Best Tent Camping near Germantown, WI

I did not stay here, but I spend some time walking through to get a feel for the place.

This is primarily an RV/mobile home campground, but there are some nicely tucked away tent camp sites that I'll recommend later in this review. Gravel roads connect the three loops and the landscaping is well kept and maintained. The campground sells ice, firewood and rents boats.

There is a very clean bathroom and bathhouse, freshwater for campers, and some electric tent campsites. The property is basically terraced along a slope down to the lake, with the RV and mobile home sites closer to the lake. The tent sites are above it all with decent views of the lake below (and the RVs). 

The Galapagos tent campsite is elevated and a short distance from the loop road, and has a nice view of the lake. The Box Turtle site is also a bit elevated above the main driveway as is Snapper 7, though I am not sure where you are supposed to put your tent in that site.

Now, Snapper 4, 5,6 and 7 would be nice for group camping because they are all very close to one another and a bit more private, set away from the rest of the campsites. There are lots of electrical sites for campers and RVs, most of which look like they are quite permanently in place.

I have camped here many times as a kid and always loved it. We recently came here with a large group and tent camped at one of the large tent sites. I believe there are only 2 non-electric tent sites but the large huge and grassy with excellent privacy. The managers/owners of the camp are really nice and laid back. There is a small fishing pond off the back side of the non-electric sites and there is a nice outdoor pool and indoor jacuzzi next to a large rec room/bar. I haven't seen it personally but I know they have live music and summer events. We love that this place is so close, we get to get away without the long drive!

This is a relatively small, private campground mostly for RVs though there are some very nice sites that would be lovely for tents. There are a dozen tent sites that back up to a very charming river, each one has a picnic table and fire pit. The view of the river from these sites is lovely. Adding to the waterworks, there is a cute pond with a charming fountain in the center of the RV sites, and a nice horseshoes pit. There are a number of RV sites with full hookups. 

I spoke with the owner and they did not have tent camping in 2020. They were worried about people in too close proximity in the restroom. In 2020 they only allowed RVs that had their own restroom facilities. The owner told me that maybe there will be tent camping in 2021.

Open tent sites and well designed riggings and beyond excellent, well-maintained trails, accommodations and hospitality. This was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up, so if you’re looking for this kind of experience, don’t pass it up. In one of the most lush forests in the SE corner of Wisconsin near Milwaukee.

Making reservations at the group site was easy and ensured no other campers were near us. Beach access and a great tree canopy allowed for comfortable tent camping.

Tried out tent camping for the first time with a 5 year old and a 2 year old. Clearly were not sure how’d it go but pure success! The camp site (216) was perfect with privacy for the tent and was incredibly quiet. Not a long walk to the vault toilets and everyone was super friendly. Already planning our next stay!

Took my 2 year old fir first time tent camping, we were at site 231, which was huge and very nice. We had some friends at other sites that weren’t as nice. There is a YouTube video posted of all the sites. There is so much to do we couldn’t do everything we wanted in the one night we stayed.

I did not stay at this park, but did drive and walk through it to get a feel for it. There are a number of sites I'd love to tent camp in.

This park is bounded by a lake with a nice beach. There are nicely-groomed volleyball courts, picnic shelters and abundant picnic tables. There are pit toilets throughout the campground and one flush toilet station in the public picnicking area.

The campsites are up the hill from the public areas I just described. Sites 1 through 8 are in an oak savannah, semi-shaded but mostly in a grassland area. Sites are grassy with no gravel pads for parking.

The group camping area is slightly shaded, but would be warm and sunny midday. Group site 19 is probably one of the shadiest areas.

Now, sites 22 and 23, 24, 25 and 26 are very cool. The campsites are in the midst of a pine forest. It would be sweet to tent camp there and listen to the wind in those trees. Note, there is no camping IN among the pine forest, and these sites are going to be quite sunny and warm midday without much shade.

I can not tell you how many times I’ve been here. My son lives within seconds of here so it is very convenient. They gave on site bathrooms and showers. Electric, water and sewer hookups. They also have tent sites. This season there will be née owners so I hope they keep some of the annual activities.

If you are looking for a place to camp with an RV or rent a cabin, this is your place! Three pools, mini golf, and a great atmosphere! However, we were tent camping and our site was gravel and right on the main road. It was very small and our tent was too close to the road for my comfort. Hiking trails weren’t very well kept, but was still a beautiful hike! If you have kids and camper I would absolutely recommend this place! Also very dog friendly!

A little hard to find at first. GPS will take you to a service road as the entrance, actual entrance is on the other side of the lake just before The Boat House Bar.

