Hoyt Park

Hoyt park is one of many sneaky natural treasures tucked away within the city of Madison. Easy to miss, but absolutely worth searching out.
I hadn’t been to the park in ages, in fact, when looking at the map earlier in the day I’d forgotten that I’d been there before. This is probably because we’d stopped and spent some time at the main shelter, but didn’t really check out the rest of the park. Shame on me! We missed out back then; not only does the trail make for a lovely and mostly shady walk, but the history here is fantastic. The park was once a quarry, and it shows because this local stone was used throughout.
You can access the park from three areas. First is a footpath next to Hoyt School on Regent Street (street parking only here). The primary entrance is a bit farther up Regent Street, and here is where you’ll find the parking lot and the main facilities for the park. Lastly, you can hike down from the the scenic outlook at Owen Parkway. There is limited parking up there and on the street by Hoyt School, so I’d suggest the main lot.
Hoyt offers a bit of something for everyone. As you pull into the parking lot you’ll notice the stone shelter and restroom facility. There are enough picnic tables in the shelter for a good sized get together (reservable) and a large fireplace on each end. While we were there I saw two different groups cook up something on a teeny fire in there. There’s a children’s playground near the parking lot, more picnic tables scattered about, and a large open grassy area for soccer, lawn games or frisbee. A basketball court and softball field round out the sporting options. Also, as of June 2015, this is one of 10 Madison parks that will be participating in a pilot program for slacklining sites in the city. Neat!
The trail (about a mile total) is a mix of paved and unpaved surfaces. It weaves through the trees and rock formations in a way that really maximizes the 31 acres the park sits on. There are picnic areas with stone fireplaces and tables tucked here and there, and a second shelter full of picnic tables down the path into the woods. A smaller clearing past this shelter opens to a restored prairie area, which was loaded with flowers and butterflies when my friend and I walked through. I noted a few benches here and there where one could sit and watch the pollinators at work. There were raspberries everywhere! At one point we walked past old mossy quarry walls, and up/​down stone stairways. There were wildflowers all along the trail, which always makes me happy.
We shared the trail with a number of people running through the park or walking their dogs. But beware! Technically dogs are only allowed along Owen Parkway and must be leashed while there (via City of Madison website). I don’t know how strict they are at the park if you’re caught. Regardless, I was pleased to see so many people using the park in a couple hours time.
Unfortunately there are some signs of vandalism once you get into the woods. There are not-​so-​pretty patches in the fencing where people have tried to get through to the blocked off lower quarry area, and some of the beautiful stone tables have been spray painted. Hopefully the Friends of Hoyt Park are on top of these things; from what I read they’re pretty active.