What were the most and least visited state parks in Wisconsin in 2023?

State parks and trails in Wisconsin continued to see high visitor numbers in 2023.

While not as high as the immediate post-pandemic stats of 2021, people are getting outside to explore the best natural wonders and outdoor experiences the Dairy State has to offer.

While the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tracks visitor and user numbers as best it can, it can only estimate numbers at most of its parks. Still, the numbers provide a picture of where the best places are and when to go, when you might see crowds and where you might find a bit more solitude.

Here is what you should know about the 2023 state park visitors stats.

Are park visits up in Wisconsin?

Overall, yes. Wisconsin parks and trails saw an estimated 20,296,960 visitors in 2023. That's an increase of over 320,000 compared to 2022. However, it is actually much less than 2021, which saw an estimated 21,476,124, or nearly 1.2 million more people venturing to public lands coming out of the coronavirus pandemic that year.

What were the most visited state parks in Wisconsin?

The most-visited parks in the last three years have been pretty much the same. They include popular vacation and trip destinations like Devil's Lake, Peninsula, Governor Dodge and Willow River state parks. State forests also top the list with Kettle Moraine's Southern Unit and Lapham Peak Unit, which draw big crowds year round from their surrounding metro areas: Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago.

The most-visited parks have remained steady at the top for the last three years except for one that has had a notable drop: Governor Earl Peshtigo River State Forest. It sits in the 11th spot in 2023, but with a significant dropoff since 2021 when it saw 861,670 estimated visitors, making it the sixth most popular park that year. Those visits declined to 719,065 in 2022 and and even further to 566,685 in 2023.

Parks that are also just outside the top 10 include: Kettle Moraine State Forest Pike Lake Unit, Lakeshore State Park, Mirror Lake State, Park Black River State Forest, Hartman Creek State Park, Perrot State Park and Richard Bong State Recreation Area.

Here are the estimates for the most-visited parks in Wisconsin in 2023.

More: These are Wisconsin's most popular public campgrounds, according to DNR data

What were the least visited parks in Wisconsin?

For those looking for trails or campgrounds they can have to themselves, these places might offer the best chances in the state.

Here are the estimates for the least visited parks in Wisconsin in 2023.

More: 'The raccoons are fearless': We found the worst bad reviews of Wisconsin's state parks and natural wonders

What are the busiest months to visit Wisconsin Parks?

It shouldn't be a surprise that the most popular times at Wisconsin state parks and trails are the warmer months between June and August. Unsurprisingly, the colder months are the least popular times to visit.

Here are the overall visitor numbers for all state trails and parks in Wisconsin by month.

What were the most-utilized state trails?

These are the most-utilized trails, according to the DNR.

Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What were the most, least popular state parks in Wisconsin in 2023?