Richard Bong State Recreation Area

Richard Bong State Recreation Area is a 4,515-acre protected landscape in Brighton, southeastern Wisconsin, managed as prairie and valued for both recreation and wildlife habitat. Planned originally as the site of Richard Bong Air Force Base, named for World War II aviator Maj. Richard Ira Bong, the military project was never completed, though part of a proposed 12,500-foot airstrip remains visible from above. The area now supports an unusually wide range of activities, including mountain biking, camping, hunting, fishing, ultralight aviation, rocketry, falconry, and horseback riding. Its wildlife preserve supports nesting great egrets, sandhill cranes, and great blue herons, and it is a central part of the proposed Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.

Brighton, Wisconsin · United States