Looking for the ultimate RV camping experience near Mellen? Find the best sites near Mellen where you can park your RV with a scenic view. Each RV campsite offers quick access to one or more of Mellen's most popular destinations.
**Camping within Apostle Island National Lakeshore is strictly tent camping. There is no car or RV camping within the park. All campsites within the national lakeshore must be reached by boat or sea kayak, except for the Mainland 1, 2, and 3 campsites, which can be accessed by kayak or by hiking in only.** __ Mainland camping for car & RV camping: There are a variety of state parks and private campgrounds with facilities for car and RV camping in the Bayfield area on the mainland and on Madeline Island. Visit the park's Camping in the Apostles web page and scroll to the "Local Area Camping" section. Madeline Island is not part of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The Madeline Island Ferry is a car & passenger ferry service to transport visitors to the island.________ Camping within Apostle Islands National Lakeshore: The Apostle Islands offer a unique camping experience. There are many campsites within the park, and each have their own unique characteristics to them. There are 57 individual campsites, 9 group campsites, and 17 primitive camping zones.______ NOTE: Visitors who choose to visit the islands and sleep in their personal self-contained vessel do not need a camping reservation. Public docks are available first-come, first-serve on 12 of the islands. You'll pay the overnight docking fee upon arrival. Be sure to download the Recreation.gov mobile app on your mobile device before you visit so that you can complete payment for overnight docking using scan & pay upon arrival.__ Advance reservations for camping permits are required___for camping in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Each camping permit may cover up to 14 consecutive nights.__Permit holders can not have concurrent night stays. Permit holders can only have one reservation for the same nights of camping. Permit holders are responsible for any damages. Camping permits are non-transferable. Individual campsites: These campsites are designated for groups of 1-7 people. Most sites are equipped with a fire ring, bear locker, and a picnic table. These sites are recommended for first-time primitive campers. It will give a sense of backcountry camping with the pleasantries of the amenities. They are a good way to work up to the primitive zone camping. These sites are $15 per night. Reservations can be made starting 30 days from the start of a trip.______ Group campsites: These campsites are designated for groups of 8-21 people. Each site is equipped with a fire ring, bear locker, and a picnic table. These sites are great for large families or get-togethers with friends. These sites are $30 per night. These sites can be reserved in March every year during the Group Camping Lottery and remaining sites will open after the lottery is completed.______ Primitive zone camping: These campsites are designated for groups of 1-5 people. These sites are for the truly hardcore backpackers. Primitive zone camping is not a specific site but provides the option of choosing a backcountry area to camp. This type of camping experience has NO amenities. There are specific guidelines on where to camp for this type of experience. Consult the Primitive Zone camping maps for potential landing sites and available areas.____ The following areas are closed to primitive zone camping:__ Areas excluded from primitive camping zones and closed to camping to protect sensitive natural and cultural resources.__ Area posted as closed to protect bird nesting areas and threatened or endangered species.__ Areas in view of any designated trail.__ Areas within 1/4 mile of any building, historic structure, individual or group campsite, or another camping party.__ Areas within 100 feet of a flowing stream.__ Private land or lease holdings.__ For more information or questions about your itinerary, call park staff at (715) 779-3398 extension 2, between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., daily from Memorial Day through September or Monday to Friday from October through Memorial Day.____
For facility specific information, please call (715) 779-3398.
Cancellations made prior to the reservation start date will be given a 50% refund of the use fees. Changes to the reservation will be charged a $15.00 change fee.There is a $10 reservation fee for each permit made. The $10 reservation fee is non-refundable.
$30 / night
$20 - $40 / night
$20 - $35 / night
We have 28 rustic tent and RV Sites overlooking Lake Superior, making for great Bayfield WI camping. We don't recommend RV's larger than 30 feet . Located on the waterfront, one mile north of Bayfield on Hwy. 13 Amenities: -Heavily wooded private sites -Apostle Islands lookout points -Near all area attractions -Electrical hookups -Firewood -Vault Toilets -No Showers -Showers are available at the Bayfield Recreation Facility located at 140 S. Broad St., Bayfield, WI 54814 for a fee, please call 715.779.5408 for more information. -2 tents/site, or 1 RV/site -No dump station
$30 / night
Located just 8 miles from Hayward, we have water access and the ATV trails border our land!
Tent & RV sites with water & 30 amp elec.. $35 + tax ( deposit required, can be mailed in or over the phone, 7-day refund policy) Dump station available ( for our guests) We are a "Small" 20-site campground, call for availability, as we book up fast! "Check in" is anytime after 1 O'clock. "Check out" is NOON
Each campsite has a defined parking spur, fire ring, picnic table, some have a tent pad and can accommodate RV's up to 35 feet. Drinking water, vault toilets and small picnic area are available.
