Best RV Parks & Resorts near Nelson, WI

This campground is small and quaint...plenty of space without being too close to your neighbors.  Super easy to social distance here.

We visited in winter (February) and while there was snow on the ground, the spaces were kept plowed with easy access to the electric boxes.  We were in a teardrop trailer.  Plenty of space for the car and the teardrop in space #202, but all spaces that were plowed had plenty of room to pull in.  Some were even "pull through" which would be extra nice if you wanted it (either big rig type RV or pull behind).

As with State Parks in MN, it's best to make the reservation online, especially with office staff being spotty these days. Price is $35 for the space/night with electric, and this time of year, there are no other options besides electric spaces. The bonus of making "day of" reservations means there is no extra service fee.  But waiting that "long" to make the reservation also means there are no refunds if you can't get there. You are far better off as a "no show" than "cancelling", since there is actually a cancellation fee on top of losing your nightly rate if you actually "cancel".

The campground has far more spaces than you can reserve this time of year (typical of "winter" camps at State Parks in MN). But the loop that had the openings was super easy.  Just literally a loop around one side of the camp with a vault toilet on one side that was super easy to get to from anywhere you were plugged in.  It was fairly clean (dirty floor understandable this time of year due to wet boots and slush).

I was surprised at the nature of the young trees.  Lots of them, but all very small.  That said, in the winter this is more obvious due to lack of leaves, but in summer, I suspect it's lovely. Still, there are plenty of them and with the huge spaces between sites, even without leaves it wasn't an issue. I don't think there are any trees big enough to hammock in.

The entrance to the campground is literally right inside the park.  Across from the visitor center, so you can't miss it. And although it was close to the road, very little road noise.  The only noises we were actually aware of were natural ones...some cows in the distance, lots of birds and at night, Barred Owls and a few coyotes.  All welcome noises for us!

This time of year, water is not on in the campground, but there is a spigot right across the road at the visitor center that is on (easy 2 min walk). They also have firewood for sale with an "honor" box, but the bundles the day were were there were $6 and the small bundle was basically small kindling. Not idea for a winter fire.

All spaces had a nice picnic table and fire ring. We had to "dig" to ours with a small snow shovel in the car, but it wasn't an issue.

**NOTE:  You do need a MN state park sticker or day pass to stay at the campground**

Easy pull-through and back-in sites. We easily backed in to our site. There was a large open grassy area behind us that our two dogs enjoyed. Brand new fire rings/pits. Beautiful view of the bluffs. Walking distance to several restaurants. Don't miss the Nelson Creamery. Housed in an old historic building, I was expecting just an average ice cream/Wisconsin cheese store, but it was really lovely inside and it reminded me of something in France. There is a formal dining room area, wine cellar, and casual outdoor seating on a patio under vine covered canopy. Soups, sandwiches, pizzas, beer and wine available.

We only stayed for 2 nights, but the best part was the bathroom/shower house! There were 3-4 private shower/toilet/sink rooms with full locking doors. Everything is brand new and pristinely clean: white subway tile, white walls, white fixtures. Great water pressure and temperature. It reminded me of a fancy athletic club like Lifetime Fitness! 

There is also a laundry facility in the building (again, everything new and clean).

Highland Ridge, WI - COE east of Minneapolis. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 4.5 Price 2023: $12/ night w senior pass Usage during visit: 60 - 70% during weekdays Site Privacy: GOOD - not a fence forest, but tremendous spacing makes up for it.
Site Spacing: VERY GOOD Site surface: Gravel and level Reservations: Yes. Can reserve on line at the cg Campground Noise: None Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes, at the bathrooms. Generators: Not needed. Bathroom: kept VERY clean. Shutdown for cleaning every morning at about 6 AM. Showers: Yes. Clean Pull Throughs: I think all are back ins. Cell Service (AT&T): Good Setting: Forest with no understory Weather: 80s Bugs: Not too bad.
Solar: Forest canopy would interfere , but not needed. Host: Yes. They are around and offer free beach passes. They are super. Rig size: Large RVs. Sites: All sites are very nice in loop 1 -24. I understand that Loop 28+ is less private.

We are here for a show at the casino and thought it would be fun to bring the camper down and glamp for the weekend. It is just a parking lot but the sites are all pull through and there is plenty of room between sites and ours was perfectly level.

We have dogs so the fact that it’s all asphalt and rock is a bit of a bummer but we are close to the exercise area and they do love little walks. It also seems to be controlling some of the normal bad pet parent behavior we see at even parks. Like letting the dogs run with out leashes or tethering them all day to bark at everything.

The sites do not have fire rings but there are some community ones and it appears the other campers brought their own smokeless fire pits to use.

There is a shuttle to the casino and at 7pm folks seemed to clear out to head over. It was honestly one of the quietest campgrounds we’ve been to on a Friday night.

The bath house is newer and super clean- not a single creepy spider web in any corners.

On Verizon I have full bars so we haven’t tried the park WiFi but we’ve been able to use our chrome cast and two iPads off my cell phone with zero issues. Because it’s in a river valley the air tv single is terrible so we are glad to have the chrome cast with us- since the forecast called for a raining day.

Walking distance to downtown and easy access to Root River Trail. RV sites were close to each other with little privacy. Many tent sites around the perimeter. Short walk to bathhouse. Showers are not free, 4 quarters for 5 minutes. No laundry available. Campground is first come/first serve and doesn’t take reservations or online payment. Payment is made at adjacent city office.
Sites are gravel, fairly level. Water and electric available at rv sites.
Nice park nearby with stocked fishing pond. There is some noise due to the park being tucked into the city. Garbage and dump station free for campers. They ask for a donation for dumping if not camped there. Tight access at dump station might make it difficult for larger rigs. Strong Verizon signal.