Looking for the best Merrillan tent camping? Find the best information on tent camping near Merrillan, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Search nearby tent campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
$17 - $20 / night
The area offers 12 rustic campsites with pit toilets and water, 9 miles of hiking trail, 3 miles of surfaced bicycle trail, a large beach, picnic areas, handicap fishing pier, boat launch and several scenic vistas of the surrounding forest land. Reservations are accepted on 6 of the 12 campsites. Reservations can be made for camping Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Reservations require a 3 night minimum and are subject to a $7.00 reservation fee for each site reserved. Reservations can be made by credit card, the mail or in person. Checking the availability of desired sites is encouraged when making reservations through the mail No refunds. Reservations are accepted from December 1 - Labor Day for the following year. Exceptions are made for seasonal campers (anyone staying 50 days or more in a row) who can start making reservations the first week in November.
Two primitive canoe campsites are available south of Black River Falls. These campsites are on the east side of the river and include a picnic table, fire ring and portable toilet. The sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to a one-night stay. A free Special Camp permit is required and can be picked up at the Castle Mound campground or the Black River Falls DNR Service Center. The permit can be filled out online or, if you’d like us to mail you one, please see our contact information. For additional information, including a map of canoe landings, see our Paddling the Black River brochure: https://p.widencdn.net/ixm7ly/Paddling-the-Black-River
$15 - $21 / night
If your dream vacation is full of details like soft forest light, colorful leaves, and winding trails—that is, if you are thinking of disconnecting and disappearing into the countryside for a few days—then resort camping at Justin Trails Resort eight miles from town is just the ticket. Rejuvenate your spirit and refresh your body with a hike around our 200-acre property or try your hand at disc golf. We have the #1 Disc Golf Course in all of Wisconsin!
Songbirds chirp in the morning, wild turkey and deer cross the property, and an owl hoots as the sun sets over the ridge. Ready to make a booking at Justin Trails Resort? Review your options and make a booking with us online.
Women's Retreat Center.
Rustic cabins and primitive campsites available.
40 secluded wooded acres with walking trails, yoga and meditation platforms and fire pits.
Sacred Healing Space.
Promoting and supporting sobriety.
Use headphones for music to preserve to wonderful sounds of nature.
Porta-potties on site.
Some cabins have composting toilets, microwaves and refrigerators.
Over age 18 and no pets please.
Private Solar showers available on request.
The Pines have an endless supply of branches and firewood for continual healing fires.
See Peace Cabina Cabin also for rent on Abnb. Sleeps 4, air-conditioned, fridge, microwave, coffee pot, queen bed and pull out futon.
$35 - $135 / night
There are five family walk-in tent campsites and a group tent site on an island, connected to the mainland by road. The island also has a log shelter, boat and canoe launches, picnic area, pit toilets and drinking water.
$15 - $40 / night
Legend
Very wooded campsites, which allowed for some privacy, but you will still see your neighbors. The campground was pretty and very well kept by all standards. It is one of the 3 campgrounds of the Black River State Forest, but this one appealed to us because of its location to the town and to the highway. Its a very nicely spread out campground that had a lot to offer. When you first pull in you are directed to the pay kiosk/office park. Note that you can't pay right now due to the virus, so you will need to have a sticker on your car ahead of it.
As for the sites. They can be large or small depending on where you choose. The majority are for tent camping and not larger RVs so if you have a bigger RV make sure you are looking ahead at the size of the pad. We saw a variety of people in different rigs from medium winnebagos and airstreams to small tear drops. Some sites are electric and that is where the campground was full. The tent sites were nice and we could get our scamp into one of those fairly easily. The nice thing is the trees...they provide great shade and also allow you to hang your hammock up if you choose. We did see warnings of ticks so just be cautious.
The showers were very nice and looked to be housed in a new shower house. They were working on the water heater when we stopped so the cold water was all they had, but that was fine as it was a hot day. The toilets around the campground are pit, but they are more than just an outhouse so you are safe.
One random thing was the firewood was the cheapest I have ever seen it at any state park. Nice to see them offering up a good deal on what nature provides!
Guide
I camped here last summer and wasn't impressed at how close the camp sites were. We camped in a tent and there were several RV's nearby. Additionally when we went to hike around the area we couldn't seem to escape the sounds of the nearby highway. Aside from that the bluffs were beautiful and really fun to climb!
Guide
Small city park. Just a field for tent camping. A few RV spots. Easy on-and-off if you are looking for a quick overnight.
Ranger
Beautiful place, tent camping is available. Great breakfast and romantic setting for our anniversary. They sell wine and food in the store. Host is amazing and friendly. Disc golf is busy here, in winter they have sledding hills. The llamas are fun to feed.
Traveler
Nice big tent sites down by the river. Walking trails were nice but recommend pants as the grass was long in spots. Plenty of wildlife and could not hear the cars from the highway.
Traveler
Pros:
Cons:
Traveler
Sites are basic with water, pit toilets, tables and fire rings. I originally planned to stay here but came across the non-resident charges (my state does not do this). I made reservations at the Village of Norwalk and the town of Hillsboro instead. Both have City parks with free tent camping. Norwalk even has showers and RV spots. I've added both to The Dyrt library.
TravelerThis was one night tent camping in a very nice town campground as part of the city park. The sites were fairly close together and some were across the street from neighborhood homes on a quiet street. Lots of toys for kids of all ages to play on as well as a disc golf course! There was a scenic lake, but no swimming access. The bathroom and shower facility was well maintained.
Traveler
Very nice area, camped in a tent at the end of September. Firewood had very easy access. The campground was a pretty large layout, but still easy to navigate. Nice hiking spots with amazing views. Bugs weren't too terrible, I maybe had two mosquito bites the whole 4 days, and that was before I put bug spray on.
Rentals for canoes and kayaks are available. Unfortunately, when I went the current was too strong. We could still rent one but they warned us that if we weren't able to make it through the current, that we wouldn't be able to get our money refunded.
There were signs posted that the drinking water cannot be boiled, nor can it be given to babies or elderly due to high nitrates. But we brought our own water anyways.
Traveler
Small rustic campground with no hookups or electrical sites which is perfect if you are tent camping! Sites are smaller but nice, the outer sites have better privacy with most inner sites backing up to the restrooms. The hiking here is amazing with numerous lookout points to see the river from the bluffs. There are short and long hikes to get to the views, so it’s good for all levels of hiking. Overall this campground has a lot to offer and we will definitely go back!
Scout
Tent sites are just okay. They are located directly across from houseboats, so little privacy. The area was also damp, which meant lots of bugs. I was envious of the RV side, which looked much nicer. It was not quiet due to being practically under the bridge into La Crosse. On the upside, The man working there was very friendly and helpful. It did not appear that anyone was masked or social distancing. The bar was open and patrons were next to each other on stools at the bar. Employees were also not wearing masks.
Guide
Note: I have not camped here yet, but I will be in the summer at the tent sites.
I have been going to this campground for years, walking around, going to the beaches, launching the family pontoon and fishing in Lake Petenwell. Everyone is always so friendly upon arrival. All of the tent sites are right on the edge, it is the best view of the lake. Other RV spots are partially shaded or full sun depending on the location.
I have US Cellular, it does work excellent in the area, but is very spotty lakeside. I am not sure what other providers are like.
There are two other camping areas that also are apart of this park. The second one is down the road a little and is west to the main grounds. It has been there for a while and is a spectacular place for sunsets! The park also just added a third campground right across the street as another option for additional camping. This one is atv/utv friendly where if you are on the trails you can drive right in that area. One thing to note is that they are not allowed in the main campground. There is a small atv entrance about 200ft passed the car entrance where you will need to check in.
There is a pretty nice beach to relax on, the lake is a little green and mucky sometimes- but hey its a lake! There are playgrounds for the kids to let the energy out and plenty of activities to do in the area.
Overall, I would highly recommend this campground!
Guide
We spent two nights at Lake Wissota State Park tent camping in site 30. The site was very deep, and very private with lots of tree coverage on all sides to block out any noise and most of the light from your camping neighbors. The water source was a little far away (about 200 yards) but we were located near the bathroom and showers. The shower facilities were mediocre, but about what you'd expect at a state park.
