Wisconsin-State of High Cliff State Park

This park is gorgeous. The natural rock formations and the views of the water are top notch. The paths are mostly paved and easy to maneuver if you have kids or are disabled. I would say if you are a hiking beginner this place is perfect for you. The lack of a star is due to the traffic at this park it is always busy even on the cloudy/​windy days. Paths closure to the water may become extremely muddy as well.

Nice green and shady place. The cliffs are really cool to walk by and look down. Trails clearly marked and easy to follow. At the tower you can get a 360 view of the park.

It’s an interesting place with a little bit more emphasis on history than your typical state park, but if the wind is blowing over Lake Winnebago, watch out! The paper mills will stink this park up like raw sewage and bloated rotting animal.
What I saw of the park was very cool. You can see the remnants of where people apparently used to drive vehicles off of the top of the cliffs.
Unfortunately, during my visit we were downwind of the aforementioned paper mills. We considered toughing it out, but just a couple hundred feet down one of the hiking trails we had to cut things short.
That excepted, this park is an okay time. I’d like to come back sometime and see a bit more of the park.
Also, I managed to fall off a rock here. So that was pretty cool

Visited this park over the weekend and I loved it. Not a beach-​y park, but lots of stuff to do. Great low impact trails and some great rock formations. We had site 88 it was right on the Red Bird trail, which is a great way to see the aptly named high cliff. Lots of pit toilets, less flush toilets than this girl would like to see. Camp sites close to them reserve fast. Adorable tower for walking up with great views of Lake Winnebego! Lots of raccoons… Lock up your snacks y’all. Very well maintained park and the old timey general store and nature center was icing on the cake. I’d go back for sure!

As a child, this was a favored destination. As a grown up, I peal back the years on every visit. This is the place to find those hard to find widlflowers in the spring. There is an organized Friend’s efforts to rid the park of Garlic Mustard, worth any time you can throw at it. I am especially fond of the sunset vista over Lake Winnebago from upper Park, close to Chief Red WIng. The trees slope down to meet the water line, so it appears. The former quarry is a micro niche of ecotypes, so I just look at it. From here heading south is Stockbridge and it’s SNA The Ledge, containing similar plant types as at High Cliff. A place to clear the mind.

I first visited High Cliff State Park via boat as a child. I recently entered by land, versus sea, and camped for a long holiday weekend and was impressed at the versatility and beauty of this state park.
High Cliff was one of the few Wisconsin state parks with availability of Independence Day weekend. Making a reservation through
DNR was a breeze and camping was a go.
The park in located approximately 90 minutes north of Milwaukee on the north end of Lake Winnebago. It lives up to its name with high limestone cliffs which were once inhabited by the Winnebago tribe. The park even erected a statue to their leader, Chief Red Bird. There is a trail for his namesake as well as signage detailing the history and importance of the location to their people. Indian Mound Trail also points out several effigy mounds used to honor their deceased and remains. The park also features remains of Limestone Kilns and a General Store/​Museum with various artifacts, including the old post office boxes — still in working order.
The drive was quiet and beautiful and the ranger was helpful at check-​in. The tent site was clean, level and shaded as promised. There was a picnic table and fire ring for use during the stay. Nearby was a restroom with plenty of hot water for showers and flush toilets. There were benches and mirrors to keep items off the floor and added comfort. The «neighbors» were also very friendly and respectful and the night wildlife stuck to the woods, less a few footprints exploring the bumper of the car. Always be mindful to leave trash and food locked up in the evenings to avoid furry campground bandits from helping themselves.
For recreation, the park had a variety of hiking trails (easy to challenging), family and mountain biking trails and even a bridle trail/​camp for those with horses. Walkers and bikers using the bridle trail — please yield to horses! This means, when you see one, pull over and stop until they pass. Your presence and especially biking nearby can scare horses and create a dangerous situation for everyone. Please be careful and courteous so everyone can enjoy the beautiful trails.
There is also a marina and beach area. I only biked past these areas but visited as a child. Boat slips are available as well as launch space for small watercraft, kayaks and towable boats. The beach is located next to a grassy hill and very popular on warm, summer days. If stopping on the end of the park, take a moment to check out the purple martin colony near the trail. It is fun to listen to them communicate and jet in and out for food.
Wisconsin has many wonderful state parks with clean and quiet campground. I think High Cliff is an exceptional example. Whether stopping for an hour, and afternoon or an extended camp, High Cliff is worth a visit.
Other items of note: To avoid transporting harmful insects in your firewood, consider purchasing wood from the ranger station. It is $ 7.00 a bundle but it is a HUGE bundle of hardwood and will burn much longer than less expensive bundles of pine you may find at the local gas stations or houses. It is more of an up front investment but much more cost effective overall.

High Cliff holds a spot in my nostalgic little heart.
I spent many summer days and nights here growing up. As well, of course, as on school field trips.
You can swim in the lake. You’ll be covered in algae as soon as you set foot in the water as it is a shallow lake. But it’ll cool you off on a hot day.
You can camp and hike and cook out. We had annual bonfires with a group of friends. At least once a year I attended a cook out for a group event.
Explore the effigy mounds, the bedrock, and see the old lime kiln.

Don’t waste your time. As an avid camper, I’ve been to many of the State Parks in Wisconsin and this was by far the least friendly and worst equipped that I have ever visited. For starters the Beach was unusable… this is a HUGE deal breaker when camping in the hot summer months with children. Not only was the water the consistency of pea soup but had huge blobs of neon green gunk bobbing on the surface. We were told by locals that the water is dangerous, don’t let our dogs swim because their have been reports of dogs coming out and starting to convulse from the toxins and die. However, the Park rangers told us that we «could» swim because the Ecoli levels were «low enough»… Really?!
Complaint #2… We booked a Group camp site & on the web site it stated that there is a playground and a volleball court adjacent to our group camp site. However, there we no such amenities present. This is rediculous.
Then on an early morning hike we approached the bathroom building to find it locked… why? I have no idea. Yes, they have some great trees and picnic tables but that is about all. The unfriendly Park Rangers are a joke… If you would like to feel like you are being harrased at every turn… head over to High Cliff… If you would like a REAL ENJOYABLE camping experience… I would recommend camping else where.

I stopped by the High Cliff State Park to see a little scenery on a sunny day. I had to pay $ 10 for a day pass to get in. This may have been a little steep considering I only wanted to look around for an hour or two.
There were plenty of areas to picnic under large trees and several families were doing just that.
I mainly enjoyed the scenery as we looked out over the cliffs and walked along the path for a while. It was pretty hot out so I didn’t go too far. But it was the mosquitos that finally convinced me to turn around.
I finished my visit with a climb up the 40 ft wooden tower. More scenery and then I made my way out of the park.
This was a nice park, but not necessarily my cup of tea. I might return if I was in the right mood.

Lovely state park with lots of picnic tables, grills, a tower you can climb, and some views out over Lake Winnebago and the surrounding area. Don’t miss the Niagara escarpment and the old quarry site if you like geology and the big statue of a Winnebago chief if you like local history.