Parks + Recreation News & Events

Water Quality Advisory LIFTED - May 28, 2026

The blue-green algae advisory at White Mound Lake has been lifted as of Thursday, May 28, 2026, due to weather and wind overnight. The yellow deposits seen in the photo on the right is accumulated pollen, and staff will continue monitoring the lake. Visitors are encouraged to check back for updates throughout the season.

For more information about Blue-Green Algae, how to report an algal bloom, and current Sauk County Park Beach statuses, visit the Public Health Department page.

Water Quality Advisory - May 27, 2026

An advisory has been issued as of Wednesday, May 27 due to the detection of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) at White Mound Lake. Swimming, wading, and water contact are not advised until further notice. Pets should be kept out of the water.

Rustic Sites NOW OPEN!

We're excited to announce that our new rustic sites are now open for the camping season! These are hike-in, hike-out sites without water, electric, or bathrooms in 3 beautiful locations. Reservations can be made by calling (608) 355-4800 or by visiting our Rustic Camping tab. We can't wait to see you!

The Sasquatch Search is Back On!

One of our favorite park users is BACK and hiding in the woods of White Mound County Park! 

If you find him, simply take a picture with him, send the picture to our office and be entered to win a prize. We'll have 3 winners total - one for the first person to submit their photo, one for the most creative photo and one drawn randomly. Official rules and details can be found below. Good luck!! 

1. Eligibility: Open to all ages. One entry per person.

2. Submission: Send pictures of you and Sasquatch to parks.rec@saukcountywi.gov, direct message on Facebook or Instagram, by mail to S7995 White Mound Drive, Hillpoint, WI 53937 or stop by our office during office hours. Typical office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM CST. 

3. Prizes: There are 3 prizes total; one for the first person to submit a photo, one for the most creative photo, and one drawn randomly. Winners will receive their choice of a children's prize, one free hour of paddle sport rental for two people, a Sauk County Parks + Recreation mug or a 2026 Sauk County annual sticker. Prizes must be claimed by December 31, 2026.

4. Deadline: Photos must be submitted by June 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM CST. Winners will be announced on July 1, 2026.

5. General conditions: Inappropriate or offensive content will not be accepted. Sauk County has the right to cancel or modify the event at any time. Entrants agree to the official rules and consent to Sauk County using their picture, name and likeness for publicity and promotion. This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, associated or administered by Facebook or Instagram.  No purchase necessary; however, there is an entrance fee required for motorized vehicles at White Mound County Park. Void where prohibited.

6. Accessibility: Any person who has a qualifying disability that requires this event to be in an accessible location or format should contact Sauk County Parks and Recreation at 608-355-4800 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, exclusive of legal holidays, at least 48 hours in advance of participation in the event so that reasonable arrangements can be made to accommodate each request. Please call our office at 608-355-4800 with any questions.

Vote On Our 2027 Sticker Design!

We need YOUR help choosing one of these awesome designs to put on our 2027 park pass sticker!

All 5 designs are posted at the bottom of this page. Please vote for your favorite using the serial number at the bottom right corner of each design. To submit your vote, please email us at parks.rec@saukcountywi.gov or by calling 608-355-4800. Full rules and details about this contest is posted farther down on this page.

Thank you to the contestants who created these amazing sticker designs! Stay tuned to see who wins!

Poetry Path Contest WINNER!

Congrats to Adeline for winning the Poetry Path contest! Thank you to everyone who submitted a poem or simply enjoyed the event on the Willie Walsh Nature Trail, we enjoyed celebrating nature with you! Click through the images at the bottom of this page to see all of the wonderful poetry submissions.

Horse Trails and Campground NOW OPEN!

The horse campground and horse trails at White Mound County Park are now open! Sites can be booked on the Horse Reservations page or by calling (608) 355-4800.

Now Closed: Design Our 2027 Park Pass Sticker Submissions

Submissions for the Design Our 2027 Park Pass Sticker event are now closed. Thank you to everyone who submitted designs, they all look wonderful and we have been so excited to see your creations! Stayed tuned for when we share photos of the submissions and announce the contest winner on May 20, 2026!

