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Capital Springs State Recreation Area, Madison, WI

Photo: Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Capital Springs State Recreation Area

A state recreation area just south of Madison, shared with a Dane County park, offering trails, camping, fishing and lake access on Lake Waubesa.

Madison, WI

About Capital Springs State Recreation Area

Capital Springs State Recreation Area sits a short drive from downtown Madison and shares its grounds with Dane County's William G. Lunney Lake Farm County Park. Visitors can camp, hike, ski, picnic and fish, and use a boat launch on Lake Waubesa. The Capital City State Trail links the property to Madison and to regional Dane County bike routes. Per Wikipedia, the park is still in development, with about 3,000 acres in total and 326 acres designated as state park land, and the state and county will manage the site jointly.

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  • #camping
  • #hiking
  • #cross-country-skiing
  • #picnicking

What's around here?

The closest stops to Capital Springs State Recreation Area, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

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    Date Night

    Overture Center for the Arts

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    Catch a Broadway tour, symphony, opera or ballet at Madison's performing arts center on State Street, or browse its free art galleries.

    4.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Theater & Events

  • Museums

    Madison Children's Museum

    Under $25

    A hands-on museum in downtown Madison where children learn through play across arts, science, history, health, and civic life.

    4.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Attractions

    Henry Vilas Zoo

    No admission fee

    A free, community-supported zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, with a tropical aviary, a children's zoo, and a carousel.

    4.2 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Yahara River Parkway

    Check prices

    A riverside city park in Madison, Wisconsin, offering fishing access along the Yahara River.

    4.3 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Local Gem

    Olbrich Botanical Gardens

    No admission fee

    Sixteen acres of free outdoor gardens near Lake Monona, with a Thai pavilion and a tropical conservatory under a glass pyramid.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    4.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum

    No admission fee

    Walk 17 miles of free trails through restored prairies, woods, wetlands and gardens on the shore of Lake Wingra, where ecological restoration began.

    4.8 mi awayMore like this

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