RV Camping Some sites can accommodate RV's up to 35 feet. Campsites include a defined parking spur, fire ring, picnic table, and some have a tent pad. Drinking water and vault toilets are available.
Birch Grove Recreation Area is a family favorite if you are looking for a base camp to explore the Bayfield Peninsula. It is nestled between 22-acre East and 16-acre West Twin Lakes and is close to the community of Washburn. Each lake has a small boat access and includes bass, panfish and northern pike. During the late summer berry picking is a popular activity in the nearby Moquah Barrens.
Each campsite has a defined parking spur, fire ring, picnic table and some have a tent pad and can accommodate RV's up to 35 feet. Drinking water, vault toilets and a small picnic area are available. There are also areas where campers can access the lake for swimming.
This campground is near Long Lake Recreation Area which has a swimming beach, trail and carry-in boat access. Valhalla Recreation Area is also nearby that has more than 20 miles of hiking and biking trails during the summer months.
So, if you like to boat, fish or picnic then the Birch Grove Recreation Area is the place for you, conveniently located just 8 miles west of Washburn.
$8 - $15 / night
$32 / night
Guide
We were happy to find a view site for our 25' RV on the lower loop. Our site had good separation from others. Nice and quiet except for the guy who had to run his toy car up and down the campground road. We were able to walk to town easily and enjoyed exploring Bayfield and the Apostle Island Lakeshore. Electric at the site, water accessible at 2 points within the campground.
Scout
Nice clean and quiet site. No facilities or cell service. Easy access to mountain bike trails. Keep it clean if you use it 🙏
Guide
Stayed here in September for a few days, and occupied site 1 and 2. Sites are good sized and clean. Our two sites were great, but if I didn't care about being near the lake, I would look at the new sites they put in the wooded area. They were a little more "remote", The clientele mostly consisted of fisherman and bird hunters when I was here, so it seems to attract the more long term stays and not overnighters. The bathroom / shower combination is adequate and is reminiscent of my younger days at summer camp. They have some playground equipment both at the main loop and the wooded loop, this proved to be a lifesaver for my 4 year old. I also found, since this is further from town, it is very dark here and great for star gazing.
Guide
Stayed here on a Labor Day weekend. Well kept good bathroom with a waterfall in the park.
Legend
I 100% agree with Legend Laura about the price of this campground. If it was simply about the location, this would get five plus stars because it's so beautiful! But if you're from out of state, the prices are even more expensive than she indicated previously, so they must have updated them.
The campsite itself is only $16 which is a bargain! But, if you are out of state like we are, there's also a $15 charge for that. And then, that doesn't include admission to the area, so you pay $11 and change for that. It ended up being about $50 total. That said, we paid it and fully enjoyed it but not sure we would do it again unless we had a Wisconsin sticker. At least to alleviate the $11 charge to get in.
All of that out of the way, the site itself is absolutely gorgeous. This park has lots of very mature trees and lots of very mature pine trees, making it very quiet. The spaces are quite distant from one another and we didn't hear our neighbors at all. We were at one of the walk-in campsites which I chose on purpose because it was literally on top of the river, we could sit by the river and wade our toes if we wanted to. It had a fire ring, a very short walk to the bathroom, and only a short distance to the car from the site. Maybe 100 ft plus about 30 stairs to get up to the parking level.
The walk-in sites also double as canoe campsites, so the river is something you can paddle if the water is sufficient to do so. There is a beautiful little picnic area near the bathrooms that sits on the river as well. Vault toilets seemed as clean as they could be, and they are a little fancier than your single vaults. They have stalls and toilet paper!
I highly recommend if you live in Wisconsin visiting this site as it wouldn't cost much at all. Out of towners, it's a bit more pricey.
Guide
Great location, and has the basics for the camping. I was in site 44, and most of the sites in the "middle" were more of an open field with a couple of trees. There were no real clear boundary lines . If you are looking for a little more shade or tree cover, book a perimeter site. This is also the first campsite I've been to where the fire pit didn't have a grill grate on part of it. There is water on site, but it is the hand pump style, so it would help to have a large open container to capture the water.
Cell service was really spot (can be a good thing when camping), and I wasn't able to pick up a lot of radio stations either. Still nice to enjoy the quite dark skies. Short walk down stairs to Lake Superior which offered some great sunset views.
Lots of great hiking trails, and close to a lot of other fun attractions. I would plan on coming back up here another time, and possible pick a different site after being here.
