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 Lake Kegonsa State Park - Stoughton, WI Posted by:  LOST_Mom
N 42° 58.692 W 089° 13.860
16T E 318087 N 4760809
This state park has camping, 5.1 miles of hiking trails, cross country ski trails, a beach, pet swim area, a boat launch and two playgrounds.
Waymark Code: WM2J2N
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 11/09/2007
Views: 72
As stated on the Wisconsin DNR website:
"Lake Kegonsa State Park, south of Wisconsin's state capital, Madison, offers a natural, peaceful atmosphere beside a glacier-hewed lake.
Selecting one of the 80 beautiful campsites nestled among the oaks can be a difficult task. After setting up camp, visitors can hike a trail, enjoy the beach, launch their boat, or have a picnic in the park.
Lake Kegonsa offers swimming, fishing, water-skiing, sailing, and motor boating. The lake covers 3,209 acres and is more than 30 feet deep. Park visitors enjoy the lake's excellent fishing.
The 342-acre park of oak woods, prairie and wetland marsh was established in 1962 and officially opened on August 12, 1966. Today, Lake Kegonsa State Park eagerly awaits its visitors, ready to give them a quality recreational experience."
Park Type: Day Use, Overnight
Activities:
picnic, camping, hiking trails, cross country ski trails, swimming beach, boat launch, pet swim area, fishing pier, sand volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, sledding hill and two playgrounds
Background:
As stated on their website:
"Geology and History of the Park
The 3,209-acre Lake Kegonsa is the most prominent feature in the park.
How Lake Kegonsa Came to Be
During the last Ice Age, four distinct, giant glaciers, originating in Canada, invaded what is now the northern United States. The last of these great ice blankets, called the Wisconsin Glacier, overrode much of Wisconsin. Around here, the Wisconsin Glacier slid over the old river valley that many geologists believe was the “Ancient Wisconsin River.” The glacier slid over these park lands, creating a wide terminal moraine only a few miles south and southwest of Lake Kegonsa. Thus, this park once lay under thick glacial ice.
As the glacier melted and retreated, its meltwaters carried vast amounts of sand, gravel and boulders into the old river valley, partially filling it. The melting ice also dropped huge loads of glacial rock and debris on the park lands.
The old valley, now dammed in places by glacial debris, holds the famous “4-Lakes” of the Madison area: Lakes Mendota, Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa. This string of beautiful lakes has existed only during the last 12,000-15,000 years and is perched on glacial debris many feet above the old, buried valley floor. The present-day Yahara River connects the four lakes."
Date Established?: 1962
Link to Park: [Web Link]
Park Fees: Not listed
Additional Entrance Points: Not Listed
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