Best Tent Camping near New Glarus, WI

Note - this review is for the walk-up sites only This is our go-to campground when we decide we want to go camping with short notice. The park itself is neither very popular nor very interesting, so there are usually still sites available for reservation only a few days before your intended camping trip. The park itself isn't that interesting, but it is worth noting that it is located across the road from New Glarus Brewery. The brewery is an easy walk or bike ride from the walk-in campsites.

We have camped at several of the walk-in sites. The sites are all located along the bike trail, and carts are available for transporting your gear which means you can bring more gear than you would bring backpacking. The walk-in sites have a good amount of space between each site, however the sites on the east side of the bike trail get less level the further you get from the parking lot. All sites are shaded and have fire pits and picnic tables. The sites on the west side of the trail are more level but closer to the trail, so you have less privacy from passers-by. Our personal favorite site is #19. It is the closest site to the parking lot on the east side of the trail, but you have to take a short foot-path off the main trail to get to the site and the site itself can't actually be seen from the trail or the parking lot. This makes it very quiet and private, but still not too far from your car. The campgrounds do have a lot of raccoons so it is nice to be within an easy walk of your vehicle if you would prefer to secure your food. Site 19 is also very level and spacious, with plenty of room for at least two good sized tents. You can hear some road noise in all of the walk-in sites due to the highway being near by, but it's buffered a bit by the woods so it is more of a white noise.

The walk-ins have a vault toilet centrally located along the trail, and it has always been clean whenever we've camped there. A water spigot is also located centrally among the walk-in sites. You can take a short hike to the park's ampitheater from the walk-in sites, but they do not have programs very often.

We LOVE site 20 as does everyone else who books this one up quick. Literally the only downside is that you have no flat spots anywhere on the site, which killed our backs sleeping in tents.

Pros - lake view, but a safe distance down the hill so no worries about the kids at the campsite.

On the end with tons of privacy, full row of trees and a ton of space until the next site. It’s like your own mini oasis.

Lake is also fabulous. We decided to rent instead of hauling our own kayak and they were clean, affordable and quick process.

Cons - lol that hill is no joke. Pit toilets I wouldn’t touch with a 10ft pole, but that’s pretty typical.

This is a small, rustic campground with water and vault toilets. The outhouses are in need of some TLC or just a once through with a leaf blower. Most sites offer privacy with the over growth of trees and bushes which is lovely but in warmer months, it also means lot of bugs. There are drive-up sites, walk-in sites and a group campground. The drive-up sites are next to the road so you do hear cars all night/day and it is a tiny space so voices carry. It’s proximity to the brewery and the restaurants, shops, and bars of New Glarus, can’t be beat. Also on the Sugar River Trail so bring your bike!

Very nice park. Well marked and maintained trails. A large lake with boat launch and beach area. Separate pet area.

We spent the weekend at site 101, which is a tent site. I wouldn't recommend this site. based on a quick walkaround, it seemed a bit smaller than other sites. That's not really a deal-breaker, but it didn't really have any flat spots to pitch the tent. We ended up pitching it up on the parking area, but it was still a bit slanted and we could feel the tire divot a little through the air mattresses. Aside from that, it was great. The site had a picnic table and fire ring that we used a lot. It was secluded from the surrounding sites.

We hiked the Windy Ridge trail and the Prairie Loop trail. both were well maintained and enjoyable trails. We also spent some time on the beach.

I wanted so badly to love this campground experience, but just didn't. Site 19 was an easy walk-in that theoretically had nearby vault toilets, parking, and water.

Each site only had space for one car to park before walking in. Not a huge deal, but annoying as there were 2 of us who drove separate and we had to problem solve. When we got to the site I was shocked to see that what was labeled as a tent site had literally NO flat space to actually set up a tent. Spacious site, but fully sloped.

Also, what I would have loved to know, is that the vault toilets are closed because they are doing construction to build something new in that space. Construction that starts loudly each day at 7am. Honestly every site from about #35 down was affected by the noise because the construction is happening in the middle of the loop (and actually blocking some of the one-way road as well).

The park in general was okay. Per the usual, the pet areas were lacking. No beach at all, just grass covered in goose poop and one cut out on the raised shore between tall grasses and foliage where a dog could potentially jump in. Certainly nowhere for a human to enjoy the water with their pups unfortunately.

I spent two nights in the campground at Blue Mound State Park. Overall, the park has well-maintained hiking and MTB biking trails, extraordinarily clean and well-kept vault toilets, and ample access to drinking water. Both tent and RV/camper sites are on a typical one-way road pattern with a couple of loops there are plenty of sites with and without electricity. At the time I was there, the camp host sold high-quality hard wood for $5/bundle from a trailer on the honor system, so if you run out in the middle of the night, wood was easy to replenish. One of the park's highlights are lookout towers with views above the treetops, Unfortunately in 2020 both were closed, presumably because it would be difficult to keep a safe distance from others when on the stairs or while at the top. Pity, it'll be a reason to return. Still, there are several observation areas that are maintained well enough to keep the undergrowth from blocking the view of the Wisconsin River Valley nearly 15 miles to the north. This is where the "Blue Mound" name must come from, the hills at that distance did have a bluish cast to them.

If you've read any of my other reviews you know what's next, my list of the best campsites. While I've visited several parks now that have "walk in" sites, with cars parked a minute or two from the campsite, about a dozen sites in Blue Mound State Park take "walk in" to a new level. Cars can drive to a barrier across the road, and the sites are a 10-15 minute walk downhill, The park provides ONE medium-sized cart (250 lb weight limit, 20-minute use limit) that I guess would be in high demand during load in and load out. (NOTE TO SELF, camp Thursday through Monday if going here, or arrive EARLY to get a cart). Most of these sites are quite sunny; 105 is nice and shady and private, 106 slightly shaded 109 and 110 are shaded, very close to one another and would be good for a group camp setup 111 is quite shady. There's water and toilets in the walk-in camp ground. You'd want to sip wood for campfires and cooking, the nearest source is a 15-minute walk uphill and back, and then if using the cart, you have to return it for another round trip.

Back in the family campground where mortals and RVs park, I think the following are the nicest in terms of shade, level, size and privacy.

42, 45, 47, 51, 64, 66, 69, 71, 73