We camped in a “walk in” spot about 200 feet from where you can park the car. It is very secluded and tree cover allows you to be hidden from all others.
Camping here is awesome, loved swimming, kayaking, hiking and biking. Friendly staff and hosts.
This state park was vary nice . The site was a nice size and had a platform for the tent so we didn't flood . Unfortunately it poured and was freezing when we went so we couldn't do much hiking. The bathrooms were clean and also has the weather report over the speakers which was nice . They are vary dog friendly although you can't take your dog up the tower ( prob for safety reasons) . In the summer they also have a small water park there, which for family's is awesome . Definitely will go back 👍
What a fun weekend we had a Governor Dodge State Park! There were a total of 19 of us in our group, spread out over 8 sites in the Twin Valley Campground (240, 255, 256, 257, 261, 265, 266, & 267) We had a mixture of electric and non electric sites and all were very nice. The first weekend in October can sometimes be a little iffy weather wise, but we lucked out with pretty warm temperatures. We got quite a bit of rain on Saturday, but none of the sites had issues with flooding like we experienced in the spring at site 269. We walked down to that site and it looked like they had fixed the drainage pipe so the flooding there was not as bad as the previous trip. Bathrooms/showers were warm and clean, and the vault toilets were not bad although there were a few spiders. The Stevens Falls and Canyon Trails were the highlight of the trip- even in the rain! First you can explore the old spring house and read the informational signs about the family that used to farm there and other early settlers in the area. Once you continue down to the falls they have another informational plaque about the falls with old pictures, but unfortunately this plaque was not as well maintained so it’s difficult to see. The falls themselves are amazing. There is a slippery uneven staircase to go down, but there is a sturdy handrail. We spent quite a bit of time walking around and looking behind the falls, then continued down the canyon trail enjoying the beauty. Unfortunately the rain and wind picked up so we decided to turn around instead of completing the 3 mile loop. We also took a hike on the bluff trail that goes past campsite 271 that everyone enjoyed- awesome moss everywhere! Some members of our group took the trail to the amphitheater, but said while it was a pretty walk there wasn’t anything too special along the way. We went through a lot of firewood- the bags at the park office were $5 and were pretty decent. We also purchased wood from the trailer next to the Don Q inn for $5 an armful, but it was rather wet. We noticed when we drove past Jumping Jupiter General Store that they also had wood (covered by a tarp) but did not stop so I’m unsure of the prices. We stopped at Kate’s Bait and got a nice variety of worms for a reasonable price, although we never got out fishing! The ranger was very helpful in suggesting places to fish though. We had planned on doing a trail ride on horseback through the park at Doby Stables, but unfortunately it was cancelled by them due to the rain. As a ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes receive products to test. This trip I had the Midland EX210VP E+Ready Bundle that includes 2 X-Talker two way radios and an Emergency Compact Crank Radio. https://midlandusa.com/product/ex210vp-eready-bundle/ I was impressed by both products right away. They are compact, yet sturdy- we’ve had them over a month now and my 4 year old and 6 year old have played with them a lot and they still look brand new! I’ve never really used a two way radio that wasn’t a toy, and the instructions from Midland were easy to understand. I appreciated that you could either use AAA batteries or the included USB rechargeable battery, which lasted the whole weekend. Midland states the range is 26 miles (obstruction free) but we didn’t try it that far- the farthest we tried was about a mile away through the trees but we were still able to hear each other clearly. There is also a weather radio feature that would come in handy if you didn’t have a separate weather radio. The emergency compact crank radio is a solid product as well. We used this all weekend, for weather alerts, listening to music, charging phones, and as a flashlight. It has a rechargeable 2000 mAh battery that can be charged via USB, solar, or hand crank. Battery seemed to last a long time, even when charging phones or playing the radio for a long stretch. The radio will not play when you are charging something, but that wasn’t a big deal to us. The weather alert was nice to have while in the woods during a storm- really reassured the less seasoned campers that we would be ok during the rainstorm. When there is severe weather the radio will make a noise and flash the light so you can be prepared. You can press any button on the radio to turn the noise off and turn on the radio to hear the weather. Overall we were very happy with this bundle.
