Willow River State Park, WS · Willow Falls, WI

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Really short drive today, although we did cross back into Wisconsin. We are camping at Willow River State Park so that we can enjoy Willow Falls.

State parks are a little pricer here than we are use to, especially for a nonresident. They charge you the fee to camp, a fee to make the reservation, and an entrance fee that can be quite high. Example for nonresident to camp at Willow River State Park: $40+$8+$13=$61. Now if you wait to reserve until you arrive you can avoid the reservation fee. If you will be camping at multiple Wisconsin State Parks, I would suggest purchasing an annual pass for $38 to avoid paying the entrance EACH DAY that you camp. Another thing to know is that they do not provide water or sewer at your campsite, many other States are the same in the north such as Iowa and Missouri.

The Park we are camping at is empty today in the campground, however, the waterfall was very busy even at 4:00 in the afternoon on a Monday. The waterfall had a wide base and natural pool at the bottom, gorgeous. The park provided a bridge for better viewing, benches to enjoy the waterfall, and to our surprise rock climbing was allowed on the canyon walls. It was a little nerve racking to watch them learn to climb, but exciting when they would reach the top. Many individuals also enjoyed fishing at the base of the waterfall, appears they were catching trout.

The hike to the waterfall was only a 1/4 of a mile but was extremely steep. I am sure this climb back will provide some soreness to our calves tomorrow. We are hoping it wore out our older dog, Mandy, who likes to go out in the middle of the night three times plus to potty. The strange thing is she can hold her pee all day long just not during the night.

We also really enjoyed the hidden pond trail behind the nature center. It was shaded, paved, and had many opportunities to view deer and birds even in the early afternoon. The natural playground trail needs a bit of work, you can still see the luster and appeal that it used to have. We also took the hike down the lake path to view the damn.

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