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Best Tent Camping near Cascade, WI

365 Reviews

Tent campsites near Cascade, Wisconsin provide a range of options within Kettle Moraine State Forest's Northern Unit. The Greenbush Group Campground and Northern Unit Greenbush Group Camp offer established tent camping areas with varying amenities. These primitive tent camping areas are accessible from April through November, making them popular weekend destinations for campers from nearby Milwaukee seeking natural settings without traveling far from urban centers.

Most tent camping areas feature basic amenities including pit toilets, drinking water access points, and designated fire rings where fires are permitted. Campsites typically have grass surfaces surrounded by trees suitable for both ground tents and hammocks. Water availability may be limited to central spigots rather than at individual sites, requiring campers to transport water to their campsite. Sites like Greenbush can accommodate multiple tents, with the largest sites fitting over 20 backpacking tents simultaneously. Pets are allowed at some locations but prohibited at others, so verification before arrival is essential.

The tent camping experience in this region offers visual separation between sites without complete noise isolation. Sites 2 and 9 at Greenbush are noted as the most spacious options for larger groups. Most locations provide adequate tree coverage for shade and hammock setup. For campers seeking places to tent camp near metropolitan areas, these sites offer accessibility while still providing nature immersion. According to one visitor, "Large sites great for groups. Sites 2 and 9 are the largest. Those can each fit over 20 backpacking tents at the same time. Grassy sites surrounded by trees with plenty for hammocks too." While some sites may have noise carry between camping areas, particularly on weekends, the overall camping experience remains relatively peaceful compared to urban environments.

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Best Tent Sites Near Cascade, Wisconsin (6)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Cascade, WI

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Tent Camping Reviews near Cascade, WI

365 Reviews of 6 Cascade Campgrounds

  • Sara S.
    May. 27, 2019

    Mauthe Lake Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit-Iansr

    GREAT beach!

    The campground and campsites are pretty standard.  Nice amount of space and privacy. 101 Walk in site was quite nice. Level ground, nice tree cover so it didnt feel too open. 

    Loved being close to the beach and playground area! The kids really appreciated it :) The beach was very clean and even though it was a warm, busy day we didnt feel like it was too crowded.  The earlier you arrive the better chances you have of getting a picnic table in the shade ;)  

    Enjoyed the walk around the lake, some parts are still a bit muddy, but overall it was a nice walk and the kids actually made it without too many complaints ;)  Nice variety of scenery!  Even caught a couple frogs.

    Definitely a place to visit again! 

    *checked out some of the trails near by which were really great as well!

  • Art S.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 23, 2022

    Mauthe Lake Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit-Iansr

    Kettle moraine trail access here

    Mauthe lake is in the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. It feels remote but we drove through a bunch of rural houses on the way in. The rustic roads made for good cycling. We passed quite a few pedaling up and down the hills.

    The campground itself sprawls along one side of the lake. With the loops for each group peeling off, it is easy to lose your way. The signs mark the direction well so go slow. It helps to know your site number.

    There was nobody at the entrance office. I’m not sure if it’s just today but make online reservations. It seems to be the 2022 way.

    There is a shower house but we made use of the more convenient vault toilets. Water is available in different ways - even a drinking fountain. There seems to be only one garbage collection site on the way out. This was less convenient since we have dog droppings to deal with.

    There is a nature trail that goes around the lake. By the beach and picnic area it’s paved. The rest is gravel or dirt. With recent rains we found a few puddles to walk through and mud to avoid. Our dog loved having the trail so close. Most of the trail is in the sun so bring water on hot days.

    Swimming isn’t allowed due to a blue algae bloom. This left plenty of empty space for us to sit with our dog under the trees. Folks did make good use of the fishing pier and playground. We also saw kayaks and stand up paddle boards on the lake.

  • S
    Dec. 26, 2017

    Calumet County Park

    The park is on the shores of Lake Winnebago and the sunsets are fabulous!

