Lake Wissota State Park

This park northeast of Chippewa Falls has 1,062 acres of primarily young, rich forests and open prairie on a 6,300-acre manmade lake. The park offers secluded campsites, hiking trails, and a 285-foot swimming beach. The lake was created in 1918 when the Wisconsin-Minnesota Power and Light Company built a dam on the Chippewa River. The region's early history goes back more than 150 years to 1836, when Frenchman Jean Brunet built the region's first sawmill at the falls of the Chippewa River. Within a year it was ranked as one of the world's largest sawmills. The Chippewa long since has been harnessed to provide electrical power. Pine forests, mixed hardwood timbers, prairie, and marshes are found in the park. The park has a permanent fishing pier especially designed to provide easy access for anglers with disabilities.