What a fun weekend we had a Governor Dodge State Park! There were a total of 19 of us in our group, spread out over 8 sites in the Twin Valley Campground (240, 255, 256, 257, 261, 265, 266, & 267) We had a mixture of electric and non electric sites and all were very nice. The first weekend in October can sometimes be a little iffy weather wise, but we lucked out with pretty warm temperatures. We got quite a bit of rain on Saturday, but none of the sites had issues with flooding like we experienced in the spring at site 269. We walked down to that site and it looked like they had fixed the drainage pipe so the flooding there was not as bad as the previous trip. Bathrooms/showers were warm and clean, and the vault toilets were not bad although there were a few spiders. The Stevens Falls and Canyon Trails were the highlight of the trip- even in the rain! First you can explore the old spring house and read the informational signs about the family that used to farm there and other early settlers in the area. Once you continue down to the falls they have another informational plaque about the falls with old pictures, but unfortunately this plaque was not as well maintained so it’s difficult to see. The falls themselves are amazing. There is a slippery uneven staircase to go down, but there is a sturdy handrail. We spent quite a bit of time walking around and looking behind the falls, then continued down the canyon trail enjoying the beauty. Unfortunately the rain and wind picked up so we decided to turn around instead of completing the 3 mile loop. We also took a hike on the bluff trail that goes past campsite 271 that everyone enjoyed- awesome moss everywhere! Some members of our group took the trail to the amphitheater, but said while it was a pretty walk there wasn’t anything too special along the way. We went through a lot of firewood- the bags at the park office were $5 and were pretty decent. We also purchased wood from the trailer next to the Don Q inn for $5 an armful, but it was rather wet. We noticed when we drove past Jumping Jupiter General Store that they also had wood (covered by a tarp) but did not stop so I’m unsure of the prices. We stopped at Kate’s Bait and got a nice variety of worms for a reasonable price, although we never got out fishing! The ranger was very helpful in suggesting places to fish though. We had planned on doing a trail ride on horseback through the park at Doby Stables, but unfortunately it was cancelled by them due to the rain. As a ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes receive products to test. This trip I had the Midland EX210VP E+Ready Bundle that includes 2 X-Talker two way radios and an Emergency Compact Crank Radio. https://midlandusa.com/product/ex210vp-eready-bundle/ I was impressed by both products right away. They are compact, yet sturdy- we’ve had them over a month now and my 4 year old and 6 year old have played with them a lot and they still look brand new! I’ve never really used a two way radio that wasn’t a toy, and the instructions from Midland were easy to understand. I appreciated that you could either use AAA batteries or the included USB rechargeable battery, which lasted the whole weekend. Midland states the range is 26 miles (obstruction free) but we didn’t try it that far- the farthest we tried was about a mile away through the trees but we were still able to hear each other clearly. There is also a weather radio feature that would come in handy if you didn’t have a separate weather radio. The emergency compact crank radio is a solid product as well. We used this all weekend, for weather alerts, listening to music, charging phones, and as a flashlight. It has a rechargeable 2000 mAh battery that can be charged via USB, solar, or hand crank. Battery seemed to last a long time, even when charging phones or playing the radio for a long stretch. The radio will not play when you are charging something, but that wasn’t a big deal to us. The weather alert was nice to have while in the woods during a storm- really reassured the less seasoned campers that we would be ok during the rainstorm. When there is severe weather the radio will make a noise and flash the light so you can be prepared. You can press any button on the radio to turn the noise off and turn on the radio to hear the weather. Overall we were very happy with this bundle.
