Lake Kegonsa State Park occupies the northeast shore of a glacial lake southeast of Madison, where oak woodland, prairie, and wetlands frame beaches, boating, camping, and trails. Long before the park’s creation, the Ho-Chunk used this lakeshore, calling the lake Nąsąkučitera, and Sugar Bush Point served for thousands of years as a place for fishing, hunting, recreation, and camping. European settlers, many of them Norwegian immigrants, began using the area in the 1860s and continued its recreational traditions. Established in 1962 and opened in 1966, the park remains known for lakeside recreation, winter activities, and the White Oak Nature Trail through woodland with effigy mounds.