Rib Mountain rises 650 feet above the central Wisconsin flatlands. At 1,924 feet, Rib Mountain is Wisconsin’s third highest point (Timm’s Hill is the highest point, 1,951 ft.). The 1,460 acre park covers much of a monadnock (an isolated hill that rises abruptly from the surrounding plain) formed out of 1.7 billion year old metamorphic quartzite rock The Chippewa Indians called it O-pic-wun-a-se-be. The first part of the word means rib. In the 1890s the rock was mined to make sandpaper. The area became a park in 1927. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built trails, a campground and gazebo in the 1930s. The downhill ski runs also opened in the 1930s. There are 30 campsites and showers. Music copyright 2009, Paul Ehlers. Photographs and Slideshow copyright 2009, Creative Juice LLC.

Rib Mountain State Park

Highest points in Wisconsin

Camping at Rib Mountain State Park (Friends of Rib Mountain State Park website)

Blog entries for Rib Mountain State Park

Videos of other parks, A-Z List , Locator Map

Share on Facebook