Best Glamping near Madison, WI

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

We stayed at a hike in site in May and had great hanging options for our hammocks, excellent privacy in the hike-in sites, and beautiful options for hiking, fishing, and photography. Plus- so close to home (Madison area).

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.

Stayed for 3 nights in June. Campground is nicely spread out. Most sites are nicely wooded/shaded. Predominant trees are oaks and walnut. Impressive number and size of walnut trees. Electricity was reliable. Was able to get ATT signal. Dump station worked well. Pleasant grounds around the campground. Many nice trails. Good birdlife with pewees, least, flycatcher, great crested flycatcher, yellow warbler, redstarts, rose-breasted grosbeaks and others. Nice lake access. Would be good for kayaking in the backwaters/creeks. Close to Madison and easy to go into town for dinner (20 min). Overall, pleasantly surprised!

Ottawa Lake is in the middle of Kettle Moraine State Forest's Southern Unit. It's mostly car camping with a few hike in locations. The state forest is expansive and wildlife is everywhere. Trails for hiking are in every direction. There are some pretty challenging climbs and some of those trails are pretty technical. The campsites have well-groomed pads and are mostly shaded. There are modern facilities as well as drop toilets for those summer months when a shower is in order. This area is absolutely gorgeous with many lakes in the area, various types of terrain and plenty of natural solitude. It is a short drive from either the Milwaukee area or Madison. You might need awhile to explore the Kettle Moraine area in depth. There's a lot of it to see.

If your in Wisconsin this is a must stay! Beautiful campground (Ottawa Lake campsites) Great Lake, hiking to see the natural springs which is the coolest!! Drank fresh spring water!

Mirror lake is quickly becoming one of our favorite campgrounds in Wisconsin. The sites are decent size and spaced for privacy. Some loops have group sites where you book 2 sites that are connected. Great for 2 families that want to share common space for kids

Hiking is great. Lake has boat rentals. And Ishnala Supper Club is a short walk away.

Highly recommend!

Perfect for a couple days in the woods. Like most of Wisconsins' parks and forests, Ottawa lake is no different. Offers clean and quiet settings and facilities,. Close enough to metropolitan areas but not too close. All have feeling of being in the north woods with out the travel. Busiest days are after memorial day weekend and to labor day weekend.

This campground is perfect for the family who is looking for a little bit of everything. It is located right on the Wisconsin River so you can fish or rent a boat. It also has a nice pool and play areas for the kids. 

I would give it 5 stars but the only issue is it is located next to the public boat launch so there is a lot of traffic in the boat launch. Campground traffic is still fine though.

Overall my family LOVED this campground. There is a decent sized pool that is clean and well-maintained with a smaller kiddie pool with a slide. There is also a man-made lake with a beach for swimming and bigger kids to enjoy the large inflatable slides and swim platforms. The campground is right on the river, and provides rentals for canoes, kayaks, and tubes. They will shuttle you as far up the river as you'd like to go, and you float or paddle back while enjoying all the sand bars along the way.

As an RV campground, the sites were level and grassy with at least one tree per lot. In the sites closer to the pool and lagoon (swim lake), they offer little privacy but are great for multi-family groups. We got a site with some woods in the back, so it was more quiet and private. The electrical and water hook ups were conveniently located, and the site was easy to get into. There were a lot of big Class A motorhomes, so the sites are plenty big. The tent sites are further away from the action, but have easy access to another bathroom and shower. They're also close to the river, and back up to a large corn field. There's a row of pine trees for easy hammock set up, and open grassy areas to let your group sprawl. The bathrooms were clean and nice, but they do have a $1 min for a shower. There is a change machine in the laundry facility.

The Resort also has an extensive camp shop and a huge restaurant with outdoor riverside seating. With live music and a full bar, this made for a really relaxing atmosphere if you're not up to campfire cooking. 

We enjoyed this campground and it's friendly staff and campers. Even through there are a lot of people there so you're not isolated in the woods, it wasn't loud or obnoxious with partiers. It's Wisconsin, so everybody was drinking beers and having fun but it wasn't loud and rowdy. The best part is the location on the Wisconsin River- you can get your fill of quiet solitude on the water, or float in a tube with a case of beer if you like. We enjoyed ourselves and can't wait to go back! It’s a great spot to use as home base for river trips, and don’t forget the Spring Green Desert conservancy nearby. Who knew there were cactuses in Wisconsin? Total hike is about 3.2 miles round trip, with a gorgeous view of the valley.

We camped here in early fall and the full shade sites in mature forest were great. There are a lot of raccoons and the sites even come equipped with a pole for hanging your garbage out of reach of the coons.

The lake, when we went in late August/Early September had a lot of algae on it and wasn't really good to swim, but they do have boat rentals and fishing. It is generally a beautiful lake.

There is a good amount of hiking in the area and it is in close proximity to the Wisconsin Dells, so there is plenty to do.

Made my first visit to Ottawa Lake on a mid-March weekend. The facilities were still under their winter setup (only vault toilet, no shower available, pay in an envelope). It was a very nice campsite that I stayed at. The grounds were quiet, however there were only a handful of people staying there at the time. The sites look to have enough space between the to make you feel a little more spread out and not sitting on top of each other. It got cold (cloudless late winter nights in Wisconsin can do that), but nothing you can’t prepare for. The proximity to the Ice Age Trail is a bonus, because it made for an easy activity without much fuss. Will visit again when warmer.

We stayed in site #4 it was nice sized and quiet. We had full hook up, a picnic table & fire pit, our friends camped next to us in #5. The store had supplies, and firewood they deliver it to your site. There are outside showers & regular showers but always love a good outside shower. It was pretty quiet in the campground. 

Close by is the Wisconsin Dells, we did the 2 hour boat tour it was fun. Went to The Village Cafe in Baraboo it's owned by friends of ours who have a place in Florida where we live. Good food & great desserts. We went to the crane foundation that was nice, beautiful birds they are. We went to Devils lake for a day & hiked around the grotto it was beautiful. There is a spot Big Blue herons nest in the tall pines they make a lot of noise. They had babies in their nests. 

Nice campground it was a good find.

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.

My site (82) was not level and the ground was so soft that my leveling blocks just sank into the dirt. Also the site was far too expensive for the value received. The site cost was $35, but the Wisconsin DNR adds a “parking fee” of $11 (out of state) when I only have one vehicle (truck camper) parked in the site I already paid for. In addition the reservation fee was $7.95 (too high) so I ended up paying $53.95 for a one-night stay with only an electric hookup. 

They do not use Reserve America, opting instead for their own reservation system. Their website sucks– poorly designed. 

The site spacing and privacy were great, and I would give the bathrooms a B+ rating. However, the bathrooms were not well situated and they had two within 150 yards of each other - odd.  The forest canopy did not allow for Starlink use, but I was able to get online using Verizon.

Despite my complaints, it was a nice respite from six nights at family campgrounds in Indiana which were crazy busy and noisy.