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Joe Steinbring

Wisconsin

A red lighthouse on the Milwaukee lakefront beside Lake Michigan beneath a blue, cloud-filled sky.
Lake Michigan and a red lighthouse on the Milwaukee lakefront.2019 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring
Static offline map of Wisconsin marking 28 visited places.

Wisconsin is my home and a beautiful place to live. These four are spread across the state and across a decade: kayaking at Devil’s Lake, which I really like and have kayaked many times over the years, fog along the Apostle Islands in June 2017, the red lighthouse at the end of the breakwater on the Milwaukee lakefront, and a busy August afternoon at the 2023 State Fair. When the pandemic stopped international travel in 2020, I started visiting Wisconsin’s state parks instead, and over the next few years I hiked a lot of the state. The state parks, forests, and recreation areas below are some of the places those years took me, each with photos from my visits.

Places visited

Places I visited in Wisconsin

  • A waterfall spreading over a ledge into a brown pool, below a covered bridge in the pines.
    The falls below the Horton Covered Bridge, in August 2021.

    Amnicon Falls State Park

    Falls below the Horton Covered Bridge, the Upper Falls in a chute of dark rock, and the Amnicon River in summer.

  • A tall wall of upright logs beside a mown field, with a grassy flat-topped mound beyond.
    A rebuilt stretch of the stockade, and a platform mound, in April 2021.

    Aztalan State Park

    The rebuilt stockade beside a platform mound, the old plaza from the top of a mound, and the Crawfish River in early spring.

  • A red wooden sign reading “Welcome Belmont Mound” under a bare tree, with woods in fall color.
    The Lions Club’s welcome sign, in November 2021.

    Belmont Mound State Park

    The Lions Club’s welcome sign, the entrance above the farm fields, the road up the hill, and ledges of rock in the woods.

  • A long, curving sand beach along a blue bay, seen from above a forest, with a catamaran offshore.
    Big Bay from above, in August 2021.

    Big Bay State Park

    Big Bay’s long beach from above, red sandstone on Big Bay Point, and a shore of rounded red stones.

  • Golden prairie grass on a hillside, with wooded ridges and farmland stretching away beyond.
    The prairie near the top of the hill, in November 2021.

    Blue Mound State Park

    The prairie near the top of the hill, woods still yellow in November, the Friends Shelter, and the park road.

  • Two sandhill cranes on a mown lawn, with a brushy meadow and a wooded hill behind.
    Sandhill cranes by the trailhead, in October 2021.

    Capital Springs State Recreation Area

    Sandhill cranes by the trailhead, a mown path through the prairie, asters in bloom, and milkweed going to seed.

  • A mown path curving through tall green grass toward scattered trees under a blue sky.
    A mown path through the meadow, in July 2022.

    Copper Culture State Park

    A mown path through the meadow, the park sign, the marker for the Old Copper Culture Cemetery, and the ancient shoreline.

  • A narrow waterfall in a deep, rocky gorge lined with cedars, seen from above.
    The gorge at Brownstone Falls, from the drone, in August 2021.

    Copper Falls State Park

    The gorge at Brownstone Falls from the drone, a broad falls on the Bad River, boulders in the river, and Loon Lake.

  • A wide lake under a gray sky, seen past the trunk of a tall pine on a grassy bank.
    Lake Alexander, in August 2021.

    Council Grounds State Park

    Lake Alexander past a tall pine, a trail through the pines, a rocky point on the shore, and the woods.

  • Blue and green kayaks on a sandy beach beside a calm lake, with a wooded bluff across the water.
    The South Shore beach, in May 2022.

    Devil’s Lake State Park

    Kayaks on the South Shore beach, the bluffs from the water, a field of quartzite talus, and the plaque from the park’s centennial.

  • Calm, clear blue-green water of Lake Michigan below a grassy, brushy bluff.
    Lake Michigan from the bluff, in July 2022.

    Fischer Creek State Recreation Area

    Clear Lake Michigan water below the bluff, an old farm silo, the bridge over Fischer Creek, and the shoreline.

  • A dark green lake ringed by cedars, seen from the air, with Lake Michigan beyond the trees.
    Quarry Lake from the air, with Lake Michigan beyond, in August 2019.

    Harrington Beach State Park

    Quarry Lake from the air, Lake Michigan from the bluff, driftwood on the sand, and waves at the water’s edge.

  • A wooded ridge running along the shore of a wide lake, seen from the air, above a lawn and a beach.
    The escarpment along Lake Winnebago, from the drone, in August 2021.

    High Cliff State Park

    The wooded escarpment above Lake Winnebago from the air, the statue of Red Bird, stacked limestone, and the 1855 General Store.

  • Rows of tall evergreens with bare, straight trunks above a forest floor dusted with snow.
    Evergreens in the Northern Unit, in December 2020.

