Location: Sauk County Map
Devil's Lake is located just two miles south of Baraboo Wisconsin on the South Range of the Baraboo hills. Devil’s lake got it’s name from the Ho- Chunk nation. Native Americans believed that during their rituals a voice was heard coming from a lake. These celebrations are still held annually. At the south end of the lake there is a burial mount in a form of a giant bird that spreads its wings. It is located on the South end of the lake in the beginning of East Bluff trail. Devil’s Lake is part of the Devil’s lake State Park and requires permits for some of the activities like fishing for example. Park’s rock formations are also famous with rock climbers and attract thousands of professionals as well as beginners annually. Ice Age Loop is the only trail that is allowed to bikers. It is 4 miles long. Both North and South ends of the lake have areas for picnics equipped with tables, shelters, lavatories, small food stores and visitor center. Besides several trails of different difficulty go around the lake. It is not recommended for those who might encounter medical complications to take steep approaches like East Bluff, East Bluff Woods or West Bluff trail.
Devils Lake was so named because it is situated in a deep chasm with no visible inlet or outlet. The term, devil's lake is a misinterpretation of the Ho-Chunk name Tawacunchukdah or Da-wa-kah-char-gra, which better translates to "Sacred Lake" or "Spirit Lake." Spirit Lake is highly significant in Ho-Chunk oral history, and voices of spirits were often heard during the celebrations.
Visitor center
The visitor center houses a
three-dimensional model of the park from a top-down view.
Nature center
The exhibits at the park's nature center
focus on the geology and natural history of the area. Public
nature programs are offered in the summer, as well as evening
programs on Saturday nights in the Northern Lights Amphitheater.
The nature center also has many historical photographs that come
from as far back as the 1800s. They also have many displays of
examples of the flora and fauna that can be found throughout the
park.
An unknown aquatic creature said to live at the bottom
of Devils Lake, north of Lincoln City, Oregon. While some believe that
this octopus-like beast has caused countless deaths, the Nakota Indians
tell tales of a struggling creature that bears a striking resemblance to
the supposedly extinct plesiosaur.
One of the earliest legends
about the Devil's Lake creature dates back to a Native American Indian
chief who gathered his young warriors for a midnight hunt in the fertile
fauna lands beyond the lake. As the full moon reflected off the
blackened water, the young men and their leader slipped their canoe into
the water and began their midnight trek. Suddenly, a tentacle-like
object sliced through the waves, capsizing the canoe and dragging the
terrified, sprawling men under the brackish water. Not a single man
survived this ill-fated expedition, but their tribal companions, who
heard their screams and rushed to the beach, were able to witness the
horrific event firsthand thanks to the moon's afterglow. The surviving
tribal warriors held an annual festival to honor their fallen comrades
and to appease what they believed to be the lake demon, during which
gifts and animal sacrifices were thrown into the water.
This
tradition continues to this day, but is now treated like an annual
picnic celebrating tribal legends and traditions. The freshwater killer
octopus is not the only case in Wisconsin. As if the giant octopus-like
beasts were not enough of a monster in one body of water, when the first
Christian missionaries arrived on the shores of Devil's Lake, they were
greeted by the Nakota and told about yet another creature that became
apparent during the years of the drought. The Nakota remained near the
lake during the early drought not only because it was the only source of
water for thousands of people, but also because the animals they fed
were forced to expose themselves to drinking water, providing the tribe
with an abundant and relatively easy source of food for hunting. As
summer deepened, the lakes became smaller and smaller, eventually
becoming two lakes separated by a shallow strip of mud running down the
middle. One morning, the Nakota woke up to find a huge fish-like
creature called a "hokwa" trapped on a narrow strip of mud exposed on
the bottom of the lake. The tribe watched as the creature, apparently
amphibious, struggled for days to free itself from its dry perch. The
sight filled the Nakota with awe and fear, and not even their bravest
warriors dared approach the creature. They believed the creature to be
an unkutijina, the vile offspring of the evil spirit Unk and the lizard
beast known as Unkchegi, for fear that the spirit's wrath would bring
more hardship than a drought. Eventually, the animal was able to free
itself and (presumably) return to the deeper parts of the lake.