Best Glamping near Appleton, WI

I took my daughter and her friend here for the weekend, 10 years old. We rented a cabin for the weekend. Amazing cabins, amazing setup, they all have picnic tables and benches on porch. Cabin had three beds, fridge, air conditioner, two windows, plenty of plugs in. Bring your own sleeping bags/towels and etc as these are not provided. Fire ring provided down the stairs from us, even further down was the huge extremely clean pool, bathrooms, showers. Both of which were amazing! And free of use. Pool is very well maintained and kept, plenty of chairs to use and tables. Right next to the pool was a huge and brand new kids play area. They also have rock mining for kids located by the pool which the kids loved. They also liked the store; a lot of neat things in there for adults, kids, camp, and even animal friends. Commons area which is open at the front, made for a nice sitting to relax. Also located on the beach which was nice to see and the dock area was nice, kids liked it. The set up is great, a little confusing the first time but easy to learn. All of the Cabins were close except for the first two which were at the entrance of the park and bigger. They were two rooms compared to our one room. Permanent residence were extremely nice, the campsite is privately owned and operated which we loved and met the owners. We will certainly be back again! Additional information that may be helpful since I researched this campsite extensively May 15 th to October 6th is the campsites open/ closed dates. Check in for campsites and yurts are different. Campsites is at 2, cabin and hurts 3pm but we checked in early about a half hour. No additional charge. Animals welcome, must be leased and friendly. If you have visitors must be gone by 9pm- they actually let my husband stay with no additional charge or fee and accommodated our two vehicles. Otherwise one vehicle per cabin. Location was extremely easy with the signs directly off of highway. Not far from town, if you need something or go to store there; they probably have what you need. Basic sites, some with piers overlooking the beach and huge! Beautiful absolutely will camp there with our tent. Pull through and deluxe sites, seasonal sites, decks, and dogi pots(hint hint). All campsites babe electric and water, the yurt is amazing! It comes with couch, beds, tables, and so much more! It is located on the water scenery and a little more private by being set back. Yurt also has heat and ac; wouldn’t mind staying there in early May or late September. Outdoor picnic area, plenty of room for about 15 people and includes setting in a circular setting located directly by the playground/ pool and playroom. They have events as well, the kids and I not only used the mining system by the office but we watched a movie by the playground area- it was amazing and free! Camping lakeside or not lakeside. There was a secluded campsite and raised above, number 155- I’d suggest this one for anyone who want to get a way and be alone. It was a nice site and I didn’t notice it until we left. The cabin we rented was$80 a night, non refundable since it was last minute. This included two adults and up to four kids. I could see how four kids would easily fit because of the bunk beds and queen bed in our cabin. Oh forgot to mention there was also a microwave in the room and a broom, garbage bins. The door was rustic and still has a lock on it but it was the pulley door which the kids loved. To my understanding there are no pets allowed in the yurt. Also the only, one and only thing I didn’t like was that wood couldn’t be purchased else where. The wood purchased there burnt fast and didn’t last long, we only used it to cook food on our tripod due to how fast the wood burnt. Although there was also a park grill on the cabin premises too which we didn’t use; very used and had nothing to clean it with. There are seasonal sites, I don’t know how much they are but it’s a very quiet campground and everyone folllowed rules for the quiet time. Another thing I noticed is the seasonal all keep their yards very well maintained. They had beautiful landscape, yards were mowed, and nice fences- porches- decor- and sheds. Camp owner/ host lives directly across from the check in office/ store so that was comforting knowing someone was at the gate at all times. We walked down to the beach, lake area. At the tome it was being worked on but it was still beautiful and very quiet. No bugs in this area either. You can make reservations on line, see pictures on line, rates on line, and see the camp map. If i has to recommend any sites it’d be 151 for tenting and wanting to be alone, away from everyone. Campsite number 17 for camping with a tent/ pop up because it over looks the beach and has a huge deck to sit on, have dinner on or drink coffee while watching the beach another three sites I’d recommend, tents only is number 61 63 or 65. They are down further than the rest of the campsites, they are also a little more secluded and with a beach view. This would be perfect for a set of three friends camping together to rent. This is also main entrance to beach are. I also wouldn’t mind renting the first cabin when you enter campground as it’s bigger. There is one cabin I wouldn’t suggest and that’s 106. It’s in the middle of a triangle area for traffic. It was exactly across from our cabin and a lot of traffic going by it from many different ways. Finally thanks S’mores for the amazing stay; they truly accommodated us and we appreciate it.

Camped with husband and two children. It's a well-maintained campground with a lot of trees throughout, but note that the trees don't separate your individual sites. However, I was pleasantly surprised for a kids-themed facility. Just make sure you don't get one of the few sites along the main road.

The kids enjoyed the pool that had a twisty water slide, basketball hoops, a float turtle they all loved to climb, and a playground with the dumping bucket. The mini golf was really decent and we enjoyed the weekend entertainment of music on the grounds and at the pool party. There is an arcades room, free wifi, and very well stocked general store.

