MIDWEST OUTDOOR SPOTLIGHT: Rock Climbing Devil's Lake, WI

Rock climbing in the midwest is sparse, but a regional mecca of the vertical adventure is found at Devil's Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin. The park is really popular for its picturesque shear cliffs that surrounds the pristine lake. The rock climbing scene is well established as a beacon of midwest rock climbing. Avid climbers can find guidebooks and intuitive routes, but another huge benefit to the rock climbing at Devil's Lake is a local guiding company that can be helpful to learn the craft, learn the zone's routes, or simply be your guide to a rock climbing adventure in general. Heartland Outdoor Adventure's favorite rock climbing guiding company is, Devil's Lake Climbing Guides.

There are rock climbing routes throughout the park.

LOCAL OUTDOOR HIGHLIGHT : Nippersink Creek in Richmond, Keystone Landing to Pioneer Landing

Southeast Wisconsin is littered with lakes and rivers and the Illinois borderline does not stop that geography. Nippersink Creek flows south out of Genoa City, Wisconsin into Illinois and McHenry County. Just south of the town of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin is Richmond, Illinois and Glacial Park Conservation Area. Nippersink Creek bisects the Park and McHenry County created a water trail system of boat landings to facilitate paddling the creek in a canoe, kayak, or on a stand-up paddle board.   

^Paddling Nippersink Creek through Glacial Park

LOCAL OUTDOOR HIGHLIGHT : White River in Lake Geneva, Grand Geneva to Lyons

The tourist town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin has a really great river that runs northeast from the lake towards the small town of Lyons and eventually to Echo Lake in nearby Burlington. For this LOCAL OUTDOOR HIGHLIGHT the focus is on the section from Sheridan Springs Rd. (1) near Grand Geneva Resort to Riverview Park(2) in Lyons. This river gets pretty low as the summer turns to fall, but catch it in the spring and early summer and it is a wonderful day on the river. 

^Drop-in on Sheridan Springs Rd. near Grand

LOCAL OUTDOOR HIGHLIGHT : Alpine Valley Rocks a Mountain Bike Roll Too

Alpine Valley Resort in Elkhorn, Wisconsin is a resort most well-known for it's outdoor concert venue, ski area, and golf course. The concert venue has graced some of music's biggest rock and roll icons, but this LOCAL OUTDOOR HIGHLIGHT is about how the 8.1-mile mountain bike trail rolls through woods and hills rocking out an offering of over 1000 vertical feet of total ascending and descending.

^This sign, pictured above, is the indicator to