    Kettle Moraine State Forest

    Snow between rows of evergreens, Pike Lake frozen and then in late-summer bloom, and a deer at Lapham Peak.

  • A plank cordwalk through grassy dunes, past a sign for the Creeping Juniper Nature Trail.
    The Dunes Cordwalk, on the Creeping Juniper Nature Trail, in June 2021.

    Kohler-Andrae State Park

    The cordwalk through the Kohler Dunes, a sandy hollow of creeping juniper, weathered logs, and the nature center’s mural.

  • A wooden boardwalk running beside tall green marsh grass under a blue sky with small clouds.
    The boardwalk into the marsh, in July 2021.

    Lake Kegonsa State Park

    A boardwalk into the marsh, a channel thick with duckweed, big oaks in the prairie, and still water off a pier.

  • A wide mown lawn running to a line of trees, with the Fox River shining beyond.
    The Fox River beyond the lawn, in July 2022.

    Lost Dauphin State Park

    The Fox River beyond a wide lawn, the marker for Eleazer Williams, the park’s stone sign, and a trail in the woods.

  • A picnic lawn sloping down to a calm lake lined with pines, with people at tables and on the beach.
    The beach on Mirror Lake, in July 2022.

    Mirror Lake State Park

    The beach and picnic lawn on Mirror Lake, a 50th anniversary plaque, an old mossy tree, and a sandy trail through the pines.

  • A sandstone arch over a wooded hollow, with a trail curving beneath its overhang.
    The natural bridge, in May 2021.

    Natural Bridge State Park

    Wisconsin’s largest natural bridge, the rock shelter beneath it, and a trail below a ledge of sandstone.

  • A wide view from a bluff over prairie and woods to the Mississippi River and distant hills.
    The Mississippi River valley from the bluff, in November 2021.

    Nelson Dewey State Park

    The Mississippi River valley in late fall from a 500-foot bluff, the Mound Point Trail, and a prairie natural area.

  • A bench on a sunny lawn above a calm lake ringed with dark pines.
    Interfalls Lake, in August 2021.

    Pattison State Park

    Interfalls Lake on a summer afternoon, Big Manitou Falls, the highest in Wisconsin, and a stone shelter built by the CCC.

  • Sturgeon Bay from a wooded bluff, deep blue water with low islands and a far shore.
    Sturgeon Bay from the bluff, in July 2022.

    Potawatomi State Park

    Sturgeon Bay from the bluff, the closed observation tower, an overlook above the woods, and the eastern end of the Ice Age Trail.

  • Quartzite boulders at the top of a ski run, with a chairlift running down toward a town and a river.
    The top of the ski hill, above Wausau, in August 2021.

    Rib Mountain State Park

    Quartzite boulders above the ski runs and Wausau, the Queen’s Chair, an old summit plaque, and the view from the tower.

  • A wooden boardwalk railing beside a cattail marsh and a pond under a clear blue sky.
    The boardwalk over the marsh, in May 2021.

    Richard Bong State Recreation Area

    A boardwalk over a cattail marsh, a gateway of twisted branches, Vern Wolf Lake, and a big oak beside the trail.

  • A tall stone boathouse with arched windows on the shore, beside a small white contact station.
    Thordarson’s boathouse, in July 2022.

    Rock Island State Park

    Thordarson’s stone boathouse, the boat slip inside it, an iron urn above the shore, and a small stone building.

  • A huge mossy block of sandstone beside a stream and a trail lined with ferns.
    A block of sandstone in the gorge, in July 2022.

    Rocky Arbor State Park

    A mossy block of sandstone in the gorge, an overhanging ledge, a trail through the pines, and ledges above the path.

  • Waves curling onto a long, curving sand beach below wooded dunes, under a blue sky.
    The beach on Lake Michigan, in July 2022.

    Whitefish Dunes State Park

    Waves on the curving Lake Michigan beach, a reconstructed Oneota summer lodge, the State Natural Area, and the sand.

  • A river winding through wooded bottomland below a bluff in fall color, under a wide, cloudy sky.
    The river bottoms from Signal Point, in November 2021.

    Wyalusing State Park

    The bottomland where the Wisconsin River meets the Mississippi, from Signal Point and Council Point, and the old park office.

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  • The bow of a red kayak on Devil’s Lake, with forested quartzite bluffs and visitors along the shore.

    Kayaking at Devil’s Lake State Park in July 2015.

    2015 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring

  • Fog drifting over red sandstone cliffs and forest, seen from the water.

    Fog along the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in June 2017.

    2017 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring

  • Crowds, colorful food stands, and a chairlift beneath a bright blue sky at the Wisconsin State Fair.

    A busy August day at the 2023 Wisconsin State Fair.

    2023 · Photograph by Joe Steinbring

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