Best Tent Camping near Portage, WI
Looking for tent camping near Portage? The Dyrt is an easy way to find tent camping spots near Portage. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Portage campsites are perfect for tent campers.
Looking for tent camping near Portage? The Dyrt is an easy way to find tent camping spots near Portage. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Portage campsites are perfect for tent campers.
If you’re traveling with a larger group, family, or organization, Devil’s Lake State Park has you covered with their Group Campsites located on the South Shore. There are 8 sites available that can accommodate 20 to 60 campers, depending on the site.
The park’s group camp facilities feature modern showers and restrooms, and the location is conveniently located about a 15-minute walk via the Group Camp Trail to the South Shore day-use area and beach. Climbing groups will also appreciate the location, which is situated at the head of the CCC trail.
There are six backpack campsites near Hickory Ridge. All sites are about 0.5 miles from the parking lot. Water and pit toilets are near the parking lot. Please note that coordinates listed on The Dyrt are for the entry to the State Park. Please call to gather detailed instructions on how to access these walk-in sites.
There are 8 campsites that can accommodate groups of 15 to 40 persons per site in the Hickory Ridge Group Camp. Only tents are allowed. Each group site has a tent area, picnic tables, a large fire ring and a set of pit toilets. Drinking water is available at the shower building located near group site B and across from the backpack sites parking lot near group sites E, F, G and H.
Scheidegger Forest is nearly 80 acres and offers a mile of loop of hiking trails, a reservable shelter, and restroom. The area has been restored from a former Dane County Sheriff shooting range to a managed forest of primarily oak and hickory. The shelter, kiosk, and bathroom were all built from wood harvested on-site. Water is not available at this site
When this Group Camp is reserved, the Shelter is not available to be reserved by another party(and vice versa). Located~ 100 feet east of loop parking lot, just beyond the restroom No potable water at this time. Vault(pit) toilet. Campfire ring. No electricity. 20’ x 30’ shelter– picnic tables. Vehicle parking in parking lot
Reserve a campsite online here: https://web2.myvscloud.com/wbwsc/widanectywt.wsc/splash.html
Check opening and closing dates here: https://www.danecountyparks.com/about/Parks-Opening-Closing-Schedule
See campground rules here: https://www.danecountyparks.com/about/rules
$65 / night
The Elroy Campground is along Highway 71 near the intersection of Highway 80 in Elroy. An underpass allows campers to walk under Highway 71 and up a 100-yard asphalt road to the campground. This is a walk-to campsite. You must park your vehicle and walk approximately 0.4 miles along a steep incline to access the site.
This 6.13 acre property is located in the Town of Watertown, within the City of Watertown’s extraterritorial boundaries. It lies between the City of Watertown and the Village of Johnson Creek in the north-central part of the County.
The landscape is primarily mowed turf grass with some low, riparian woods and wetlands. It is fairly level to gently rolling from the east to the lower areas in the west. This park provides non-motorized and motorized access to the Rock River, and provides 600 feet of river frontage for shore fishing.
This park offers an open air shelter for rent, and two walk-in primitive campsites.
$20 / night
Was in site 20. Nice spot for tent camping and enough room from each neighbor.
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.
This KOA, bought by new owners, was a great overnight! Clean bathrooms/showers, nice pool, long-level gravel sites, full hook ups, nice town, nice camp store, super nice owner! Would absolutely stay again! Even have a few tent camping sites
This campground is nice. Good tent sites, camper sites and is well maintained. There are several hikes around and good fishing. I would recommend for the young and old alike.
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.
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. ;)
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.
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.)
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
My gf family has been camping at this resort for years as a summer tradition and it has now become part of our summers. Pros:
Cons:
This a dodge county campground we have been to 3 out of the 4. So fare Astico is are more favorable. There are 3 areas. River witch are electric. Point tent camping only upper, Danville are electric. There are pit toilets also a main shower bathrooms. Camp hostess are great. They help with camp wood with they ask if you want bundles or lose choose loose. They also have canoes and kayaks to rent. We will be going back.
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.
I was just there for a night, but as I drove to my spot, I had to dodge and weave around cars parked on the road, as the tent sites looked like Burning Man had a baby with a homeless shanty town in Hawaii. Tons of tents, packed in side-by-side, so only space for cars was on the one-way roads. Outside of the feeling that at any moment a kid was going to come flying out of nowhere, they had good facilities, friendly staff, and decent Internet connection.