I like this park. It is near I90/39/94 & HW51, and they are heard in the distance. This is a County park, so all are welcome. If you’re pretentious you might find the neighbors easy to judge, but I say take your judgements elsewhere anyway. KOA is up the road. Careful of the even numbered side. It’s a bit of a low space, and some sites can flood in heavy rain. That’s not to say the entire camp is flood prone. Just some sites. Sites are generous with space in the higher numbers. Lower numbered sites nearer the shower house get ‘friendlier’. Good 30A electric. Odd side backs up to trees and a natural area. This is tick country like anything in this area. Shower house is usually buggy, but otherwise kept up. The shower controls are a bit annoying. Push the button for several minutes of shower. Potable water, dump station, and non-potable water at the dump station are convenient. Have a bit of your own hoses to reach. If you’re good with your rig you can get nice and close to the dump station. The park is huge with separate small and any-size off leash dog areas, hiking trails, nature walk, frisbee golf, a model airplane space, and event shelters.
I have a 13’ trailer, and I like the privacy of the larger sites on the odd side in the low - mid numbers. Tent sites are mingled with trailer sites.
This is a privately owned campground and is in need of some updates. The bathrooms are kind of nasty and the whole area had a rundown feeling.
If you are passing through and just need a cheap place for the night, you could do worse… I doubt that I will stay here again.
Campground itself is nice and the bathrooms/showers are good enough. The big issue is the gnats. Was camping there in early July and literally could not be outside the tent at all due to the wicked number of these things. We even had our thermacells out and that did nothing to deter.
This is my favorite place to camp, two lakes to canoe or paddle boat on. Beautiful waterfall, awesome hiking. The campsite are wooded and more private than many places I have been. October November less people no bugs and beautiful fall foliage, plus a fire feels good that time of year. Highly recommend!
Hickory Hills is a quiet but activity filled campground 30 minutes from Madison. There are many permanent campers but they are all friendly and welcoming. The lake has a nice beach. The pool is not too large but works on a hot day. Most people have golf carts as there is no place to park by the pool or the club house. The bathrooms are clean and well maintained. Every weekend there are activities planned from wine tasting to Halloween trick or treating. The sites are large and you can choose from shady or sunny sites. Great place to spend a few days or the whole summer.
It’s a field with swimming pool, the highlight was the Taco Bell at the edge of the parking lot.
I stayed here for two nights in September. Site 271 was just enough of a walk to feel remote but not so far that I couldn't carry all my stuff. I did have to walk quite close to one of the other walk-in campsites when going to my car, however, so know that if there are other people in the sites nearby, you will see them. The sites close to the road are not private at all. Water is available at drinking fountains/spigots around the campsite. One I tried had barely a trickle but the other one had plenty of water pressure. The bathhouse was fairly clean and had hot showers, which was great after a 10-mile hike one day. I hammock camp, so getting a site with good trees for hammocking is important to me. I appreciated the preview photos on the state's reservation system. The site I picked had lots of great options for hammock hanging!
The trails at Governor Dodge are amazing. I left on foot from my campsite and hiked the Meadow Valley, Lost Canyon, Stephens Falls and Goldmine trails. Lost Canyon was BEAUTIFUL and had so many interesting geographical features. The trails behind the hike-in campsites also lead to some cliffs with some really amazing views.
We are seasonal sat crazyhorse campground , this is our first year and we have had the best summer ! ! The people are great from Jim the owner to Barb and Wayne. We have made some great new friends. There are always activities going on , bands , Dj’s, bags contest. The sugar river is so much fun kayaking and tubing which is all part of you stay at crazy horse. Tons of fun for kids and adults , I highly recommend .
Open pad sites for tent camping under tree canopy, great hiking over looking swimming and boating lake. Requires WI St Park pass to get in plus camping fees. Has both vault and flush toilets w showers. Close to town for other activities, near Wi Dells Water park 21 ,miles not a bad drive.
Part of the ice age trail system maintained hiking trails are great.
Not just that it was 25 minutes from our daughter in Madison this was a very nice KOA.
Typical KOA but it did have better than normal WiFi or at least where we stayed it did. Still not good enough to do a lot of streaming.
