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Water

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People

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Activities

Established Camping

Big Bay State Park Campground

20 Reviews

About

State Park

Welcome to Big Bay State Park Campground, nestled on Madeline Island near La Pointe, Wisconsin. This spot is a favorite for many, and it's easy to see why. The campground is set in a beautiful pine forest, offering a serene and natural setting. Whether you're here for a weekend getaway or an extended stay, you'll find plenty to enjoy.

The campground is open year-round and offers both tent and RV accommodations. Some sites come with electric hookups, and there's a sanitary dump station conveniently located on the way to the airport. If you're bringing a big rig, you'll be happy to know that the campground is big-rig friendly. Pets are welcome too, so feel free to bring your furry friends along.

One of the standout features here is the beach. The clear waters of Lake Superior are perfect for swimming, kayaking, and even a bit of cliff jumping if you're feeling adventurous. The beach is accessible via a lovely boardwalk that winds through the forest, making for a scenic stroll.

For those who enjoy hiking, the park offers beautiful trails along the coast. You might even spot some deer wandering around. The island itself is teeming with wildlife, adding to the overall charm of the place.

The campground has clean bathrooms with both pit and flush toilets, and there's a centrally located shower building. While cell service can be spotty, it's a great excuse to unplug and enjoy the natural surroundings. Just make sure to bring bug spray, as mosquitoes can be a bit pesky, especially if you're planning to hike.

Overall, Big Bay State Park Campground offers a peaceful retreat with plenty of activities to keep you busy. Whether you're here for the beach, the trails, or just to relax in the woods, you're in for a treat.

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Location

Big Bay State Park Campground is located in Wisconsin

Directions

Madeline Island Ferry boats operate on regular schedules between Bayfield and La Pointe from April to December. County Highway H loops around Madeline Island from La Pointe. To get to Big Bay State Park, take Highway H counterclockwise (Middle Road) from La Pointe about four miles to Hagen Road and continue east on Hagen Road about 2 miles to the park entrance.

Address

141 S. 3rd St.
La Pointe, WI 54850

Coordinates

46.78794686 N
90.67404182 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Boat-In
Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Phone Service
Reservable
Showers
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Big Rig Friendly

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Reservations

(888) 947-2757

Roger W.

Legend

Reviewed Aug. 18, 2023

Nice Experience and some very nice sites

Big Bay State Park Campground, WI: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Ferry Ride: $110 round trip with a 17’ trailer Overall Rating: 3.5 Price 2023: About $20 to $30 Usage during visit: Very full Site Privacy: Loop 1 - 29 Great site privacy. Loop 30 -60 some good sites. The overall privacy not as good. Site Spacing: Loop 1 - 30: Great. Loop 31- 60: Good Site surface: Gravel Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: People noise while here. Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Some sites Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Check out the campground map . The dump is on the way to the airport.
Potable Water Available: Yes, at the bathrooms Generators: Not specified. We used a low noise generator. Bathroom: Clean pit toilets and flush toilets in the showroom.
Showers: One centrally located.
Pull Throughs: Mostly, if not all are back in. Cell Service (AT&T): Sporadic Setting: In a pine forest Weather: Highs are 70’s Bugs: Some mosquitoes. I think they are decreasing. Have bug spray if you hike. Solar: No Host: They are short a host Rig size: Rigs I’ve seen are under 35’ Sites: The sites in Loop 1 - 30 is the best loop, are most all very private. Loop30 - 60: Not as private. Site 42 has no under brush between site and parking for tent walk in sites. Other than that, pretty good. Sites 48, ad 50 are the absolute least private sites. Trailer sites in Loop 30 - 60 are generally not as deep and thus less site privacy than Loop 1 - 30. (35 - 41 are walk in tent sites,)

Site22 and 48

Month of VisitSeptember

Nicole K.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2022

The most magical park I’ve ever stayed at.

I can’t speak highly enough of this park! We loved our site, behind we didn’t have any other campers just a wooded area. The island is teeming with life. Deer wandered all over. The lay out of our site was fantastic and very close to a trail for flush toilets/shower building. The island itself is magnificent and we were lulled to sleep each night by the sound of Lake Superior’s waves crashing against the shore. Never have I slept so peacefully in a tent. We plan to return every summer.

