Eli Major, park naturalist, at Ogle lake. ~ story and photos by Jeff Tryon
There is a multitude of outdoor entertainment options for visitors to the Brown County State Park, but two of the nicest places to unwind, interact with nature, and do a little hiking or fishing are the park’ s two picturesque lakes: Strahl Lake and Ogle Lake.
Park Naturalist Eli Major said hiking is the most popular attraction at the lakes, although the fishing is pretty good too.“ We typically have over a million annual visitors to the park each year and our two most popular trails are around the lakes,” Major said.“ Trail 7 around Ogle Lake is the most popular, followed by Trail 6 around Strahl Lake.”
Trail 7 is a great mile-and-a-half loop trail which goes around Ogle Lake, with a nice view of the lake from all points along the trail. The south side of the loop is fairly steep and rigorous, but there are several stairways to help you along.
There is an observation platform about halfway, at the back end of the lake opposite the dam / parking lot, which makes for a comfy rest stop to observe wildlife or snap a scenic photo.
Our State Park Lakes
On the east side, Trail 7 connects with Trail 4 and takes you into the Ogle Hollow Nature Preserve. Trail 4 connects with Trail 5 on the northeast side of the ridge, and it takes you up to the Rally Campground.
“ So, you can actually hike about a two-mile loop by using trails 4 and 5 together,” Major said.“ I highly recommend that anybody who wants to do that take Trail 5 down and Trail 4 up, because Trail 5 is a straight line down the ridge and Trail 4 has switchbacks, so it’ s a little bit easier to ascend.” Also connecting with Trail 7 is Trail 11, the“ Vollmer Trail.”“ It’ s named after Bob Vollmer, who had quite a storied career as a surveyor at DNR,” Major said.“ Trail 11 is our best wilderness trail. It takes you way out in the middle of nowhere down into a couple of secluded valleys and ridgetops.”
Strahl Lake.
58 Our Brown County • July / August 2024