Rocky Trail to the East Bluff at Devil’s Lake State Park

Devil's Lake State Park sits in the Baraboo Range, a band of quartzite hills formed roughly 1.6 billion years ago among the oldest exposed rock in North America. The East Bluff trail climbs about 500 feet above the lake, crossing talus fields of quartzite boulders left behind as the surrounding cliffs eroded over millions of years. Glacial ice sheets stopped just short of this valley during the last ice age, damming the ancient Wisconsin River and creating the lake that gives the park its name. At roughly 9,200 acres, Devil's Lake draws more visitors annually than any other property in the Wisconsin state park system.

Photo taken in July 2026.