The party is over, they are collecting fees again.
But it was a nice diversion while it lasted. I visited a number of them:
Willow River, nice waterfall and hiking, lake & beach

Pattison, even better hiking and waterfalls, the deck on the north side gave me vertigo.

Amnicon Falls, more good hiking and water falls

Copper Falls, did I yet mention great hiking and water falls? Very nice old school trails built back in the Great Depression, too bad we can't pay people to do that now instead paying them to do nothing.

Perrot, nice hiking, great exercise climbing hills along the Mississippi to strengthen the legs for portaging. Great Views of river valley, tugs, fishermen, railway, sunset and I imagine sunrise

Wildcat Mtn nice view of Kickapoo valley

Now I'm going to have to investigate some of the nearby lakes and rivers I discovered along the way.

As a cheese-head thru and thru WI SP are something I use often. In your list of west state parks a few outstanding ones are missing. Wissota in Chippewa Falls, Gov. Dodge near Dodgeville, with lots of hiking and canoeing. Another little used one Yellowstone SP out in the boonies and farmland offers some hiking is on a lake and has a public developed no cost target range west of Yellowstone Lake.

Lots of good opportunities!

butthead

I'm an IL guy. I always buy a WI state parking sticker and a trail pass. I haunt the John Muir Mt Bike trails at the Southern Kettles. Been doing it for 3 decades. My wife and I love taking our trailer to the many other state parks. The Sticker fee and trail pass are a small price to pay.

Been to Amnicon Falls SP a couple times, and a few others in WI. Hoping to visit Pattison sp this summer.

I've been to both Pattison and Amnicon Falls. Enjoyed them both. Used to go to Willow River with the Boy Scouts before it was a park. Camped there a lot.

Those parks with waterfalls are also very scenic in winter with snow and ice. And many parks have snowshoes you can borrow.

Buckhorn SP is another quiet park. It doesn't get huge crowds because, let's face it, central WI is flat. The big draw is its on Castle Rock Lake. But the great thing is it is local and has several long trails to take the dog on, which is good for me.

4keys: "Those parks with waterfalls are also very scenic in winter with snow and ice. And many parks have snowshoes you can borrow.


Buckhorn SP is another quiet park. It doesn't get huge crowds because, let's face it, central WI is flat. The big draw is its on Castle Rock Lake. But the great thing is it is local and has several long trails to take the dog on, which is good for me. "

Buckhorn was recently updated and expanded. Quiet only when the F16's out of Volk Field are not flying, but they are fun to watch!

butthead

butthead: "Gov. Dodge near Dodgeville, with lots of hiking and canoeing. "

I don't think Gov. Dodge was open. I had wanted to go there and Wyalusing, but the web site said they were closed. I guess I can go in June when they have the free weekend.

Yeah, I am cheap, but WI also nailed a $50 fine on me for filing my taxes late so I need to recover that. The $*&#@, they owed me money. It's not like I owed the state money. They took 5/7ths of my return!!!!

I can also recover it by not paying trail fees for biking and skiing. If there is one thing I have learned from Mad City, it's OK to break the law if you don't agree with it.

The current status of the parks is listed on their website. https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/
As someone posted state park stickers are required, not free anymore. Also important note they are closed on Wednesday to allow park employees to maintain them. Limited hours. No overnight camping yet. Soon hopefully.