This 15-acre park is located on the northwest shore of Lake Kegonsa at the inlet of the Yahara River. This site offers an exceptional boat launch with restrooms, a fish cleaning facility and trailer parking. A separate, newly renovated canoe/kayak launch offers an accessible floating pier and ramp for launching small paddle crafts via hand-carts. A picnic area along the lakeshore riverwalk provides a pleasant area for family outings, and includes options for shoreline fishing with floating fishing piers and an accessible fishing and viewing platform.
The Yahara River Water Trail from Babcock County Park on Lake Waubesa to Lake Kegonsa is a year-round slow no-wake paddling destination offering a unique experience. Natural and cultural highlights include the Door Creek Wetlands, the historic Dyreson Road steel truss bridge, Native American mound sites, and a historic fish weir.
The park also provides access to the Lower Yahara River Trail.
This park is supported by Friends of Lake Kegonsa Society.
Fish Camp Launch - Carp Seining in the Yahara Lakes
Carp, introduced by European settlers, were stocked in Wisconsin waters as early as 1880. They thrived in shallow waters of rivers and lakes, reproduced rapidly and by 1900, anglers asked the state to begin a carp removal project. In 1934, the Wisconsin Conservation Department hired seining crews and established rough-fish camps. Fish Camp Launch was one of several removal facilities. Carp were harvested by seining and herded into holding pens. They were shipped live in tank trucks to stock ponds in other states or packed in ice and sent by rail to fresh fish markets in Chicago and New York.
The Department of Natural Resources discontinued Yahara Lakes seining in 1969 because of declining carp markets and increasing operational costs. The county and local partners have renewed this effort to control these invasive carp populations.
More information can be found on a historical marker or on interpretive signage (PDFs) at the park:
