Best Tent Camping near Merrimac, WI

I did not stay at this campground, but drove through it to see the place. I was looking for tent campsites and if there are any, they were under the tires of an RV. There are lots of things to do here, but tent camping is not one of them. I have nothing bad or good to say about the place, just letting tent campers know that this might not be the place for them.

Activities every week. Pool. Pond. Playground. Mini golf. Options for tent camping, cabin camping (both basic and deluxe), RV, seasonal sites. Friendly owners. Great gift/supply store.

A basic state park, mostly for tent camping. Clean bathrooms with showers. Pretty quiet and lots of trees. The first time we stayed they had a terrible gypsy moth infestation that had denuded all the deciduous trees. There was a carpet of caterpillars on the ground as well as caterpillar poop falling from above. Not as bad as it sounds. Ok, it was.... It proximity to The Wisconsin Dells is one of the attractions to this campground as it is about 5 miles north of town. An inexpensive way to stay near an expensive destination.

Great state park for a family camping vacation, tons of stuff to do. Lakes, trails, kayaking, boating, paddle boarding, fishing. Hidden gem of Wisconsin. The campsites are pretty private, nestled in trees. Some shaded, some have sun and shade. They even have horse sites, so you can bring your horse, and stroll through the park horseback riding. Vault toilets, and regular toilets with ok showers. Water faucets scattered around for easy water access. Twin Valley has tent sites and RV/electric sites.

Open pad sites for tent camping under tree canopy, great hiking over looking swimming and boating lake.  Requires WI St Park pass to get in plus camping fees.   Has both vault and flush toilets w showers.  Close to town for other activities, near Wi Dells Water park 21 ,miles not a bad drive. 

Part of the ice age trail system maintained hiking trails are great.

We tent camped in the quartzite campground. Overall a pretty much wide open campground with virtually zero privacy so if you’re looking for that, look elsewhere. With that said, we enjoyed our stay as the sites along the perimeter are a little more private being along the tree line and decent space between each site. The park itself is beautiful and look forward to coming back

The trails and the views at this park are phenomenal. Find pictures of the campsites if possible, because some of the sites get a LOT of sun, and as we tent camp, it can be unbearable for our children. (We’ve camped with them yearly here since our littlest was 2, and that was the year we got a not so shaded site. Lesson learned.)

Camped here in a camper van. Very quiet (mid week in September). Very well maintained trails. Most sites are spacious, shady. I did not check out the tent sites, but the one I did see was really nice. A bit of highway noise, certainly nothing bad.

Been going here every year with friends for over a decade. Nice size tent sites, great beaches with some nice amenities, like SUP and boat rentals, snack bar, fishing, etc. Awesome camp store and the hiking is fantastic. Gets busy because of its location to UW, and because it's awesome. ;)

We stayed here in our tent. This is a rural campground, somewhat dated, but very pleasant. It is true that the bathrooms were an older style but they were clean and functional and we found no fault with them. Most of the residents are seasonal and we had nice shady and grassy areas for tent camping, This campground is not near a busy highway, lake, or either area where there is a lot of noise. It is nice and quiet. The hostess was very nice and welcoming. We would certainly stay here again.

My friends and I camp here often as it is close to Madison, yet far enough away to be more secluded. The sites are are better than some of the state park sites with tent sites offering more privacy than the electric ones. There is plenty of hiking trails around the park with some great rock formations to explore. There is also swimming areas, concessions and a very helpful staff.

We stopped here while driving to Michigan. It’s super lush. The water and dump station was super clean. Firewood is available. The lake was not very clear and had a lot of plants growing, but it was still nice to take a dip. Extremely large spaces made the rv parking easy EXCEPT that the electrical receptacle was very far in the back of the camping spot. We had to back all the way in to make the chord reach. I don’t think the RV spots would make very nice places to tent camp.

Also want to add that there was plenty of privacy between the spaces.

Devil's Lake is one of my all time favorite state parks, and holds many fond memories for me. I have led youth camping trips here, gone on group trips with friends, and my now husband proposed to me here. I love love love Devil's Lake!

As far as tent camping, I don't love the campsites. There is very little privacy between sites, it is always packed, and there is lots of noise. The first night I stayed here, the group across from us kept us up until 2 am!

However, Devil's Lake is truly a fantastic place - we stayed for several days and had a blast in spite of the poor sleep.

May family tent camped here for the first time this year, 2020. The site (514) was spacious enough for a 10 person, and a 6 person tent. There were enough trees to mostly block out your neighbors, and it’s up on a slight hill so if it does rain the water would drain away from your tent(s).

The state park itself has several trails with varying degrees of difficulty. My son and I opted to take the 4 mile loop around the lake that included the 900 foot assent, and crown back down the face of the ‘mountain’?? The landscape surrounding Devils Lake is gorgeous, and the lake is large, and offers plenty of things to do.

Unfortunately during these COVID-19 times the boat rental was not open, but there was plenty of beach to hang out on.

We will definitely be heading back next year.

I came here at the beginning of October for 2 nights tent camping, site 20, with some friends. Our fire pits grill grate was mostly smashed and didn't hold a skillet while other sites had nice grates on a swivel. Plenty of space apart from other sites and fun, hilly hiking trails nearby. The lake is beautiful and we fished a bit from the dock, didn't catch anything. Nice views of the leaves changing. Very limited cell service which was welcomed. Bathrooms were kinda rough and the showers were on a different side of the park.

We reserved our campsite online and paid for a parking sticker at the park office but since no one was there we left the money in the pay box with our receipt. Same with firewood.