Guide
We only stayed one night & I wish we could’ve stayed longer, super nice campground right on Lake Superior. We stayed in the wooded sites & those were nice & secluded
Legend
Our RV GPS wanted to take us through Hayward city central to the campground (CG), which was fine. However, as this was our fourth time staying at Lake Chippewa Campground, we stayed on Hwy 77 past the Walmart to hook up on Hwy 63 at the casino to avoid traffic and stoplights in Hayward. We arrived with no issues and during check-in we were delighted to find out we had other site options than the pull throughs for our 12 night stay. We had changed our reservations to an earlier date, and the only open sites at the time were pull throughs, which are not bad. However, there are much better sites in this CG. We were provided a map of available sites and a golf cart to check out sites. As we know this CG well, it was a no brainer for us to chose back-in site 460 with FHUs. The regulars who normally stay in this site had gotten an opening in one of the CG's permanent site areas. We happily proceeded to our site and had no problems backing in. The hook ups are in the middle of this long pad. Water pressure was good at about 50 psi. We did not opt for their Wifi, which you have pay for and later found out it doesn't work in this area anyway. We got 1 bar on Verizon and the signal was basically useless. There are a lot of mature trees in this CG and in this site in particular. We put our Starlink on the roof and we were able to get a usable signal. We would rather have a nice site with privacy than wifi or a phone signal. This site sits well off the road and has a large back yard area. Lake Chip is a large private CG but has a state park feel. They have lots of amenities such site side trash pickup, laundry, boat/kayak rentals, golf cart rentals, propane, and the list goes on. Eat at Powell’s on Round Lake about 15 minutes away on Co Hwy C towards Hayward. Good food and service.
Traveler
Step out of your RV in the a.m. and smell the pines! Large pull through sites.Wooded, concrete patio, picnic table, fire pit. Very quiet. Large outdoor pool and all sorts of things to do! Across the road is the Resort with a great restaurant and bar. You can also use peddle boats, kayaks, canoes, etc for FREE!!. Or rent a boat or pontoon, which we did. It was a wonderful 4 days and we reserved again for next year.
GuideSite with fire pit (no grate), nice picnic table, and the amazing sound of waves. By late August, direct views of lake is obscured by beach grass but still just as delightful. Sites were close but our neighbors never showed so we lucked out. I loved that as a tent camper, we were placed further away from the RVs and the noises that can go with them. Site 6 was close to the path for all in the rest of the campground to get to the beacb. Nicely tended bathrooms just across the road with showers.
Wind gusts took our 8 person tent down while we were out during the day. Since it was my first time here, no idea of that kind of wind is typical or if it was the season or day.
The sunsets were unbeatable!! And we lucked out catching the northern lights our first night.
Traveler
The other reviews says it all but this site #6 was a back in and plenty of room for our setup. Has pit toilets that were clean with air fresheners hanging in them, Very nice boat landing, running water is near the Dumpsters and on a timer push the button and it runs for approximately 10 seconds and automatically shuts off. We enjoyed this place.
Traveler
Such a hidden gem! The spots were so spacious and private, we found availability on a weekend in August very last minute, and the lake was so peaceful! Seems like it's mostly used for fishing and kayaking and canoeing. Very very quiet area - felt somewhat like boundary waters. Loved that sites had their own water access as well! Just really great for it's price tag as well
Traveler
Very RV resort style - pretty close together sites and not a lot of privacy . There are some sites in the back loop that seem more spacious and secluded! The lakeside sites have great views though! And nice showers. We were passing thru and the FCFS campgrounds were all full so this was a fine option close to Bayfield!
ScoutNice little campground with dump station and water. Most sites are electric although some of the power posts are not conveniently located. There is noise from Hwy 70 also but the sites are paved and only $20 a night.
Traveler
There are a lot of sites here, but we were essentially alone with only one other party on our loop! Extremely quiet! We saw only one fishing boat during our four night stay.
TravelerThis campground is on a flowage lake. Bring everything that you'll need because it's a long, dusty drive back to the highway! The well was closed or out of order during our stay. But you wouldn't want to drink the well water as it's very high in manganese and not to be consumed by kids or over 60s. Almost zero cell service here. Some folks were able to make calls from the beach area, we didn't even try. However, we were adequately prepared and totally enjoyed our week. Reading, etc.
ScoutLoved the view. We had a lakeside tent site. Campsites aren’t that spread out. We had a good amount of space but we could easily hear the neighbors and was annoying late at night. There are some outhouses and ADA restrooms/showers. We were 15 minutes from Meyer’s Beach, which was great. Lakeside tent sites are right by the beach. Beach was rocky - bring a pair of crocs or similar shoe if you’re sensitive to the rocks and branches in the sand. Water was cool and felt great!
GuideSmall parking lot located off well-maintained gravel roads. Nice and quiet flat no facilities.
