Welcome to Straight Lake State Park! A pristine natural area and quiet beauty are found at Straight Lake in northwest Wisconsin. This 1,800-acre park is open to foot traffic only. Lake views and glacial features provide great vistas on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail within the park. Fishing is allowed and boats may be carried in to fish.

Straight Lake State Park contains an 850-acre block of mature forest with some trees approaching 100 years old. The rest of the area contains marsh, bog and grassland complexes.

Straight Lake is fed and drained by the Straight River. It is a premier northern wild lake with a great fishery of bass, northern pike and panfish. The Straight River was formed when melting glacial waters, under high pressure, blasted through the ice, carving a steep-sided tunnel channel.

Straight Lake has been nominated as an important bird area by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative. The birds include eagles and a pair of nesting trumpeter swans. There also are bears and river otters in the area.

The park is open to the public for foot traffic only. No motorized vehicles, bikes or horses are allowed. The Ice Age National Scenic Trail winds through the middle of the park along the Straight River and Straight Lake. A WI state park sticker is currently not required to enter this park.

Straight Lake State Park is still being developed and many amenities, trails, and other recreational opportunities will be added over time. To see the Master Plan for this state park, go to: http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/pr/PR0839.pdf

Best parking and access are posted at the coordinates below. Cache is regular in size and should be accessible throughout our varied seasons.

The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to Matthew Densow, manager of Straight Lake State Park. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at the Wisconsin DNR website.

Lake Superior North Woods

The northern tier of the Badger state is largely within a boreal forest biome.  Coniferous trees dominate this landscape, and with good reason.  This is a cold region with long winters and lots of snow.  Conifers are adapted to shed that snow with their evergreen needle leaves.  Their waxy branches retain moisture.  Wildlife that might be seen here are Timber Wolves, Black Bears, Porcupines and maybe even a Moose or two. Many of the warblers migrate to this region to nest.  Lake Superior’s cold water certainly has a big influence on the climate you’ll discover here…refreshing in the summer, invigorating in the winter.

The Wisconsin Geocaching Association (WGA) is a group of geocachers dedicated to promoting and protecting geocaching within the state of Wisconsin. The WGA organizes geocaching events, works with land owners/managers on geocaching policies, educates the public at large about geocaching, and facilitates communication between WGA members. To learn more about the WGA visit: wi-geocaching.com.

2013 kicks off the beginning of the Wisconsin Geocaching Association State Parks series. It is our goal to place a geocache in every state park in the state of Wisconsin, so watch out for more in this series that encourages geocachers to explore the natural resources in this beautiful state of ours.

The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to park manager Rebecca Green at Rocky Arbor State Park, and in-person consent was granted for cache placement. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at the Wisconsin DNR website.

This a WGA STATE PARK SERIES geocache: