Best Glamping near Madison, WI

We've camped here before and like it. The sites are spacious and most seem to have shade for at least part of the day. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. Ours had a grill the folded in and out, not sure if all have it. The beach is great, open and lots of room to set up for the day either on the grass or sand. There are flush toilets at the beach. There are rentable pavilions. We didn't see any garbage bins nearby so bring a trash bag to carry out. The showers are hot but that's the best thing about them. They're not very big and don't have a curtain to separate changing area and shower. With 2 kids, things tend to get a little wet. However, they get the job done. We love the location. Close to hiking: Scuppernong Trail on the Ice Age Trail and Scuppernong Spring Nature Trail and a few others. Close to shopping and restaurants, if needed. Only downside to our site was the highway (CR-ZZ) was on the other side of the trees and busy. All said, we'll most likely be back again.

Conveniently located next to absolutely nothing just due northwest of Fort Atkinson, you’ll love Pilgrim’s Campground for its successful delivery of (capital letters) P&Q! What I love most about this location is how they keep all the RV campers penned in up against the slight diagonal embankment, which actually provides some pretty phenomenal views of the surrounding areas (if not your next door neighbors) as well as excellent drainage and subsequently separated from the primitive TV campsites. These latter sites are placed just due southwest of the grounds and are pitched perfectly in a tree-lined meadow, encircled by freshly cut corn fields, where you’ll find no shortage of amazing animals coming to graze throughout the day (and night) from deer, raccoons, opossums and endless tag teams of squirrels. 

Because there isn’t so much around, be prepared to bring everything with you (save ice and wood, which is sold on-site). While the bathroom / shower facilities are just passable, what you are giving up in terms of creature comforts is more than made up for in the sheer proximity to all of nature. During the warm summer months, there’s a small in-ground pool on-site, which sits right in front of the main office. All of the standard camping surround-sound elements are here from fire rings and picnic tables to water, electrical (50 / 30 / 20 / 15 amp) and sewer hook-ups. In all, there’s about 100 sites here at Pilgrims Campground, with the lion’s share of this pet-friendly property dedicated to overnight and seasonal RV / 5th Wheelers offering both back-in and pull-through sites. 

Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you don’t mind some rough hiking, there’s fantastic ‘spazierengehen’ to be had just wandering around the countryside in the bountiful corn and bean fields or head over to nearby Dorothy Carnes County Park for some decent trails to explore; (2) In the event that you don’t like being awaken too early from all of the nearby roosters, then bring some ear plugs; (3) When you grow tired of having to forage through either your on-board RV mini-fridge or bear-proof Cordova roto-molded cooler, then look no further than ‘What’s the Point’ (no, seriously, that's the name of the restaurant!) for traditional Midwestern comfort food like corned beef & cabbage, fried fish, BBQ ribs and prime rib; (4) Should you come bearing watercraft and looking for a decent spot to dip your kayak or canoe at, then check out Rose Lake State Natural Area, which BTW is quite small, but very convenient, or try out much larger Red Cedar Lake or Lake Ripley; and (5) Cell coverage and WiFi is pretty horrific in these parts, so bring a booster or plan to leave civilization behind you. 

Happy Camping!

This is our second stay here as RV campers. We stayed for 3 nights over the Memorial Day weekend, and it was packed with campers. There are 2 main sections of the campground: the new part that is all full hook-up RV sites and the older part which is a mix of W/E and S/W/E. The new section will be a lot better next year, but *just* finished construction and it is still a wide open area. It was dusty and hot because the grass isn't gown in yet, there's still a ton of sand, and no trees. So the new sites currently have little to no shade (see pictures). If you have a big rig and need pull through with full hook up, it may be worth it. We chose to get a smaller campsite with just W/E because there are trees and shade, and it just feels a little more like camping. Also have spots for hanging hammocks, and some sites are positioned well for groups.

Despite the very crowded campground, the bathrooms were immaculate. Even the Men's room was super clean. They have 3 indoor showers in each gender bathroom, and a couple of outdoor shower stalls. The pool was also open, and warm enough to swim in. They also had some fun activities for the kids, but it was a challenge to maintain safe distancing with all of the interested people.

I think this is a great campground for families that want some of the nicer amenities (pool, rental bikes, games, etc) that the nearby state parks are lacking. It's our preferred campground to use as base camp for hiking and exploring nearby. You're only a 10 min drive from the Dells, but you have the fee of an up north campground. The owners are super helpful and nice. Once the  new area fills in with grass and some shade trees, this place will be 5 stars in my book. Did I mention there are 2 dog play areas? Really well kept and a wonderful touch.

The campground is well kept with several bathrooms and showers. We have a 30ft travel trailer, and it was easy to maneuver around the campground. We did have to wait in line to fill the water tank, but the water pressure was good and it didn’t take too long. We stayed at site 327e, which was very easy to back in to and was mostly level. Easy access to electrical and plenty of space for slide outs. A nice big fire pit with large flat grate for cooking, one of the best set ups I’ve seen. Would be perfect, but there’s a loud highway WI-67 traffic about 20 ft from the campsite. Tons of loud motorcycles and trucks with constant traffic. If you want solitude I would avoid sites 305e-328e, all of the odd number sites back up to the road. Evens, except for 328e, are inside and are better. Video shows traffic and noise. I would come back, but pick a site inside the campground and away from highway.

We camped on site 120, a “red carpet” site which means full hooks ups, grill, fire pit, cement slab, 2 wrist bands to do the activities and 2 welcome drinks. I used to come here as a kid and the park still looks very similar still- nostalgic for sure! But they’ve definitely made some upgrades to the pool- which has a slide a separate hot tub and a separate kids area. The roads are wide enough, but very narrow. We are a 33.6 ft rig so navigating around parked cars was a challenge as people had their vehicles right to the road. TIP: the site markers come out of the ground so if you need to, remove it so you can get in. There is TONS OF STUFF for kids to do here!!! It was Halloween theme weekend so there was trick or treating, a haunted house, dance party… lots of stuff. My fav thing as an adult is the “Hey ride!” They pile people onto a trailer turned wagon and drive around the park and yell “HEEEEEYYYYYYYYY” to every person they see!!! (Don’t forget to say “Hey!” back and wave! 🙂) it’s so fun to see the kids on that thing! They also do ceramics and have a wonderful selection of food at the Pool (as well as a wonderfully stocked bar.) They do Yogi Bear Cartoons each night which is neat! The rent golf carts by 30 minutes but the park isn’t giant, you don’t really need a cart unless it’s for the hills. If you go to the boat area- take your vehicle if you don’t want a work out on the way back up.

Sherwood Forest Campground is a long time family run campground in an excellent location for enjoying all that the Wisconsin Dells has to offer. Our site had 50 amp electric, water and sewer connections. We were situated on the upper ridge of the campground, furthest from the office/camp store and swimming pool. Our showers were very disappointing. The shower stall had a single stackable plastic lawn chair and a curtain. No mirror, no towel bar or hook, no shelf or caddy in the shower for toiletries. To operate the shower, one must push in the valve, hope the water is a suitable temperature, and repeat after about 20 seconds, or keep pushing while performing your ablutions one handed. The swimming pool, while advertised as heated to 80 degrees, was not heated at all. There is a fairly complete camp store, a splash pad for kids, a game room and laundry available. Some seasonal sites are also available.