🥾 ActiveWeekend · from Milwaukee, WI
Devil's Lake Quartzite Bluffs & the Baraboo Hills
Two hours northwest of Milwaukee, Devil's Lake State Park is the crown jewel of the Wisconsin park system — a spring-fed lake cupped between 500-foot cliffs of ancient purple quartzite, rock older than almost anything on the continent, laid down 1.6 billion years ago and later dammed at both ends by glaciers into the gorge you see today. Day one is a full day of climbing: the East Bluff and West Bluff trails scramble up through talus and past improbable balanced-rock formations to clifftop overlooks that rank among the finest in the Midwest, with the blue lake far below and the Baraboo Hills rolling to the horizon. Day two ventures out into the surrounding hills to three smaller wonders — the mossy quartzite chasm of Parfrey's Glen, Wisconsin's first designated State Natural Area; a stretch of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail along the terminal moraine; and the hidden slot canyon and waterfall of Pewit's Nest. The town of Baraboo, historic winter home of the Ringling Brothers circus, anchors the night between.
Day 1 — Devil's Lake quartzite bluffs & the East/West Bluff trailsDay 2 — Parfrey's Glen, the Ice Age Trail & Pewit's Nest
Day 1 — Devil's Lake State Park, WI
Day 1 — Devil's Lake State Park, WI
🚗 2 hr driving📍 6 stops
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Morning
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Drive
Milwaukee, WI → Devil's Lake State Park
2 hr8:00 AM → 10:00 AM
Devil's Lake State Park Nature Center & North Shore
★ 4.8Begin at the North Shore, where the beach, concessions, and nature center cluster beneath the towering East and West bluffs — the classic first view of the lake framed by cliffs. The nature center explains the deep geology that makes this place extraordinary: Baraboo quartzite that began as beach sand more than 1.6 billion years ago, later ground and dammed by two lobes of the last glacier. A Wisconsin state park vehicle sticker is required; buy it at the entrance station. Devil's Lake is the state's most popular park, so an early arrival on summer weekends is well worth it for parking and quieter trails.
10:00 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
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East Bluff Trail & Balanced Rock
The East Bluff is the signature climb at Devil's Lake — a steep, rocky ascent of roughly 500 feet to a clifftop that delivers the park's most famous views straight down onto the lake. The trail passes the improbable quartzite formations the park is known for: Balanced Rock, a house-sized boulder perched on a slender pedestal, and Devil's Doorway, a natural rock arch on the brink of the cliff. Loop the East Bluff Woods Trail on the return for a gentler descent. The purple-and-pink talus fields are genuine rock scrambling in places — wear real footwear, take your time on the stone steps, and carry water, as there is none up top.
11:00 AM📍 See location
Picnic on the North Shore
★ 4.7The North Shore picnic area sits right on the beach beneath the bluffs — the ideal place to refuel between the two climbs. Pack a cooler or grab provisions in Baraboo on the way in, and eat with the cliffs reflected in the lake. A seasonal concession stand near the beach handles burgers and cold drinks if you'd rather not carry food. Keeping lunch in the park lets you get straight back onto the West Bluff for the afternoon.
12:00 PM📍 See location
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Afternoon
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West Bluff Trail
The West Bluff Trail climbs the opposite rim of the gorge, a paved-and-stepped 1.5-mile ascent that is slightly gentler than the East Bluff but every bit as rewarding, with a series of clifftop overlooks looking back across the lake to Balanced Rock and Devil's Doorway on the far wall. Late-afternoon light falls directly on the East Bluff from here, making it the better of the two for photographs at day's end. The trail runs along the very edge of the quartzite cliffs in places — keep back from the unfenced drop-offs. Combined with the morning's East Bluff, this completes the full loop of the gorge's rim.
1:00 PM📍 See location
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Evening
🍽️ Dinner5:00 PM
Downtown Baraboo dinner
Ten minutes north of the park, Baraboo's handsome courthouse square holds a cluster of taverns, breweries, and restaurants for dinner after a day on the bluffs. A Wisconsin supper club or the local brewpub is the natural choice — hearty food, a local beer, and the relaxed pace of a small county-seat town. Baraboo was the winter quarters of the Ringling Brothers circus, and Circus World Museum on the riverfront is worth a note for the next morning if time allows before Day 2's glens and canyons.
2 options · tap to switch
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Baraboo lodging (Clarion or downtown inn)
Baraboo, ten minutes from the park, is the natural base for the night, with a range of chain hotels along the highway and a few characterful inns and B&Bs near the historic square. The Clarion and Cobblestone are reliable full-service options. Booking in Baraboo keeps you close to both the park and tomorrow's glens and canyons. Wisconsin Dells, fifteen minutes farther north, has far more rooms if Baraboo is full, though it trades small-town quiet for waterpark bustle.
Day 2 — Parfrey's Glen & Pewit's Nest, WI
Day 2 — Parfrey's Glen & Pewit's Nest, WI
🚗 2 hr 20 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Baraboo, WI → Parfrey's Glen State Natural Area
20 min8:00 AM → 8:20 AM
Parfrey's Glen State Natural Area
★ 4.8Parfrey's Glen, on the southeast flank of the Baraboo Hills, was designated Wisconsin's very first State Natural Area in 1952 — a deep, cool, moss-draped quartzite chasm where a clear stream tumbles between walls studded with embedded pebbles of pink quartzite conglomerate. The two-mile round-trip trail follows the creek into the gorge, growing narrower, shadier, and more dramatic as the walls close in toward a small waterfall at the head of the glen. The upper section involves stepping across the stream and over rock, and can be slick and closed after heavy rain, so check conditions. It is a botanical treasure, sheltering ferns and northern plants left over from the Ice Age. A quiet, magical way to start the day.
8:20 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
Ice Age Trail — Devil's Lake Segment
★ 4.8The Ice Age National Scenic Trail — a thousand-mile footpath tracing the edge of the last glacier across Wisconsin — runs directly through the Baraboo Hills, and the Devil's Lake segments follow the terminal moraine and the bluff tops that the ice built and bounded. Pick up an out-and-back stretch from the park's south shore or the Roznos Meadow trailhead for a quieter, less-trafficked hike through oak woods and prairie remnants with the geology of the glacier's furthest reach underfoot. Interpretive markers explain how the two glacial lobes dammed the ancient river gorge to create Devil's Lake. It is a satisfying middle-of-the-day walk with far fewer people than the bluffs.
9:20 AM📍 See location
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Lunch in Baraboo or trailside picnic
Swing back through Baraboo for a midday meal on the square, or carry a picnic to eat trailside along the Ice Age Trail. Baraboo's cafes and delis make easy stops for sandwiches and coffee between the morning glen and the afternoon canyon. Keeping it simple and quick leaves plenty of afternoon for Pewit's Nest before the drive home.
10:20 AM📍 See location
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Afternoon
Pewit's Nest State Natural Area
★ 4.5Just southwest of Baraboo, Pewit's Nest is a hidden gem — a narrow sandstone slot canyon where Skillet Creek has carved a series of small waterfalls and deep, clear plunge pools through the rock, all tucked into a wooded ravine barely visible from the road. A short but steep and rooty path drops down to the gorge, where the sculpted rock, mossy walls, and dark pools feel far more remote than the ten-minute walk suggests. It is a State Natural Area with fragile terrain and no railings, so tread carefully near the drop-offs and the slick rock at the water's edge. A compact, dramatic finale before turning back toward Milwaukee.
12:00 PM📍 See location
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Evening
🚗
Drive
Baraboo, WI → Milwaukee, WI
2 hr5:00 PM → 7:00 PM
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