Looking for the best options for tent camping near Mercer? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your Wisconsin tent camping excursion.
$10 / night
If you are looking to canoe in the glassy waters of Wabasso Lake or enjoy a rustic cozy campground, try the Wabasso Lake Recreation Area off Forest Road 142 west of Lac du Flambeau. The Wabasso Lake Recreation Area on the Medford-Park Falls Ranger District consists of a campground with five walk/canoe-in campsites equipped with fire grills and picnic tables. Drinking water and toilets are located at the boat landing. Wabasso Lake Recreation Area is located about one mile west of the Lac du Flambeau and is perfect for primitive camping. Wabasso Lake is 49-acres and has an excellent panfish population and is great for canoeing and fishing. So, if you like to hike, fish, swim, hike, bike, and picnic, then the Wabasso Lake Recreation Area is the place for you, located 5 minutes west of Lac du Flambeau. The Wabasso Lake Recreation Area is pet friendly; see restrictions below for more information.
Newman Lake Shelter is a day-use picnicking shelter available for large groups. It is situated within the Newman Lake Recreation Area. A variety of recreational opportunities abound.
The recreation area contains a boat ramp, beach, accessible fishing dock, horseshoe pits and a playground for children. Visitors enjoy exploring many hiking and biking trails that are located near the picnic shelter. During the winter months, the trails are popular for cross country skiing. The beach provides opportunities for swimming, while the lake is a welcome respite for boaters and anglers alike. Fishing is a popular activity and a typical catch might include bluegill, crappie, various bass and perch.
The accessible shelter can accommodate up to 50 people. It is equipped with tables, grills and a fire place. Vault toilets and drinking water are provided. Trash collection is also available.
The picnic shelter is located on the southeastern shores of Newman Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin. The cold water lake and neighboring picnic shelter are nestled in a mixed forest of aspen and pine trees. A variety of birds and wildlife also make their home in the area.
Park Falls, Wisconsin is 15 miles from Newman Lake and is a full service community.
$25 / night
Planning a trip to the Sylvania Wilderness? Watch for Alerts at the top of the page for any Alerts regarding this facility. The Sylvania Wilderness encompasses 18,327 acres of primitive lands and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Visitors can camp in 50 designated campsites within the Sylvania Wilderness. Visitors enjoy endless canoeing, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities.
Sylvania's abundant lakes provide plentiful non-motorized boating, canoeing, kayaking and fishing opportunities. Other popular activities include hiking and viewing wildlife.
The old-growth forests and pristine lakes in the region provide habitat for a wide range of animal and plant life, including rare orchids, bald eagles, loons and osprey. The wilderness contains 34 named lakes, some with sandy beaches and others surrounded by record-size red and white pines. The Ottawa National Forest is comprised of nearly 1 million acres and is located in the western reaches of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The forest's rolling, tree covered hills extend from the south shore of Lake Superior to the Wisconsin border. Lakes, rivers and waterfalls are found throughout this beautiful landscape.
Cancellations If you cancel reservation at least 14 days prior to check in date, all recreation fees, minus a $10 cancellation fee and the reservation fee ($8 if made online or $9 if made through the call center) will be refunded. If you cancel reservation less than 14 days prior to check in date, all recreation fees, minus $10 cancellation fee, reservation fee ($8 if made online or $9 if made through the call center), and first nights use fee will be refunded. The reservation fee ($8 if made online or $9 if made through the call center) is non-refundable. No Show Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. For more information about rules and reservation policies, visit the Recreaiton.gov Rules and Reservations Policy page.
$15 / night
In the far North of Wisconsin along the Bad River I have 3 campsites that are available through Hipcamp.com. At the main campsite, Eagle Pines On The Bad River, there is a composting toilet outhouse, a fire ring with a grill, a picnic table, a canoe and paddles to use, and amazing hiking to secluded waterfalls. I also have a hike in site with a Tentsile Stingray tree tent along the river, and another hike in site with grassy locations to place your own tents along the river. Our campsites are within 10 minutes of Copper. Falls State Park and near Lake Superior.
