Admission to Wisconsin state parks is free during Free Fun Weekend

There's no better time to explore Wisconsin's great outdoors than the first weekend in June.

The DNR is once again waiving admission fees, trail passes and fishing licenses for the state's annual Free Fun Weekend June 4-5.

That means free admission to 49 state parks, 15 state forests and 44 state trails, plus free fishing on 84,000 miles of rivers and streams and 15,000 lakes. Camping fees and fishing regulations still apply, however.

If you're new to fishing, there will be a handful of Learn to Fish clinics around the state, including at Long Lake Recreation Area in the Kettle Moraine State Forest's Northern Unit near Dundee from 1 to 4 p.m. June 4, and at Puckett's Pond at Harrington Beach State Park in Belgium from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 4. Fishing gear will be provided at both events.

The weekend also coincides with National Trails Day on June 4. This year marks the 30th anniversary for the celebration that is coordinated by the American Hiking Society.

Local chapters of the Ice Age Trail Alliance will host hikes on segments of the national scenic trail throughout the state, including a 3-mile hike of the Hartland segment beginning at Nixon Park at 9 a.m., a 3-mile hike on the Pike Lake segment in the Kettle Moraine State Forest near Hartford beginning at 2 p.m., a 5.2-mile hike along the Devil's Staircase and Arbor Ridge segments in Janesville beginning at Riverside Park at 9 a.m., and a 20-mile hike through the southern Kettle Moraine beginning at the Rice Lake trailhead near Whitewater at 8 a.m. For details and more events, see iceagetrail.org.

Outside of Free Fun Weekend, admission to most Wisconsin state parks requires a vehicle admission sticker, which costs $28 per year or $8 per day for most parks (day passes for popular parks like Devil's Lake, Peninsula and Willow River are more). Annual stickers are available online at

yourpassnow.com/ParkPass/wi. Both day and annual passes are available at park offices and self-registration stations

within parks, or by calling a park office during business hours.

For more 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.

LEWIS/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL CHELSEY Trails at Wyalusing State Park provide views of the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers.