Big Foot Beach State Park: Green Trail (Blog Hike #1022)

Trail: Green Trail
Hike Location: Big Foot Beach State Park
Geographic Location: south side of Lake Geneva, WI (42.56686, -88.43238)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: September 2024
Overview: A loop hike through savanna and woodland habitats passing Ceylon Lagoon.
Park Information: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/bigfoot
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=972252
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: (coming October 10, 2025)

Directions to the trailhead: From the Town of Lake Geneva, drive Lake Shore Drive south 2 miles to the signed state park entrance on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, pay the entrance fee, and park in the large picnic area and dump station parking lot on the left just past the gatehouse.

The hike: Located less than 5 miles north of Illinois, Big Foot Beach State Park is the southern-most state park in Wisconsin.  The park sits on the east shore of Lake Geneva, a large 5400 acre lake that geologists believe is a kettle lake formed at the end of the last ice age by retreating glaciers.  The original English name for Lake Geneva was Big Foot Lake.  The lake and park are named for the Potawatomi leader Maungeezik or Big Foot, who led the Potawatomi in the early 1800s and signed the 1833 Treaty of Chicago.  That treaty ceded much of northeast Illinois and southeast Wisconsin to the United States.

            The cozy 272 acre park features limited amenities, but it does offer a 100-site developed campground, access to Lake Geneva across the road from the main park area, several picnic areas, and 8 trails totaling just over 8 miles.  Many hiking routes are possible, but this hike follows the Green Trail for its entire distance.  The Green Trail is the park's longest trail, and it forms a grand loop around the entire park, thus exploring every point of interest in the park.

East trailhead at parking lot

            From the dump station parking lot, the grass dirt trail heads east into a savanna area that is dotted with oak trees.  Wooden posts with colored arrows mark the trails at Big Foot Beach State Park.   The first green arrow appears here, and you will be following them for more or less this entire hike.  After only a few hundred feet, you cross the main park road and begin following an asphalt side road.  Watch for the green arrows to stay on the trail.

Hiking on a side road

            At 0.25 miles, the Green Trail angles right to leave the road.  For the next 0.7 miles the grass/dirt trail climbs gradually as it heads almost due east.  The park's south boundary lies only a few feet to the right, and this park's largest tallgrass prairie unfolds to the left.  The grass dominates the prairie here, and the late summer wildflowers are less impressive than those at nearby Richard Bong State Recreation Area, which is my favorite prairie in Wisconsin.  Ignore the Black and Orange Trails when they exit left.

Hiking along the prairie border

            0.9 miles into the hike, the trail makes a sweeping left curve as vehicle traffic on CR H can be heard across the park's east boundary to the right.  This park's small size and location right beside the Town of Lake Geneva ensure that civilization never feels too far away.  After some gentle undulations, you reach a potentially confusing intersection at 1.1 miles.  The Purple Trail goes left here, but you want to angle right to head slightly downhill on what looks like an old gravel road with an old concrete structure to the left of the trail.  There are no green arrows at this intersection, but you will see the next one just after you pass the concrete structure.  My research turned up no information about this concrete structure.

Hiking past the concrete structure

            Next you pass through the northeast corner of the park and climb the biggest hill on this hike.  As you would expect for southeast Wisconsin, this hill is only about 50 feet tall, and the difference between maximum and minimum elevations on this hike is only about 75 feet.  The wide grass/dirt trail makes the going fairly easy.  Numerous benches offer opportunities to sit and rest.  At 1.5 miles, you reach the perimeter of the park's campground.  The trail curves left once and right twice to skirt the south edge of the campground.  This part of the trail passes through an interesting pine planting.

            1.8 miles into the hike, you bust out of the woods and reach an open mowed-grass picnic area.  There are no trail markers here, but you want to turn right and walk gradually uphill along the right edge of the picnic area with the campground through the woods on the right.  When you reach the campground entrance, another green arrow marks where the trail reenters the woods, heading north.

Hiking through the picnic area

            The next segment of the Green Trail runs conjointly with the shorter Yellow Trail, but the northwest corner of the Green Trail's loop is no longer maintained.  Thus, when the Yellow Trail makes a broad curve south to intersect the Blue Trail, you need to turn right on the Blue Trail to get to the other end of the unmaintained portion of the Green Trail.  There were no green arrows on this section of trail when I came here.

            After heading gradually downhill through some lowland black walnut forest, you reach Ceylon Lagoon and rejoin with the green arrows at 2.5 miles.  Shallow Ceylon Lagoon may be the most scenic spot in this park: the clear reflective water made a tranquil sight when I came here on a sunny, warm, and humid morning in mid-September.  Lake Geneva can be seen across Lake Shore Drive to the west, and a large number of robins kept me company as I enjoyed the scenery.  Concrete bridges take you up and over the lagoon, allowing you to get a better view.

Ceylon Lagoon, looking south

Ceylon Lagoon, looking north

            After admiring the lagoon, turn left and head south through a mowed grass area to begin the final leg of our loop.  More black walnut trees grow here, and more picnic tables offer scenic places to rest and have a snack.  The trail gradually curves left/east to pass a restroom building, return to the parking lot, and complete the hike.