Best RV Parks & Resorts near Chequamegon-Nicolet NF

Namekagon: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 4. Great water access campground . No trails right at the campground, but for a cross coin ski trail just past the cg entrance. We were here to visit Croix NWW - a bit of a drive from the cg.
Price 2023: non-electric sites are $11 per night w Lifetime Senior Pass. Usage during visit: Full on weekends Site Spacing/Privacy: Some sites are very close. I listed the best sites for privacy and spaciousness. Site surface: Gravel Reservations: Yes. Looks like up to two days out is first come, first serve. Campground Noise: Not bad. Lake noice is minimal as well. Road Noise: Even the sites close to the Missionary Point Dr. do not seem to experience too much traffic noise.
Through Traffic in campground: Just down the middle to the lake boat ramp. And that’s not too bad.
Electric Hookup: Some, not all sites. Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: Yes.
Generators: Allowed during the day.
Bathroom: Pit toilets are kept extremely clean Showers: None. Pull Throughs: Some Cell Service (AT&T): One bar in some areas of cg. Setting: Under a deciduous tree forest. Weather: 70 and 90 degree days . Hot days were particularly humid.
Bugs: Mosquitoes galore. Solar: Most sites are very shady.
Host: Yes Rig size: All rigs I see are under 30’ Sites: Lakeside Sites: 13, 14, 17, 19

BEST non-water side sites: rated for spaciousness and a bit more private :11, 9, 8, 7, 3, 34, 30, 32, 31, 33, 29,28, 27,26, 25, 10. Not in any particular order

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.

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.

This is a larger campground with a good mix of seasonal and weekend campsites. The majority of the weekend campsites are located near the prime activity locations; the pool, playground and lake areas. There are full sun and full shade sites available. The Shady sites are amongst the evergreens, so they tend to be sandier. The full sun sites are all grass. All of the sites have a gravel pad to park on; the exception to this are the lakeside sites which are concrete pads. There is a camp store and a good sized bar & grill. The weekend we were here it rained non-stop, so we did not get to use any of the available canoe/kayak/fishing boat/pontoon boat rentals. We did make ample use of the mini-golf, playground, and heated swimming pool though. The pool was warm enough that even the non-stop rain did not cool it down enough to be uncomfortable. The seasonal campers I met and talked with were all friendly and did not have the “why are you here” attitude I occasionally come across when staying at seasonal heavy resorts. I did see several people fishing in the rain and pulling keepers out of the lake to be cleaned and cooked. They were fishing from the docks. Our kids are 7 & 10 and they were never bored. There were a couple trails within the campground that were good for nature hikes. If it were a little closer to home, this campground would be on the shortlist of places to have a seasonal site at.

If you are looking for tons of activities, close to town, cell service and amenities, this isn't your camp. What it does offer is a deep backwoods experience, isolation and quiet.

Vibe: Backwoods isolation. Only a dozen or so spots. Some haven’t had campers in weeks. Only 4 occupied the night we stayed. 

Cleanliness: Average. 

Facilities: Minimal. Two vault toilets. 

General spots: Big, well spaced, lots of privacy. Heavily forested trees and lots of shade. 

Our site: 7. Close to beach. Has its own little trail to beach. Noise: Occasional boat on the lake. Other than that, only the sounds of nature. 

Cell signal: Almost none. Unusable. Can’t send texts or make calls. 

Other: Beach is small grass beach. No animals allowed. Geese can’t read and have covered it with droppings. Bugs not awful, but tough to dissuade. Some resorts around, but I wouldn’t count on getting supplies near here. Come well stocked.