Lake Bronson State Park Campground

If you're like me and hate camping 10 feet from a million campers in a crowded campground, then this island site is for YOU! The campsite itself is a double occupancy. We had 4 adults and 5 kids and had plenty of space for two big tents and all our stuff. The canoeing is a quick 15 minute paddle from the lakeside campground on the far east side of the lake. (I wanna respect everyone's ability to paddle a canoe, but this is a level 1/easy peazy/if my 9 year old can do it then so can you kind of paddle.)

The island is filled with tons of old oak trees and has plenty of space to string up a hammock or two in the shade. The tent pads aren't the most level, but they aren't the worst I've pitched on either. The dock is nice and low so getting in and out with your gear is a breeze. We camped over the 4th of July and even with the busy holiday boat traffic still felt pretty secluded, especially at night. The vaulted toilet was nice to have on the island too. We had to canoe in our water in portable jugs, but that's how we usually camp.

It would have been nice to have a food locker of some sort in the campsite as both nights we stayed we had a big old fat raccoon in the campsite trying to get into our food. We ended up putting our totes with all the food/garbage wedged under the bench of the picnic tables in order to keep them out. Still didn't stop them from dragging a cooler of ours into the woods one night. (Darn trash pandas.)

The only reason this didn't get 5 stars is because the area around the island is all weeds and muck. You'll have to paddle west into the big part of the lake (10 minutes) and dock your canoe next to the swimming beach if you want a muck and weed-free swimming experience.

Camped at Lake Bronson the first weekend of June at site 47 beside the lake.  Our site had nice shade (beware - quite a few lake side sites are full sun), a necessity on the unusually warm June weekend. All amenities were very well maintained and close to our campsite. Unsure of how close sites were at the Two Rivers campground but Lake side were very close and multiple people were up until late into the evening. Not an issue for us, but if you're looking to get away in a more secluded location this would not be for you.

With temps in the mid 90s we enjoyed plenty of time in the lake, hiked to the top of the WPA observation tower, listened to trumpeter swans & watched the sun set over the lake .

One thing of note - our campsite was CRAWLING with ticks. Upon waking we had over a dozen hanging onto the outside of our tent, and picked more than we could count off of ourselves during our 24 hour stay. Unsure if it was a banner year for the buggers or if the location of the camping sites in grass next to a tree line was a perfect breeding ground but it was truly remarkable.

How would you like to camp on your own private island? Reserve the single canoe-in site and make your dreams come true! We had such an excellent time hanging out on our little island and using it as a home base for combined canoeing and hiking day trips. You should be comfortable in a canoe before you commit to this, as it's a decent distance to paddle from the dock to the site, and you'll be loaded with gear. The paddling can also get pretty tough when the wind picks up, especially on the open stretches of the lake.

The park is beautiful and large, and the canoe-in site is spacious and very pleasant. There's some noise from speedboats and fishing boats during the day, but you get the lake to yourself once the sun sets and everyone else goes home. The mosquitoes were not bad on the island, though there were some annoying flies in the afternoons.

Our only disappointment was that there were no good swimming options from the island itself. Too many reeds, and the boat dock is in a shallow mucky area. We had better luck paddling to other spots to swim.