Hiking The East Bluff & Balanced Rock Trail At Devil's Lake State Park

Three weeks ago we had a gorgeous 65 degree weekend, so we drove to Baraboo, Wisconsin to do some fall hiking in Devil's Lake State Park.

Devil's Lake is everyone's favorite park in Wisconsin and it is also Wisconsin's largest and the most visited state park averaging three million visitors per year.  There is something for everyone to do here.  You can boat, kayak, fish, swim, hike, hunt, camp, rock climb, scuba dive, ski, sled, and snowshoe.   We have camped here (see this old post from 2012 HERE)  during the summer and we really enjoyed the hot sandy beach and warm 70 degree water to swim in.  The lake is 368 acres and 47 feet deep.  It is surrounded on two sides by 500 foot quartzite bluffs.  Most of the hiking trails are either on the East Side Bluff or the West Side Bluff. 

There are so many beautiful hiking trails in Devil's Lake but if you're only in the park for one day, the East Bluff Trail is a must!  It is the most popular trail as it on this trail you get to see the famous features the park is known for:  Balanced Rock, Devil's Doorway,  and Elephant Rock and Cave.

 

The East Bluff Trail is described as moderate, which I would agree with.  However, to see Balanced Rock or Devil's Tower you have to descend down onto a rocky cliff side which can be tricky for some people.  If climbing on sheer rock cliffs is not your thing, but you still want to see the spectacular views, the easiest way to get up to the top of the bluff is to start on the north shore where the ascent is less steep, then take the East Bluff Woods Trail back down.  

I honestly found the forest trails almost as spectacular as the scenic views from the top of the bluffs.  The fall foliage in Devil's Lake State Park is AMAZING!  I know it's too late to go this year, but if you want to plan a fall trip for next year, plan on going the 2nd or 3rd week of October.  When these pictures were taken, it was the 2nd week of October.  But, we enjoyed ourselves so much and wanted to finish another part of the trail, so we went back the following weekend and felt the colors were even more vibrant!

There are many, many jaw-dropping overlooks on the East Bluff Trail.  Every time you think you saw the best view ever, you turn a corner and there's an even better view!  My husband and I wondered why Devil's Lake isn't a national park instead of a state park...it's just that incredible.

The section of the East Bluff Trail we took this day was 1.1 miles long one way.  You can continue to hike along the East Bluff for another 0.6 miles,  but we saved that stretch for another day.  

There are so many interesting rock formations on the trail.

This is Elephant Cave.  It is very small, you can't really go too far inside to explore, but you can poke your head in and snoop around if you dare!

This is Balanced Rock.  I did not have a good experience on this trail.  To see the balanced rock, you have to get off of the East Bluff Trail and climb quite a ways down a rocky cliff.  It was a super crowded day and the trail was literally so packed with hikers that people were "waiting" just for an opportunity to move.  The problem was that the trail is very narrow and steep and you can climb up to see the Balanced Rock from the bottom too so we kept have "Traffic Jams".  Also, the pine needles just dropped so the rocks were very slippery and people (even young ones) were slipping and falling.  I had my walking sticks and they were a life saver because I could use them as a bannister to climb down the steep rocks.

I was so overwhelmed by the time I got half way down the Balanced Rock trail that when I saw the rock I said "That's It? I hiked down a mountain to see this?"  ha ha!  The Balanced Rock Trail is only 0.4 miles and is described as "Challenging".  I would say that is very accurate!  It is a difficult, steep, climbing trail with no railings.  One slip, and you're a goner!  It takes about an hour to climb this trail, longer in the summer due to the crowds.  The Balanced Rock is about 2/3rd's of the way up to the top of the trail.  If you'd like to experience what it is like hiking down Balanced Rock without any people around, there is a great video of the experience HERE!

But the views from the rock were incredible! 

Hubby was brave enough to go stand right next to the rock, but I was not.

Well, once we saw the rock we decided that due to the crowds (and the fact it was past lunch time and we were hungry) that instead of going back up the cliff, we would just walk the remainder of the Balanced Trail down to the lake level and call it a day.  I was disappointed, because I really wanted to see Devil's Doorway, but we decided to come back the following weekend.

Once again, the forest views did not disappoint.

Once we finally reached the bottom of the bluff we headed for the potties, had a snack, then checked out the gorgeous lake views from the south side of the lake.

Now here's the tricky part.  On the East Side Bluff, the only way to get back to your car parked in the north shore parking lot is to either climb back up the bluff and take the East Woods Bluff Trail or the East Bluff Trail back (Or you could go all the way around the south end of the lake and take the Tumbled Rocks Trail back, which is a spectacular trail. See this old post HERE. ).  Hubby thought the day was already late and that would add a lot of miles to our already taxing day, so he suggested we take the railroad tracks back.  You are not supposed to walk on the railroad tracks, as it is used twice a day, but everyone walks on them.  It was filled with hikers when we were there.  And frankly, I've been to Devil's Lake multiple times in my life and I've never seen a train go through this park, so I have no idea why they say on their website that a train goes through twice a day.  I also don't know why they just won't put in a trail on this side of the lake.  

