Best Equestrian Camping near Madison, WI

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Madison, WI

166 Reviews of 14 Madison Campgrounds

• 

  Ashley Y.

  Ranger

  Aug. 4, 2017

  Yellowstone Lake State Park Campground

  Fun state park in southern wisconsin

  My parents brought me here while visiting a few years back. They enjoy going to the nearby ever popular brewery. I also did some quick research and happened to discover that the Leopold center (as in Aldo Leopold) is also nearby so that was amazing to check out..anyway onward to the site review. The sites were all large and private mostly wooded which was nice. The beach wasn't very maintained upon our visit it was hard to say if it's like that all the time. Overall good location from Madison or Chicago. Private sites. Good for families we enjoyed ourselves!

• 

  Ted W.

  Traveler

  Aug. 21, 2019

  Yellowstone Lake State Park Campground

  One of our favorites

  We spend quite a bit of time here. We hunt here and camp here year round. Tons of forest with cross country, equestrian, and hiking trails. One of the best lakes in Wisconsin for fishing along with a nice beach, and pet area. There is a free gun range. Hunt anything from pheasent to deer. There is also a nice bar and grill just down the street. Along with dairy bar as part of the park. Showers and bathrooms are always clean.

• 

  Meg S.

  Ranger

  Aug. 1, 2015

  Twin Valley Campground — Governor Dodge State Park

  Great Campground in Wisconsin

  Great state park for a family camping vacation, tons of stuff to do. Lakes, trails, kayaking, boating, paddle boarding, fishing. Hidden gem of Wisconsin. The campsites are pretty private, nestled in trees. Some shaded, some have sun and shade. They even have horse sites, so you can bring your horse, and stroll through the park horseback riding. Vault toilets, and regular toilets with ok showers. Water faucets scattered around for easy water access. Twin Valley has tent sites and RV/electric sites.

• J

  Jen E.

  Guide

  Sep. 1, 2016

  Lake Kegonsa State Park Campground

  Nice family campground, big private sites, but beach closed due to algae

  We loved this campground. Just a quick 2 hour drive from our home in Chicago, with large wooded sites for privacy. Clean bathrooms. The lake was "closed" in late summer due to algae blooms, which was disappointing, but we were able to drive a short distance to access water in other places. Close proximity to Madison was also fun.

• 

  Josh F.

  Legend

  Aug. 29, 2020

  Lake Kegonsa State Park Campground

  Close to Madison, not much else going for it

  This state park is conveniently close to Madison, Wisconsin. It has some decent sites, and while I didn't actually stay in this park overnight, my visit and drive through the entire park revealed that there isn't much going for it. The beach isn't particularly nice and the lake looked pretty weedy; maybe not a surprise for late August, the lake might be much nicer early in the season.

  In my opinion, after driving through all of the campsite loops, the following sites would be nice camping, they are shady and have a low probability of flooding during the rain. I also selected sites that had the most privacy.

  81

  82

  83

  96

  62, has a cement pad for the table but it is close to other sites

  66

  76, high ground with semi-private site and quite large

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• 

  Art S.

  Legend

  Aug. 23, 2022

  Cox Hollow Campground — Governor Dodge State Park

  Loud, party vibe

  The campsites here are deep with lots of greenery. However we chose this site thinking that it was on the end. The loops curl around so there were campers around us. On the other side was a playground that had children enjoying it all day. While this is great for some, our reactive dog was quite distracted.

  Upon arriving at the check in, there is still a couple miles to wind around until the campground, longer to get to twin lakes campground. The road is hilly too. It’s not a problem in our vehicle but it would be tiring on a bicycle. There are showers in the center of our loop. It could be expanded a bit - we had short lines for the restrooms. Water , garbage and recycling are available as well as a dump station.

  It was raining when we arrived but we drove around to see the park. We hiked the short distance to Stephen’s Falls and was not impressed. Maybe they need more rain this year but all we saw was a splatter.

  We saw folks who kept their kayaks and canoes locked up by the lake. The beach looked nice too. The other end of the park has an equestrian campground. We did see some horses riding the trail around the park.

  The vibe here wasn’t for us. Various sites had music playing loud enough for us to hear. Trails from camp would be great. We ended up walking along the narrow road.

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• P

  Paul C.

