Best Tent Camping near Colfax, WI

We experienced wonderful customer service, tent camping, nature center and waterfalls.

Three campgrounds, first come first serve. $10/day entry $40/daily for electric hook up (non-resident); no full hook-ups, no water, only 1 vault toilet open per campground. Year round availability, however- tough to find! Very hard to get a cellular connection (T-mobile). Beautiful views of the river, right along the edge if you tent camp. Multiple playgrounds, hiking trails and loads of nature, large beach and waterfalls.

This is one of my favorite campgrounds in Southern Minnesota! It is only 1 1/2 hours away from the TwinCities which makes it an ideal getaway. The campsites are wooded and have enough distance between them that noise is minimal. I especially love the view of Lake Pepin and the nice little swimming beach. On our last stay, we were able to watch eagles from our campsite, which was amazing. They have recently added 3 small cabins to rent which would be a nice alternative to tent camping. If you do plan a camping trip to Hok-Si-La and you're driving in from the Twin Cities, be sure to take Wisconsin Highway 35 through Maiden Rock, Stockholm, Pepin, and other small towns. You can loop back into Minnesota through Wabasha. This adds about an extra half hour to your drive but it is definitely worth it!

This campground, run by the Village of Birchwood, is family friendly with many amenities. There is a public beach, playground, picnic area, boat launch, fish cleaning house, and pavilion. The pricing for sites is reasonable also with tent sites at $10.00 per night(prices subject to change), All other campers are $30.00 night. There are also monthly($500.00+75.00 for electric} and seasonal sites available{$1800.00+ electric fee at the end of the year).

Fishing is very good on the Big Chetac Chain of Lakes approx.1700acres.

Reservations can be made through the Village of Birchwood by calling 715-354-3300.

We had a last minute idea to go camping on Labor Day weekend, hopefully omewhere near St Croix Falls so we could visit Interstate State Park and explore the surrounding area.  As luck would have it, there were no campsites avaialble at any of the local state parks on the Wisconsin side or Minnesota side of the river. So, we checked for other area campgrounds and discovered this gem of a private campground right on the shores of the Apple River. This is mostly a campground that rents seasonal sites to RV owners, and these are tucked away in the woods near the river with a real sense of privacy. But, for the casual camper,  they also have a swath of sites located right ON  the river, including sites with hookups if desired, or a separate lane of very large and very secluded tent sites also right on the river that I dare say are nicer than any of the tent sites at area state parks. The Apple River is really beautiful, and if we had brought our kayaks we could have plopped them right in the river from our campsites and had an amazing paddlle on this pristine tributary of the St Croix.  (See attached photo for map of the Apple River upstream towards its various headwaters lakes. Further down the Apple River is a canyon and whitewater section for tubing or paddling: 

https://www.stcroix360.com/2013/06/floating-the-apple-river-canyon/)

We were in site T3, which had an electric hookup used by friends who joined us in their van; there was also a water hookup which was handy even if we didnt hook up to it. There was a fair amount of  space at our site, but If we were to come back again we would want a bit more space and privacy so we would absolutely go for one of the tent sites, any one of them would be great! The campground over all is clean and well maintained, a lot of retired folks as seasonal campers but also a lot of families with kids, and a nice family atmosphere. Given that is was Labor Day weekend and every site ended up being taken, you might expect it to be busy and loud, but it was pleasant and quiet, and the neighbors friendly, The bathrooms and showers were clean and well kept, and bleach water disinfectant was avaialble to wipe down surfaces if anyone had concenrs. There is a small pub with a patio attached to the campground office, but it was surprisingly quiet and low key. There is volleyball and more outdoor games adjacent, and this is all a bit set apart from the campground anyway. Along the river is a small beach, boat dock for canoes and kayaks and fishing, and a nice playground for kids.  It is a good 20-minutes to half hour drive to Interstate State Park and the Falls towns, which has pluses and minuses. We also took the opportunity to try some hiking a little closer to the campground, and enjoyed the Stower Seven Lakes Trail on the old Soo Line : https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/stower

Other outdoor activities and special places to visit in Polk County near the campground: 

https://www.co.polk.wi.us/landinfowisdnrmaps

Really a lovely spot, and a nice surprise.

We spent two nights at Lake Wissota State Park tent camping in site 30. The site was very deep, and very private with lots of tree coverage on all sides to block out any noise and most of the light from your camping neighbors. The water source was a little far away (about 200 yards) but we were located near the bathroom and showers. The shower facilities were mediocre, but about what you'd expect at a state park.
Park has a swimming beach and several miles of trails.