More photos and reviews can be found HERE
2 sites are HIKE IN! 1/4 Mile. Please read the full description of each site before booking.
On the upper Bad River, I have a special location that I'd like to share for others to enjoy.
I was fortunate to acquire this land 20 years ago and now that I have retired from the United States Air Force, I can dedicate time to create peaceful campsites along the river.
This land was originally railroad property as the railroad companies bought much land in the late 1800's to have options to place their railroads.
There is still a railroad track nearby but it has been abandoned and it makes a nice hiking path along the river for many miles to the north.
There are 3 waterfalls nearby and I will have a map at the campsite to find these.
$17 - $39 / night
From the MI DNR Porcupine Mountains website:
Union River Outpost is a small three-site rustic campground located on the Union River. The campground offers solitude and a camping experience unlike a typical modern campground. Union River is a classic UP trout stream. The sites are ideal for tent, van or compact campers.
There is a vault toilet, but no running water is available at any of the outpost campgrounds. Fill up at park headquarters or visitor center.
The Gogebic County Park at McDonald Lake which is located on McDonald Dam Road in Ironwood, Michigan is unique from the other two campgrounds operated by the Forestry and Parks Commission, as it is a rustic campground. There is no fee at this campground and the campsites are designed for tenting only on a first come first serve basis. (Limit of 15 nights per visit) There is a total of six designated sites. The three sites on the lake shore have tenting pads and fire rings, the island sites do not.
Amenitites for day use include a fishing dock, a kayak launch, picnic area, vault toilet, and a boat launch available for no fee.
Fishing is also popular at McDonald Lake and species include Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Blue Gill, and Crappie.
This rustic campground provides visitors with access to deep woods with fishing and canoeing opportunities on the Middle Branch of the Ontonagon River. This dispersed campground is just a short walk from Mex-i-mine Falls. As you overlook this jewel you can feel the history when loggers used this area to transport their product to the saw mills.
This deep woods dispersed campground is located on Robbins Pond, a well known trout pond. It features three campsites and is located in the northeast corner of the Watersmeet Ranger District. Currently there are limited services provided at this campground.
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.
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 stayed for 3 nights. Lovely old and second growth trees. Bear and Wolf precautions, please. Hiking was good, fishing was good.
Traveler
You get a relatively flat site, fire ring, a picnic table, hand pump for water and vault toilets along with a beautiful clear water lake. There's a boat launch and firewood for sale. Reservations need to be made and paid online even if your fcfs. Cell phone and data are okay. There is tire noise from Highway M.
Very few folks around in September!
Honeymooned here in 1975. The location on the lake is beautiful. We camped here many times over the years. In tents, VW campers, trailers until about 20 years ago. Got a Sprinter RV this year and we're camped here now.
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.
Guide
We stayed here the 2nd week of October. They were actually turning the water off for the year when we left. We had the park mostly to ourselves. They water access is nice and it is right off a main highway, although it was not too noisy. There are some state park hiking trails access from campground, also. Facilities were pretty standard state park fair. Sites seem to have plenty of room.
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 wooded and quiet camp area - only 3 sites total in this loop! Note that there is no cell service here or really nearby. Not an issue if you're prepared for that! Great that we could access hiking trails from camp! Great spot for exploring the Porcupines and also for some privacy compared to the modern campground in the park. Night and day difference and you can use the amenities which are like 5mins away
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.
Traveler
Awesome little campground on the south side of the Porcupines. It’s in a convenient location to the hiking around the park. The sites are large, the campground is small (and quiet) and there’s even a creek that runs along the west side of the campground. We stayed in site 1. If you do cook using the fire pit grates, they do not have them here in the fire pits at this campground. You need to reserve sites and check in at the visitor center before you head to the site. I’d highly recommend this place to anybody in a tent especially!
