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About this Map

Devil’s Lake occupies one of Wisconsin’s most dramatic landscapes, a deep blue basin enclosed between the towering East and West Bluffs. The 360-acre lake is the focal point of Devil’s Lake State Park, surrounded by 500-foot bluffs, rock formations, wooded slopes, and miles of trails. It’s a gorgeous place to visit and, not surprisingly, one of Wisconsin’s most popular state parks.

If you compare the shape of Devil’s Lake to other Wisconsin lakes, you might notice something unusual: the lake and its surroundings look more like a river valley than a typical lake basin. If you thought that, you’re not wrong! Devil’s Lake has a fascinating geologic history that includes an ancient river flowing through what is now the lake.

The story gets even more interesting when you look at the surrounding Baraboo Hills. Ancient quartzite bedrock, river erosion, and later glaciation all played roles in creating the landscape we see today. Eventually, glacial deposits blocked the old river valley at both ends, leaving water trapped between the bluffs and helping create modern-day Devil’s Lake. It’s one of those places where the geology isn’t hiding beneath the scenery. The geology is the scenery.

My map shows the lake’s bathymetry, including its broad central basin and depths reaching approximately 47 feet. I also wanted the surrounding topography to be an important part of the map, so I used subtle shaded relief to emphasize the East and West Bluffs and the remarkable relationship between the lake, wooded slopes, rock formations, and narrow passages through the surrounding terrain.

Many of the park’s trails and landmarks are also depicted. Trails climb the bluffs past features such as Balanced Rock, Devil’s Doorway, Prospect Point, and Cleopatra’s Needle, while the East Bluff, West Bluff, Balanced Rock, and Grottos trails show just how extensively this landscape can be explored on foot. Campgrounds, picnic and shelter areas, beaches, the Nature Center, boat ramps, and other park facilities are included as well. I wanted this to be more than simply a depth map of the lake. The surrounding landscape is too important to leave out.

Devil’s Lake also has a surprisingly diverse fishery, with more than 20 species representing both cold- and warm-water habitats. Brown Trout, Northern Pike, Walleye, Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Crappie, Bluegill, and other species can be found here, with several of the popular game fish illustrated on the map. To help maintain the relatively quiet character of the lake, gasoline-powered boats are not allowed; electric motors are permitted. Two boat ramps provide access, one near the northeastern shore and another near the southwestern end of the lake.

And then there’s the name. Why call such a beautiful place “Devil’s Lake”?

The Ho-Chunk have long regarded this as a special and sacred place. Their name for the lake, Tewakącąk, refers to a place that is sacred, holy, or associated with spirits. That did not necessarily mean evil spirits, but European settlers interpreted the meaning through their own cultural and religious perspective, and the English name “Devil’s Lake” eventually took hold. Other names were proposed during the 1800s, including the wonderfully descriptive “Lake of the Red Mountain Shadows,” but Devil’s Lake was the name that stuck.

I chose to include the Ho-Chunk name Tewakącąk in the title of my map. It acknowledges a much older relationship with this remarkable place and adds another layer to a landscape already filled with geology, history, and meaning.

Between the ancient river valley, quartzite bluffs, glacial history, remarkable rock formations, deep lake, trails, wildlife, and human history, Devil’s Lake is one of those places where there is almost too much to fit onto a single map. That was part of what made this one so interesting to create.