Richard Bong State Recreation Area

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Richard Bong State Recreation Area is a 4,515 acres (18 km²) unit of the Wisconsin state park system. It is located west of Brighton, Wisconsin. This managed prairie contains 8.3 miles (13 km) of mountain bike trails. Other recreational activities include high power rocketry, dogsledding, falconry, ATV sports, land sailing, horseback riding, hunting, camping with amenities, and ultralight aviation. There is a wildlife preserve. Whooping cranes and great egrets are known to nest there. The facility is built on land originally meant to become an Air Force base, Bong Air Force Base. Its namesake is World War II veteran aviator Maj. Richard Ira Bong.

[edit] Trivia

The area has been the subject of a number of drug-related jokes due to sharing its name with a type of pipe used for smoking cannabis, also called a bong. Cannabis can be considered one of many recreational drugs, and the many secluded locations in the area (useful for inconspicuous consumption of illegal drugs) make the name of the Bong Recreational Area an amusing double entendre.

However, the area is universally considered to be very family-friendly, with few illegal activities taking place.