Hidden along a side trail of Picnic Point sits a serene beach next to a beach house built to look like it was designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Many people hold the incorrect belief the house is indeed a Wright design, but that thought just adds to the experience. Part of the magic of the beach house is that it looks so odd compared to much of modern architecture.

Strangely enough, the intriguing building never actually opened due to an algae bloom in the years immediately following its construction in 1968. It was meant to be a bathroom and changing facility, but it’s now used for storage instead.

The building isn’t very well known, as it sits on a trail that veers off the path to the tip of picnic point. Most people take the more traveled road that bypasses this overlooked gem, causing them to miss out on the more secluded beach and the building.

The beach house is located next to some small bluffs that are fun to climb and looks out onto a small cove in Lake Mendota where the waves are often less strong than the rest of the lake. The relatively unknown beach offers lovely views of the water, but without the crowds that congregate at other points along the lake.