The countdown is on for you to visit Rock Island State Park this summer. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, over 37,800 visitors visited Rock Island State Park, including more than 10,200 in the month of August alone. It is an impressive number, figuring the park is closed for half of the year and requires two separate ferries to visit. Friends of the Rock Island State Park President Tina Jacoby says the park has only gotten more popular since it was forced to close in 2020 due to the pandemic and high water levels. She has noticed new faces coming to the island and making a visit a summer staple like so many other visitors have over the years. Jacoby says it is part of why volunteers have worked so hard to ensure the state park is ready for visitors, and they can sometimes present programming when they arrive.
The Washington Island Ferry will begin its service to Rock Island on May 24th, with four round-trips daily beginning at 10 a.m. and running every two hours. The schedule will increase to an hourly schedule from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily beginning on June 14th, with an extra trip at 5 p.m. on Fridays, before dipping back down to four round-trips on September 3rd.
