If you want something to do this weekend, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has some ideas for you, and they will even cover the tab. June 1st and 2nd marks the DNR’s Free Fun Weekend, which allows people to visit Wisconsin’s 50 state parks, 15 state forests, and 44 state trails without an admission sticker. In addition, you will not be required to have a fishing license or trout/salmon stamps, though all the usual regulations still apply. Friends groups for Door County’s state parks have been hard at work for the last several weeks preparing the parks for a busy season of visitors. Earlier in May, Friends of Rock Island State Park President Tina Jacoby and Friends of Whitefish Dunes State Park President John Swanson detailed some projects their groups have been busy with and would love to show them to you.
Friends of Whitefish Dunes State Park President John Swanson
Friends of Rock Island State Park President Tina Jacoby
In 2023, an estimated 20,296,960 visitors checked out Wisconsin’s state parks and trails, an increase of over 320,000 over 2022 and over a million less than in 2021, when residents and guests were coming out of the pandemic.
