Quiet and very nice
Nice clean swimming and lots of hiking and biking options
Great for family
Great clean sites and fishing. Many hiking trails. Historical attractions. Wisconsin does their parks and forests right.
Month of VisitAugust
Great swimming lake and access to Ice Age.
We've been camping here for years and love the beautiful lake for swimming and watersports. No motor boats so nice and quiet. :) Also great trail running opportunities on the Ice Age. There is a crushed gravel trail running from here to Long Lake that is great for running/walking/biking. If you like ice cream, head to Dundee and visit the Hamburger Haus.
Month of VisitJuly
Ranger Review: High Hopes Hammocks at Mauthe Lake, WI
Campground Review
With the rising popularity of this campground, we were fortunate to get a short-notice reservation for a portion of Fourth of July weekend.
Our site was about 50/50 sun and shade throughout the day. Within the campground, both coniferous and deciduous sites are available and you have your choice of full shade all the way to almost full sun.
Each loop in the campground has pit toilets and there is a new-ish centralized shower and flush toilet building.
The lake is clear and beautiful for swimming, canoeing, kayaking, or just relaxing. The area around the beach has a playground, as well as a large area with picnic tables, park grills, and open fields for playing sports or games. There is even a reserveable shelter for special events.
There are a lot of hiking options within Kettle Moraine North and one of our favorites is the the Tamarack Nature trail. Unfortunately, much of the trail was flooded, though it didn't stop us. With more than 6 inches of water in some places, my shoes were wet, but it was still a good time.
Product Review
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I tested a High Hopes Hammock.
Having used hammocks in the past, the biggest issue I've had was the hammocks are often too short for me, at 6'5". I was happy that the High Hopes hammock was long enough, and very comfortable. The quality of materials are very good and the bag is attached.
If you get the version without the straps (as I did), the included "rope" is just a couple short lengths of paracord. I'd recommend picking the version with the straps if you don't already have any.
High Hopes has two distinguishing characteristics. The first is that they donate either a hammock, survival supplies, or money to organizations helping underprivileged countries, the homeless, or those affected by natural disasters. This giving program is the reason you are paying a little more than other similar hammocks. The second feature is their cocoon function with velcro. This is great if you want some privacy (from people or bugs)...perfect for a nap.
Overall, High Hopes hammocks are quality and comfortable. Check them out, especially if you are on board with the High Hopes charitable mission. High Hopes is certainly a Ranger-worthy product.
SiteSite 515
Month of VisitJuly
Family-friendly
Mauthe lake was my very first camping experience and continues to be a go-to site for my family. Decent sized campsites with options for tents, campers, electric, etc.
Mauthe-Lake Northern Kettle Morraine
I live very close to this park and camp here often. It is a nice family type campground with a nice swimming beach and playground for children. There is only 1 bath house here and MANY pit toilets that are surprisingly clean and not real stinky. It is part of the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine and there are great hiking and biking trails as well as horse trails with a horse camp nearby. Every once in a while you can spot an eagle soaring around dinner time. There are sites very near the lake, but I prefer the ones up the hill. Mosquitos are present in the early summer and the breezes topside keep them at bay.
Great campsites
This is a very beautiful area with some awesome campsites. All of the campsites I've had were super private with lots of space! Couldn't see any other campers from our spots. The hike around the lake is also very pretty.. especially during fall colors!
Big
Lots of room. Big lake, wooded sites. Right off the Southern Kettle Moraine trail.
Hidden Gem in the kettle Moraine
Nice sites, great beach, lots of fishing opportunities, amazing picnic area and great paddling. Also plenty of areas to hike and bike.
Our favorite campgrounds
Mauthe lake is our yearly go to campgrounds. Clean and well kept. The lake is great for swimming and there is also a pier for fishing. There is also a trail surrounding the entire lake. Upper loop campsites are a little more secluded. Lakeside sites are also available but a little more crowded. There is also a general store just down the road from the park entrance which has just about anything you might need.
Great lake for swimming, lots of hiking, nice sites
This campground has a good mix of wooded and open sites, and most of the sites are spacious and pretty private. They also have a large teepee site you can reserve, but you'll need to reserve far in advance.
There is a nice large bathroom/shower building with large private showers accessible from the outside.
The lake doesn't allow motorized boats, which makes is great for swimming and canoeing.
There are a couple hiking trails accessible from the park, and more than are withing a 15 minute driving range. The Ice Age trail is also nearby.