  Scout

  Jun. 7, 2018

  Cox Hollow Campground — Governor Dodge State Park

  Great campground for everything but big 5th wheelers and motorhomes

  Two good lakes for kayaking/canoeing/fishing/swimming. Lots of good hiking trails and they are working on a big improvement to the equestrian campground. Lots of activities in the area and close to shopping in the town of Dodgeville.

• 

  Josh F.

  Legend

  Dec. 3, 2020

  Southern Unit Horseriders Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit

  If I had a horse, I'd definitely camp here

  Driving on country roads to this campground, I drove past many many horse ranches. So it's no surprise that there is a dedicated campground for horseback riding in this state park. 

  Built for Large Gatherings

  There are a number of COVID-era regulations that as of this writing are in place, see photos of the signs posted. This campground is clearly built for large groups to hang out together. There is a large shelter with picnic tables and very convenient roll-up sides that can be used to protect people during inclement weather. There is also a large grill that would be great for serving many, and a very nice fire pit with fixed seating for a large group. 

  Ammenities

  There are also nice touches, such as a small stair-step for beginners or young people to mount their horse. And the campground has a little free library. There are electric and non-electric campsites, all seem to have a picnic table and fireplace. There are ample places to bridle horses and shared corrals every four or five campsites. There are also animal waste collection areas throughout the campground. There are several pit toilets throughout the campground, and one building with flush toilets and showers. It's a very nice and fairly new building.

  Group Campsite

  The group campsite has six sites and they are not pull through for trailers. There is a fire pit with fixed seating around it centrally-located in the group campsite. The group campsite does not have electric units. 

  And no surprise, there is easy access to horse trails throughout the state forest. 

  My Top Picks

  There are several sites along one side of the park that are a little more secluded and in a pine forest. They have picnic tables and fire pits like the others, they include 409, 410, 411, 412, 413. There's also a series of pull-through sites that would make it easier for those who don't care to back trailers in or out of the site. These include electric sites 405, 404, 403, 402, and 401.

  There's a nice couple of campsites at the end of one of the loops that affords a little bit of privacy, the only problem is they abut the main road and are a little noisy with car traffic. However, they are sweet sites. They include 427 and 428. Unfortunately, they camping here you would hear all of the car traffic while all the other campsites are much further away from the road.

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• 

  Josh F.

  Legend

  Sep. 11, 2020

  Cox Hollow Campground — Governor Dodge State Park

  Two lakes, two campgrounds and some nice walk-in sites!

  I stayed at this campground when I was a kid and only recently revisited it. The state park has two very large lakes with nice pan fishing and modest but well-groomed (daily?) swimming beaches. The lakes are a definite drive from the campgrounds, however, which makes it hard for "the kids" to simply amble down for a swim. This is important, in Sept. 2020 (COVID-19 times) 1/3 of the parking lot was closed off. Not sure why, but I speculate this is to regulate the number of beach dwellers and swimmers. Regardless, it's a very large and lovely park. Here's my review of the campsites.

  I am a car camper with no interest in (E) electric sites, so I did not pay attention nor note good ones. I prefer the silence and relative darkness that non-E sites provide.

  Campsite - Cox Hollow

  45/47 would be a nice couple of sites for a family/friends (wouldn't want this if you only needed one of them!)

  The sites on the "inside" of the loop are rather close to one another.

  21 has a nice view of the lake, and you can walk back to the fence to look over the bluff 24 is quite private and very large 26, 27 and 29 are all large, near the bluff

  34 is interesting, it's divided into three "terraces" Kind of fun, like a campsite divided into rooms

  44 right next to the water, BIG site, right near the bathroom and playground. This would be great if you have kids.

  The second campground is Twin Valley - though it is NO WHERE NEAR the Twin Valley lake. Lots of driving to get to the lake from here.

  221 is large with nice surrounding trees

  285 is really big

  This campground has walk in sites - these are sites with car parking on the road and you have to walk a minute or two to get to the site. Downside? Carrying all your gear and firewood. Upside? You can genuinely pretend that you've got the place to yourself, can't see a tent or an RV from any of these sites.

  262 is 40 steps in, right on the edge of the valley with it's own personal bluff.

  263 is a longer walk of 75 steps, a little less shaded than others, but PRIVATE

  264 is about 45 steps off the parking lot, right against the bluff edge.

  269 is 50 steps in, but it's just off the path, not as nice as others

  270 is a long 120 steps walking past 269, this is the site for you if you're looking for seclusion

  271 is 110 steps in, flat, really secluded

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