Had a great pool and playground. Had a place to have a group events. Had a few cabins not many.
Had separate tenting area that was really nice.
The folks that worked there were super and every Friday then Made homemade cookies. NOTE to Self always check in on Friday.
The restrooms were very clean and I did use the shower a few times. They were very nice.
It has a great dog park with an agility course which was fun to watch some dogs use.
It had restaurants and gas stations close. The Big thing it did have a cheese store not about 1/2 a block you can walk to. Try all the great cheese and sausage it is super. Will have to tell you I loved the Cranberry Cheese and the smoked Cheeses. I also always got a jar of homemade pickles when we stopped.
The last time we stopped the had a corn and veggie stand right next door and great corn.
It is close enough to Madison if you need to visit there.
We have been there 3 times this year. Really like it.
Blue Mounds State Park is a great campground. I love the area all the trees. They have hike in campsites, bike in campsites and regular campsites. They also have a group area. If you are in a tent you will have great luck, I would advise in a trailer or Motor Home to inspect you site closely before you say yest to it, or you may be like us and change it 3 times. Not very many level sites unless you can get up on the tent pad. At one we thought was fairly level our tires were a good 3 inches off the ground in front. We finally found one we could live with. They have limited sites with Electricity so also if you need that look around.
I will have to say that the facilites are really nice and very clean in fact I have never seen a bathroom floor that clean on a weekend.
Speaking of weekends it does fill up most weekends so you will need to make reservations unless you want to use the hike in sites.
They have a recreation are also in the park that has a beautiful pool. Picnic areas that are great and towers you can go up to see the Mounds.
WE have spent 2 times there this summer and will be back next summer.
If you are there there are a few areas to visit.
Mt Horeb the Troll Capital. It is a small town about 20 miles if that. Has a Troll theme and you can see the trolls all over the town. Some good restaurants and one of the weekends we were there was the Art Tour it is in the entire area and had some great art studios you could visit.
Cave of the Mounds is another place you have to visit. This is a great cave during the week they give guided tours on the weekend it is self guided but have docents around explaining everything. Well worth the money and trip. This is about 5 miles from the Park.
I will say no internet and cell phone was very spotty. It is also one of the darkest areas if you are into the stars, just put something on for Mosquitos.
All in all a good solid 4, only down side was we were in a Motor Home and the not level sites was not the best.
Went here for a family vacation! Had an amazing time, close to mount horeb so was able to drive in for a day to look around. Site were spacious and most were pretty concealed.
I come here at least once a yr when I get the time. I have spent 3 birthdays at Devils Lake and can't wait for many more.
This is an attractive, well-kept campground, but like a previous reviewer said, it is quite noisy, being near an airport and freeway. There seems to be only one bathroom at the end of the camp, which is where the campground host and all the RVs are. They have mowed paths through the campground as shortcuts, but for this California gal it was like running a gauntlet of mosquitos. I was bitten horribly. Bathroom was nice, two stalls, two showers and one sink.
Devil's Lake is a must see. It is beautiful! The water and beach are lovely, the hiking and sights are gorgeous. The campsites are not the most private, but we've never had issues with bad neighbors or anything of the sort, and we have been going here for the past 30 years.
Wonderful campground within 10 minutes of major freeway access. New owners Allison and Chris are very friendly, helpful and exhibit the pride of Ownership in every aspect of the campground. Cleanest restroom/showers I can ever recall at a campground. Very family and pet friendly with activities, lake and bar. Really enjoyed our overnight stay on a cross-country trip - highly recommend!
