Bartel's Beach
Lake Mills, Wisconsin · on Rock Lake · Lakeside Park
Verified · 3 independent sources
- WATER
- lake
- ACCESS
- Designated swim area
- FEE
- No fee found
- SEASON
- Best in summer
About Bartel's Beach
Bartel's Beach is a city-owned, sand swimming beach on the east shore of Rock Lake in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, within a park formerly known as Lakeside Park. More town swimming hole than wild one, it has a buoyed, roughly 100 x 400 foot designated swimming area kept separate from boat traffic, with a sandy, gradually deepening bottom that makes this an easy lake to swim in.
The beach sits on Rock Lake's east shore in the small city of Lake Mills, a short walk or drive from downtown, with mature shade trees, grassy picnic areas, and a pedestrian bridge crossing the creek that flows out of the lake near the park.
Swimming at Bartel's Beach
Swimming happens in a roped/buoyed rectangular area (visitor estimates put it around 100 feet out and 400 feet wide) separating swimmers from boaters and jet skis elsewhere on Rock Lake. Multiple accounts describe a sandy bottom with a gradual, shallow depth increase suitable for children and casual swimmers, and water described as clear near shore; there is no lifeguard on duty, so it is swim-at-own-risk.
How to get to this swimming hole
Located at/near 217 S Ferry Dr (also referenced as N Ferry Dr), Lake Mills, WI, on the east shore of Rock Lake, about 0.6 miles from central Lake Mills.
Parking: On-site parking directly next to the beach plus street parking nearby; multiple sources describe it as limited/small but manageable, with no long walk required from car to sand.
The walk in
No real hike here. The water is a short walk from where you park. Drive-up beach: on-site parking sits directly adjacent to the sand with no meaningful walk-in required. No trail or hike is involved in reaching the swim area.
Plan your visit
Bringing kids
OK with supervision
Sandy, gradually-deepening bottom and a buoyed/roped rectangular swim area (visitor estimates ~100 ft out x 400 ft wide) separated from boat traffic, plus an on-site playground, make this an easy, family-friendly beach layout. The caveat is that there is no lifeguard on duty (confirmed by multiple first-hand visitor accounts), so it's swim-at-own-risk despite the gentle entry.
Parking
Free
Small on-site lot directly next to the sand (no long walk from car to beach) plus street/roadside parking nearby. Visitors describe it as free with no entrance fee or reservation required, though the lot itself is limited/small and can fill up. Whether the City's separate paid parking/permit system documented for 'Sandy Beach' (a different Rock Lake city beach) also applies here is unconfirmed. The city's official Parks & Forestry pages could not be loaded to check Bartel's-Beach-specific fees.
Restrooms
Yes
On-site restrooms with running water, per first-hand visitor accounts. One visitor flagged cleanliness/maintenance issues (odor, a loud slamming door) at times, so condition may vary by visit; one auto-generated listing blurb contradicts this and claims no restrooms, but that conflicts with multiple first-hand reviews and is treated as unreliable.
Water clarity
Clear
Multiple independent visitor sources describe notably clear water: a familydestinationsguide review excerpt calls it 'clear enough to see your toes' with a 'crisp, clean quality' attributed to Rock Lake being spring-fed, and a Wanderlog-aggregated review states 'the water is some of the cleanest I've seen in a lake.' No conflicting reports of murkiness were found.
Hours
No official hours are posted on the City of Lake Mills' website for this specific beach (its dynamic parks/beach directory could not be retrieved). One unofficial travel source describes it informally as open dawn to dusk, which is consistent with typical city-beach practice but not independently confirmed by an official source.
On the water
Restrictions: The designated swim zone is buoyed/roped off and kept separate from boater/personal-watercraft traffic elsewhere on Rock Lake; a boat/kayak/canoe/paddleboard launch sits alongside the swim beach per prior enrichment and familydestinationsguide. No official no-wake or electric-only rule specific to this launch was found in this pass.
Rock Lake overall supports kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, sailing, and motorized boating/jet skiing per the Sandee listing's activity tags, but those are lake-wide categories rather than confirmed rules for the Bartel's Beach launch specifically.
What regulars say
Visitors describe the water as unusually clear for a lake beach, a gradual sandy entry good for casual swimmers, a small but usually workable parking area, and a typical visit length of about an hour. One visitor flagged the restroom as having an odor and a loudly slamming door on at least one visit, suggesting maintenance can be inconsistent.
Backstory
According to Sandee, the park was formerly known as Lakeside Park and was renamed/associated with Bartel's Beach after the Bartel family donated the land to the city.
Bartel's Beach: FAQ
Is Bartel's Beach kid friendly?
Sandy, gradually-deepening bottom and a buoyed/roped rectangular swim area (visitor estimates ~100 ft out x 400 ft wide) separated from boat traffic, plus an on-site playground, make this an easy, family-friendly beach layout. The caveat is that there is no lifeguard on duty (confirmed by multiple first-hand visitor accounts), so it's swim-at-own-risk despite the gentle entry.
Do I need to hike to reach Bartel's Beach?
No significant hike is required. The swimming area is close to parking and access.
Where do I park for Bartel's Beach?
Small on-site lot directly next to the sand (no long walk from car to beach) plus street/roadside parking nearby. Visitors describe it as free with no entrance fee or reservation required, though the lot itself is limited/small and can fill up. Whether the City's separate paid parking/permit system documented for 'Sandy Beach' (a different Rock Lake city beach) also applies here is unconfirmed. The city's official Parks & Forestry pages could not be loaded to check Bartel's-Beach-specific fees.
Can I bring a kayak or paddleboard to Bartel's Beach?
Rock Lake overall supports kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, sailing, and motorized boating/jet skiing per the Sandee listing's activity tags, but those are lake-wide categories rather than confirmed rules for the Bartel's Beach launch specifically.
When is the best time to visit Bartel's Beach?
Summer, per general visitor descriptions; no official season or operating hours were found for this specific beach.
What are the rules at Bartel's Beach?
Swimming is restricted to a buoyed designated area; visitors note that no lifeguard is on duty at Bartel's Beach, so swimming is at one's own risk. The City of Lake Mills' official site documents a separate paid parking/permit system for 'Sandy Beach' on Rock Lake, but it is unconfirmed whether that fee structure also applies to Bartel's Beach specifically.
What water body is Bartel's Beach on?
Bartel's Beach is on Rock Lake, a natural lake verified in USGS hydrography data.
