WI Kenosha Prairie Springs Park

From Trailville

Jump to: navigation, search

Prairie Springs Park

Prairie Springs Park
Prairie Springs Park

A mostly man-made city park with a lake and an asphalt trail. There are also some shorter trails in a wooded area.

  • Getting There: Located west of Kenosha, Wisconsin in the city or Pleasant Prairie. The main park entrance is on State Highway 165 about a mile east of I94.

There are a few things about this "suburb" park that rub me the wrong way. First of all, most of this park was created with bulldozers. Everything from the lake (Lake Andrea), the landscaping, and asphalt trail around the lake are all way too planned and new for my tastes. Then there's the massive RecPlex located in the park and the fenced in beach area (I'm probably nitpicking on the beach area). But what irks me the most are the unwelcoming and confusing parking rules.. There are signs scattered throughout the park that state all parking areas within the park are for annual members only, but not all parking lots have these signs. As best I can make it out, all parking lots along the southwest, west, and northwest areas around the lake are for "members only". You cannot even purchase a day pass for these lots. So where do non-members park? According to their website " Non-park pass holders must park on the street." It doesn't say which street and some park roads and Highway 165 are signed for no parking (even though there is plenty of room). There is a wider section of park road on the south side of the lake that is not signed, so my assumption is this is where outsiders can park. I'm thinking there may be other areas where outsiders can legally park (possibly including some sections of the larger parking lots near the RecPlex) but it's almost as though they prefer to keep that a secret.

Lake access is also confusing. I believe there is a fee required if you want to windsurf the lake but not for other watercraft use??? There is a public boat launch at the north end of the lake, but there is another launch area within the park that requires a fee for launching/parking. Boats can only use electric motors on the lake. The wide open virtually treeless area around the lake results in a rather windy lake that is great for windsurfers but not so good for a canoe.


map of Prairie Springs Park

The Trails

There is a 2.3 mile asphalt pathway that circles the lake. The area around the lake is made up of wide open mowed grassy areas. There is very little here that looks natural. To be fair, this is a new city park and may not be any less natural than other city parks were when they were first established decades ago. I think the location of this park (adjacent to the Des Plaines River floodplain) makes me expect more out of it.

The redeeming value of this park comes from the wooded area (this area was actually made by nature) at the west end of the park. This wooded area borders the Des Plaines River and has a series of interconnected trails running through it. You're not going to put on many miles here but the trails are nice for an occasional walk. They certainly feel a world away from the nearby asphalt path around the lake (as you can see by the two photos above). There is even a small observation deck overlooking a wetlands area at the north end of this wooded area. I'm quite certain that the vast majority of park users have no idea these trails are here and that's just fine with me. These trails are wide natural surfaced (or wood chips) double-track. You will find some narrower sections that extend down to the river floodplain (the main trails are all on higher ground).


I have also marked a canoe launch area to the Des Plaines River on my map. This is NOT an official designated canoe launch area. There is no parking on the road (Highway 165) but there is a flat grassy off the road that works pretty well. I don't know who owns this grassy area (I'm assuming it's either the State of Wisconsin, or the City of Pleasant Prairie) but I (and others) have been using this for years to access to the river. You can launch your canoe just down the hill and, if the water is high, you can launch right out of the grass and avoid the mud.


If you're looking for asphalt trails, scenery, and lake access without all the "members only" attitude, I suggest you visit the Kenosha city parks along Lake Michigan. The scenery is better and the parking is free and plentiful. And that even goes for residents of Pleasant Prairie.


  • Related Links:

More Kenosha Area Trails



This page is authored and maintained by Dave Piasecki

Retrieved from "http://trailville.com/wiki/WI_Kenosha_Prairie_Springs_Park"
Personal tools