Dane County Parks

Year-Round Activities

Year-round recreational opportunities abound throughout the Dane County Park System. Whether you enjoy fast-paced physical fun or quiet enjoyment, Dane County Parks offer you countywide locations for quick get-aways from urban settings and offer custom-built recreational facilities amid splendid natural beauty. Imagine all you can do year-round throughout the Dane County Park System.

Winter can be one of the most exciting times of the year. Miles of specially groomed trails winding through dense woodlands, rolling hills and open meadows provide snowmobilers or cross-country skiers with boundless views and ideal conditions. Smooth, white blankets of snow contrast with the diversity of structural shapes, bark colors and textures of trees and shrubbery. Winter is an ideal time for following animal tracks in freshly fallen snow, for quiet walks, ice fishing, or observing winter birds, wildlife and plants. Contact the County Park Office for additional information on winter programs.

Spring reveals to nature lovers the wonders of new life uncovered from the melting blanket of white. Colorful blooming buds and wildflowers, bright green leaf blades poking up through wetland, woods and prairie floors, and the sounds of songbirds marched with warming winds and waters add to the total delight of springtime in the parks.

Summer seems to bring out the best in everything. Dane County parks provide areas for fast-paced volleyball, basketball, softball, horseshoes and tennis as well as quiet areas for picnics, crackling campfires, fishing and hiking. Whether you come to enjoy the happy sounds and smells of picnics or parties or prefer to focus on the sights and sounds of birds, insects or vegetation along shorelines, winding trails or a wetland boardwalk, you'll find ideal settings amid the natural beauty of the parks.

Fall means brilliant colors in Dane County skies, waters, forests and fields. Bright orange, white, yellow, purple, red and bluish-black berries abound. Scampering animals harvest the ripened berries, nuts and seeds among quietly drying grasses, plant stalks and newly fallen leaves. Grand overlooks from bluffs or observatory towers reveal broad, colorful views of Wisconsin landscapes. What a perfect time to inhale nature's beauty and what perfect places...Dane County Parks!

Dane County's Commitment

Dane County continues to improve its facilities to provide access for everyone. We strive to go above and beyond the requirements mandated by the American Disabilities Act and to make park and natural areas activities a joy for all. Special facilities include a boardwalk through the sedge meadow marsh at Token Creek Park and fully accessible fishing piers at the Babcock, Fish Camp, Salmo Pond, and Token Creek County Parks. A special fishing facility at the Jenni and Kyle Preserve is for the exclusive use by children and people with disabilities. Call the Dane County Parks Department office at (608)246-3896 for more information about the many fully accessible facilities in our park system.

Special Recognition

The Dane County Park Commission gives special recognition to the following people who generously donated land to the Dane County Park System:

Otto Festge, John Holtzman, Phillip & Isabel LaFollette, Russell & Ella McCarthy, Marcella Pendall, The Donald/Woodburn Family, The Wrolstad Family