What Castle Rock Lake is known for

The Castle Rock Lake Region is home to Castle Rock Lake, Madison, Wisconsin Rapids, Reedsburg, and other cities, along with multiple lakes and rivers. The main thing the destination is known for the Castle Rock Lake. At Castle Rock Lake, people can go boating, fishing, canoeing, paddleboarding, kayaking, and swimming. There are three different beaches that people can go to at the lake, along with multiple parks that are within 1000 feet of the lake. There are ten boat landings around the lake where people can use the ramps to get their boats into the water. There are also various trails that go around the lake that can be walked or biked.[1] Castle Rock Lake gets the most visitors in July, with other popular months being May and June.[4] 

Madison, a city in the region, is home to many activities. Some of these activities include Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Estate, the Wisconsin State Capitol, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace, the Chazen Museum of Art, and Henry Vilas Zoo. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Estate can be toured and is located 35 miles west of Madison. Also on the property is a theater, studio, gallery, school, a dam, waterfalls, a visitor center with a cafe, and the Romeo and Juliet Windmill and Midway Farms. Wisconsin State Capitol is a large, white building with statues and pillars. Various people take their pictures in front of the building annually. The capital was finished in 1917 and has been used ever since. 

The Olbrich Botanical Gardens are home to many different kinds of plants. The gardens have pavilions, structures, and, depending on the time of year, roses that grow. There is also a conservatory on the property that can be toured. Frank Lloyd Wright's Monona Terrace can be explored. There is a rooftop terrace that people can go on, along with the main structure that is available to go in. The Chazen Museum of Art has art from distinct time periods and from different artists. The museum features paintings, sculptures, drawings, watercolors, and photography, along with a few other things. 

The Henry Vilas Zoo holds many animals. It has a rainforest exhibit that has various types of plants and fish, along with a free-flight aviary with many birds. The zoo also has an exhibit called Arctic Passage, where polar bears and harbor seals can be viewed. Also on the property is a restaurant where people can eat.[3] The city of Madison gets many visitors, and the city relies on the tourists and the money they spend. In 2018, tourists spent $13.3 billion, with the overall economic impact being $21.5 billion. The state's tourism industry helped to increase the number of jobs up to 199,073.[7]

Geography

In the Castle Rock Lake Region, there are multiple lakes, rivers, and cities. The landscape is flat with trees, fields, and small hills. There are no mountains visible from the lake. The destination is an oval shape that curves around the cities of Wisconsin Rapids, Wautoma, Montello, Madison, Reedsburg, Mauston, and Necedah. It is located in Wisconsin. Within the zone are multiple state parks, including the Grand River State Wildlife Area and Devil's Lake State Park. The weather in the zone has a high of around 74 degrees Fahrenheit, with a low average of about 26 degrees. The warmest months of the year are from June to September. December is the coldest month of the year. 

The area gets rain the most in May, with other high chances of rain in June, July, August, and April. It snows the most in October, with other snowy months being November, December, January, February, March, and April. It typically doesn't snow from June to September. Because of the weather, it has been said that the best time to visit the region is from the middle of May to the middle of October.[4] 

Animals in the district include badgers, black bears, brown bats, chipmunks, flying squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons, red foxes, river otters, skunks, whitetail deer, wolves, and squirrels. Birds include bald eagles, blue jays, Canadian geese, great blue herons, great horned owls, mallard ducks, robins, ruffed grouse, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, and whooping cranes. Examples of fish are bigmouth buffalo, channel catfish, crayfish, largemouth bass, northern pike panfish, rock bass, and tiger musky.[5] Animals within the territory include Adam's needles, amur chokecherries, annual mallows, apache plumes, apricots, Austrian pines, bearded irises, beauty bushes, black chokeberries, black currants, bird's nest spruces, black-eyes Susans, blue flax, and Bosnian pine.[6]

History

Before 1951, Castle Rock Lake was a glacial lake near farmlands, prairies, and forested knolls that were separated by the Wisconsin River. Wisconsin River Valley supported life for over 10,000 years. The first people to live in the Wisconsin River Valley were the Ho-Chunk people. Because people lived at Castle Rock Lake so many years ago, there are historical things near the lakes, such as the Effigy mounds and Petroglyphs at Roche-A-Cri Rock. 

The mounds take on many different shapes and sizes, some of which being crests, panthers, and birds. They varied in size in height and width. Some of the mounds are gravesites for people or tools, while others exist purely for decorative purposes. Roche-A-Chi Rock has a cave with ancient artwork inside of it. The drawings inside the cave include birds, canoes, animal tracks, phases of the moon, and people. The Ho-Chunk people are believed to have used these drawings for things such as storytelling, politics, and record keeping. The illustrations tell the history of the people who lived near Castle Rock Lake many years ago. In 1951 a dam was completed in the area. The dam still stands to this day, and it holds water into a specific area.[2]