Whitewater, Wisconsin, parks and trails
Whitewater, Wisconsin, is a town located in Southeastern Wisconsin roughly 45 minutes from Madison and Milwaukee. The city’s population is 14,732 and features one of the University of Wisconsin system schools, The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Throughout the city and surrounding areas, there are over 20 parks, trails and preserves.
Cravath Lakefront Park
Cravath Lakefront Park was opened in the early 1990s in downtown Whitewater.[1] It is located at 341 South Fremont Street. The park was created to try and create an open space downtown to encourage more visitors. The design for the park was loosely based on the Whitewater Passenger Train Depot. The park itself used to be for more industrial purposes instead of a recreational area. Once it was turned into a park, though, it holds events like Freeze Fest and Pig in the Park as well as the Fourth of July. On top of that, Cravath Lakefront Park is willing to hold celebrations, concerts and weddings.[2]
Big Brick Park
Big Brick Park is located at 611 West Center Street in the heart of Whitewater, WI. This park is roughly one square block in size and is open to the general public. This park has a blacktop basketball court and a playground. For the winter months the city creates its own ice rink for the public to ice skate as well as play hockey. The city provides nets for the hockey players to enjoy the ice time during the bitter cold Wisconsin winter.
Trippe Lake Park
Trippe Lake is located at 407 S Wisconsin Street and has been around since 1958, named in honor of Dr. James and Rosepha Trippe, as being founders of the city. You can enjoy the beautiful lake where a dam was construed to power a sawmill. Community members use it for swimming, fishing, free boat launch and as a group gathering place. The local Whitewater’s Lion Club donated the Trippe Lake Shelter in 2009. It includes restrooms, picnic tables, kitchen, and storage space for recreations programs. Trippe Lake has many options for all seasons, summer swimming to sledding and ice fishing in winter. There is a large hill near this park that locals refer to as "Killer Hill" It is a popular place to go sledding during the winter. In 2009, a bench was built by Jeannine Volbright in memory of her brother Steven Paucek. This park adds great value to the Whitewater Community.[3]
Whitewater Creek Nature Area
Located off Fremont Street on the outskirts of campus you can find Whitewater Creek Nature Area. It is a great location with a lot to park and hit the walking trails. It is open all year round from 6am to 12pm. Trails take you into and through the woods, giving you great scenic views along the creek. It is public land for the community to use in a respectful way. There are lots of wildlife activity and natural forest activities. Whitewater Creek Nature Area is a beautiful area in that is unlike any other place in Whitewater.
City of Whitewater “Bark Park”
The city features a spacious dog park that is free of charge. The park features three areas for all sizes of dogs. Located at the East end of Commercial Avenue in Whitewater, it provides a fun and clean environment for all animals. The three areas are designated for different sized dogs. This area is roughly 4 acres of city property. The city mows and provides dog clean up bags for no price. For pet owners, there are multiple benches and picnic tables available for seating.[4]
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Whitewater Creek Nature Area -
Bark Park
Ice Age Trail
Located 4 miles east of Whitewater on HWY 12 is a section of the infamous Ice Age Trail. The trail is nearly 1,200 miles long stretching from Minnesota to the shores of Lake Michigan. The beautiful trail extends approximately 10 miles through the southern part of Whitewater. This section of the trail is near scenic Whitewater Lake and Rice Lake. The Trail is also connected with the Whitewater Lake Campground. The trail is animal friendly and open year round for hikers and snowshoeing.[5] One end of the trail begins in Potawatomi State Park near Sturgeon Bay, WI and the other ends in Interstate Park near the St. Croix River on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border in St. Croix, WI.[6]
References
- ^ "Welcome to the City of Whitewater, Wisconsin". www.whitewater-wi.gov. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "City of Whitewater Parks & Recreation - Powered by RecDesk". whitewater.recdesk.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "PARKS". whitewater.recdesk.com. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Owners, dogs play at Whitewater's Bark Park - Royal Purple News". Royal Purple News. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Ice Age Trail". Ice Age Trail Alliance. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Trail Map and Guidebooks of the Ice Age Trail". Ice Age Trail Alliance. Retrieved 2015-12-02.