More Wisconsin libraries will offer free park passes under expanded DNR program

Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·4 min read

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is expanding its Check Out Wisconsin State Parks At Your Library program to 160 libraries beginning May 1, providing more opportunities for people to check out a free park pass at their local library.

The DNR launched the program last November, distributing 1,000 day passes to 20 libraries across the state, including six in the Milwaukee area, in an effort to increase access to the state's parks, forests and recreation areas. Libraries in the pilot program were chosen based on economic and social variables, including unemployment rate, free and reduced lunch rate, health insurance, poverty rate, age and race, according to the Missy VanLanduyt, recreation partnerships section chief for the DNR. Some of the selected libraries — including some in the Milwaukee Public Library system — chose not to participate in the pilot program due to available resources.

But all 13 library branches in the city of Milwaukee are participating in the expanded program, which will make nearly 6,300 passes available at more than 160 libraries across the state.

“We had a great response to our pilot program over the winter, and we are confident this summer and fall opportunity will be just as successful,” Steve Schmelzer, Parks and Recreation Management Bureau director for the DNR, said in a statement announcing the expansion. “Through this program, Wisconsinites will be able to visit our state park properties this summer without the barrier of a fee.”

The program is a collaboration between the DNR, the Wisconsin Association of Public Libraries and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Funding for passes at 84 libraries came from the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks, a grant from the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin's CD Besadny Conservation Fund, and two Green Tier businesses. Sixty-two libraries purchased 3,865 passes with their own funds, and 14 libraries had passes left over from the pilot program, which was funded by the Nicolet Federated Library System and Southwest Wisconsin Library System.

The one-time-use passes are good for single-day admission for one vehicle at any state park, forest or recreation area where admission is required. Patrons who "check out" the pass also can take with them a variety of DNR materials from maps and accessibility information to Wisconsin Explorer books for kids.

Here's a look at where people can check out passes in the Milwaukee area:

  • Milwaukee County: Central, Atkinson, Bay View, Capitol, Center Street, East, Good Hope, Martin Luther King, Mitchell Street, Tippecanoe, Villard Square, Washington Park and Zablocki branches of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System; Whitefish Bay; Franklin, Oak Creek, Shorewood and Wauwatosa all have some passes still available from the pilot program

  • Ozaukee County: Cedarburg, U.S.S. Liberty Memorial in Grafton

  • Racine County: Racine, Waterford

  • Washington County: Germantown, Slinger, West Bend

  • Waukesha County: Butler, Elm Grove, Waukesha

For a complete list of libraries and more information on the program, see dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/outwigo.

The DNR will celebrate the second phase of the program at an event at 10:30 a.m. April 24 at Hausmann Nature Center in the Kettle Moraine State Forest's Lapham Peak Unit in Delafield. The nature center will be open from 10 a.m. to noon for anyone who wants to visit.

Libraries aren't the only spot people can get a free parks pass this year. To celebrate its move from bottles to cans, Lakefront Brewery is giving away 100 annual state park passes in a contest that runs through June. People can enter the contest by scanning a QR code on posters around Milwaukee or at lakefrontbrewery.com.

Daily admission passes to Wisconsin state parks cost $8, $10 or $13, depending on the park, and $3 for residents age 65 and older. Annual passes cost $28 or $13 for seniors. The DNR typically hosts an annual Free Fun Weekend the first weekend of June when all state parks are free to visit. Some parks and forests, including Havenwoods State Forest and Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee, are always free to visit.

For more information on Wisconsin state parks, see wiparks.net.

Contact Chelsey Lewis at clewis@journalsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter at @chelseylew and @TravelMJS and Facebook at Journal Sentinel Travel.

More: Wisconsin's least popular state parks offer more than a quiet experience away from crowds

More: Your guide to Devil's Lake State Park, from the best hiking trails to camping information

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 160 Wisconsin libraries will offer free park passes under DNR program