Best Glamping near Port Wing, WI

This campground has it all: sites for families to reserve by one another, campsites with more privacy, RV specific loops. With newly updated facilities, it can feel like glamping. Good proximity to bridge and nearby hikes. I highly recommend finding the cedar forest near the CCC Trail on the north side of campground.

Apostle Islands is part of a 21 islands chain at the northern tip of Wisconsin, on Lake Superior. On the mainland, the Lakeshore Trail weaves past cliffs and sea caves. Most of the islands have trails, beaches. Lighthouses can be found on Sand Island and Raspberry Island. The Lucerne shipwreck is just off Long Island.

Amazing place to kayak but you do have to do your research if you aren’t using a kayak guide. A great place to get more information is: National Park Service Website. I recommend using a sea kayak in these waters.

Jay Cooke is really a must experience state park within easy driving distance to other parks in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Positives:

• Amazing hiking and water play
• photogenic
• Some open site options for camping with other families or friends and many private sites
• Very clean and large shower/restroom facilities
• 15 min to small town grocery store
• Standard fire rings that you can grill on too
• lots of bird watching Negative:
• MOSQUITOS!!!! Bring bulk bug spray or extra blood.

We drove through this campground and liked it fine, it has a USFS campground feel to it. Very lush and green, lots of trees and nice individual spots. Sites are reservable online or by phone. No pay station at campground, no FCFS sites. 

Cost for non-residents is $21 for the campsite and another $11 daily state park entrance fee. So, $32 for the same type of campground as a USFS at about $15. We just couldn’t justify paying that when we knew there were USFS campgrounds nearby. If you’re a resident and/or already have the annual Wisconsin state parks pass, then the cost here is pretty reasonable. 

There’s a hand-pump water faucet here, vault toilets, and just outside of the campground is a dumpster and a mixed recycling bin. Each site has a picnic table and fire grill and a cool log bench.

I 100% agree with Legend Laura about the price of this campground. If it was simply about the location, this would get five plus stars because it's so beautiful! But if you're from out of state, the prices are even more expensive than she indicated previously, so they must have updated them.

The campsite itself is only $16 which is a bargain! But, if you are out of state like we are, there's also a $15 charge for that. And then, that doesn't include admission to the area, so you pay $11 and change for that. It ended up being about $50 total. That said, we paid it and fully enjoyed it but not sure we would do it again unless we had a Wisconsin sticker. At least to alleviate the $11 charge to get in.

All of that out of the way, the site itself is absolutely gorgeous. This park has lots of very mature trees and lots of very mature pine trees, making it very quiet. The spaces are quite distant from one another and we didn't hear our neighbors at all. We were at one of the walk-in campsites which I chose on purpose because it was literally on top of the river, we could sit by the river and wade our toes if we wanted to. It had a fire ring, a very short walk to the bathroom, and only a short distance to the car from the site. Maybe 100 ft plus about 30 stairs to get up to the parking level.

The walk-in sites also double as canoe campsites, so the river is something you can paddle if the water is sufficient to do so. There is a beautiful little picnic area near the bathrooms that sits on the river as well. Vault toilets seemed as clean as they could be, and they are a little fancier than your single vaults. They have stalls and toilet paper!

I highly recommend if you live in Wisconsin visiting this site as it wouldn't cost much at all. Out of towners, it's a bit more pricey.

This campground is right off the highway next to a gas station. You can call to reserve a spot and it was $20 for an electrical and water hook up, $15 for just electrical. Bathroom/shower house is tiny. The spot we were put in didn’t actually have electrical so we had to set up as close to the bathroom building as we could which was a huge inconvenience for our neighbors. They state they have WiFi but that’s only if you’re in the gas station parking lot. There’s also only one bathroom stall and shower for the entire campground to share. There’s also a drunk lady that drags a chihuahua around and calls people names, and dogs running free that nobody picks up after when they poop

WiFi wasn't perfect, but worked well most of the time.  I wasn't expecting Verizon coverage, but I got 1-3 bars, and was able to use my hotspot most of the time.  The campground was kept up. the grass was mowed.  It is less than a mile to Lake Michigan.  We would stay there again if we were in the area.

Wanoka is a quiet campground just off the Hwy 2. It has a nice little trout pond and is a good place to teach the younger kids fishing skills. It is however not ideal for young ones who like to play as there is no playground.

Typical USFS campground in the Chequamegon NF. First come first served, self pay, no host, very green and lush and private sites.

$15/night. Some sites are pull through. A few are level, but most would be difficult for us to get level enough to be comfortable. Not sure of the length limit here but we had no problems in our 26ft class c. Roads are narrow and the low hanging branches scraped along the top and sides of our rig, but no damage. 

There is a trash dumpster here, and even a recycling bin, a nice surprise. There is potable water at the campground (per note at spigot water is safe to drink but will leave rust residue). Vault toilets here as well. 

The lake is nice and peaceful and small, and bugs/mosquitos weren’t too bad. There’s a little dock at the lake but you can’t drive your boat down, you have to carry it on foot. 

Surprisingly decent Verizon and ATT service. Hardly anybody here. Beautiful and quiet and serene.

This is your typical National Forest campground. Very few amenities, a small lake, and a few hiking trails. The positives is it is easy to find, it is right off of the highway, and if you have an ATV you will be able to use the ATV trails. It's not bad for an overnight stay.

