Best Cabin Camping near Manitowoc, WI

Living rather close to this park, this is our "go-to" place to camp. It has a great variety of activities available. There is a beach AND a dog beach so it's pet-friendly. Dogs are not allowed on all of the trails, but there are many you can take them on. Being on the water, you can swim, kayak, fish, or just soak up some rays! There are also non-reservable sites available. There are many electric sites, clean bath houses, friendly campground hosts, some rather private sites as well. It's a short walk from the campsites to the lake. Our favorite site is next to the woods where we have seen ample deer, turkey, foxes, and birds. Close to town if you need supplies, firewood and ice is available in the park.

Weekend camping with old and new friends. About 20 minutes from Sheboygan, WI and 2 hours from Chicago, IL, Kohler-Andrae State Park Campground, is a few minutes drive or walk from Lake Michigan. There are about 130 campsites, cabins with ADA accessibility, two group sites, an amphitheater, and shelters. Each site does have a fire ring and picnic table. However, the sites are very close to each other which leaves very little privacy, but the campers are very respectful to each other. 

This campground does have a lot of amenities from showers, vault/flush toilets, water spigots spread around, playground, amphitheater, dump station, electric sites, and recycling containers. The sites on the south end and in the center seem more spacious and the surrounding pine, birch, and beechwood trees offer great shade and places to hang hammocks. I did see a teepee and can be reserved. Campers have access to Lake Michigan. The camp fee varies from$15-$35 along with a daily park entrance fee of$8-$15 depending on your license plate. The trails nearby have boardwalks to prevent damage on the dune vegetation. You could see the stars on a clear night. Keep your food in proper storage and in vehicles. Raccoons frequent the campground and are not afraid of humans. They would take food at any opportunity they get. Our marshmallows were stolen as we were about to make smores.  But besides, that mishap, Kohler-Andrae has a lot to offer. I would definitely camp here again but do hammock camping.

General: There is both a north and a south part to this campground with a total of 178 sites. The sites in the south part are all on a grassy field and there is a small man-made lake with an inflatable play area. The sites in the north part are a mix of full hook-up and tent sites. There are also small cabins (only one of which has a bathroom) and three “condos”. These all had air-conditioners, but I did not see the inside of them. The north unit features a pond, which I was disappointed to discover was algae-filled and completely green. 

Site Quality: Some are pull-through and some back-in. Some sites have electric and water hookups, some have picnic tables, and some have fire rings (but not all sites have all of these amenities). Only a handful have concrete pads; the rest are all on grass. 

Our impression of Sleepy Hollow was influenced in part by the fact that it poured rain for much of our overnight stay. The roads were all dirt and with the rain, became very muddy along with the campsites as well. When leaving the next day, we had some challenges backing out of our site with the amount of mud. There is no clear delineation between the sites other than where the electric and water hookups are placed. 

Bathhouse: Was very clean (in both the north and south units of the campground). Showers are available for a fee (five minutes for$1.00) but we did not use them so cannot comment on how well they worked. 

Activities/Amenities: In the south unit, there is a small manmade lake with an inflatable play structure and plenty of life jackets. The color is a beautiful Caribbean blue, but it did not look natural, and I was not sure of the source of the color. We were there on a weekday in September, and no one was using the lake. There is a small bar and grill (in the north section) and a concession (south unit) on-site, but both were closed when we were there. Firewood was available (15 pieces for $10); we asked and were granted permission to use the golf cart to bring the wood to our site. Other than the lake, there really is nothing offered for recreation. 

We chose this campground for its location; it is very close to Highway 41 in Oshkosh (you will hear road noise) and we were meeting family there. We checked in online the day before and arrived at 3:30 pm. No one was in the office when we arrived but the family members we were meeting had arranged for us to camp in the site next to them (not the original one we had selected). This campground is VERY close to EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), and I imagine it would be completely full during the annual EAA convention. For us, it was a convenient location but aside from spending time with our family, the reason we chose this campground.

All the other campgrounds in OshKosh are near the airport, which makes sense since the biggest event each year is the EVAA air show. None of them have trees.
Hickory Oaks has it's own airfield and lots and lots of trees. They even have a mini-lake (4 acres).
There are all types of RV sites, tenting/primitive sites and group sites, some small cabins as well. We camped in site 60 because we arrived after dark, and Cindy suggested that our first choice, #67 might be too hard to find at night. There is only one street light, and it's by site #1 and the swim area.
The map doesn't really convey what an oasis of trees this place is. To the West is the runway and beyond that, a large grassy hill (it's actually landfill). To the east in a rural road running along the lake. To the north, in the distance is a prison.  That all sounds worse than it is, it's a lovely campground.
 There are a few things for sale in the office, but you're so close to town you can get everything there. Cindy the operator is extremely nice and helpful.
Fire pits are 30" rings with no grate, Tables seem smaller than average.
If you're visiting in the summer, be sure to visit the Farmer's Market , Saturdays on Main Street, also Wagner's Market for the best meats, deli and beverages.  The Paine museum & gardens and the city museum are both worth visits as well.

We mostly enjoyed our trip here over Memorial Day Weekend. It’s not too far away from our home and a nice gear testing first trip.

Pros: Spacious grassy site. This one even had an attached smaller clearing perfect for our 7 year old to use for her own space where we set up a hammock for her.

The campsites feel very private with a thick brush between each site. It’s not a huge campground.

Bathrooms and showers are very cleans and actually closed from 11am-noon each day for complete cleaning.

Gorgeous magnificent trails and right on Lake Michigan. Also a beautiful quarry lake with a trail all the way around and a cute pond full of turtles!

Very nice, completely cleaned fire pits.

Cheap bundle yourself firewood. Cons:

Gorgeous hikes, but short. We prefer more distance.

Maybe because of its proximity to the lake and Milwaukee or perhaps the holiday weekend but this was a louder campground. More of a party vibe than we really look for in state parks. A particular group was extremely loud and kept us up until 4 am the first night. No park ranger on duty. It’s nice when quiet hours are observed.

No trees really on the campground and it is built on and surrounded by wetlands that are actively in restoration. At the height of summer this place is going to be sweltering and full of bugs. The mosquitoes will be especially terrible.

Overall we have and love this park for a day trip but probably won’t return to camp.

Very nice State park and campsite. Campsite had plenty of space, nice fire pit, and picnic table. The showers on site were the cleanest I have experienced while camping, this was much appreciated. Lake Michigan is under a 5 minute drive with clean beaches. There are plenty of walking trails and fishing spots near by. Highly recommended this campsite. I will be returning to camp and even a day trip to hike and fish. Bring a canopy during warm months. We did not have one and there were no big trees for shade. Got very warm without a canopy to sit under.

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.

This is a state run campground that provides plenty of hiking, biking and horse riding trails. There is also access to Lake Winnebago for boating and swimming. The camp sites are all either partially or fully shaded with a good amount of privacy for each site. Plenty or pit toilets are provided and there are also plumbed toilets and showers available on the campground.

This campground is perfect for a weekend getaway or for those families just starting out. It is close enough to town to be able to run in and get forgotten items. There are plenty of playground equipment for kids to run and climb on. If you are looking for a rustic get away this may not be exactly what you are looking for but it is a great spot to get out of the city for a day or two.