Wyalusing State Park — Attraction in Town of Wyalusing

Magical, but frustrating place. Magical: it offers incredible views, lightning bugs galore at the ridge campground, and hummingbird watching at the concession stand. Frustrating: no one is at the main ranger station, ever. Was there for five days, and checked multiple times- no one there. Only saw a park ranger drive through twice. Guess they don’t care if you get a state park pass or have questions.

Hiking- it would be helpful if the maps included topography so folks would know how steep the trail is before starting. Lots of people unprepared for the difficulty. At the very least, include a difficulty rating system in the map guide. No dogs allowed on the Sugar Maple trail (according to the guide), yet no signs about this posted on the trail. So naturally people brought their dogs with them to picture cave. Also, we hiked the bluff trail under the ridge campground and could not believe the trail was open: rebar poking out of the ground, areas where the trail was washed out leaving less than 12 inches before falling down 200 feet, and areas where there used to be a railing but was removed. When we read the guide after getting done, we saw that it said that only a small section to Treasure cave is open, yet there was no barrier or sign on the actual trail, and the map still shows the entirety of the trail! But most importantly for families, be aware that most trails are NOT kid friendly. Several trails have steep drop offs into ravines, loose rocks, and roots that will result in disaster if you aren’t careful. Several trails had loose, golfball-sized rocks that covered a hill. I cannot imagine if you are going down hill and having to carry a child down that. RIP ankles! It seems like the trails have not been maintained since the 1970s, and the wooden structures really need to be checked for stability. The wooden bridges, steps, and ladders all had rotten pieces or bounce.

Bathrooms in the ridge campground were mostly cleaned on the weekend. Lower your expectations if camping midweek- women’s bathroom had no soap for two days. Vault toilet in ridge campground had urine on the floor that was never cleaned and the number of flies was a strong deterrent to using it. A few signs telling people to close the toilet lid would help. Shower nozzles do not stick out from the wall very far, so tall people have flatten themselves against the wall or crouch to get clean. Kind of weird.

Be sure to bring the bug spray because the horseflies are almost as numerous as the hummingbirds! Also, raccoons are abundant and unafraid of people- we had one come up to our garbage when we were sitting within 15 feet of it! Also, the garbage and recycling are co-mingled in the ridge campground so it’s ironic that the state park guide and signs announce that they recycle.

Again, this place truly is one-of-a-kind, but could really use some manpower, communication, and funding to make...

Incredible treasure! If you like scenery, nature, history, and recreation, all wrapped up in a quiet & clean campground experience, you will love Wyalusing State Park. We stayed for 3 nights in a tent site in Wisconsin Ridge, site 110. Our site was spotless and fairly private, and very quiet at night. Restrooms were nearby and feature large, clean showers with each shower room having its own exterior door and lock - which made all the difference when helping 2 children with showers. We loved the canoe trail, and rented a canoe for 3 hours at the Concession stand at the Petersen Shelter. In that time we were able to do all of the north trail and about half of the south trail. The scenery on north was beautiful, and we saw about 10 bald eagles. The highlight was when we navigated the canoe under a perching eagle who then flew a large arcing circle all the way around our canoe! We were the only canoe on the trail, so it was very peaceful and allowed us the special opportunity to see so many bald eagles. We also hiked to Treasure Cave and Sand Caves. All trails are well marked. The Effigy Mounds sprinkled throughout the park were neat to see and read about. Two afternoons, we also drove to Wyalusing public recreation area beach, just a few minutes away from the campground. Parking at the beach is ample and free, and the beach is clean with a gradual entry into the River. The only thing I will warn campers about was the raccoons, which visited our campsite multiple times every night. We quickly learned that everything needed to be stored away in a locked vehicle overnight, as the raccoons are capable of opening containers and will go for anything that remotely smells like any type of food. They even dragged my husband's fishing pole down into the woods. Wyalusing is one of the best, if not THE best, state parks I have ever been to in my 35 years of camping. Highly recommend - you will not be...

The major attraction here would be the views of the Wisconsin and Mississippi river confluence. The hiking trails are not for the novice, due to elevation change between the bluffs. But this will be one of my most highly recommended state parks for WI, overall.

Our family stayed in the Wisconsin Ridge loop, which is set up on top of a bluff and has fantastic views of the Wisconsin River valley. The sites there are typical for WI state parks, relatively level, moderately wooded, with some sparse undergrowth separating the sites. Not completely private, but not an open field either. Multiple bathroom facilities, including one with free showers. They were well maintained and in good condition.

They also have a Homestead loop, which offered much more private sites overall, though some were on the smaller side. Another bathroom facility was located in the center of this loop and looked to be newer, though we did not stop to check it out.

On the downside, there was an abundance of gnats and raccoons. So bring a screen tent and pack away anything edible at night. Also, there was pretty steady freight train traffic flowing through the valley, if you're an extremely light sleeper.

There is a Wal-Mart within a 15 minute drive, in case you forget anything. Pete's hamburgers are supposed to be great, but only open Fri-Sun. The place selling firewood at the park entrance was $3/bundle and had very good quality,...