Devil's Doorway Loop Trailhead — Attraction in Town of Baraboo

Recommended as number one trail in Wisconsin. It's $16 for a parking pass for the day. We bought it at the kiosk because there was no one attending the ranger building. We had hiked another state park nearby and it was only $11. Not sure about the price difference. We wanted a little bit longer hike so we tied in The grotto, CCC , East bluff trail to the devil's doorway trail loop and then we continue down to balance rock trail which takes you back to the trailhead you started at. I did not have on my Garmin watch so I can't tell you the elevation gained. But as you're hiking along the grotto trail, seeing all the huge rocks. Wondering how this natural formation happened. You never think of the fact that you're going to be climbing up those rocks and then back down on the trails we mentioned. Shoes with soft soles. The hiking boots we had on were way too rigid and several of the rocks were slippery even without being wet. Also ample bug spray. Plenty of water and a snack...

This is my preferred trailhead to start from for the east bluff as i would rather do one of the three stairfull paths at the start then the end. You have the option of going with balancing rock, the most direct has the most stairs, and the famous rock gormy; potholes which is a little detour, has a bit less stairs, and features geologic potholes at the top; and CCC, which goes out to the old CCC camp then up, least extreme of the bunch. After you get to the top make sure to detour to Devil's Doorway. Then if you need to get back to the trailhead, your options are either to take one of the three back down (i recommend CCC), or continue...

This may be the holy Grail of ultra running training. The loop includes the three east trails and the rest around the lake. I do three climbs on each trail, power hiking up and running down, as I work my way around the lake. The key is the downhill running. I have found nothing over the years that so specifically recreates the stress on my legs of a long ultra like this. Go early, run with lots of water and electrolytes you...