When you're down on the beach, it's fun to look up and see how far you climbed.

All in all on this day we hiked one mile on the East Bluff Trail, climbed down 0.4 miles, and hiked another mile back to our vehicle.  We had a picnic lunch on the grounds near the beach, then got back into the car and enjoyed the beautiful colors even as we left the park.  We couldn't wait to come back next week and see more!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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Our Utah Adventure: Day Four and Five, Part 1: Sunrise and Sunset In Arches National Park

 This is a continuation of a travel series to Utah.  To start at the beginning, go  HERE.  The rest of the posts in chronological order are HERE,  HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE,HERE, and HERE!

After we left Bryce Canyon, we grabbed some lunch and headed to our final destination of our Utah Adventure:  Arches National Park.  It is a four and a half hour drive from Bryce to Arches.  Now, my husband and I had already been to Arches back in 2016, but we went again this time around so my son could see it and also so we could hit some trails we missed on our first visit.

We arrived in Moab late in the day and had very limited time before sunset.  We had told our son all about the Delicate Arch Trail (the best trail in the park in my opinion, but also one of the most difficult).  My husband and I hiked that trail the first time we visited (you can read about it HERE).  To this day, I put that trail in my top three of most difficult hiking trails (I did hike it during the heat of the day, which is NOT recommended) but oh, so worth it!  After days of hiking, my son wasn't interested in hiking another long, arduous trail, and frankly, hubby and I were pretty pooped out ourselves, so we decided to take the "Cheater's Trail" so our son could at least see the arch from the distance.  It in no way is as great an experience as hiking the trail and getting right up to the arch, but it was still a neat experience because you get to see it from another perspective.  You really realize how HUGE this arch is when you see it from a distance.  Look at the pictures below, can you see the people standing to the left of the arch?  Like I said, it's all about perspective!

This trail has two viewpoints:  a lower and an upper.  The lower viewpoint is wheelchair accessible as is a 100 yd easy walk.  The upper viewpoint is 0.5 miles and is moderately difficult, rocky uphill route.  

If you ever visit Utah and go to Arches National Park, this is the arch that is not to be missed!  So if you don't want to walk a strenuous three mile trail to see the arch, at least take in one of the other "Cheater trails".  This arch is the one featured on Utah billboards and license plates.  It's a must see!

After we saw the Delicate Arch, we took our son to another spot in the park we thought he'd find interesting for it was featured in the movie "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade".  It is called "Double Arch".  I also did a post on this arch back in 2016 HERE.

This is such a great arch.  It's so fun to climb right into it.  It may not look like it in the photos but this arch is huge and it is quite the climb to get up to the first window.  To get up to the base of the arch itself is very easy.  It's only a 0.5 mile hike (round trip) from the parking lot on a easy, hard-packed trail.

I climbed up this baby the first time I visited (although not as high as my hubby did), but this time I held back and let my husband and son have all the fun while I took pictures.

By the time my son was done exploring the double arch, the sun was setting fast, so we knew we had to get going.  I did get some spectacular sun set pictures though!

The next morning we woke up before dawn so we could watch the sunrise in the park.  I can't recommend enough visiting these parks early in the morning or late at night.  First of all, there are hardly any other people, so you can always find a parking spot.  Second, you will always get amazing pictures because there aren't a lot of tourists in your frame, and the lighting is spectacular!  And thirdly, the day time temperatures are harsh in Utah.  It is so much more comfortable hiking in the coolest part of the day.

The picture below shows the famous "Balanced Rock" as the sun rises and hits it.  If you want to read more about this easy trail, check out THIS POST from 2016.  You will also see a big difference in the photography as those pictures were taken during the heat of the day.

After viewing the Balanced Rock, we then headed to show our son "Windows Trail".  I also wrote about this trail in 2016 HERE,

"Windows Trail" is an easy 1 mile round trip trail to North Window, South Window, and the Turret Arch.  I believe the photo below is the Turret Arch.  It is opposite of the Window arches.  My son is standing with his arms outstretched in front of it.  Can you see him?

It was such an amazing experience to sit underneath this arch and watch the sun rise.  The beauty was unbelievable.

Hubby walked around both sides of the arch (no easy feat) to get these stunning photographs.  On one side he captured our shadows, and on the other side (next picture), he captured the arch and us all lit up by the sun.

This picture shows the North and South Windows together.

After showing our son all the highlights of our first visit to Arches in 2016 we were off to explore some of the arches we missed the first time!  And wow!  Were we glad we did, because we sure found some beauties, but more on that next week.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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