Devil’s Lake State Park in Autumn

Autumn in Devil’s Lake State Park © 2011 Bo Mackison

Perhaps you have noticed that even in the very lightest breeze you can hear the voice of the trees; this we understand is its prayer to the Great Spirit, for not only men, but all things and all beings pray to Him continually in different ways.  ~ Black Elk

Anyone who lives near Devil’s Lake State Park in south-central Wisconsin and has even a passing interest in nature makes time in their schedules for a ride through this iconic park in autumn. It never fails to please.

The entrance speaks of a grandeur from a different era–huge stone pillars designed and constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s–welcome everyone to the beauty inside the park. Even the South Shore Road winds through hardwood forests on its way to the glacial lake, the park’s namesake. Yellows and oranges are the predominant colors, but flashes of sunlight make it an otherworldly, shadowy experience.

I’ve walked through these woods–part of the Ice Age Scenic Trail–for many decades. Before I moved to Wisconsin, my family took many vacation trips to Devil’s Lake, an easy trip from Illinois. And in the last four decades, I’ve spent hundreds of days exploring the woods, cliffs, piles of boulders, the lake and its beaches.

A wonderful place for an explore of any kind.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer, owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. One of her goals is to visit and photograph every state park in Wisconsin. She is at #14.