Governor Dodge State Park Campground
Josh F.
Reviewed Sep. 11, 2020

Two lakes, two campgrounds and some nice walk-in sites!

I stayed at this campground when I was a kid and only recently revisited it. The state park has two very large lakes with nice pan fishing and modest but well-groomed (daily?) swimming beaches. The lakes are a definite drive from the campgrounds, however, which makes it hard for "the kids" to simply amble down for a swim. This is important, in Sept. 2020 (COVID-19 times) 1/3 of the parking lot was closed off. Not sure why, but I speculate this is to regulate the number of beach dwellers and swimmers. Regardless, it's a very large and lovely park. Here's my review of the campsites.

I am a car camper with no interest in (E) electric sites, so I did not pay attention nor note good ones. I prefer the silence and relative darkness that non-E sites provide.

Campsite - Cox Hollow

45/47 would be a nice couple of sites for a family/friends (wouldn't want this if you only needed one of them!)

The sites on the "inside" of the loop are rather close to one another.

21 has a nice view of the lake, and you can walk back to the fence to look over the bluff 24 is quite private and very large 26, 27 and 29 are all large, near the bluff

34 is interesting, it's divided into three "terraces" Kind of fun, like a campsite divided into rooms

44 right next to the water, BIG site, right near the bathroom and playground. This would be great if you have kids.

The second campground is Twin Valley - though it is NO WHERE NEAR the Twin Valley lake. Lots of driving to get to the lake from here.

221 is large with nice surrounding trees

285 is really big

This campground has walk in sites - these are sites with car parking on the road and you have to walk a minute or two to get to the site. Downside? Carrying all your gear and firewood. Upside? You can genuinely pretend that you've got the place to yourself, can't see a tent or an RV from any of these sites.

262 is 40 steps in, right on the edge of the valley with it's own personal bluff.

263 is a longer walk of 75 steps, a little less shaded than others, but PRIVATE

264 is about 45 steps off the parking lot, right against the bluff edge.

269 is 50 steps in, but it's just off the path, not as nice as others

270 is a long 120 steps walking past 269, this is the site for you if you're looking for seclusion

271 is 110 steps in, flat, really secluded

Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • Review photo of Governor Dodge State Park Campground by Josh F., September 11, 2020
  • This is a 1-minute drive through one of the loops in the Cox Hollow campground just to give you a feel for the campsites, tree cover, etc. For reference, this ends at site #44 mentioned above.
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  • This is a 2-minute drive through the Twin Valley campground to give you a feel for the campsites, tree cover, etc. For reference, this starts at site 300 and goes through 345E.
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  • Video drive through of (roughly) sites 222 - 243.
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