About 22 sites, or so, right on a bend of the Brule River. a Beautiful trout stream with canoeing and kayaking popular sports. Rentals about 1 mi. away in Brule with reasonable prices. Fishing off the pier. Two "remote" sites RIGHT ON THE RIVER. Sites well cared for. DNR about 1/4 mi. away. It's one of my favorite spots up north. Not a lot of entertainment for small children--i.e. no playground, for instance, although the fish hatchery is 1/2 mi. away. If they like fishing, it's great though. The river's cold, so small kids would not like to swim there. L. Nebagamon is about 5 mi. away though.

Stayed in June, the campground was small but luckily we were there in the middle of the week so it wasn't too busy. The campsites are pretty close together so of it's busy, your experience may be very different.

We did a little hiking. Trails are good and well marked. Looked like folks were enjoying the fishing too.

Solid hiking trail and good campsites. The campsites have adequate space and decent amenities. The biggest issue however was ticks. Been an outdoor person my whole life and more ticks than I’ve ever seen before. Pulling 10 or more off an hour...

We had a walk in site here. There was another walk site somewhat near us but they were very quiet. It was a nice wooded spot and a nice base camp for our nearby exploring. Nearby access to the river was also nice on hot days.

This campground stretches along the forest road. The sites range in style but we found nicely wooded spots - perfect for keeping the dog’s eyes distracted from others passing by. Nearby are places to launch canoes. We also saw a rental company in town if you don’t have your own gear. A fish hatchery is on the way in to camp - a clear sign of the passion for fishing in this area. We recommend Angie’s Bakery for a treat. It’s just down the road. Covid is still requiring you to reserve online here but it can be done same day too.

Bring bug spray (or better yet, the Canadian-made Original Bug Shirt Elite Edition) if you plan to camp in the spring/summer months!  These beautiful little islands are well-guarded by these blood sucking creatures, especially if the island in which you are camping has any inland ponds or lakes where they will breed/hatch (such as Sand Island).  While mosquitoes are typically crepuscular creatures, these don’t wear a watch…they are out all day every day. We stayed on Sand Island, York Island, and visited the beautiful historic lighthouse on Raspberry Island during a 4-day kayaking adventure.

The backcountry camping areas are nice, but not much to speak of other than a place to pitch your tent -- though the islands, views of Lake Superior, paddling/sailing/fishing options, and sunrises and sunsets are truly to die for!  Each camping area has a fire ring, bear boxes, a pit toilet, and some of the larger islands have picnic tables. Some islands have small docks, while others are anchor only if you are in a larger boat. All of the beaches can accommodate multiple kayaks if you are with a larger group.  Coin operated showers are available at the campground by the Little Sand Bay visitor’s center.

Even though you are only a few miles from the mainland, the small number of people/tourists make this place feel very remote and secluded. Safety Note: Bring a chart of the islands for navigation purposes, make sure your paddling skills match the weather conditions as the lake can go from sheer glass to 6 foot waves in an afternoon, and bring a marine radio.

There are camping areas on 19 of the 21 islands in the park. $15 per night plus a $10 registration fee. You can register for backcountry sites online.

Went kayaking out here and the caves are awesome!!!! So much fun and lucked out having a nice still day!!!

we had a wonderful weekend there and saw a few black bears. And one even meandered through our camp site. And enjoyed the sounds of the waves and hiked a few of the trails.

We kayaked to many campgrounds and islands in the national lakeshore. paddling a total of 60 miles we were able to make it to 3 different island campgrounds. Bathrooms and picnic tables were at most camp sites, some camp sites were very desolate and rustic. No running water on some islands.

My husband and I stayed at the only shoreline campsite one October. There is a nice privy, bear box, fire pit and picnic table. The hike was a bit more challenging with a lot of up-and-down hills. There were a few times we had to hop a steam on the downswing of a hill while hiking to the campsite. The beginning of the hike is beautiful with views that are worth seeing and the more challenging hike comes after the beautiful views. It would be a great day hike if you were not feeling like camping or hiking the hills.

This is a private campground located a few miles south of Bayfield. It is oriented towards RV camping but also has tent sites. It is very family friendly with play areas, small store with necessities and snacks. It would be particularly good for families or groups of events who are attending summer events (lectures, concerts, workshops) at the nearby Chatauqua Event grounds; in fact, the campground has a designated Chatauqua shuttle stop stop so you dont have to deal with traffic and parking. It is convenient to the town of Bayfield too, so you could easily do a variety if day trips in the area. The RV campsite loop is a bit open with only small trees and not much privacy between, but many RV campers like that for socializing and interacting with neighbors. There is a quieter shady loop towards the back of the campground that tent campers and others who want more peace and quiet might prefer. Note: you should call ahead to make reservations as spots fill quickly especially in Chatauqua season. More importantly, note that the entrance and office close by 6pm and NO ONE who is not already registered is allowed in, no late arrivals!

This is the best base camp for exploring the Apostle islands. It’s about a mile from Bayfield. There is bike rental at Howl bike shop which is walking distance. Howl also has a brewery with outside seating. The camp ground itself is quiet and clean. We didn’t go in the bathrooms or use the washers due to Covid. Owners are very accommodating.

Very friendly staff, nice camp store. Sites ok, pretty tight. Quiet place with nice playground.