Came in really late without a reservation but they have a self check in. Small cards next to check in booth. I recommend snagging an RV site. The price is the same and it’s way better. Tent camping area was really muddy. I only brought a hammock but could easily fit six tents on my site alone. Roads and facilities are in great shape. Constant hot water.

To start: I’m an RV camper who stayed in one of the electric sites this go-around, but I’ve tent camped here in the past as well.

I’ll start with what I loved; the sites here are VERY private. You only get glimpses of your neighbors through the thick foliage. Doesn’t get much more private than this in a campground with hookups!

The bathrooms are pretty dirty (dead bugs everywhere).

Be careful about your site selection; do NOT camp along the road if you plan to be outside or you’re tent camping. I know from prior experience that it’s EXTREMELY loud at almost all times of day.

There’s a good playground and beach, but they’re a bit far from the campsites. On an extremely hot day you might want to drive rather than walk, especially with little ones.

If you’re camping with your dog you won’t find great trail access from the campground; the closest trail doesn’t permit dogs. I’d also avoid the dog beach like the plague. I didn’t see much in the way of posted rules, and people apparently had no problem bringing their untrained, unsocialized dogs. My dog was attacked by two dogs who wanted to get at her toy and the owners did nothing to stop it. My husband received a lovely bite from one of the dogs when he tried to fight them off.

This campground could be stellar with just a few tweaks. Overall I’d say it’s a decent enough place to stay when visiting Kettle and I’ll likely be back.

This was the strangest camping experience I've ever had. It was early June and there were maybe two or three other sites set up in the entire campground. I made my reservations online for a tent site and nothing indicated that the site I selected was an overflow site. These "overflow" sites were scantly numbered, and there were fewer fire pits and picnic tables than indicated online. All of these tent sites were scattered in a grass field among the frisbee golf. We were glad no one was playing frisbee golf because it was intermixed with where the tents would be, so people would be getting hit with frisbees.

My friend and I pitched our tent closest to the bathroom because we could not find the actual spot we reserved online. We could not find anyone to ask about our site other than the waitresses at the restaurant who were very busy. We ate at the restaurant too and were unimpressed. Unless you get the day's special, it is very overpriced and the portions are small.

The bathrooms were clean (because no one else was at the campground), but there was no drinking water. We were on a bike tour and had to bike over 10 miles in the morning to find some good drinking water. I don't believe I paid $25 for something that was barely a campsite and had no drinking water.

I might of enjoyed it more if I had time to explore the area and the tower, but just dropping in for the night was not a great experience. It felt the campground only came to be because somebody wanted to open a restaurant and his buddy thought it would be a genius idea to let people camp there too.

I love everything about this park except the beach, so it didn’t get a 5 star. We stayed at site 98- just barely big enough to fit our travel trailer in and right next to the showers and bathrooms. Not a great location, but fine. Took a walk around and found plenty of other large, private shaded electric sites. If we came here again I would go for a site away from the bathroom. The tent sites looks fantastic- large and private. Plenty of hiking trails here, a decent playground, and tons of large fields to picnic in. Park has a Facebook page where they post activities. Friday night we saw a presentation on the cranes of Wisconsin, and Saturday morning we did a parkwide scavenger hunt. All fun for the family. We would definitely camp here again. The beach is across the very busy road, and has about 10 ft of sand before the road. Fine for a dip, but not relaxing. Very crowded. Other beaches are nearby but not free. Town of Lake Geneva is very cute in an upscale tourist way. Our kid found the museum a lot of fun.

The people who work there are wonderful and even most of the seasonal campers we met were very nice people. We did have a few run ins with some not so good people however and the cops visit there often. The owners do their part to make things right however and immediately made the people causing trouble to leave. We were there for about a month and overall it was a good place to stay. Our tent site was right next to the playground, pool and bathrooms which made it convenient for our children, however kids run all over at night on the weekends until 2 am so the noise at that hour can be annoying. We also went through several storms while there and were offered parts for one of our canopies that blew away and the security guy who was always nice to us tied our other canopy to a tree when it also blew away to prevent it from going farther and being more damaged. Bathrooms I would give a 2 star rating alone.

After an extended time at Pike Lake campground, we've come to feel like this is home.

Each of the 32 sites is unique in their own way. Some are large and flat perfect for a class A (#2 #4, #29 #31 is okay, but smaller), some incorporate the geography into the site (#23 & #17 - very much tent sites, #15 great for a small trailer, #7NE, #9NE). There is a TIGHT turn in the campground loop near site #17 to be aware of with longer trailers. Generally, the inner ring is electric (except #23) and the outer ring is non-electric. Flush bathrooms and clean showers. Three backpacking sites off the IAT - one prairie, two wooded. B2 and B3 are large. 

