Token Creek County Park was established in 1965 and is located off Hwy 51 South of the Village of Windsor. The 418-acre park contains a mix of prairie, woodland, and wetlands is known for its five shelter facilities and ample open space for large group picnics and outings.
Recreational facilities include five volleyball courts, equestrian trails, miles of hiking and cross-country ski trails, a premier 27-hole disc golf course and a 37-unit campground*, plus a group camp area. Other popular features include an accessible fishing pier, a 33-acre dog park, a 5-acre small dog park, two playgrounds, and an elevated boardwalk through a sedge meadow marsh. The park also offers winter access to Dane County's 274 miles of snowmobile trails.
*The campground has 37 reservable sites (one fully accessible), including 29 electric sites (all with 30 amp hook ups and some with both 30 and 50 amp hook ups for RVs), 8 non-electric sites, bathroom and shower facilities, and a sanitary dump station.
The name Token may have been derived from Tokaunee, a Ho-Chunk chief. Attracted by abundant water, the Ho-Chunk people erected effigy mounds in the area.
George Spaulding was the first white settler in 1841. Completed in 1844, the Fort Winnebago Road from Madison passed through Token Creek. Guided by the landmark Big Hill, homesteaders and lumbermen journeyed through on their way to northern pineries.
Token Creek had a school, Congregational church, two mills and an early fish hatchery. Veterans of five wars, including the Revolutionary War, rest in the cemetery.
Until destroyed by fire in 1881, the Token Creek Tavern was the area's social center. Under the glow of tallow candles, couples danced to the fiddle music of Marcus Wheeler, father of poetess Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Token Creek declined after the railroads bypassed it.
More information can be found on a historical marker at the park.
