Located in West Central Wisconsin the Black River State Forest offers more than 68000 acres of multi-use recreational, scenic, camping, and wilderness opportunities. Within this vast and beautiful forest you can hunt, fish, hike, bike, kayak, picnic, swim, ATV trail ride, horseback ride, snowmobile, or just lay back and relax.
For the campers there are several options. Castle Mound Campground has RV sites with electricity, showers and flush toilets along with a dump station. Pigeon Creek is a primitive campground with handicap accessible facilities and a swimming beach. East Fork Campground is also primitive. It has a canoe landing on the Black River. In addition to these there is a horse campground with tethering posts and facilities for your horse and a canoe campsite on the Black River and a group campsite. Back packing is also popular within the forest and is allowed with a permit which can be obtained at the forest headquarters.
The park also has an ADA cabin. This cabin will accommodate twelve people and comes equipped with a stove, refrigerator, heated floors, and a full bathroom. Reservations for the cabin can be made by contacting forest headquarters.
The motorized enthusiast can ride their ATV or motor cycle on thirty-four miles of trails within the park. These trails connect to the county trails for a total of two hundred and thirty miles of motorized trails to explore. During the winter you will find more than one hundred and fifty miles of groomed snowmobile trails. There are maps available for these trails along with up to date trail conditions at the forest headquarters.
The non-motorized outdoor enthusiast will find more than fifty miles of cross country bike trails. These trails will satisfy the novice rider all the way to the hardiest mountain biker. Several of the trails are multi-use hiking and biking so beware of the pedestrians.
For the pedestrian Black River Forest offers more than fifty miles of hiking trails. This is my favorite way to explore the forest and its variety of extraordinary views, geology and history. The best trail to begin with is the nature trail at Castle Mound. From on top of the observatory you can scan the entire forest. There is also a view of the ancient Lake Wisconsin which makes up a large part of this region. The lake is clearly identifiable. Other trails run along The Black River and Perry Creek. These trails are excellent for exploring the various limestone outcropping and finding wildlife.
After a day of hiking, biking, or ATV exploring a swim is in order. The forest has several swimming beaches. However, my favorite is just outside the forest and only a ten minute ride from Castle Mound Campground. This is the Jackson County Wazee Lake Recreation Area. Wazee Lake is Wisconsin’s deepest lake and one the clearest.
Wazee Lake offers a large sandy beach for swimmers and three access points for scuba divers. There is no motorized boat traffic allowed on the lake but kayaks abound. The county charges a $3.00 a day user fee per vehicle and a $10.00 a day diving fee. Yearly passes are also available. You should set aside some time to explore the Wazee lake Recreation Area. The area is a reclaimed taconite mine and has several good auto trails around the old mine area which is now a nature reserve.
The town of Black River Falls borders the West end of the Forest. In town you can find several restaurants serving everything from Italian, to Mexican with American supper club cuisine thrown in the middle. Downtown Black River falls has some fun shops. Be sure to stop in the drug store and check out their used book selection. For those feeling lucky there is a casino on the edge of town operated by the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Accommodations other than camping can be found in Black River Falls. You can choose from a bed and breakfast or one of many cabin resorts available. There are several motels both independent and national chains are represented. The Ho-Chunk Nation operate a sixty-room hotel and conference center connected to their casino at Majestic Pines. Contact the Black River Falls Chamber of Commerce for more information.
The Black River Forest is truly a four-season outdoor recreation paradise. It is an easy drive from Minneapolis which is a little over two hours away and Milwaukee is just three and half hours away, all by interstate. Plan a vacation for this area and bring your toys or just your hiking boots, you will not be disappointed.