Park has a swimming beach and several miles of trails.
Worth taking a trip into town and walking up and down the main street. Visit the local shops, and make sure to visit Leinenkugel's brewery for a tour and a pint, but don't over look the Brewster Bros. Brewing Company and the Chippewa River Distillery, also located right in Chippewa Falls.
GuideThere is a lot of hiking (the view from the bluffs are amazing) you can rent kayaks canoes etc. and they have a boat landing. No shore fishing or swimming which is disappointing.
The nonelectric sites were a bit small (compared to many state parks I have been too) -especially considering the gravel spot they leave for pop ups - not great to tent camp on and takes up most of the space that is safely far enough from the fire pit.
The bathrooms were decent but quite a hike (which stinks late at night) the showers were clean but I never used them.
However, the bugs and mosquitos were almost unbearable. We fogged the site daily, had thermacells, and coated ourselves in bug spray - still came home completely bit up and trying to play cards at night the constant hum of bugs was a bit much.
Guide
We stayed with a group for Memorial weekend. We have such a great time. Some of our group was tent camping and said the showers were nice and hot but tended to be a little muddy after awhile. Our site was a little hard to get into. We stayed at site 116 with a 40 ft 5th wheel. I would recommend booking early to get a better spot for a big rig. That spot would be easier to get our 30 ft travel trailer into. Water filling stations are all over the campground. It was our first time and we though the dump area was the water station. It was not. Other than that we would definitely recommend.
119 is paved ada 116 can fit a TT and atv trailer comfortably 115 - tight for a 32 ft travel trailer the trees are very close 132 - the area is below the street level which flooded out with mud
Traveler
We ran across a little camp ground called Sleepy Hollow Campground W922 Lower Eagle Valley Road, Fountain City, WI. 54629(609) 687-8351 This is one of the nicest places we have found. It is not marked on RV Trip Wizard or any others that we could find. I found it by accident through Google Maps. It looked like what a campground would look like from the air and by querying the address I found the name of the campground called Sleepy Hollow. They do not advertise and it is a small camp with little amnesties. It has a shower house with restrooms and a laundry. They are clean and well maintained. They have 13 pull through sites 80” in length and very wide with full hook-ups, eight back in sites with just water and Electric. And tent sites as well. It is on a quiet road called Lower Eagle Valley Rd. It is set in a valley with 3 to 4 hundred foot hills full of trails on a working farm. About a mile from the Mississippi just north of lock and dam no. 5A if you are looking for a quiet place to recharge this is the place for you. This is a camping site where there are adults, not designed for kids.
Traveler
I had read about this being a really nice, quiet campground for tent camping, and though I was not ready to stop for the night (on my way to a wedding up north), I did get off the highway and drive through it. Honestly, I wanted to stay!
It was not a huge campground, and facilities were basic (I guess they call that primitive), but each campsite was generous in size, well separated from the next site and nicely landscaped by nature's appointment of trees and shrubs. It was clean, well-kept, and enticing.
I wanted to take a picture of one of the attractive sites, but couldn't decide which one! The small lake was so peaceful, and there was some new-looking children's play equipment, as well as some benches perfect for reading or eating on its banks. I only saw one campsite occupied with a tent, and one small camping trailer elsewhere, which may have simply been stored there. It was Friday afternoon in early June. I would have expected to see more activity there. Perhaps, as some have mentioned, there is an abundance of mosquitoes and other insects from the river (which I was unaware of) that disuades people, I don't know. I didn't notice any when I sat by the lake.
The author of the camping book through which I had found it also said he had found the place quite charming, and he did not understand why it was so little occupied. He, apparently had spent the night there. I'd like to stay there next time I am driving north on 94.
I gave it 4 stars even though I have not stayed there, because it has much of what I want in a campground, and which is getting harder for nature-loving tent campers to find--simple, quiet beauty. I took off the extra star only because I haven't actually stayed there, and want to give East Fork a chance to live up to even more!