May - Older Americans Month

It's Older Americans Month! We’ve partnered with Sauk County Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) to provide free admission to Sauk County residents age 60 and over to our Sauk County Parks on Wednesdays in May, 2026. Call ADRC at 608-355-3289 to have a pass mailed to you!

Great Sauk State Trail Update

Sauk County and the City of Baraboo are discussing how to develop a spur trail that will connect from the future Great Sauk State Trail and Devil's Lake State Park to Downtown Baraboo!  We’re contemplating the first steps toward realizing this transformative project that will act as a vital bridge (literally*) between nature, the built environment, park visitors, the Baraboo community, and Baraboo businesses.  Just last week, county and city staff conducted ground-truthing to identify opportunities and obstacles along potential routes.

*We do mean literally: the City of Baraboo has plans for a new pedestrian bridge over the Baraboo River to complete the Downtown connection!

2025 Annual Report Recap

2025 was a busy year for us - take a look at the Annual Report Recap PDF at the bottom of this page to take a look at some of our highlights! Thanks for a great year!

Event Reminder: You Can Design Our 2027 Park Pass Sticker!

The contest to design our 2027 park pass sticker is still ongoing! We have received some amazing designs so far and would love to see more! Submissions will be accepted until May 4, 2026. Please see directly below for all event rules and details, or scroll down on this page to see the original event announcement. We can’t wait to see your wonderful creations!

Official rules and details:

1. Eligibility: Open to all ages. One entry per person.

2. Design Requirements: Design must be original artwork created by the entrant. Artwork should reflect themes of parks, nature, conservation and recreation, native to Sauk County. The design must fit into the blank square on the provided template - found below. The language and font on the provided cannot move or be altered besides color. Only 3 solid colors allowed. 

3. Submission: Submissions may be digital or hand-drawn. If digital, submissions must be emailed to parks.rec@saukcountywi.gov; acceptable file formats include JPG, PNG or PDF. If hand-drawn, submissions must be delivered to the Sauk County Parks + Recreation office at S7995 White Mound Drive, Hillpoint, WI 53937; Typical office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM CST; Entries must be able to be scanned or photographed clearly.

4. Deadline: All entries must be submitted by 4:00 PM CST on May 4, 2026. The winner will be announced May 20, 2026.

5. Judging: Designs will be reviewed by Sauk County staff and narrowed down to the top 5. Judging criteria may include creativity, originality and representation of park, nature, conservation and/or recreation. Only one final design will be chosen by the general public via social media messages, comments, emails, votes cast at and over the phone to the Sauk County Parks + Recreation office.

6. Prize: One winning design will be featured on the 2027 Sauk County annual sticker. The winning artist will receive recognition on social media and the Sauk County website, a free 2027 Sauk County annual sticker and a $50 gift card to Sauk County Parks + Recreation. Prizes must be claimed by December 31, 2026.

7. Rights & Usage: By submitting a design, entrants grant Sauk County permission to use, reproduce and modify the artwork for promotional and official park purposes, including printing and digital use. By submitting a design, entrants understand that no copyright infringements have been made by their design. The artist will always be credited where possible.

8. General conditions: Inappropriate or offensive content will not be accepted. Sauk County reserves the right to make minor adjustments to the winning design. Sauk County has the right to cancel or modify the event at any time. Entrants agree to the official rules and consent to Sauk County using their design, name and likeness for publicity and promotion.  This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, associated or administered by Facebook or Instagram.  No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Great Sauk State Trail Update

The Great Sauk State Trail is coming to Devil's Lake State Park!  Sauk County has officially partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to develop the trail within the park’s boundaries, and to help the project along, Congressman Mark Pocan secured a special federal funding allocation of 1.2 million to help us get the project started!  How are we doing this? Well, keep checking this page for more updates!

Event: Rock Painting
It's time to "rock" at White Mound County Park!

We are excited to introduce a new long-term event, which is a rock painting station inside of the Sauk County Parks and Recreation office. Put on your creative cap to paint a design on your rock, then place it on the path outside of the office for everyone to see!

