Best Glamping near Manitowoc, WI

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.

Campground Review

I've been going to Devil's River for as long as I can remember on Labor Day weekend. My grandparents used to have a permanent site there, and my family has continued to camp there since my grandparents' deaths. It is a nice campground, not far from Green Bay, in a nice area. The weekender sites have been made more level in the past few years and are pretty grassy with some trees.

They removed the old small pool and installed a large swimming pond. It is a treated pond, so it is murky water, but the open space is nice for a swim on a hot day. The pond is full of clay at the bottom, with not much sand except for by the beach, so it isn't the best for walking, just swimming or floating.

The bathroom building is old, but mostly clean. The showers are in need of an upgrade. Some were out of order when we were there.

There is access to the river and the nearby Maribel Caves park is nice as well. This is a great campground to just relax at and play cards.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the ColdPruf Platinum II shirt and pant base layers.

Being from Wisconsin, I have to own long underwear to really enjoy going outside in the winter. I've always found the stuff I had to be uncomfortable and hard to move around.

I wore these camping over Labor Day weekend when it got down into the mid-40s, and I was comfortable without any coat or outer layer. In the winter I would wear these under other appropriate clothing and I'm confident I'll be warm enough.

ColdPruf has better quality materials (not cotton) than the old stuff I have, and the fit is much better. There are excellent sizing charts and sizes for tall people, like myself. The fit is great. I could comfortably play sports or other activities in the Platinum II without any range of motion restrictions. It is tight enough fitting for a base layer (the modern name for long underwear), but not too tight.

The best part about ColdPruf is the value. You are getting very high quality, warm base layer for a great price. I would definitely say ColdPruf Platinum II is Ranger-worthy and can whole-heartedly recommend them.

Campground Review

Every year it seems there are changes at Devil's River. The campsite are still nice, though if you want privacy, there's not a lot. This is great for camping with friends or family. We usually have 4 sites with family over Labor Day weekend. This year they've added a deck off of the bathroom/shower building. It seems like it was almost done.

One night there was very loud partying at some of the seasonal campers sites. It was a bit obnoxious, but they were mostly quiet by 11pm. There were a lot of seasonal sites with Trump flags and I saw one Confederate flag…so interesting cross section of humanity.

One of the season campers had some giant inflatable climbing/bouncing things for the pond, so that kept the kids and some adults occupied. The same person also projected a movie in the new covered deck. He's a generous man, willing to share with the other campers.

We played cards and lawn games and Slammo and frisbee in all the open space and also swam in the pond. It was a great weekend, as always.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the RōM Pack from RōM Outdoors.

I'll be upfront and honest…this might be the most disappointing product I've tested for The Dyrt. It definitely isn't all bad, but the concept, in my opinion is a failure.

The RōM Pack is a convertible backpack that can unfold into a poncho or a blanket.

As a backpack…

What I like:

• It is stylish
• The material quality is heavy duty

What I didn't like:

• It is very heavy…when empty
• The main pocket isn't very large due to the excess material needed for the poncho/blanket

As a poncho…

What I like:

• It is a poncho

What I don't like

• The snaps don't stay snapped
• It is too short in the front
• It is too warm….it has a fleece lining
• The hood is small
• It looks a bit funny when you where it with the backpack straps and the flaps…I was laughed at by my family

_As a blanket…_it is great. It is warm, large enough and water resistant.

Overall, the concept doesn't seem practical. If I'm hiking and I expect rain, I'd pack a raincoat or a lightweight poncho to wear over my regular clothes. I'd dress for the weather. I'd never need a fleece lined poncho. I likely wouldn't need a blanket either…and if I did I could roll up a blanket and put it in a regular backpack.

The RōM Pack is also quite expensive at $120. The build quality is very good, but the execution and the concept are where it fails. The best "mode" is blanket mode, but I can recommend any number of cheaper blankets. I wanted to like this, but I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

It would be nice if they had sewer at some weekend sites

I've been going to this campground my whole life. My grandparents used to have a permanent site here and we've been going here every labor weekend since I was born (I'm currently 25). There have nice grassy sites with tall trees for partial shade.

A few years ago they tore out the old small swimming pool and put in a large chemically treated swimming pond. The swimming is pretty good and there is now plenty of space. The only possible downside with small children, as there is no fence around the pond, and there are sites that border the pond.

It is fun to go down by the river and explore. One year we caught about 60 crayfish and cooked them on the campstove and ate them.

Sometimes they also give a tour of the old mill that is on the grounds. There is a lot of history. Also, if you are into caving, the Maribel caves are only a mile down the road.

Went To this campground to specifically use our kayaks but the marshes were drained to replicate drought conditions. Make sure you check if the marsh is filled when reserving this campground. Otherwise it is just swamped muck. Plenty to do around this one as well. They have an 18 hole disc golf course and a nine hole soccer ball course. Brand new play ground added. One spigot for every four sites for water so 100 foot hose is required. Very close to this is the cave for tours at ledge park. There is also a very nice Indian museum down the street

If your looking to quietly sit around the fire the marsh is great! Not much for kid entertainment except a playground and fishing. The restaurant on site has great food though!!!

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.

The amenities are pretty great, and the campground is decent, but the noise is annoying early in the morning and throughout the day. It is really close to a racetrack.

The great thing about this place is there is a lot to do. They have an outdoor movie, and lots of other activities. It is a bit pricey, but at least you are getting amenities...

The sites are a little small but the hospitality of the owners/hosts ensure that we’ll be back. My husband ended up with some sinus issues on the day we were supposed to leave and wasn’t able to pull the camper home until he felt better. We offered to rent the site for another night and they said since we wouldn’t be staying there they wouldn’t charge us. I feel that’s great customer service.

Although there are plenty of nature trails an a pretty beach on Lake Michigan, the sites are very close together. With over 200 sites, it makes for a very noisy campground with lots of barking dogs and crying/screaming kids. In addition, you can hear the cars on the highway all night, as this campground is right by it.

The non-electric sites are more wooded and closer to the nicer bathroom and showers. Pretty firm on the noise rule after 11.