    The park:

    • is well kept
    • showers & bathrooms are very clean
    • has a marina
    • has hiking and cross country ski trails
    • sites are spacious
    • many sites available on the edge of the water
    • electric hookups on most sites
    • some very private sites
    • a few close restaurants
    • Camp staff is always helpful and friendly.
    • Picnic table, & fire pit at every site
    • They take reservations, sell firewood, have a camp store, allow pets on leash, allow alcohol
  • Denise N.
    Jun. 28, 2018

    Kettle Moraine State Forest Long Lake Campground

    Long Lake Fun

    We've camped at Long Lake twice - both times with kids, and thoroughly enjoyed. The sites are spacious and clean. Each site comes with a fire pit, grate and picnic table. We have camped in the 800s but hope to get back for more variety in the future.

    Long Lake has two separate beaches and we much prefer the South Shore beach. North Shore is a little less populated, but the hike/stairs down into the beach area can be annoying with kids, toys, camp chairs, and a cooler full of food and beer. South Shore has a boat launch, clean restrooms and a picnic cabana that can be reserved. Both beaches are large and ample. We spread out with a pop-up canopy and did not feel crowded in or like we were imposing on others.

    Long Lake is big, so motorcraft are allowed. It's fun to sunbathe and watch waterskiiers and tubers fly by off in the distance.

  • Renee R.
    May. 9, 2025

    Ledge County Park

    Great park, decent camping

    The park is very pretty.  Walking along the trails, you can see where it gets its name!  Lots of cool ledges and rock outcrops.  We saw a moderate amount of birds and heard a bunch of critters (owls, a fox (?!)) one night.

    We camped at non-electric site J.  It was nice and big.  We originally were to be at site G but it was way too small to fit our cars, tents, etc.

    Pros:

    - Quiet and decently spaced sites.

    - Clean vault toilets.  Did not use the shower house/other facilities.  

    - The firepits are flush with the ground and have cooking grates.

    - Easy access to trails.

    Cons:

    - I'm not a trailer camper, but if I were I would not appreciate the vibes of the electric sites.  The sites are very close together and walking through it felt like going through a festival or circus more than a campground.

    - The firewood was a bit pricey compared to other parks.

  • Jimmy P.
    Jun. 29, 2019

    High Cliff State Park Campground

    Ranger Review: Wenzel Ivanhoe 6 at High Cliff State Park

    Campground Review

    High Cliff is a generally wooded and shaded campground on a cliff overlooking Lake Winnebago. The sites are average to above average size, with a good mix of electric and non-electric sites. We are tent campers and the ground was pretty flat and there was a good spot for our tents in our site. Our site was nice and spacious with a good fire-ring that had a grate that rotated. Typically I use an adjustable tripod grill, but since was a rainy weekend, it was nice to be able to not have to get that out. The one thing about our site(and the campground in general) in the rain was the mud. Since it is heavily shaded there isn't really any grass, so the ring forest floor soil turns mucky and muddy.

    There is one main flush toilet/shower building in the campground, and a bunch of pit toilet buildings. The pit toilet buildings had some issues with the lights in some of them, but the shower/flush building was mostly clean and not too far away. There is also a really nice playground nearby.

    Within the park are plenty of hiking/biking trails, a lookout tower, and there is beach access. The beach/water is definitely swimmable, but this isn't the most beautiful beach for swimming. When we were here, it was cool and rainy, so the most we did was put our feet in the water. There isn't much sand, but there are large grassy areas.

    The weekend we were there a local theater group happened to be performing a minimal version of Romeo and Juliet. It was awesome.

    Product Review

    As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the Wenzel Ivanhoe 6 tent.

    I've owned a bunch of tents throughout the years, but mostly they were small backpacking size tents. We have use a large 8-person Cabella's tent for the past 9 years for car camping, but it is time-consuming to set-up, so we thought the Wenzel Ivanhoe 6 would be a nice complement tent for us.

    The Ivanhoe is part of Wenzel's "Tribute" collection, with a retro-inspired design. The Ivanhoe reminds me of my parents' old canvas tent. The Ivanhoe is a single-walled house-shaped tent made of weather-treated polyester and taped seams. It held up really well in the rainy weather we had camping and there was just one small area that the seam tape failed: a"troubleshooting" tag that hangs down inside the tent.

    What I like:

    • The single pole design is simple and quick to setup

    • There is good airflow with the large screens on the doors and the two side windows; The rear vent is a nice touch

    • It has a great look and it well made

    • It actually fits in the bag it came in

    What I don't like

    • The top peak vents don't really work

    • There was a slight leak by the tag (I'll use some seam-sealer to fix this for the future)

    • Since it isn't freestanding, there are a lot of guy lines that are easy to trip over in the dark

    For a sub-$200 tent, this tent is awesome. It's easy to set up and looks great. It is a simple design that is spacious and comfortable for 3-4 people. It did great in rainy weather. I definitely recommend this tent for for those looking for a car camping tent around this size and want to spend less than $200.