Site47

Month of VisitSeptember

(8) View All

Lyla W.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 27, 2022

Stunning!

Stayed a few nights, extremely buggy. One had 2 ticks which was very surprising. Little to no cell service, I have us cellular. According to one of the locals, cricket works the best so far. Bring your own food, most restaurants close early.

Site15/16

Month of VisitJuly

(7) View All

Bryan P.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 12, 2022

Its ok not sure worth the trouble

Walkin #38. Walk in sites are nice and decently spaced and wooded—for walk in sites. My major issue was they are too close to the pull in sites and garbage cans. It could be very loud. Water was a bit of a hike and bathrooms were not convenient. Walk in sites are located in a lower, more wet part of the camp—standing water, cat tails, mosquitos abound. Lots of mosquitos. I think because it’s on Madeline island it also attracts a weird melange of people: they were obviously the families there, and then there were the hippy hikers there, but then there was also party people. Overall, I would go back to Madeline Island for a day trip. I would not however take all the time and effort and money and hassle to camp —let alone stay—on the island again. It’s just really isn’t worth it.

Site38

Month of VisitJuly

Bway M.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 23, 2021

Clear water

This is a great place for hiking, swimming, and kayaking. I loved the swimming beach it’s so clean and big that can never be too crowded.

Month of VisitJuly

Laura E.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 17, 2021

Beautiful beach!

The campground is clean and the sites are fairly large. The bath house is kept clean and the showers are hot. The beach in the state park is absolutely gorgeous with access via a nice boardwalk through the forest and along the beach. The only thing peeventing me from giving this campground 5 stars is that quiet hours were not enforced. There was a group playing loud music way past midnight when we were there.

Site55

Month of VisitAugust

Anna

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 19, 2020

Great Campground, fun island

Big Bay State Park is a perfect place for your summer vacation. You can camp with a tent or RV at Big Bay State Park. Don’t forget to look at the cost of the ferry over if you’re bringing your RV. It can get expensive depending on length, but still a better deal than renting an air bnb. Easy walking trails and cliffs to jump off. There are a lot of fun places to visit on the island. Definitely recommend bringing a car if you’re planning to tent camp, the park is far from town.

Kim

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 17, 2020

Beautiful Island Park

So many great things to say about Big Bay state park. This park is located on Madeline Island, the biggest island in the Apostle Islands.

I have been to this park more than once. It isn't the easiest to get there (you need a ferry ticket or chartered boat) but you can take your car or RV on the ferry (RVs generally need a reservation ahead of time depending on size).

If you are not taking a car, you can rent scooters or bikes (or bring your own). If camping, you will want to bring your car to drive to the park. It is a 7 mile ride to the park located on the other side of the island. Make sure you have your annual park sticker (or park pass confirm) when headed there.

The park has beautiful hiking trails along the coast, a swim beach (water is cold!!), Kayak and SUP rentals for bay paddling.

The modern bathrooms were decent (vaults are cruddy). The campsites are nicely wooded. Since the island is small, you can explore all of it on a three day weekend, whether that is hiking, paddling on the interior of the island into backwaters (you may see black bears on the shore).

Month of VisitAugust

Bryan C.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 12, 2020

Our favorite campground

We love Big Bay State Park. Great hiking, easy camping with kids, and the sites themselves are very private and quiet. Easy to back in our 31-foot Class C and still had a lot of room in our site to stretch out, cook and for the kids to play.

Also worth noting that if you're worried about the ferry, they can accommodate just about any vehicle that can go down the road. We had no problem with our Class C getting on and off the ferry, and in fact we had a dump truck behind us on both legs, so there's plenty of capacity for big vehicles. It was around $200 for a round-trip with the RV, two adults, two kids under 6 and a dog.

Site27

Month of VisitOctober

Rebecca B.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 2, 2020

Great Lake Island Camping

You need to hop the ferry (about 60$ round trip for car and 2 people). Once you arrive there are plenty of shops and restaurants to kick off your stay. We had site 49 at Big Bay state park and the tall grass throughout the park was a bit disapointing and the ticks were pretty bad. But the beach and the point were fairly bug free and we spent most of our time there. Cliff jumping, swimming, boating and hiking trails this park has a lot to offer.

