Blue Mound State Park

I loved this park, I’m surprised to see the low reviews, though to be fair I came only for a day trip to hike the trails and didn’t stay overnight in a campsite. But as I drove away I thought, «I should totally come back here to camp overnight». Lots of trails that are secluded — I was here on the first day of a long holiday weekend and ran into only a few other people. My only disappointment was the pool — I’m sure it was lots of fun for the people in it, but the screams and squeals of the kids can be heard well into the forest which detracts a bit from the nature experience.

I’ve had Blue Mounds SP on my to-​do list for years now and can see after visiting, why I waited to come here.
The positives about BMSP include the number of trails to walk, hike, bike, ski.etc. Not sure how many miles of trail exist but there are easily a dozen of them to choose from with additional unmarked trails as well. Two lookout towers at the top are easily accessible and the east tower offers a nice view of the southern edge of Wisconsin’s Driftless Zone. There are also a couple of good informational markers noting the history of the mound.
While there are a number of trails to pick from, none of them are very inspiring. I could have hiked a local forest and gotten the same feel. While walking portions of at least five different trails I found little variation, visual appeal or challenge. You also don’t get any extended views of the surrounding area from the trails, that can only be done at the top of the mound.
Blue Mounds was a disappointment for me. There’s nothing memorable here and if I’m going to pay $ 10 to get into a park, I’ll venture a tad further to one of my favorites. Devil’s Lake.

Pretty underwhelmed by this park, unfortunately. I’ve tried to hike here twice and each time what should have been an easy to moderate hike can be very taxing. Trail maintenance seems very haphazard — some trails are clear and some are very overgrown. Vegetation that desperately needs to be cut back is allowed to grow over the trail to the point where it actually obscures the path. Not good for hikers or the park.
There are also a couple signs which seem to point in the opposite direction that trails go off on!

This park was beautiful and offered a lot of different hiking and biking trails. Also, the park is huge and there is a pool on the grounds. I only camped there one night but it was a wonderful experience. The campsites provide good privacy and the surroundings were quiet. My friends and I hiked to a lookout tower where we saw a fantastic view of southern Wisconsin. It was a trek but well worth it and you are over 1700 feet high. We also swam in the pool which was nice especially on a hot day after hiking. There was a small grocery store down the street from the park where we got some cheap firewood and snacks for night time. The camp sites come with a fire pit so no need to worry about creating one.
Probably the only downfall were the bathrooms. They weren’t particularly dirty just smelly because you basically do business into a sewage pit underground. Don’t worry its concealed so you don’t see anyone’s droppings but it does create a smell after a thunderstorm and torrential downpour. Although, if you plan to camp you should not expect to be peeing in luxury so the bathrooms are easy to deal with.
Blue Mound also has a lot of water fountains around the campsite so you are never short of hydrating yourself and there are showers available. Overall this campsite is great! I would definitely go back and explore more trails.

This park has very nice hiking trails, several of them. And if you come upon the observation tower, a climb up is well worth it for the view. You can see for miles and miles. Quite pretty.
One major complaint, however. We came here with two dogs. The park allows them, on leash, which these were. Dogs are animals, so when they eat, they produce, um, leavings. My friend bagged his dog’s leavings, but the park has NO GARBAGE CANS, for leavings or for anything else. Even near the parking lot and guard station. My friend had to carry his dog’s leavings around with him the entire time. And it was a warm day.
Now I am no parks expert, but you would think that a few well-​placed garbage cans wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially if they want you to leave no trace behind. Just saying.