23 Jul Kayaking on Mirror Lake in Wisconsin
As we launched our kayaks into the calm waters, we marveled at the peaceful setting that unfolded in front of us. The deep blue water contrasted sharply with the neon green algae floating on the lake’s surface, while sandstone bluffs poked out through the thick pine trees towering along the shore. We definitely found the perfect spot, we thought, as we smiled and continued our paddle down the lake.
Kayaking is one of our favorite adventures—we go for a paddle any chance we get, and our road trip through Wisconsin was no exception. There are so many fantastic spots to kayak throughout the state of Wisconsin, so we had a hard time narrowing down where exactly we wanted to head out on the water.
After some intense Googling, we left our warm and cozy bed in West Salem and continued on our AmericInn road trip towards the Wisconsin Dells area. Our requirements for a nice spot to paddle were an area that wouldn’t be too busy and scenery that was a bit different from where we have paddled in the past. Two spots along our road trip route seemed to fit the bill.
We ended up settling on kayaking on Mirror Lake at Mirror Lake State Park, and we couldn’t have been happier with our choice. Single kayaks were only $15 per hour, but you also had the choice to rent double kayaks, paddleboards, canoes, boats and even pontoons.
The forecast for the morning was thunderstorms, so we planned to arrive around 10 a.m. when there looked to be a break in the rain. Thankfully, the forecast was right, and although it was gloomy, we arrived to find rain free skies.
Our original intention was to spend four hours out on the water (which was $35 per person), but with the iffy weather, we decided to start with a one hour rental. The shopkeeper assured us that we could change to the four-hour package later if we wanted more time on the water. With that, we paid and then made our way over to the kayaks, ready to get our paddle on.
The serenity of the lake was exactly what we were looking for—for the first 45 minutes of our paddle, we only encountered one other person. Mirror Lake isn’t very large, but we ended up sticking to one side of the lake as we were too enamored with the landscape and couldn’t stop taking photos.
Although it didn’t start raining while we were on the water, it looked like it could start at any moment. Not wanting to get caught in the rain, we decided that an hour was the perfect amount of time. As we made our way back to shore, we soaked up every last bit of the fresh lake atmosphere that we could before continuing on our way to our next AmericInn hotel in Tomah, Wisconsin.
Later that day, we passed by the other spot where we had considered going for a paddle, which happened to be on the river in the heart of Wisconsin Dells. While it might have been peaceful farther down the river, the starting point was anything but, and we knew that we made the right choice. Kayaking on Mirror Lake was the perfect nature escape that we needed.
We partnered with AmericInn Hotels and Suites on a summer road trip through Wisconsin in connection with their Fill-Inn-To-Win promotion. AmericInn is giving away a free night stay every day throughout the summer, so be sure to enter for your chance to win! As always, all opinions are our own.