(9) View All

Jeni P.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 25, 2020

Madeline Island WI state park campground

First trip in the campervan. Beautiful setting, great hiking, beach is massive and pristine. Did some kayaking and SUP. Campsites all had a picnic table and fire ring. Camping "in the forest" feel. Amazing star-gazing at night. Biked around the Island but enjoyed most of time spent at campground.

Bring the mosquito repellent. They are off the charts bad!

Month of VisitJuly

(5) View All

Katie G.

Guide

Reviewed Mar. 31, 2020

Fun State Park near Apostle Islands!

We were visiting the Apostle Islands last summer when we stopped at Madeline Island and found Big Bay State Park!

We didn't camp overnight here, but we did hike around through most of it and it was wonderful! The trails were well maintained and the view of Lake Superior was gorgeous.

It is definitely a ways out there as you have to take a ferry in and all - but well worth the trip if you are in the area!

Month of VisitAugust

(5) View All

Joanna B.

Legend

Reviewed Jan. 3, 2020

Gorgeous!!!

8/23/19-8/25/19 #3

(8) View All

Jessica C.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 28, 2019

A Must See

It takes a ferry to get here, but it is a must see! Lake Superior is beautiful, and the campsites are nice and private.

Month of VisitAugust

Lili R.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 11, 2019

Weekend Getaway

Take the ferry to Madeline island and spend a weekend away from it all! Rent scooters to cover the whole island in a fun way!

Remember to use bear safety! It’s their home, not ours!

Shirwil L.

Ranger

Reviewed Jun. 1, 2019

A great way to spend some time in Lake Superior

We visited this park in October - there was some rain !! - the owls were wonderful. Taking the ferry across works easily, there was firewood at the park - There were plenty of sites to choose from in Oct. (and sort of fun for us - it's a "new" campground in that the current picnic area used to be the campground - kind of like a field with the sites around the edge) Now the campground is lovely with pretty private sites in the woods. Again the hiking is really nice, and access to the Lake is along a sand beach as well as a boggy boardwalk parallel to the shoreline - Getting ice for our cooler was a little iffy in October as the main options in summer were closed by but a local bar sold us a bag of their ice and all was good. In addition to the hiking the State Historical Society runs a site on Madeline Island centered around the fur trade of earlier times. Limited hours.

Site24

Month of VisitNovember

(11) View All

Lee D.

Legend

Reviewed Sep. 24, 2018

One of two choices for camping on Madeline Island

Sites were generous in size and most had trees for privacy, however there are only 60. Pit toilets but only one bathhouse with showers situated between the two campgrounds. Only two sinks and showers and when it is busy, this is not enough (I waited more than once to wash my hands). Boardwalk along Lake Superior leads to Big Bay Town Park, the other option on Madeline Island. Both are about five miles from town, easy to bike to but not walkable. Quiet hours were not enforced when we were there -there was a loud party going on across from our site that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. Recommend you take a boat ride to explore other islands.

Charlotte B.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 9, 2018

Great Stay

I wish the ferry ride was cheaper, but great place to bike and camp. We were able to get a decently secluded spot as well.

(5) View All

Samantha B.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 4, 2018

Lovely small town feel

A beautiful campground. Small but has some decent trails. Lovely to walk by the waters edge and skip rocks.

Month of VisitJuly

Steve M.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 14, 2017

Wet and Cool

We rolled the dice. Late spring Wisconsin weather made its presence felt, but we were undeterred. Its hard to be disappointed when faced with the spectacular views of the Apostle Islands. Kayaking was out but hiking was definitely in. A bit a solutitude on the trails was so rewarding. We chose a walk in site vs the drive in site and honestly we couldn't have made a poor choice after a nice walk through the campground. We will be returning for the kayaking of course and another camp in Big Bay is a given!

Sitesite 041

Month of VisitJune

(8) View All

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the max vehicle length at Big Bay State Park Campground?

Big Bay State Park Campground allows vehicles up to 60 feet.

Are fires allowed at Big Bay State Park Campground?

Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Big Bay State Park Campground, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

Does Big Bay State Park Campground have wifi?

No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, Big Bay State Park Campground does not have wifi.