Hiking is great beginner trails within the park and connects to the IAT (Ice Age Trail). Bike trail now connects to the campground making biking to Pike Lake possible. The campground is on the opposite side of the park from the lake, so driving or biking are the options to get from the campground to the water. 

Close to all of the troubleshooting options for new campers (Walmart, grocery, fast food, vegan grocery store & coffee shop).

I decided to give this campsite a try to get some of my family members ate not up for tent camping. With real beds, running water and AC I figured that this would do the trick.

The cabin itself was roomy enough for five with a bunk bed, queen bed and sofa bed. Any more than that would get a little tight.

Amenities: Camp store, mini golf, three swimming pools, trails, basketball court, volleyball court, snack bar, and saloon. My kids had a blast so I would really recommend for a family who wanted to some form of cabin camping. Oh, there were goats as well!

I love campfire cooking which I was able to since there was a fire pit out back.

Also, this place has activities for family members, even a movie night. I saw groups of kids playing basketball or just hanging out and having fun. Oh, and there’s an arcade. At the saloon there was a karaoke night.

If you are more of a traditionalist then you may not like this type of camping. But, if you want to get out for the weekend with you family for a family oriented atypical getaway then this is for you!

We’ll be back.

Mid to Late October is great Fall camping in Southern Wisconsin. Cool nights range from lower 30's to upper 40's. Day time temps can exceed 60.

Pike Lake State Park is part of the northern Kettle Moraine glacial deposit. This park offers fantastic hiking for many skill levels.

The Land:

Overnight camping has standard primitive sites (all wooded sites) scattered around single paved campground loop. Sites at beginning of loop are on hillside with leved pads for your tent. Sites at bottom of loop (near bathrooms) are flatter. However sites at bottom are closer together, than at the top.

Pike Lake also has 3 (relatively new) hike in sites. I believe at least 1 of the hike in sites is non-reservable. All 3 sites have trail access from a parking lot (about 3/4 mile north from standard camp ground).

Camping:

This campground is our go to during the school year. Practically walking distance to our house, this campground is generally nice. Wooded lots make you feel overall secluded. I tend to book sites close to the bathrooms (young kids). However sites on the top of the loop are nice too. When the kids stay home, the hike in sites are very nice.

Biggest disadvantage is the campground proximity to the rest of the park. One of the biggest draws to the park is the lake / beach. The camping is on the opposite side of the park to the beach. Certainly not a deal breaker, but when you have little ones, you just have to plan accordingly.

This was our first time camping in Wisconsin and we got to say we absolutely love this park. Most of the sites are pretty secluded so if you enjoy your privacy I will love this place. Everything was clean and updated including the bathrooms. The campsites are about a mile or two from Lake Michigan but it is an easy drive or hike as there are many trails that go through the park. When we went to the lake level was up so high due to flooding that we weren’t really able to enjoy the beach but normally there is plenty of coastline for enjoying some beach time.

We were in route to visiting Green Bay Wisconsin and found this campground on Lake Michigan. We were able to secure a sight by calling directly to the park because the phone number was on the Wisconsin State Map. The had a staff of about 5 people at the and took a debit card for Payment. We paid $22 for the sight because it had electricity and an additional $9 day fee required in Wisconsin. You can pay $30 for a season, we were only in Wisconsin for two nights. The sight was nice for a tent and we were able to hang out on the beach of Lake Michigan. The bathrooms had hot showers. We got up early and made our way to Green Bay.

We were tenting and it was primarily geared for tent campers. It was a very scenic area and the sites were well spaced from each other. The camping area had pit toilets, but there were flush toilets and showers in the beach area of the park. The swimming pond was spring fed and very pleasant for swimming with a nice sandy beach. There was an archery range, volley ball courts, covered picnic areas, and a nice playground with a lot of equipment!

I backpacked the IAT with a group and we camped for the night at Mauthe Lake at the beginning of April. There are lots of downed trees at the campground, which sort of detracted from the landscape (tornado damage, I'm told). Pit toilets were open, but water had not yet been turned on so be prepared to filter if you go this early in the season. We perused different sites/loops for a while to find adjacent non-electric sites large enough for multiple tents at each and were able to fit 8-9 (small backpacking) tents between 314 and 313.

Great clean sites and fishing. Many hiking trails. Historical attractions. Wisconsin does their parks and forests right.