This station will be available during office hours until September 18, 4:00 PM CST. Supplies, including rocks, will be provided. 

Rock on, everyone!

Check Out Our 2026 Events!
Take a look at our 2026 events schedule at the bottom of this page! We have many new ones that we’re excited to share with you!

All details and rules will be posted on this page on the start date of each event. Please email parks.rec@saukcountywi.gov or call us at (608) 355-4800 with any questions.

Any person who has a qualifying disability that requires an event to be in an accessible location or format should contact Sauk County Parks and Recreation at 608-355-4800 between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM, Monday through Friday, exclusive of legal holidays, at least 48 hours in advance of participation in the event so that reasonable arrangements can be made to accommodate each request.

We look forward to seeing you!

Event: Design Our 2027 Park Pass Sticker!
Design our 2027 park pass sticker! 

We're excited to invite our community to help shape the design of our 2027 Sauk County annual sticker. This sticker will help represent our parks and the users who love them, and this year, you can design it! 

Artists of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to participate. Whether you draw by hand, design digitally or paint your vision, we want to see what our parks inspire in you. 

We'll narrow down the designs to the top 5 based on creativity, originality and representation of Sauk County Parks + Recreation, but then we'll ask you to vote on the final design. The winning design will be featured on our official 2027 Sauk County annual sticker! 

Official rules and details:

1. Eligibility: Open to all ages. One entry per person.

2. Design Requirements: Design must be original artwork created by the entrant. Artwork should reflect themes of parks, nature, conservation and recreation, native to Sauk County. The design must fit into the blank square on the provided template - found below. The language and font on the provided cannot move or be altered besides color. Only 3 solid colors allowed. 

3. Submission: Submissions may be digital or hand-drawn. If digital, submissions must be emailed to parks.rec@saukcountywi.gov; acceptable file formats include JPG, PNG or PDF. If hand-drawn, submissions must be delivered to the Sauk County Parks + Recreation office at S7995 White Mound Drive, Hillpoint, WI 53937; Typical office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM CST; Entries must be able to be scanned or photographed clearly.

4. Deadline: All entries must be submitted by 4:00 PM CST on May 4, 2026. The winner will be announced May 20, 2026.

5. Judging: Designs will be reviewed by Sauk County staff and narrowed down to the top 5. Judging criteria may include creativity, originality and representation of park, nature, conservation and/or recreation. Only one final design will be chosen by the general public via social media messages, comments, emails, votes cast at and over the phone to the Sauk County Parks + Recreation office.

6. Prize: One winning design will be featured on the 2027 Sauk County annual sticker. The winning artist will receive recognition on social media and the Sauk County website, a free 2027 Sauk County annual sticker and a $50 gift card to Sauk County Parks + Recreation. Prizes must be claimed by December 31, 2026.

7. Rights & Usage: By submitting a design, entrants grant Sauk County permission to use, reproduce and modify the artwork for promotional and official park purposes, including printing and digital use. By submitting a design, entrants understand that no copyright infringements have been made by their design. The artist will always be credited where possible.

8. General conditions: Inappropriate or offensive content will not be accepted. Sauk County reserves the right to make minor adjustments to the winning design. Sauk County has the right to cancel or modify the event at any time. Entrants agree to the official rules and consent to Sauk County using their design, name and likeness for publicity and promotion.  This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, associated or administered by Facebook or Instagram.  No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

Rustic Sites
Exciting news, everyone!

White Mound County Park will have 3 rustic sites available for camping next year! These are defined as hike-in, hike-out sites without water, electricity, or bathrooms. Each rustic site will accommodate tents, and they each have a picnic table, fire ring, utility post, and boulder seating.

- Rustic Campsite #1 is southwest of the Parks maintenance building, approximately 0.6 miles from nearest parking lot
- Rustic Campsite #2 is north of the horse campground, approximately 0.7 miles from the horse campground parking lot
- Rustic Campsite #3 is southeast of the boat landing, approximately 0.3 miles from the boat landing parking lot

These are available to be reserved for the 2026 camping season. For more information about rustic campsites and making reservations please see our Rustic Camping and Reservation Policy pages.