High Point in South Wisconsin

Blue Mounds State Park is a high point and one of the high points in the state.

At 1,716 feet above sea level it is the highest spot in the southern half of the Dairy State.  (Timm's Hill in the north central part of Wisconsin is the highest spot around.)

Much of Wisconsin is a rolling countryside formed by glaciers that once covered most of the state and all points north.  (So, by comparison I guess this past winter wasn't that cold or tough at all.)

Just as you get to this part west of Madison, however, the glaciers apparently went around leaving an island.

It's an area around Blue Mounds and to the west that slowly shifts its topography to what is called the Driftless Area, called that because there isn't any of the rock that "drifted" along in the glacier stream.

Looking 360 degrees from the top of the dual observation towers (one at the east end of the hill and the other at the west) are spectacular views on clear days - allowing wonderful views of surrounding communities, farmland, and the smaller hills radiating out from this high point.

You can use the "pointing devices" at the top of the towers to identify various created and man-made features of the landscape.  It's really not a looking glass.  The metal tube has no lens, but does spin around and by using numbers on the dial below it, it's easy to figure out what is in front of you.

There are all kinds of wildflowers in the park - including Wisconsin's State Flower, the Wood Violet which was chosen by school children in 1909.  These are some of the blooms I would traditionally pick for my mom's May Basket.

Several hiking trails can be selected that encircle the top of the Mound - bringing you up close to more wild blooms and native plants.

A Turkey Vulture flew over the top of me while there, but I checked my pulse and it had to sail on past.


A Bluebird posed just long enough for me to take its picture before it was off to dash around the recreation land and back to its house.

The park includes a campground with a large outdoor pool that is open through the summer.

Down the hill in the small town of Blue Mounds is a vintage small town general store with stuff to keep the locals from a longer drive into the next city over and hand-scooped ice cream and treats for campers or park day-trippers looking for a sweet treat after a sun-sparkled day in one of Wisconsin's quiet gems.

I had Moose Tracks in a waffle cone - yum!