Best Glamping near Eau Claire, WI

So I love goin to this campground. It has nice lakeside sites on a bluff above the water and they are fairly well laid out. There is a trial along the bluff connecting the two main loops of the campground. Showers and restrooms work, but are showing their age. They are scheduled to be rebuilt in the next couple of years...hopefully. One of the best parts of this is its proximity to breweries. Not talking Lienies, that's generally ok beer, but the Brewing Projekt, that's amazing beer. It's in downtown Eau Claire, but worth the drive. Also, if you want pizza, which is something we like to do on the day we arrive Chippewa Falls has pretty much anything you need within 20 of the campground. Nice hiking and biking trails as well. I've camped here in Spring, Summer and Fall and multiple sites.

The park itself is small and non-descript, not photogenic. The trail along the lake is nice for walking - it is a ridge above the lake with some nice views. Otherwise, the campsites were OK. Ours was secondary growth scrub with moderate shade. Others had nicer trees. Not a ton of birdlife. A lot of people staying there appeared to be there for golfing at nearby courses. Proximity to Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls is convenient. We enjoyed using the Old Abe bike trail. An entry point is near the park and there is a parking lot with clean restroom there. The trail goes for miles in either direction and is paved and well maintained.

This is a diamond in the rough - exactly what we wanted on our journey.  Our criteria - less than $100, pet friendly and rustic. 

This is a sawmill that has it all - they run the mill when needed, but also have primitive cabins (where we stayed), full cabins with in house bath, electric RV/tent camping and more. Even wood fired pizzas with homemade crust most nights of the week and sometimes live music!

We were in cabin #3 - rustic.  Yes - it did have heat!  A little ceramic heater had it so toasty when it was 30 degrees outside we actually turned it off - so it's sure to please on chilly nights.  The interior was amazing - lumber that I'm sure came from the mill and ceiling planks that were gorgeous - left over planks from many years ago, stored in a shed and re-purposed for the cabin. The bed was very comfortable with clean sheets and squishy (in a good way) pillows. A small covered front porch and we just parked in front.

Bathroom - if you are in a cabin without a bath, it's very nearby. One of the largest, cleanest bathrooms I've seen.  He built it himself. Women's had 2 sinks with a large vanity area, about 3 stalls (very large - you don't have to squish into them) and two very large shower stalls with full doors - not shower curtains. Heated as well.

Pets - easy pet policy. Just let the owner know and it's no problem as long as you are responsible, pick up after them and leash them when necessary.  Just a small charge for them and they were very welcomed here.

He even has event space indoors (heated) and outdoors for weddings and such.  And hiking trails (6 miles) if you choose to take on the outdoors.

The owner plans on adding saunas and a hot tub in the near future - so this would be the place to drop for a while if you want something out of the norm, peaceful, rustic and relaxing. It's off the main road, behind a field in Amish Country.  Lovely place to stay for the night. Very quiet.

Beautiful shaded campground with semi private sites. Nice beach that is a walkable distance from the sites. Lots of walking, biking and horse trails that are full of wild berries. Several stairways down to the lake, no beach at these spots but good for taking the dog in the water since they aren’t allowed on the beach. Wonderful staff in the visitor center. Firewood and ice sold on site. Also boat rentals and free yard games that can be checked out at the visitor center. Clean bathrooms with showers. Lots of boat noise from the lake and a plane noise from a nearby airport. Close to Chippewa Falls for restaurants and stores. A great family destination, not so great for a peaceful couples weekend.

This was an interesting little campground sandwiched between the road and the Trempealeau River. The backstory on the park is that the gentleman who originally owned the land had asked that when he died that it be preserved as a wildlife area. His death came much sooner than anyone thought, and the family worked with the county to donate the land to the county as a park. There are about six tent only sites set back near the river, with three of them in close proximity to each other (I think it is used as a group camping area). When I was there the sites were poorly maintained and only had two fire pits and tables for all six sites combined. There are 25ish RV type sites with either just electric or electric and water. Some of these sites are set up back to back in an open field, which is not very appealing. The grass had been let to grow very long before the recent cutting, so it was like walking through freshly mown hay. There is a horse arena (very muddy when I was there), and it looks like you can camp with your horses on the edge of the RV area. The showers were really nice and fairly new.

This campground/park is so beautiful. The campsites are all private and secluded. We really enjoyed that it was all so unspoiled, yet all the areas/paths were well cared for and clean. We brought our dogs and they had a blast too. My only complaint is about the campers who had our site before us. They pulled out of site 111 at 3:10 on Friday the 24th of July and left the site like a pigsty. The fire pit was filled to the rim with garbage; including dirty diapers and underwear filled with poop. It was disgusting. If people don’t know how to clean up after themselves, they shouldn’t camp. Stay home.

We took site 87 for two separate tents, 2 vehicles, and an EZ-up over the table, and we really enjoyed it.  That site is very private with a nice hook in the clearing in the woods that made us feel isolated from the camp road, yet we were close to the water pump and to the back walkway into the bath house area.  We discovered the single family bathroom on the South side of that bldg early on, and that helped us feel more comfortable using facilities during this physical-distancing time.  

I wondered if the sites closest to the water have any access, but not sure.  The boat dock and beach launch for kayaks is close by car, and we used it twice.  You can also access the water via a 0.5m walk or by bikes on the main car road.  Lovely waters - if you paddle North towards the park shoreline, there are shady places to tie up under white willow trees, or to land and use secluded tie-up points just South of the beach area.  Further North of the beach gets busy with power boats taking off for the big waters of the lake, but worth exploring that shoreline too.  If you paddle south, it's a more calm section with private shorelines but terrific sunset views.