Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Marshfield, WI

This is a diamond in the rough - exactly what we wanted on our journey.  Our criteria - less than $100, pet friendly and rustic. 

This is a sawmill that has it all - they run the mill when needed, but also have primitive cabins (where we stayed), full cabins with in house bath, electric RV/tent camping and more. Even wood fired pizzas with homemade crust most nights of the week and sometimes live music!

We were in cabin #3 - rustic.  Yes - it did have heat!  A little ceramic heater had it so toasty when it was 30 degrees outside we actually turned it off - so it's sure to please on chilly nights.  The interior was amazing - lumber that I'm sure came from the mill and ceiling planks that were gorgeous - left over planks from many years ago, stored in a shed and re-purposed for the cabin. The bed was very comfortable with clean sheets and squishy (in a good way) pillows. A small covered front porch and we just parked in front.

Bathroom - if you are in a cabin without a bath, it's very nearby. One of the largest, cleanest bathrooms I've seen.  He built it himself. Women's had 2 sinks with a large vanity area, about 3 stalls (very large - you don't have to squish into them) and two very large shower stalls with full doors - not shower curtains. Heated as well.

Pets - easy pet policy. Just let the owner know and it's no problem as long as you are responsible, pick up after them and leash them when necessary.  Just a small charge for them and they were very welcomed here.

He even has event space indoors (heated) and outdoors for weddings and such.  And hiking trails (6 miles) if you choose to take on the outdoors.

The owner plans on adding saunas and a hot tub in the near future - so this would be the place to drop for a while if you want something out of the norm, peaceful, rustic and relaxing. It's off the main road, behind a field in Amish Country.  Lovely place to stay for the night. Very quiet.

It’s early in the season so the campground is mostly empty, but this KOA is a convenient stop off the highway for local adventures at the nearby state parks or Elroy Sparta bike trail. The basic amenities are good- level sites, fire pit, a tree, nice store, playground, and a pool in warmer weather. It’s more of a place to park your camper than a destination. The campground is right off the highway, so we can see and hear trucks through the night. But they have some nice perks, like goats and chickens on site. The staff let the kids pet the goats and chickens, and loaned us discs to play disc golf. They have one practice basket in the back. There is a small but very nice playground, bathrooms and showers, and laundry facilities. So I would recommend staying here if you want to visit nearby parks and want the convenience of full hookup spots. Great for an easy pull off the highway on your way to more exciting locations. Since most things are closed due to Covid-19, I can’t comment on nearby activities. A clean and convenient location with very nice owners and staff. We would stay again if passing through.

Campground Review:

Lake Eleven campsite is a back country site located within the Chequamegon National Forest in Taylor County, Wisconsin. It is the 15.5 mile Lake Eleven Segment, part of the 1200 mile long Ice Age Trail. A 2.5 hr drive from the Twin Cities it is an excellent diverse section of trail with many geologic wonders formed by continental glaciation, with the most recent effects formed at the end of the Wisconsin Glaciation, a period ending about 10,000 years ago.

Starting our hike at the STH-64 parking lot we hike approximately 10 miles to our campsite. There are two sites on Lake Eleven, one on the south side and ours on the north side. Our initial intentions were to camp on the south side but surprisingly it was occupied on an otherwise empty trail. Our late October backpacking trip skirted hunting season in Wisconsin and it appeared a few groups were getting a head start on the weekend. The guide book does mention that this site is used for backpackers, hunters, fisherman and equestrians. We were fortunate to grab the north side location moments before another group of men came thru. I should note that there is plenty of space for large groups at the north side site but as a group of 7 women, the men knew better than to try and camp at our site; fortunate for us as we could hear their drunken banter across the lake. This north side location is accessible via a short spur trail and situated under a grove of pines so we had adequate protection from the sleet storm that was coming as well as a soft pad of needles for all 5 of our tents. This site also provided excellent space for hammock camping. Located next to the lake, it provided ease of access to water that was drinkable with a filtration system. The site has a nice stone fire pit with log benches surrounding it. Plenty of downed/dead trees provide firewood. There is no pit toilet at this location but plenty of open (no low lying brush) wooded area to find a spot to do your business.

Overall a pleasant spot to consider as you travel some or all of the Ice Age Trail.

Product Review:

As a Ranger Reviewer for The Dyrt, I am honored occasionally to test and evaluate products. During this trip I tested out the Oofos womens Oolala Slide Sandal https://www.oofos.com/collections/womens-oolala-slide-sandal

This sandal is touted as a recovery sandal but frankly I use it as an everything sandal. I walk the dog in them, use them at the beach, use them after running, use them around the house, use them at the campsite after a long day of hiking… they are so comfortable that I don’t really care to wear any other sandals. The extra cushy foam, apparently called Oofoam, really does make your feet and legs feel better. The thick sole took a little bit getting used to but like a day not a week. The grippy bottoms give you great traction on all surfaces and my feet fit comfortably yet snugly in the slide, no worries about them slipping off. For our backpacking trip they were a great post 6-8 hr hike shoe. I’d throw off my hiking shoes and throw on the sandals. I really felt this allowed for a quicker recovery and less leg pain and fatigue for the next days hike. What was also great was popping them off right before I got in the tent. No struggling with wet muddy shoes as I crawl into my ultralight 2p tent (aka no room at all). Speaking of light, these puppies were attached to the outside of my pack and added a whopping 10 ounces. As far as the pricing goes these tend to be mid to upper range compared to other recovery sandals. I’ve had a different brand of sandal at a similar price and while nice they only lasted a couple years. For the pricing and the fact that they’re not used for hard use (hiking, running, etc.) I feel they should have lasted longer. Only time will tell if these Oofos will do the same. If they do last longer than they are worth the price.

The campground is super easy to get to as it is adjacent to I-90 which means you’ll also deal with highway noise. The noise becomes just background after a while and the full hookups mean running the RV air conditioner at night somewhat blocks the traffic sounds. Lots to do in the area with the Wisconsin Dells less than 30 minutes away and Tomah is less than 10 minutes the other direction. The campground itself is small but very well taken care of with a mix of back-in and pull-through sites along with cabins. Staff was very friendly and helpful giving us suggestions for places to visit while we were there. Bonus: A convenience store/fuel station including truck diesel lanes is just outside the entrance to the campground for easy fill ups before you hit the road.

There are three campgrounds run by the Wisconsin DNR in this area (not counting the 2 site boat-in camp on the river)  Castle Mound, Pigeon Creek and this one, which is the smallest and farthest away from anything. It's on the river, but not the scenic and most canoe-able part which is down below the town and dam in Black river falls. However there is a good shallow boat ramp for canoes/ kayaks.
There's a group campground away from the river, nearer to the marsh and 24 individual sites. Three of them are pull through (104, 113 & 120).
 We are tent campers, so I didn't pay close attention to hookups, but I doubt there are any.
We were there in October, and the birds had gone for the winter, so had the ATVers. I don't know what it's like in the peak of the summer, but the area has lots of off-road trails for ATVs.  Having said that, it was eerily quiet during our entire stay and we had maybe three other campers staying with us.
There's one trail leading out of the campground, but we were there to canoe and didn't hike it. We did hike the castle Mound trail which has cool rock formations and spectacular views (you have to climb an iron ladder at the very end, worth it).
We use Black River canoe rentals as our portage service so we could drift downriver to our car. It's run out of a liquor store, so that's convenient.