They have weekly themes throughout the summer and Yogi makes appearances that the kids love. Our friends stayed in cabins a few yards away and those were a nice, comfortable choice for them with running air conditioning and a shower.

It was nice to see that a camp ranger walked around to control noise levels, which didn't seem to be an issue. That's appreciated by us tenters.

This was the strangest camping experience I've ever had. It was early June and there were maybe two or three other sites set up in the entire campground. I made my reservations online for a tent site and nothing indicated that the site I selected was an overflow site. These "overflow" sites were scantly numbered, and there were fewer fire pits and picnic tables than indicated online. All of these tent sites were scattered in a grass field among the frisbee golf. We were glad no one was playing frisbee golf because it was intermixed with where the tents would be, so people would be getting hit with frisbees.

My friend and I pitched our tent closest to the bathroom because we could not find the actual spot we reserved online. We could not find anyone to ask about our site other than the waitresses at the restaurant who were very busy. We ate at the restaurant too and were unimpressed. Unless you get the day's special, it is very overpriced and the portions are small.

The bathrooms were clean (because no one else was at the campground), but there was no drinking water. We were on a bike tour and had to bike over 10 miles in the morning to find some good drinking water. I don't believe I paid $25 for something that was barely a campsite and had no drinking water.

I might of enjoyed it more if I had time to explore the area and the tower, but just dropping in for the night was not a great experience. It felt the campground only came to be because somebody wanted to open a restaurant and his buddy thought it would be a genius idea to let people camp there too.

Awesome campground! We stayed here for 2 weeks in our 2021 Keystone Hideout 250BH. They don't have a ton of sites and they are reserve only. The weekdays are extremely quiet but the weekends get a little busy due to the seasonal sites.

The sites are electric/water and they do have a dump station very close by. The central pond and waterfall were awesome! 

As far as amenities - the bathrooms/showers were very clean and well kept. They also had laundry services! Mowing day is on Thursdays!

The only negative with our stay (which the campground can't help) were the mosquitos, flies, and bees. So bring bug spray!!!

There are several things to do - hiking, biking, caves, Lake Michigan, etc.

The New Hope Cave is only open to tour 1 weekend of the month. It is usually the 3rd Saturday of the month but there were scheduling conflicts and it was open on the 2nd Saturday in August so we weren't able to tour. We were still able to visit the other caves and walk around and look at wildlife. If you go when it is raining you won't be able to go in many of the caves as they become flooded but it does make some really cool waterfalls! The Manitowoc Breakwater Lighthouse is on Lake Michigan about 30 minutes away from the campground but we definitely recommend going to see it!  We would definitely stay here again!

Campground Review

Every year it seems there are changes at Devil's River. The campsite are still nice, though if you want privacy, there's not a lot. This is great for camping with friends or family. We usually have 4 sites with family over Labor Day weekend. This year they've added a deck off of the bathroom/shower building. It seems like it was almost done.

One night there was very loud partying at some of the seasonal campers sites. It was a bit obnoxious, but they were mostly quiet by 11pm. There were a lot of seasonal sites with Trump flags and I saw one Confederate flag…so interesting cross section of humanity.

One of the season campers had some giant inflatable climbing/bouncing things for the pond, so that kept the kids and some adults occupied. The same person also projected a movie in the new covered deck. He's a generous man, willing to share with the other campers.

We played cards and lawn games and Slammo and frisbee in all the open space and also swam in the pond. It was a great weekend, as always.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the RōM Pack from RōM Outdoors.

I'll be upfront and honest…this might be the most disappointing product I've tested for The Dyrt. It definitely isn't all bad, but the concept, in my opinion is a failure.

The RōM Pack is a convertible backpack that can unfold into a poncho or a blanket.

As a backpack…

What I like:

• It is stylish
• The material quality is heavy duty

What I didn't like:

• It is very heavy…when empty
• The main pocket isn't very large due to the excess material needed for the poncho/blanket

As a poncho…

What I like:

• It is a poncho

What I don't like

• The snaps don't stay snapped
• It is too short in the front
• It is too warm….it has a fleece lining
• The hood is small
• It looks a bit funny when you where it with the backpack straps and the flaps…I was laughed at by my family

_As a blanket…_it is great. It is warm, large enough and water resistant.

Overall, the concept doesn't seem practical. If I'm hiking and I expect rain, I'd pack a raincoat or a lightweight poncho to wear over my regular clothes. I'd dress for the weather. I'd never need a fleece lined poncho. I likely wouldn't need a blanket either…and if I did I could roll up a blanket and put it in a regular backpack.

The RōM Pack is also quite expensive at $120. The build quality is very good, but the execution and the concept are where it fails. The best "mode" is blanket mode, but I can recommend any number of cheaper blankets. I wanted to like this, but I'm afraid I can't recommend it.