Worth taking a trip into town and walking up and down the main street. Visit the local shops, and make sure to visit Leinenkugel's brewery for a tour and a pint, but don't over look the Brewster Bros. Brewing Company and the Chippewa River Distillery, also located right in Chippewa Falls.

This is a small county campground with 15  simple campsites geared towards tent camping, though 5 of the sites are equipped with electricity so folks with vans or small trailers might be comfortable here. The park is nicely wooded and there are basic facilities such as water and vault toilets. They are adjacent day use areas including a group picnic shelter and playground. This is a good spot for fishing, and canoeing or kayaking https://amerywi.gov/432/Canoeing-Kayaking and there are other activities in and around the nearby town of Amery. 

I might not camp here as a destination vacation spot, but it might be a good stopover if on a weekend paddling trip. You could start at the DN Campground of vicinity further north https://thedyrt.com/camping/undefined/d-n-campground, then paddle a nice easy day trip to this campground, and then the next day paddle into the town of Amery and pull out there.

The camping is currently closed for the season, and will be have repairs and needed upgrades. It would be worth checking in spring 2021 to review the improvements!

First thing you need to know: It's completely in the woods, and sites are FULLY shaded. Sites 28-38 are on a loop with a picnic pavilion in the middle with some openings for sun on the road and in the picnic area. Other than that, the rest of the campground is rather dark all the time; there aren't as many sunlight openings on the road to the other sites. This is not a good place for solar panels, but almost all sites are electric.

Nice price: Cost is $20/$16 for electric/non-electric. This is an Army Corps of Engineers park which means you pay $10/$8 if you have an NPS Lifetime Senior Pass.

Services: There are full services at this campground - flush toilets, sinks, showers, trash receptacles, and drinking water/dump station near the entrance. There is an interpretive center for Saturday evening ranger programs and a playground next to it.

Roomy sites: This campground is small, but almost all sites are large. There are 38 sites plus walk in tent sites A through G and a group site. It looks like sites 28-38 can be rented for a group; the entrance was blocked off when we were there.

Equestrian section may be open to campers without a horse: There is an equestrian campground about a half mile before the main campground entrance. You may camp in the equestrian area (E1-E10) without a horse if the main area is full. We were able to reserve a site in there a couple days ahead of time because the main campground was full. It was just us and one other family on a Saturday night, and neither of us had a horse. We moved to the main area on Sunday morning because lots of sites were open on Sunday.

As a kid we went here often. The water front sites were awesome. Nice sandy shored lake a short walk from your tent couldn’t be beat. I remember there being decent little trails through out as well.

A good little campground for tents and trailers with trails nearby and some sweet waterfalls not far off.  Good for those who want to explore the twin cities without staying in town.

Continuing my quest to visit as many Wisconsin state parks as possible. I stopped by here to check out the campsites for potential future camping and look over the park. When I found was a very well-maintained park, love the viewing area of the lake. Campsites looked good as well.

Beautiful Wisconsin state park. Two campgrounds, the north campground is more primitive, the south campground, where we stayed, has electrical hookups. We stayed here in Oct. of 2014, our first night camping in our new RV. Only stayed one night, but we were impressed. Decent bathrooms and showers in the south campground.

Secluded campground located on Silver Birch Lake and nearby the Chippewa River. More "rugged" style camping and about a quarter mile off the main road. This campground is open from mid-April through November. The campground has tent, RV spots, electric, toilets, and a picnic area. 

One single boat ramp with water access. Panfish, bass, pike, and catfish can all be caught here.

Enjoyed this island campground. There is a RV focused and a tent focused camping loops. This is a nice location for fisherman and kayaks/canoes. There are a few hiking trails that are loaded with mosquitoes (given the location and amount of water). There is a small beach to play in the water, playground and ball field. The bathrooms are nicely kept but dated. Great location to go with kids.

Memorial Day 2019 with my siblings and our dog. Campsite 202 had plenty of room for an 8 person tent and 2 pickups. The overall campgrounds were spread apart enough to not feel like you were on top of your neighbors. The park was very clean no garbage or debris on the trails. Overall highly recommend. Will be back again!

If you’ve been anywhere in Minnesota or Wisconsin, you know about all the trees! As other reviews mention, this campground has a large grassy area - that gives a 100% clear obstruction for Starlink. We work full time, so this was important for us. HOWEVER, the other half of the campground is within a super treed area, so we got to pick!

The bathrooms were sparkling clean. The showers were hot and the laundry was reasonably priced. Had I known how much we liked the area, we would’ve stayed longer. 10/10 would recommend.