Mirror Lake State Park is a

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

in the Wisconsin Dells region. The process of establishing the park began in 1962 and the park officially opened on August 19, 1966. It contains Mirror Lake, a narrow

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

with steep sandstone sides up to tall. The lake has a surface area of and an average depth of . Recessed out of the wind, the water of Mirror Lake is usually calm and often as glassy-smooth as a mirror, hence the name. Situated in a major tourist area, the state park has an extensive campground and other visitor amenities. Also located within the park is the Seth Peterson Cottage, a

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

-designed building available for public rental.

Natural history

The region is formed from Late

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

deposited 500 million years ago at the bottom of shallow inland seas. During the

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago a glacial lobe passed just east of the park. Dell Creek, a tributary of the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, at approximately 430 miles (692 km) long. As a tributary of the Mississippi River, it is part of the Mississippi River System. The river's name was first recorded in 1673 b ...

is believed to have been blocked by outwash sediments and diverted northeast. Over time it cut a deep, narrow

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

into the easily eroded sandstone. The steep cliffs indicate that this section of Dell Creek is much younger geologically than upstream, where the banks have eroded longer and are more gently sloping. The lakeshore is covered in a pine–oak forest. Eastern white pines are dominant, with red pines clustered atop the sandstone cliffs along the water's edge. The hardwoods are a mix of white, red, and black oaks.

Cultural history

Dell Creek was first

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

med in 1860 to power a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

owned by Horace LaBar, and early maps call the impoundment "LaBar's Pond". The mill, which produced chiefly

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

, had a succession of owners until the Timme family acquired it in 1893. The original wooden dam was found to be in poor condition and was repaired and transferred to

Sauk County Sauk County is a county (United States), county in Wisconsin. It is named after a large village of the Sauk people. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 65,763. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo, Wiscon ...

and replaced with concrete in 1925. The Timme Mill became known for its self-rising

pancake A pancake, also known as a hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat type of batter bread like cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based Batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a ...

flour. The Timmes sold the mill in 1947, and new owners continued to produce pancake flour for another decade, but when the mill burned down in 1957, the owners declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. The northwest corner of the park was added to the Wisconsin State Natural Areas Program in 2003 because of its botanical quality. It is listed as the Mirror Lake Pine Oak Forest State Natural Area. Fern Dell Gorge is another such area within the park.

Recreation

Mirror Lake State Park has 151

campsite Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping (an overnight stay in an outdoor area). The usage differs between British English and American English. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an ...

s, 47 of those with electrical hookups. There are also seven group campsites that each accommodate up to 20 people in tents. The Seth Peterson Cottage on park land is also available for rental. Mirror Lake is a strictly no-wake zone. Not only is the lake too small and narrow to accommodate speedboats, but the sandstone sides would be easily undercut by wave action. A concessionaire rents several types of watercraft near the boat ramp. There is also a swimming beach with an adjacent picnic ground. The park is a popular kayaking and canoeing destination near the Wisconsin Dells area. The easy to paddle three-fingers of the lake, combined with scenic overhanging cliffs and easy watercraft rental make it attractive to park visitors. The park contains of

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails, of

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

trails, of

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

trails, and of

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

ing trail. Several amenities are designed for visitors in wheelchairs, including the first accessible camper cabin in the Wisconsin state park system, built in 1991. There is also a half-mile trail, a fishing pier, and a picnic shelter that are wheelchair-friendly.

Fishing

Fish most commonly found in Mirror lake include

panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any food fish, edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational fishing, re ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

References

*Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Mirror Lake State Park signage, brochures, and website.

External links

Mirror Lake State Park
official website
Mirror Lake Pine Oak Forest State Natural Area
official website {{authority control State parks of Wisconsin Protected areas of Sauk County, Wisconsin State Natural Areas of Wisconsin Protected areas established in 1962 1962 establishments in Wisconsin