Seal of Dane County County of Dane
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Dane County Parks

Activities Requiring Permits

Visiting and hiking in Dane County Parks is free. Some activities require a permit. Permits may be purchased online or by contacting the Dane County Parks Office via email or phone at (608) 224-3730. Some permits may be purchased at parks or trailheads through electronic pay stations

The activities listed on this page require a permit. To learn how to display each permit, visit the How to Display Permits webpage.

Activities that Require a Permit

Click on the links below for additional information about each activity.

The following activities require a permit application, see instructions in forms below:

The following permits cannot be purchase online. Please contact the Dane County Parks Office via email or phone at (608) 224-3730 to obtain one of these permits:

  • Public meetings, assemblies, tournaments, entertainment
  • Selling or offering for sale anything in the park
  • Landing aircraft or dropping any objects from the air
  • Mooring a boat for more than two days
  • After hours use of the parks for non-camping visitors (10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. unless otherwise posted)

Activities that Do Not Require a Permit

Geocaching no longer requires a Dane County Parks permit. For specific rules concerning requirements for use in Dane County Parks, please visit the Dane County Parks Geocache Information at the Wisconsin Geocaching Association website. 

Snowshoeing does not require a permit and is allowed throughout Dane County Parks except on designated cross-county ski trails.  On-leash dogs with permits are welcome to accompany snowshoers as long as they have a valid dog permit.