TravelerOur site overlooked Lake Superior and the Apostle Islands but was a tight fit for our 24' van. Good 30amp electric, water spigot nearby but no dump stations at park.
Traveler
I've recently gotten into camping. I love it, and love KOAs, I've camped at a few and they're great. My grandson enjoyed the waterslide.
Scout
We are just finishing up a six night stay at this nice little campground. All nine sites are full hookup and are just $35 a night. A very clean park and underutilized. We were the only campers for 4 of the six nights and just one other the other two nights. The sites overlook the Flambeau river and there is a nice walking trail alongside the river. We enjoyed our stay.
Legend
Saw a deer walking through camp. Nearby brewery was a nice treat! Sites we stayed at were pull through sites with full hook ups. A picnic table and fire pit is provided at each campsite and we were able to stay next to friends we were traveling with (specified we would like neighboring sites when we made the reservations). Nice amount of tree cover at our sites. The road into the campground was nice and smooth. There is also a small playground, bathrooms, and sanitary dump site in the campground.
Legend
We drove through here, thinking we’d like to stay here, but decided not to. The campground is basically just an open field. It seems like this is a popular place for locals to come for fishing and hanging out on the lake. It’s really close to town, which is nice, but we just didn’t like the layout and we kept going. We saw some power pedestals in the field, and a dump station close to the main road.
We didn’t see a potable water fill area, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one. Firewood available for sale across the street. Showers available for guests only.
LegendWe drove through this campground and liked it fine, it has a USFS campground feel to it. Very lush and green, lots of trees and nice individual spots. Sites are reservable online or by phone. No pay station at campground, no FCFS sites.
Cost for non-residents is $21 for the campsite and another $11 daily state park entrance fee. So, $32 for the same type of campground as a USFS at about $15. We just couldn’t justify paying that when we knew there were USFS campgrounds nearby. If you’re a resident and/or already have the annual Wisconsin state parks pass, then the cost here is pretty reasonable.
There’s a hand-pump water faucet here, vault toilets, and just outside of the campground is a dumpster and a mixed recycling bin. Each site has a picnic table and fire grill and a cool log bench.
Legend
Typical USFS campground in the Chequamegon NF. First come first served, self pay, no host, very green and lush and private sites.
$15/night. Some sites are pull through. A few are level, but most would be difficult for us to get level enough to be comfortable. Not sure of the length limit here but we had no problems in our 26ft class c. Roads are narrow and the low hanging branches scraped along the top and sides of our rig, but no damage.
There is a trash dumpster here, and even a recycling bin, a nice surprise. There is potable water at the campground (per note at spigot water is safe to drink but will leave rust residue). Vault toilets here as well.
The lake is nice and peaceful and small, and bugs/mosquitos weren’t too bad. There’s a little dock at the lake but you can’t drive your boat down, you have to carry it on foot.
Surprisingly decent Verizon and ATT service. Hardly anybody here. Beautiful and quiet and serene.
LegendThis is a first come first served city campground, which is a good thing because each site is so different that it would be difficult to make a good choice in advance. Some sites are difficult/ impossible for RVs and some are fine. We are in a 26ft class c and felt really big- they have a 30ft max limit for RVs. Some (I believe 18& 19?) are grouped together so they would make a good choice for friends and family camping together. There are also some primitive tent walk-up sites.
Nice campground, $30/night, can pay online when you arrive. Good cell reception. Most, if not all, sites have 30 and 20 amp service. There are no water or sewer hookups here, and no dump station. No showers. There are a couple of trash dumpsters throughout the campground but no recycling. There are water spigots throughout the campground too (not for filling RV tanks, but for filling water jugs).
Easy walk to town, not quite a mile, and there is a sidewalk for most (not all) of the way. There are some nice walking paths around the campground, with benches positioned to view each of the Apostle Islands.
Mosquitos were surprisingly not too bad here. We had a really pleasant and relaxing night’s stay here. The town of Bayfield is really cute and the ferry rides to the islands are a must.
LegendVery nice and clean city park, right in town on the main road. The sites are all open and have zero privacy between them, but there was still a calm friendly vibe at the park (usually wide open campgrounds feel chaotic and messy to me).
FHU sites are $35/night, power only is $25, tents are $15. Pull through sites to your left as you come in, and to the right is a loop with back in sites.
Dumping fee for non-campers is $15, a bit higher than most places, and it’s another $15 to fill your tank with water. :(
Good cell reception here since it’s right in town. There’s a swing set but not much else in terms of activities or a playground. Each site has a nice new picnic table and fire pit. There are trash dumpsters but no recycling here.
Frequently Asked Questions
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