Talus Slope on East Bluff, Devil’s Lake State Park

Devil's Lake State Park sits within the Baraboo Hills, a range of quartzite bluffs formed roughly 1.6 billion years ago and later carved by glacial meltwater during the last ice age. The East Bluff rises about 500 feet above the lake and is lined with talus slopes—fields of broken quartzite boulders left behind as the cliff face eroded over millennia. Devil's Lake itself formed when glacial debris dammed both ends of an ancient river gorge, creating the enclosed lake seen today. Covering more than 9,000 acres, the park draws over three million visitors a year, making it the most visited state park in Wisconsin.

Photo taken in July 2026.