Riggs County Park 2026 03

This week we found a new place to hike. Unfortunately we weren’t prepared for the amount of snow still on the trails.

Key Features

• Massive Footprint: It is the largest park in the Fond du Lac County system, covering 300 acres on the eastern edge of Ripon.
• 18-Hole Disc Golf Course: Located at the east end of the park (accessible near Adams School), this course is free to play and features 18 holes set across open prairie and moderate elevation.
• The Splashpad: A popular summer destination, the splashpad is open daily from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM during the warmer months.
• Extensive Wetlands: Roughly 180 acres of the park are dedicated to protected wetlands, making it a prime spot for observing local water-loving wildlife.
• Native Prairie Restoration: About 70 acres of the park are under active prairie restoration, offering a look at Wisconsin’s original landscape and providing a habitat for various pollinators and birds.
• Walking & Hiking Trails: The park features several trails, including a 2.2-mile red loop that traverses both open prairie and gravel paths between the Douglas Street and Highway 23 parking lots.
• Wooden Observation Deck: Along the trail system, there is an elevated observation deck that provides a panoramic view of the prairie and wetlands.
• All-Inclusive Playground: In July 2024, the park opened a newly developed all-inclusive playground designed to be accessible for children of all abilities.
• Modern Picnic Shelter: A large shelter house is available for community gatherings and family outings, located near the main parking area on Douglas Street.
• Birding and Photography: Because of the varied habitats—wetlands, prairie, and small wooded patches—the park is highly regarded for birdwatching (with frequent sightings of Northern Harriers, cranes, and herons) and nature photography.

Review

Riggs County Park is on the Corner of Hwy 44 and Hwy 23 on the east side of Ripon. We parked in the lot next to the pavilion and playground. From here the start of the trail is a gravel path leading to the other lot.

The other lot off Hwy 23 east of where we parked is near a community garden and the disc golf course. We started our hike on the gravel path walking toward the other lot.

Almost immediately we saw a groundhog digging through the snow in a small stand of brush. I started to snap pictures of the groundhog as we walked.

We continued on after the groundhog was spooked. Walking for a short distance, we came to the first split in the trail. Next to a small hill with a mowed path to a viewing spot at the top of the hill or the trail forked north to a boardwalk.

The boardwalk led across a cattail marsh which we found encompassed the majority of the grounds of the park. As we walked across it we saw something new.

A Northern Harrier flew over the marsh looking for prey. I snapped dozens of photos hoping to get at least one good shot.

We got to the end of the boardwalk to find a wet snow covered trail. Not being familiar with the path we returned to the gravel trail. A quick stop at the top of the overlook hill we saw a structure that looked like a bridge and we hoped to find our way to it.

We continued on the gravel trail. Winding back and forth through the grassy fields south of the cattail marsh. Eventually though we got to the the eastern lot.

Here we needed to make a choice. There was lots of snow still left from the blizzard earlier in the week. But the gravel trail had been relatively snow free. We both had sneakers that were not water proof. But the rest of the trails were unknown.

Looking over the trail map a little closer that we did earlier we could tell that there were more boardwalks crossing the marshes. Though the grassy trails looked snow covered we though we would be safe once we got to the boardwalks.

We chose adventure and trudged through the heavy snow drifts on the grass trail. The first section of grass trails led us through the center of the disc golf course. After a short hike north, our shoes getting wetter as we went we finally got to another section of the boardwalk.

This section of the board walk connected us to a so called Small Observation Platform. We waited for a while watching the flocks of geese that flew back and forth to a field south of Hwy 23. We had even seen a pair of sand hill cranes earlier on our hike.

However from the small observation deck we saw something new in the sky. A flock of swans flew over us.

Continuing on we crossed a small stream, a tributary of the Silver Creek. But soon this section of the boardwalk ended. And this section of the grassy trail was covered in a thick layer of snow. Our shoes got further soaked.

Eventually we made it to the large observation deck. This was the structure that we thought was a bridge earlier. We took a moment to look around and started the last leg of our journey.

The walk from the observation deck to the next section of boardwalk was the wettest. There was a large puddle just before the next boardwalk. We tried to avoid getting our feet wetter than they already were but failed.

The boardwalk saved us from the wet snow for a little bit but we knew that there was one more small section of grassy trail before we got back to the initial trail. That small section of trail we avoided earlier to avoid getting our feet wet.

As we walked we finally passed another group of hikers. They all had dogs and wished us a good day as we passed them.

We also saw the Northern Harrier one more time, but he was a little to far away to get any more pictures. Red-wing Blackbirds also perched at the top of the reeds and brush calling out. They were starting to mark their territory and look for a mate.

Finally we reached the final boardwalk. Though it was also the first boardwalk we encountered it helped us complete the loop at Riggs County Park.

Though our feet got wet and cold we enjoyed our hike. Thinking of the marshy environment we figured that this would be a buggy place to visit in the summer. But we both thought that it would be a great fall hike in the future. A nice place to watch the migrating birds from the observation decks.

Thanks again for reading. And as always please leave a comment below.