Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Chequamegon-Nicolet NF

If your from Wisconsin this sits at the very north of the State. If your looking for areas to visit while camping here you may have a little bit of a drive. The park features some of the best waterfalls in the State and the trails surrounding those falls can get you pretty close for some spectacular photos! The North Country Scenic Hiking runs through the park. This is the longest hiking trail in the county and stretches over 4500 miles. The park does have a beach but if you have a four legged friend with you the pet beach isn't the best as your subject to the boat landing area and isn't very inviting. You can walk through this park and never get bored of the scenes. If you like being surrounded by green this is the place! A nice park to get away from any amenities or thoughts of the city!

As we arrived on a Saturday around 1:45 PM, there was quite the line of RVs checking in as most people come in for a week on Saturdays. As we have been here multiple times, we knew not to line up down the narrow road shoot that’s adjacent to the lodge where you check in but stay on the main road. They had plenty of staff on duty, so check-in was fairly quick, and we headed to site 457, which was an easy back-in with FHUs. We were pleasantly surprised we didn’t get site 456 right on the road. When we make a reservation for this campground(CG), you can only pick an area, not a specific site, for most of the sites. This was the first time we’d stayed in this area of mixed short-term and seasonal sites. The FHU facilities were placed in the middle of the gravel-grass site with a picnic table and fire pit. We were able to put out our back patio and have plenty of space to park our F450. There are a lot of mature trees in this park, so satellite is going to be iffy depending on the site. We were able to get an okay shot to the north for Starlink but no chance for the southern sky. You can opt to pay for the park Wi-Fi. The water pressure is good, and we had two bars on Verizon. The staff at the lodge/office is top-notch. We found out that this year’s“watch out” was kids riding electric bikes full out versus underage golf cart drivers of last year, so“watch out” in either case. The CG has been trying to police the lack of parental oversight, but this first-rate CG attacks a lot of families. Though there’s no formal dog park, there are plenty of areas to walk your dog, including the trail up and around the newer primitive camping area. Lake Chip is one of our favs, and we will continue to return.

We have been coming here for a long time. It is under new management and we thought things would get better. While we were here other guests trashed the beach and had dogs running and using the bathroom throughout the campsite. The rules for dogs were to keep them on leashes and clean up after them. These rules were not being followed which caused the beach, in the past is lovely, but with the dogs using it as a bathroom the beach smelt like poop. Nobody in our week of staying cleaned up after them so we needed to go somewhere else to swim. If your place is pet friendly please make sure to keep up with your own rules. The cabins are run down but showers are hot and the utilities are still able to be used

This large campground stretches out along the lakeshore. Some sites have beautiful lake views(we suggest trying those first). There are also some double sites that would nestle you in closely with your neighbors- perfect for a larger group. A few walk in spots are available too. 

The nature trail doesn’t allow pets which was sad. However the paved bike route is nearby and goes for miles. Town is a short bike ride away. This weekend was an organized ride so it was quite a busy path. A couple days later the town had a large garage sale-type fair. The cookies and jam were great! 

This was a great discovery. We are adding this to our places to return to. 

The lake is beautiful and has a nice picnic area with a place to launch your boat.

Nestled within Wisconsin forest you find Sailor Lake. This national forest campground has water access as well as sites away from the lake. We stayed at site 12 - a pull through site away from the water.

Many, although not all, of the waterside sites are for tents. You park and carry your gear down a few steps for a close to the water feel. There is an open area for everyone to enjoy the lake - it’s filled with purple flowers today. With plenty of woods around, all sites offer privacy but they have different vibes. Plenty of choice here so look around or reserve one. Plenty of sites available for walk-ins too. A couple of vault toilets, garage receptacle and water source round out a nice camp.

ATV trails as well as non-motorized trails are plentiful. We hiked on them and it was nice. Minimal cell signal encourages disconnecting for your stay.

We stayed here one quick night on a trip driving the Trans Wisconsin ATV Trail. This is one of 2 campgrounds in the Flambeau River State Forest. It was fairly rustic and remote, but had clean vault toilets, hand pump for water, and a nicely wooded sites. We walked to the lake at dusk and enjoyed great views. There is a boat launch, and also a path to a small beach with a swim area.   Not a destination for us, but a great stop.

Read more, check out the map: https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/stateforests/flambeauriver/camping.html You can check availability and reserve some of the sites online on the Wisconsin DRN site, or just pay at the pay station. 

Pro Tip:  We found wood close by at the Flambeau Forest Inn, with a pick up and paybox outside. Nice to be able to get wood without needing to go inside.