Oof, it's been a while! I have a lot of adventures to share since I last posted over a year ago. But let me start with our most recent one and maybe we can filter in some past ones as time allows. Life sure gets busy!
I would guess most folks visiting the Black River Falls, WI area are there for the ATV/UTV recreation options as Jackson and Clark Counties have an extensive trail system. The campground we’ve stayed at the last couple of years has a SXS rentals near as well. Although this was a family weekend, we split off and did separate activities. Tristan and I enjoy dirt biking, but we are at bit different skill and endurance levels than Heath and Mason 😉 so instead of hanging out most of the day while they rode at Dyracuse and Crawford Hills, we revisited Wazee Lake and explored some areas that were new to us from last year. We then convened for family time at the end of the day.
Parkland Village Campground (parklandvillagecampground.com) was introduced to us by a family friend a few years ago and is very family friendly. They have sleeper cabins and park model cabins available to rent. They also have some tent sites available. Their sites are situated around a pond and flanked by the park facilities and mini golf. On one end there is the park office building that has some games in the lodge. In the same building there are free showers as well as pay washers and dryers. This is near the pool, small playground, basketball court, and area where they have live performers and DJ music. There’s also a smaller bathroom/shower building on the other end by the sleeper cabins.
Lake Wazee Recreation Area
Tristan and I went to the Wazee Lake beach last year and I was bummed we didn’t bring any floats, paddleboards, or kayaks. Lake Wazee is Wisconsin’s deepest lake at over 330 ft, it used to be a taconite mine. The water has clear visibility up to 40ft and people scuba dive there, which is pretty neat! The beach is built out as a protected cove with access to the larger lake. The cove has a little island that you can swim or paddle to that Tristan had fun exploring. The beach is very clean and spacious. The water is clean and doesn’t get too deep within the cove. There are plenty of picnic tables and a few volleyball nets set up as well as a small playground. During the busy season you can order food and beverages at the concessions. There are bathrooms right off the beach and a changing building with showers closer to the parking area. The broader recreation area has a campground and 15 miles of hiking and biking trails I’d like to explore sometime in the future. And bonus, this recreation area is only $5 to enter! We were prepared this time and brought one of the ISUPs (inflatable standup paddleboard) along; Tristan also brought his snorkel mask and saw a fish from the board. It was a great place for him to practice paddling on his own for the first time as well. He did great! We'll probably have to bring both on our next adventure. You can read a bit more about Wazee Lake Recreation Area - Jackson County, WI here.
Perry Creek Trail
I think I might be safe in calling this trail a hidden gem. I did not find this trail on All Trails; it was a random Google image that popped up and I haven’t been able to reproduce the same search results. From my most recent search, I see it may be part of a bike trail system. Anyway, the Perry Creek Trail is part of the Perry Creek Recreation Area within the Black River State Forest. This unit is right outside of Black River Falls. I don’t have any stats on mileage. I would label it as an easy hike. There are a set of stairs from the day use/picnic grounds down to the swinging bridge but those can be bypassed walking along the Black River. The swinging bridge is a very short distance from the parking lot, across the day use/picnic area, down the stairs, near the end of the small gorge where Perry Creek flows into the Black River. I’ve seen the color of the Black River before, but the root beer red of the very clear Perry Creek shone brightly and glowed where sunlight cut through the trees and hit the water. The water is stained from tannic acids from surrounding oak and tamarack forests as well as sphagnum bogs. It was so vivid and bright; the pictures do not do it justice. The greenery of the forest and radiance of the red-orange water was almost surreal. Tristan and I had come across a few people, but they had seemed to either only cross the bridge or briefly follow the path after the bridge before heading back, we had the rest of the trail to ourselves. At some point around the bend and past the cascades some downed trees ended our adventure, but it was a surprising one indeed. What a great find! If you bring little kids on this trail, beware there are some steep drop offs to the creek below so keep them in hand! Google maps will take you right there, just type in Perry Creek Trail Wisconsin. Tristan had fun swinging on the bridge as you can see here https://youtube.com/shorts/FPa5VzJEYWU?feature=share. I could've sat and watched and listened to the cascading water for hours https://youtube.com/shorts/wdHZp79swRY?feature=share.
Dairy Way
For motorized and non-motorized recreationalists alike! What great ice cream treats we had between hikes. If we make it back to Black River Falls, we’ll get some burgers and cheese curds next time too! This place was plenty busy, but the lines moved quickly, and orders came out fast as well. They’ve been in town since 1965 and I don’t see them going anywhere anytime soon. Check them out online: Dairy Way, LLC - Black River Falls, WI (dairywaybrf.com).
Castle Mound Overlook
What a treasure, the pictures online really don’t do this trail justice, it is a must explore in-person! Castle Mound Pine Forest | No. 16 | Wisconsin DNR has a couple of trail options, a playground at the trailhead parking, a state park and forest office with restrooms available, as well as a campground and is just a couple of miles outside of Black River Falls. The Castle Mound Nature Trail is a 2.0-mile loop that is rated as Easy in All Trails. You decrease mileage by making it an out and back hike straight to the overlook and bypassing the loop or increase mileage by adding on the interpretive trails. There are some steep ups and downs with majority of the elevation gain nearing the top of the bluff on the overlook trail. The pine forest and the rock formations throughout make the location feel a bit foreign which is fun to experience close to home, it almost gives a sense of hiking out west. The view is nothing short of spectacular after you climb to the top! The mosquitos weren’t too bad if you didn’t stop moving. This trail was a bit busier than Perry Creek but not too busy for a Saturday afternoon. We didn’t have to wait in line or anything to get up to the overlook, but we didn’t spend too much time up there as there was a group that had come up right after us that we had to head down for. Check out our YouTube short showing the end of the overlook trail https://youtube.com/shorts/xAu-4lHfnHA?feature=share.
Lunda Community Center
The perfect rainy-day activity to bring the family together! The Lunda Community Center, Inc. - Lunda Community Center (recdesk.com) is in Black River Falls and has it all... an aquatic center with lap pool, basketball hoops, volleyball net, water slide, zero entry kiddie play area, a current channel that is kind of like a mini lazy river as well as a steam room there is also a golf simulator, fitness center, and rock-climbing wall.
This is Part One because I'd like to share some of our non-motorized adventures from last year around Black River Falls sometime soon. Thanks for reading!
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