New playground equipment coming soon to Waubedonia Park

New playground equipment at Waubedonia County Park will likely be installed by the end of the year and be ready to entertain children in time for next year’s camping season, county supervisors were told last week.

The contractor hired to do the job has the equipment in stock, county Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck told members of the Natural Resources Committee.

“It will be installed this year and be ready for next season,” he said.

Last month, the committee voted to spend $70,000 to install new playground equipment at the park in Fredonia and along the Milwaukee River.

The current playground equipment there does not meet new state safety and accessibility standards and “is heavily used by children and families during gatherings using the rented shelters and tennis courts,” according to a memo.

Last month, the committee approved  hiring Lee Recreation of Cambridge to do the work at a cost of $68,271.

The new playground will include a climbing log, a roofed platform, a spiral slide and a toddler swing set.

Waubedonia Park has become increasingly popular with campers, and generated $38,157 in revenue through September this year compared to $28,811 through the same period in 2024.

Potential future improvements at the park include showers, a floating self-serve handicapped-accessible kayak and canoe rental station and launch and a fishing pier.

With the county acquiring and tentatively developing a park at the Waubeka Mill and Button Factory site, officials hope to cater more to kayakers and canoeists between the two locations.

The showers project includes construction of a shower room and storage room on the existing bathroom-pavilion building and would connect to the Village of Fredonia’s water treatment plant.

The bathrooms and shower rooms would also serve users of the park’s tennis courts.

With available showers, the camping rates could be increased and camping stays would likely be longer, thus generating more revenue, Struck has said.

There are 17 campsites at the park, six of which have water and electricity and are suitable for RV campers.

Officials have said they hope to add a group campsite and another RV site at Waubedonia.

The county’s camping offerings are set to expand significantly with the addition of a new campground at Hawthorne Hills County Park, beginning with 18 campsites, including five or six RV sites, along with bathrooms.

A second phase will include 20 or more RV sites that will be developed nearby.

Last month, the committee voted to use a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Forest Service Community Forest Program to purchase 15 acres of forest between the east bank of the river and Highway I,  north of Highway H to expand Waubedonia Park.

A one-to-one match requirement would be met by a pending Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Greenseams grant for a total project cost of $240,000.

The purchase would protect the property, which includes wetlands, from development “in perpetuity,” Struck said.

Struck said campsites could be added but that they would be more primitive “walk-in-and-camp” sites.

In other action, the committee voted to hire Power Gate Solutions to install new security gates at the east and west entrances to Waubedonia Park, as well as another gate at Tendick Nature Park in the Town of Saukville.

Installing the three security gates will cost $163,996, which includes a 5% contingency fund.

Similar gates have already been installed at Lion’s Den Gorge Nature Preserve and Tendick, Virmond and Hawthorne Hills county parks.