For a price, visitors get
great view at Roche-A-Cri

    
It takes some effort, but about 300 steps later visitors at Roche-A-Cri are rewarded with a great view of the surrounding countryside.  

    Like Mill Bluff and several smaller parks in central Wisconsin, Roche-A-Cri is centered on a bluff with a view of for miles in all directions. 

     It’s a relatively small park at 605 acres, but the 300 foot mound that rises almost straight up is a spectacular sight.  One wall has petroglyphs from ancient man, but they have been largely obscured by modern-day morons with much less mental capacity who thought it would be cute to leave their mark on the same sandstone tablet, leaving one more example for future historians of what a boorish era we lived in.

     Nevertheless, the mound itself is spectacular as it rises amid a forest of white pine and oaks.  And if you're willing to exert the effort, you can take the roughly 300 steps to the top fairly easily.  The entire climb is on wooden steps – no need to navigate over and around rocks and tree stumps as on many trails.  Some of the steps are showing their age, but they are still sturdy and several landings provide a place to stop and catch your breath on the way up or take in the view going either up or down. 

    There are some primitive campsites in the park, which is a satellite park of Buckhorn State Park on the Pentenwell Flowage, and Carter Creek flows through the park.  The park also has five miles of hiking trails, including the 3.5 mile acorn trail that circles the sandstone tower.

    The park is 27 miles north of Wisconsin Dells on State Hwy. 13.