Best Tent Camping near Apple River, IL

Let's start with the good stuff:

• The park is beautiful. Lovely trees, lots of shade, the hiking trails are nice, well marked, and they even have an accessible trail for those with disabilities!
• There is a restaurant and gift shop on site. Gift shop sells wood if you run low or forget.
• The bathrooms and shower house are relatively clean and well kept.

Now for the not so great stuff:

• Many of the campsites are sloped and some are sloped A LOT. This isn't obvious from the booking page.

• The campground is absolutely jammed with camp sites- it's ridiculous. I've never been to a campground where the sites were so on top of one another.

• We stayed in the Sunny Crest loop and the drinking water well was broken so we had to travel to other parts of the campground for water. When carrying a 10 gallon jug full of water back, that really sucked.

• The sites that are marked as "hike in" aren't secluded and away from other sites at all, as one might expect. They are jammed in with all the others but there just isn't any parking nearby.

• It had rained the day before was went and so the road to the campgrounds was blocked off (presumably because the creek was running too high), but there was NO SIGNAGE telling us how to get there another way. There was no one in the park office or in the camping registration station to ask. We finally figured out that we had to take an emergency road/auxiliary road to get to the campground, but that was after about 30 minutes of confusion.

• The breakfast buffet at the restaurant is mid but very pricey- $50 for 2 of us.

• The quiet hours and no alcohol policy are not enforced at all. While we were there, there was a very loud group playing beer pong into the wee hours of the morning.

• About half of the fire rings don't have grill grates so bring your own or bring a camp stove (See pic). Also, when you book your site, there is no way to know if your fire ring will have a grill grate or note.

Very nice park. Well marked and maintained trails. A large lake with boat launch and beach area. Separate pet area.

We spent the weekend at site 101, which is a tent site. I wouldn't recommend this site. based on a quick walkaround, it seemed a bit smaller than other sites. That's not really a deal-breaker, but it didn't really have any flat spots to pitch the tent. We ended up pitching it up on the parking area, but it was still a bit slanted and we could feel the tire divot a little through the air mattresses. Aside from that, it was great. The site had a picnic table and fire ring that we used a lot. It was secluded from the surrounding sites.

We hiked the Windy Ridge trail and the Prairie Loop trail. both were well maintained and enjoyable trails. We also spent some time on the beach.

I wanted so badly to love this campground experience, but just didn't. Site 19 was an easy walk-in that theoretically had nearby vault toilets, parking, and water.

Each site only had space for one car to park before walking in. Not a huge deal, but annoying as there were 2 of us who drove separate and we had to problem solve. When we got to the site I was shocked to see that what was labeled as a tent site had literally NO flat space to actually set up a tent. Spacious site, but fully sloped.

Also, what I would have loved to know, is that the vault toilets are closed because they are doing construction to build something new in that space. Construction that starts loudly each day at 7am. Honestly every site from about #35 down was affected by the noise because the construction is happening in the middle of the loop (and actually blocking some of the one-way road as well).

The park in general was okay. Per the usual, the pet areas were lacking. No beach at all, just grass covered in goose poop and one cut out on the raised shore between tall grasses and foliage where a dog could potentially jump in. Certainly nowhere for a human to enjoy the water with their pups unfortunately.

first timers/ young kids- yes. Primitive campers- no. My husband had never been camping. I grew up with very primitive camping- no electricity, only pit toilets, sometimes fresh water, and no showers (milk jug showers!) Little by little, I’m warming him up to camping. This is a great place for new campers, families of young kids, or just looking for an easier trip. There’s a shower house with flush toilets, warm showers, and surprisingly CLEAN! The site was medium size. Enough room to spread out. Ground was flat so finding a tent site was no problem. Electric hookup worked. Picnic table was good. Check your site before booking! One section of sites is like an open field? No trees and full view of others. But these surround a playground- also very nice. Glamping with young kids? These sites would be a perfect. AT&T and Verizon cell service worked fine

I spent two nights in the campground at Blue Mound State Park. Overall, the park has well-maintained hiking and MTB biking trails, extraordinarily clean and well-kept vault toilets, and ample access to drinking water. Both tent and RV/camper sites are on a typical one-way road pattern with a couple of loops there are plenty of sites with and without electricity. At the time I was there, the camp host sold high-quality hard wood for $5/bundle from a trailer on the honor system, so if you run out in the middle of the night, wood was easy to replenish. One of the park's highlights are lookout towers with views above the treetops, Unfortunately in 2020 both were closed, presumably because it would be difficult to keep a safe distance from others when on the stairs or while at the top. Pity, it'll be a reason to return. Still, there are several observation areas that are maintained well enough to keep the undergrowth from blocking the view of the Wisconsin River Valley nearly 15 miles to the north. This is where the "Blue Mound" name must come from, the hills at that distance did have a bluish cast to them.

If you've read any of my other reviews you know what's next, my list of the best campsites. While I've visited several parks now that have "walk in" sites, with cars parked a minute or two from the campsite, about a dozen sites in Blue Mound State Park take "walk in" to a new level. Cars can drive to a barrier across the road, and the sites are a 10-15 minute walk downhill, The park provides ONE medium-sized cart (250 lb weight limit, 20-minute use limit) that I guess would be in high demand during load in and load out. (NOTE TO SELF, camp Thursday through Monday if going here, or arrive EARLY to get a cart). Most of these sites are quite sunny; 105 is nice and shady and private, 106 slightly shaded 109 and 110 are shaded, very close to one another and would be good for a group camp setup 111 is quite shady. There's water and toilets in the walk-in camp ground. You'd want to sip wood for campfires and cooking, the nearest source is a 15-minute walk uphill and back, and then if using the cart, you have to return it for another round trip.

Back in the family campground where mortals and RVs park, I think the following are the nicest in terms of shade, level, size and privacy.

42, 45, 47, 51, 64, 66, 69, 71, 73

Mud Lake is a wonderful county park near Dubuque. Beautiful views of the Mississippi River. We stayed one night on our way to Minnesota. The sites are mostly sunny. The park streets are gravel with gravel sites. The park is quiet except for the occasional train from the nearby tracks. Great value for $21. Electric and water hookups. Marina and boathouse next door.

Stayed in campsite #35 which has no shade. It was a gravel site which shares a pull-through with site 36. There was more than enough parking for my TT and truck and grass on either side. The site included: picnic table and fire ring. Utilities were located in the rear. 20A/50A electric and water. Site was level. Neighbors were nearby.

AT&T had 2 bars of LTE and Verizon 2 bars of LTE service. AT&T Speedtest: 47 Mbps down, 1.3 Mbps up. Verizon data VERY SLOW. No WiFi.

Would stay here again. We camped at Mud Lake Park in a Travel Trailer.

We tent camped at site 37. This site has a nice mix of shade and sun and the back had a water faucet. There is a trail that works it’s way through the back of the sites. The sites are a bit close together and separation is sometimes sparse. Restrooms are pits and well maintained stocked with TP. No showers on site. One loop of the tent sites are able to be reserved and the other loop is first come, first served. There are short trails with some steep climbs, not wide paths so bring bug spray and tick tools! The river that cuts through is small but picturesque. Picnic areas are plentiful near the water. Caught two tiny bass and a trout. No firewood on site, but multiple homes on the drive in had $5 self serve bundles for sale. This site is a dark skies site, so if it’s not overcast or full moon there is some good stargazing. AT&T cell service is mostly nonexistent in camp, but kicks in as you head out, so plan your research ahead of time. Attached are some shots of some sites from the road