  • L
    Jul. 5, 2022

    High Cliff State Park Campground

    Beautiful Park but Lots of Raccoons

    The park itself is beautiful, and the trails are nice. The tent sites were on the smaller side and kind of close together. The park ranger was good-natured and patient when we accidentally set up on the wrong site.

    Make sure to store your food correctly! The two sites beside us were ransacked by raccoons all night long because they left their supplies out. Three raccoons came to smell around our picnic table as soon as we zipped up inside the tents but left quickly after not finding food.

  • N
    May. 30, 2022

    Harrington Beach State Park Campground

    Pros and Cons Here

    We mostly enjoyed our trip here over Memorial Day Weekend. It’s not too far away from our home and a nice gear testing first trip.

    Pros: Spacious grassy site. This one even had an attached smaller clearing perfect for our 7 year old to use for her own space where we set up a hammock for her.

    The campsites feel very private with a thick brush between each site. It’s not a huge campground.

    Bathrooms and showers are very cleans and actually closed from 11am-noon each day for complete cleaning.

    Gorgeous magnificent trails and right on Lake Michigan. Also a beautiful quarry lake with a trail all the way around and a cute pond full of turtles!

    Very nice, completely cleaned fire pits.

    Cheap bundle yourself firewood. Cons:

    Gorgeous hikes, but short. We prefer more distance.

    Maybe because of its proximity to the lake and Milwaukee or perhaps the holiday weekend but this was a louder campground. More of a party vibe than we really look for in state parks. A particular group was extremely loud and kept us up until 4 am the first night. No park ranger on duty. It’s nice when quiet hours are observed.

    No trees really on the campground and it is built on and surrounded by wetlands that are actively in restoration. At the height of summer this place is going to be sweltering and full of bugs. The mosquitoes will be especially terrible.

    Overall we have and love this park for a day trip but probably won’t return to camp.

  • Mel C.
    Jul. 9, 2019

    Pike Lake Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Pike Lake Unit

    Great lake and hiking

    We had a great time swimming and hiking At Pike Lake State Park. There is a nice observation tower with beautiful views of Holy Hill. The beach is large and there is a designated area for dogs, which we loved. Our campsite was large and grassy and had good privacy. The only issue we had was that our site was in a divot and had lots of low spots and therefore flooded badly, like 3 inches in our tent bad. Overall great camping, just watch for low sites in the non-electric area.

Guide to Cascade

Tent camping near Cascade, Wisconsin offers a variety of scenic spots perfect for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature. With well-equipped campgrounds and beautiful surroundings, it's an ideal getaway for those seeking adventure.

Tent campers should check out Northern Unit Greenbush Group Camp

  • This campground features drinking water and allows campfires, making it a comfortable choice for groups looking to enjoy the outdoors together.
  • Located in Glenbeulah, it offers reservable sites that can accommodate multiple tents, perfect for larger gatherings.
  • The site is easily accessible from Milwaukee, making it a convenient option for a quick escape into nature.

Tips for tent camping near Cascade

  • Consider visiting the highly rated Greenbush Group Campground, which is known for its spacious sites that can fit over 20 tents, ideal for group camping.
  • If you're looking for a quaint experience, Waubedonia County Park offers a cozy atmosphere near the river, perfect for a peaceful retreat.
  • For a unique experience, check out Purplehaze Acres, where you can enjoy a farm stay while still being close to nature.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • Many campgrounds, like Little Turtle Lake, allow pets, making it easy to bring your furry friends along for the adventure.
  • Facilities such as picnic tables and trash disposal are available at sites like Wild Goose City Park, ensuring a comfortable camping experience.
  • Campgrounds often provide access to restrooms and drinking water, enhancing the convenience of your stay, as seen at Northern Unit Greenbush Group Camp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Cascade, WI?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Cascade, WI is Greenbush Group Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit-Iansr with a 5-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Cascade, WI?

TheDyrt.com has all 6 tent camping locations near Cascade, WI, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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