LegendPerrot has it all: hiking, biking, paddling and camping and that makes it a popular place in the summer. It was totally booked the weekend I stayed here. Site 23E was not the best due to the location of the electric pedestal which was more set up for tent camping than an RV, but made it work, although it required an extension to the power cord. The electric power was also running low and the RV AC wouldn’t work. Fan only due to watts/volts varying. Site was also parallel to the campground road so there was road noise. There are much better sites in the 91E-95E section of tall pines!
Sites that were located on the water, were next to swampy, green algae type ponds. I can only imagine what the mosquitoes were like at those sites. Site pads are dirt and grass. Not easy to level.
Now for the good! This area is beautiful. Awesome bluff views of the Trempealeau and Mississippi rivers and definitely worth the hike up for them. The Great River State Trail head is located in Perrot and this is a must do if you like cycling on the rails to trails. The ride into quaint Trempealeau is enjoyable and not too strenuous. Make sure to check out the ice cream place that is located in the old caboose. Kayak and canoe rentals are available in the park as well. This is a paddler’s paradise, just be ready for the current and follow the water trail.
Also, a heads up: I was surprised that there is a daily vehicle pass required and this costs $8/day in addition to the usual camping fees.
Legend
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.
TravelerThis campground is owned and operated by the village of Wilton, Wi. It is primarily marketed toward cyclists riding the Elroy Sparta Rail Trail. The trail’s halfway point is about 5 blocks away, so one could easily do the southern half one day and the northern half the next. It is part of a community recreation center that includes a nice swimming pool and various ball fields. Camp sites are for both RVs (towed and motor homes) and tents. Sites have access to 30 amp and conventional electric outlets grouped in a multi outlet board. Depending on your proximity to the board and the length of your cord, this could be problematic. Showers are easily available and will run you 50 cents for 4 minutes of water. The swimming pool is also available for a $5 admission. Hours are irregular due to a shortage of available lifeguards. Individual campsites have a picnic table and fire ring.
TravelerThey have gravel on all there campsites with tents horrible on the tent put a hole inn the bottom of the tent with sharp gravel. I would bring a padded floor with next time.
Legend
This campground would be best for RVing IMO. The entire place is lifted from a swamp which means that it’s low, damp ground. They also must have used sand, as it drains very quickly. I describe the site as such because we spent the weekend in a tent and it literally rained the entire weekend. The site we were at turned into a lake four times, submerging our fire pit and picnic table. This made making a fire near impossible, let alone accessible, it was in the middle of a small lake! As we scrambled most of the fear to the car, we watched the water creep to the front door of the tent, from the highest ground. It’s a good thing we had a tarp under the tent, otherwise we would have been swimming in our tent. Anyway, busy place, near the road and a honky tonk. Not our preferred experience. Vault toilets, firewood, nice beach if the weather was nice.
Legend
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.
LegendStayed here in the fall. Had a site right next to the bathroom big enough for 2 tents and 2 vehicles. Hikes here offer great views of the river and bluffs and the fall colors are gorgeous!!! site came with a fire pit with grate and a picnic table. I did not use the grate for cooking as I camp with a blackstone as grates tend to be dirty. When I do use the fire for cooking, I always use a cast iron pan rather than cooking directly on the grate. pictures are from before my friend arrived with their vehicle and tent. They parked directly in front of my car and put their tent near the parking barricade close to the bathroom. My dog enjoyed all the room he had at this site!
Scout
Nice options to tent at and nice to walk around and do things
TravelerThis is a pretty nice RV park with plenty of camping sites. They have built it up to provide a lot of exposure to the water. There’s a boat yard on one side of the tent area. They have a fun little bar where you can play pool and buy beer to take back to your site.
They gave us a cool private camp site at the end of the tent area. It was actually three sites put together and separated from the rest. More privacy than most any other campsite.
Scout
What a wonderful campground! Bathrooms and showers are very clean!! We set up our tent right by a beautiful river. Paid around $23
Merrillan, Wisconsin, offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for a peaceful escape in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Merrillan, WI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Merrillan, WI is Coon Fork Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 14 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 9 tent camping locations near Merrillan, WI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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