Traveler
Came to this campground for 3 days to hang out at the fireman’s picnic in arborvitae. The campground is old as dirt, had a nice lake for swimming and fishing but that’s it. Tiny game room with Pac-Man . 2 wash machines and couple dryers. The sites are very small. Electricity has no breakers to shut the juice off before hook up which is very dangerous . Water is good pressure. All in all the campground works if you don’t want to do anything and just sleep.
Traveler
Lake Cunard campground was designated a "Quiet" campground several years ago - one of only two in the 18 different Northern Highlands American Legion state forest campgrounds. That means no "noise producing devices", including generators, radios, TV's, video games, guitars, etc. No means none. Prohibited. It's good to know this before booking a reservation!
Also note that the posted rules for ALL campgrounds read, "At no time may a person engage in.. boisterous, unreasonably loud..or conduct that tends to cause a disturbance" - defined as " interfering with another person's enjoyment of the forest".
This transition in 2019 was perhaps difficult for long time visitors at Cunard to adjust to. However, the quieter experience there has become a favorite of many who appreciate the peaceful atmosphere. 👍 It is an older, more rustic property - and could use some updates (ie new toilets), but if you're looking for that serene Northwoods experience - Go!!
Traveler
Excellent place to stop. Close to the lake. Great site. Peaceful. Reasonably priced
ScoutSome of the sites are wide open with no privacy. Ours was the last one available on a weekend in July. Beach is small, but nice. Priveys are clean! 5G service with Tmobile.
Would definitely come back!
Traveler
Beautiful spots, friendly staff, clean toilet and trash canat each site. Will definitely return.
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.
Guide
Cool Spot at Number 15 with my Boardwalk down to the River
Scout
I love this camp site! I have been here a few times. Definitely for people looking to be secluded. Lots of stairs down to the falls, but lots of great hiking trails to beautiful views.
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.
Traveler
I have been camping at Crystal Lake every year for 20+ years. It is by far our favorite in the area. The showers and toilets are clean. The pit toilets can get pretty ripe by the end of the season, but if people would learn to keep the lids closed, it wouldn’t be so bad. The bike trails are endless! What fun. The water and beach is clean. The staff is friendly and helpful. I cannot say enough good things about this area and the campsites. Worth the trip for sure.
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.
Traveler
Clean and well maintained campsites
Legend
This is one of the nicest USFS campgrounds we’ve stayed in. It’s freshly paved, including each camp spot’s parking area, so they’re relatively flat. It’s more open and clean and cared for than most USFS campgrounds we’ve stayed in.
It’s $16/night, self pay at the iron ranger. No host, no dump station, no recycling. There’s water (closed when we were there though), a trash bin, and vault toilets.
There’s a nice walk near site 18 to a scenic overlook of the lake, and if you keep going past the overlook there are stairs that take you down to the boat ramp, beach, day use area, trail to the falls, etc. Really nice lush beautiful green trail.
A few sites have a “view” of the lake, meaning you can see the water through the trees. #18 has the best view of the water. No cell service at the campground but Verizon and ATT had a very weak sporadic signal from our site (#20). This signal went away everywhere else in the campground though.
Flies and mosquitoes were annoying!
Traveler
About 5 miles in on a dirt road, but the sites are pretty nice and secluded.
Guide
Visited in May 2022.
Loon was a lovely campsite - separated from the others, nice view of the lake, and a short, straightforward walk from the trailhead.
Fox 2 was a different story - despite the site description saying that it had easy access to trails, we were not able to find a trail leading to the site on the way in, or on the way out of camp. We ended up walking up towards where the trail goes between Crooked and Mountain Lakes and bushwhacked along the shore until we saw the posts for the sites on the water. Even exploring around camp and searching for a trail on the way out, we were unable to find a path to the campsite.
The park itself was nice and quiet, though that could have been partially due to rain. I probably would not backpack this park again, but would consider a canoe or kayak trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Mercer, WI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Mercer, WI is Turtle Flambeau Scenic Waters Area with a 4.7-star rating from 6 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Mercer, WI?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 tent camping locations near Mercer, WI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
