s Nest is a narrow sandstone gorge carved by Skillet Creek. It is about 12 minutes from Devil’s Lake. It has a small parking lot and no bathroom facilities. The gorge runs 30 to 40 feet deep and was cut into the bedrock at the end of the last ice age. A short walking trail (about 1/4 mile) leads to the mouth of the gorge. There are many cool rock formations in the park. There was a very new split rail fence that prevents anyone from getting to close to the cliffs. We also enjoyed following the stream for a while. There was a path along it. We didn’t see anyone else while we were there.
We drove from Pewit’s Nest to Parfrey’s Glen. The drive was about 20 minutes. In 1952, Parfrey’s Glen was designated Wisconsin’s first natural area in recognition of it’s unusual geography and rare plant life. Parfrey’s Glen also has a small parking lot. There were only two other cars in the lot when we arrived. The trail began from the parking lot. It started out paved and wound next to Parfrey’s Glen Creek. Apparently, there used to be a boardwalk and viewing platform. Following repeated flood damage, the hiking trail now runs directly along and through the streambed. Waterproof shoes and maybe a hiking pole or stick to help you at the river crossing might be helpful. The gorge is really beautiful. The steep walls are embedded with quartzite pebbles. Many are moss covered. At the end of the trail there is a pretty little waterfall.
We saw only a few people on our way in. We saw quite a few families on our way out. It would be a fun place to hike with kids. They would enjoy crossing the river and climbing over big boulders!
One man we spoke with recommended coming back in the winter when there are lots of icicles and the river is frozen. That sounds fun!
After that we headed back to Lake Mills. Will we get anymore Calypso adventures this year? I hope so!
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