We had the campsite right across from the pool and the tiki bar. The site was easy to get into with help from the friendly staff. We were surprised to have a bar right outside our campsite, but with an RV running the fan all night the noise didn't bother us at all. This campground is great if you want to watch football Saturday morning with a bloody Mary in hand, and like kids activities like bingo. There was also a very good CCR cover band playing, so my kid felt like she was at a real rock concert. Pool was kept open late in September because it was warm. Overall we really enjoyed our time there. It's a great place for socializing. If you're looking for peace and quiet and natural beauty, this is not the place. We would go back for Sure- level campsite, friendly staff that let us stay late when we had a flat tire and waiting for tow, and overall experience. Easy full hook ups made it a very fun experience with lots of full timers there.
We happened to have a very private site completely surrounded by trees but a lot of the sites are small not well covered and very close to neighbors. However, regardless of where you are the campground can get really loud and busy and no one seems to care. There was a pack of kids screaming by our site on electric scooters all night, with people shouting and playing music. Even though the site and park were really nice. This seems more like a place to come with family and friends and have a big party.
We spend quite a bit of time here. We hunt here and camp here year round. Tons of forest with cross country, equestrian, and hiking trails. One of the best lakes in Wisconsin for fishing along with a nice beach, and pet area. There is a free gun range. Hunt anything from pheasent to deer. There is also a nice bar and grill just down the street. Along with dairy bar as part of the park. Showers and bathrooms are always clean.
We went here for a friend's birthday. It felt like we were packed in like sardines. Barely enough space to use the fire pit. Not much for shade and the only separating you from your neighbors are driveways/roads. The best parts was the full hookups, the pool, and the live music.
I do not think we will return to this campground.
The park is pretty nice. The pedestrian beach is to rocky for my liking, but the dog beach is nice and sandy yet small. There is also a bit of a hike to get there. So if you take a cooler you may want a wagon.
The sites we were in were a little narrow to back in a 30ft camper. The pictures of the site did not show this. The staff was friendly and the restrooms were clean.
We had a great time camping over the summer! Plenty for the kids and adults.
Galena Illinois is a major tourist spot for Chicago folks to get away too.
This camp site is 20 min from Galena 5 min from Elizabeth and 15 min from Apple Canyon.
Has both RV and Tent sites. Fire pits and picnic tables are at each site.
They porta John at the one end of camp is unbelievably clean!
The bathrooms and showers at the other end of camp are also very very clean.
Jeff the owner left a lovely note inviting me to pick my spot as I was the only tent/car camper that night even though I had reserved spot 12. He also pointed out that there were some walking trails but to be wary of a poisonous plant.
The grounds are impeccably kept.
He provides wood for you to burn.
Give this place a try for a nice weekend get away from the city. There is so much to do in the area but if note Apple canyon has some really nice hiking trails they label from easy to rugged. There is also plenary of kayaking and other neat outdoor things to do. Add in there are several winery’s and great restaurants if you don’t want to cook fireside!
Overall nice campground. Hosts are friendly and I saw rangers driving through multiple times. Each site includes picnic table and fire pit. Most have electric.
The toilets in the back part by the electric campsites are pit toilets. Flush toilets, sink, and showers up by the check in area. There’s a playground for kids.
Sites by the river don’t have much shade. Sites by the tracks are the most “wooded” but also right near the trains. Trains are noisy—we slept through them but are also used to living by a train station. Your mileage may vary on that one.
We (tent campers) had site 24. It’s the last site in that part of the driveway and I recommend it because you have a lot of open space to one side plus not far from water or bathrooms. The most wooded sites are at the end farthest away from the entrance but tent campers should know there are a lot of RVs down there usually.
We used this as a stop over on a longer road trip. If you like boating or fishing this is probably a good fit. Galena and Dubuque are not far. Overall not a lot of hiking or activities in the immediate area though. Good option for an overnight.
As a note, we have ATT and had decent cell service here.
This is a nice campground that winds around through some light woods. Campsites have electric hookups. There are certainly lots of picnic tables. We saw more than one per site. With only a few people camping here, there was plenty of space between campers. There is no separating vegetation though.
A bike path in Pecatonica which is just down the road. Camp here and day trip on the bike path or use this as a stop for your long distance bike tour.
This is a great campground to get away near a nice small town.