If high gasoline prices have you looking closer to home for summer vacation destinations, try a trip to the only state park in Portage County - Hartman Creek State Park.
The park's headquarters might have a Waupaca mailing address, but a couple hundred acres of the 1,500-acre park cover the far eastern parts of Portage County's towns of Lanark and Belmont.
Open year-round, Hartman Creek State Park offers summer visitors eight quiet lakes for canoeing and hiking, and a variety of trails for off-road biking and horseback riding.
Prior to being established as a state park in 1965, Hartman Creek was once a fish hatchery, where dams were built to create four spring-fed lakes - Allen, Hartman, Grebe, and Middle. The park is located on part of the terminal moraine of the Wisconsin glacier and there are potholes, gullies and springs that feed the lakes. No gas motors are allowed on any of these four lakes, so they offer quiet water for paddlers. The park also adjoins Marl, Pope, Manomin and Knight lakes, natural lakes that are at the head of Waupaca's famed Chain O' Lakes. These lakes do allow gas motors, but watercraft are limited to "slow-no-wake" speed.
Paddlers can launch canoes or kayaks at Knight's Landing on Manomin Lake and paddle through the east end of Hartman Creek State Park and the Pope Lake Natural Area to Marl Lake, where they can take time to ponder the depths of the lake's crystal clear waters. From the floating dock at the Marl Lake, a stone staircase leads to the Whispering Pines Picnic area where paddlers can break for lunch. The picnic area has tables, grills, bathrooms, drinking water and a vehicle access and parking lot off Whispering Pines Road.
Hikers have a variety of trails to choose from at Hartman Creek State Park. The Deer Path Trail is a one-mile loop trail around Allen Lake that offers a view of wildlife and the springs that supply all of the water to this lake. A waterfall created by a dam at the start of Hartman Creek is located on the east end of the lake. Allen Lake Picnic Area is also a trailhead for a three-mile off-road mountain bike trail and 4.5-mile hiking trail. The Coach Road Trail and the Windfeldt Trail across the road from the Family Campground offer three miles of hiking or mountain biking. Hartman Creek State Park also includes three miles of hiking on the 15-mile Ice Age Trail segment, crossing through Waupaca and Portage counties. The Dike Trail is one mile long and crosses a narrow strip of land between Mid and Hartman lakes.
The park's bridle trails are only a few years old and offer nearly seven miles of scenic trail through forest, prairie and along Allen Creek. Both mountain bikers and equestrians over age 16 must have a daily or annual trail pass to use trails within the park.
After a day of paddling, hiking, biking or horseback riding, visitors can enjoy a swim at Hartman Lake, which has a 400-foot sand beach and large marked-off swimming area. The beach is adjacent to three acres of multi-use lawn area containing picnic tables, drinking water, and a combination changing and toilet building.
Hartman Creek State Park has a 101-site family campground, and five Group Camping sites. The campsites are located in either a red pine forest or an old apple orchard/hardwood mix of trees. The campground has spacious sites and has two shower and flush toilet buildings.
The Allen Lake Picnic Area is a short walk from the campground on an accessible trail. The Picnic area includes tables, benches, grills, a sandbox, swing sets and an accessible fishing pier, where anglers can try for bluegill, perch, northern pike or largemouth bass. The park's naturalists offer interpretative programs at the amphitheater throughout the summer.
It is located west of Waupaca on Hartman Creek Road off Highway 54. Visitors without a state park sticker on their vehicles are required to pay a small fee.
For more information call the park at (715) 258-2372 or write Hartman Creek State Park, N2840 Hartman Creek Rd., Waupaca WI 54981.
Anglers visiting Hartman Creek State Park might want to consider a visit to the adjacent 1,470-acre Emmons Creek Fishery Area. Located in the town of Belmont, the state-owned property is southwest of the park and offers trout fishing, hiking and bird watching opportunities.