So far on the trip the only parks we’ve visited have been an amusement park (Six Flags St Louis) and America’s Largest Waterpark (Noah’s Ark in the Wisconsin Dells, not to be confused with northern Kentucky’s wack-a-doo ark). Friday that changed when we headed a half hour down the road to Devil’s Lake State Park, here in Wisconsin.

The clear, calm lake sits in a beautiful setting dominated by wooded hills, dotted with rocky outcrops of quartzite – I had to look it up, I’m no geologist. A small public beach gave us the perfect launch point for our Isle stand-up paddle boards.

The ISUP boards have been a great find. Deflated, they fit into a couple of large duffles and weigh about 20 pounds each. It takes a bit of work to inflate them, but after 15-20 minutes, and thanks to a combination of a small air compressor and hand pump, they’re extremely rigid and ready for the water. We’ve both been surprised at how much they feel like “real paddle boards” and it’s changed our perception of inflatable ones. 

We strapped our cooler onto one of the boards, a kid sat on the front of each, and we hit the water. The lake was clear. For the first 20 yards we could still see the sandy bottom until the depth changed and gave way to darker, deeper waters. We paddled for a while until we came to a boulder lined shore further up the lake. A perfect stop for lunch. 

You would be hard pressed to find a better lunch spot. Plus it gave us a chance to rest our arms and let the kids explore on the rocky shore. 

After lunch we switched kid companions and worked our way back to our launch. Thankfully we all managed to stay on the boards throughout the day. I will say, Nikki looks much more comfortable on the ISUP than I feel but hopefully we’ll both be pros as we log more time on them.

Needless to say deflating the boards is way easier than getting them ready, and after loading them back into the truck we hit the trail for a hike up to see Devil’s Doorway.

The path leading to the top is relatively short (half of a mile give or take) but the climb is intense. It’s a nonstop series of quartzite steps. Some of the square-cut boulders fell naturally into place (thanks to the Wisconsin Glaciation 10,000 years ago) and others were put there by the CCC (Wisconsin’s Civilian Conservation Corps). Regardless how they got there it, it was tough. But, as the path snaked up hill we were rewarded with an occasional offshoot that gave us a chance to rest and take in the incredible views of the lake and valley below. Devil’s Doorway is amazing thanks to a few boulders that landed in the right spot at the right time to form the arch.

In past hikes Maya has been the one who drags and complains along the way, but on this one she was a rockstar. She loved every minute and took every      opportunity she could to slide down some of the natural slides. Maybe we’ll turn her into a hiker yet!

As great as the views were, everyone was ready to call it a day and head back down to get back “home” our campsite.