The campground is well-kept, and the restrooms are clean. Some bath houses have full baths with toilets, sinks, and showers. Other bathhouses has restrooms separated from showers. The campground is kid friendly, with a playground and a pool. I am tenting. The sites are a reasonable size that you can park on. They are mostly flat, but not all of them. All the tent sites are shaded, have electricity, and access to shared water. There are dishwashing stations around the campground as well. If you have an RV, the sites look relatively easy to get into, with many pull throughs
Located Within 1.5 miles of I-39 with easy access on & off I-39. Diesel fuel & gas also available at the exit. Campground has 3 pull through sites, big rig friendly, sewer, water, electric, level with easy in & out as well as multiple back in sites for overnight stay or longer. Tent camping available. LP refill onsite, firewood, & Dump station on site available to non guests for $10 fee. Free Wi-Fi, Bar with very good food and pool also on site. VERY CLEAN showers & restrooms. Very safe area for a good night's rest.
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.
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.
If you’re looking for a casual family friendly campground with lots of amenities and activities for kids, this place is for you. Unfortunately, as a tent camper, secluded primitive sites won’t be found here. You’ll be hearing the rustling of other campers, screams from playing children, and loud music playing up to 10pm.
I imagine it would be fun as a family camping trip, but as a couple looking to getaway from the busy life, solitude was not found here.
As far as the primitive sites go, the sites are too close together and hardly anything covering between so you can see/hear everything your tent camping neighbors are doing.
The ground was unkept on our site, making tent placement difficult and unable to lay the tent flat.
This reservation was a last minute decision since devils lake campground was completely booked. It did the job. A bit pricey for the experience though.
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!
The dry tent campgrounds were very large with picnic table fire pit and 2 large trash bins. There is a swimming pool, volleyball available and other amenities plus laundry for a fee. The bathrooms had many stalls with 88 options Mini sinks . Overall the sites were dirty, wet, and very close to the highway so there was lots of noise. The bathrooms were the dirtiest I have seen since I have driven from Oregon! So many amenities, that everything is old dirty and uncared for.
Took a tour of Sky Haven on a whim. Talk about full service camping! They have everything here- tent sites, RV sites, cabins, nightly, weekly, and long term rates. Frisbee golf, mini golf, a "mining" site, go carts, game room, showers, laundry. It was pretty overwhelming as I don't camp this way. But for a family gathering or reunion, or a big trip, this could be just right for you. Rates were reasonable for all the services you get. I liked the views since the place is up on top of a "mountain". The staff was really friendly and welcoming and answered every silly question of mine with a smile. Not my camping jam, but definitely nice.
Fox Hill is a good place for RV and cabin camping - they have a pool and pond, shop with ice cream and alcoholic beverages, movie nights, dog runs, and a nature trail that runs along the park perimeter. The bathrooms are cleaned regularly and mostly in working order.
Their tent sites, however, are small and crammed together, with most of them on a downhill slope that allows the water from the water faucet to run across the campsite. We had a hard time finding a level, dry area to put a two person backpacking tent on our site. The park also hosts events in the pavilion that were very loud the weekend we were there.
Overall, I'd recommend it for someone looking for more entertainment and amenities and staying in an RV or cabin, but I wouldn't stay here again in a tent.
There is not a lot of frill with this campground, but the sites are nice and secluded from one another with great foliage and tree cover. We came during a downpour but were able to move our camper into the trees to keep us a bit drier. It is a smaller campground that is a little bit further away from the craziness of the dells.
The closer you get to the interstate the louder it gets and one of the loops backs right up to the interstate. So be aware if you are booking the loop it will be a constant hum.
The shower building and pit toilets were kept clean and clearly marked when they would be cleaned during the day. I was surprised that they were being cleaned at 530 am as well as another time in the afternoon.
Most of the campground is ideal for tent campground and smaller RVs.
This is a private “resort” type campground with something for everyone, except peace and quiet and privacy. This is a mostly RV campground with a handful of tent sites wedged in almost as an afterthought. I stopped in and talked with the campground personnel for a while before getting a tour of grounds. There are several loops with lots of long term campers/RVers. There were some cute cabins and even yurts. Behind the office was a large pond with a sand beach, lots of blow up pool toys, a bar, and volleyball, plus there are trikes and bikes available after you play mini-golf. There was an extensive calendar of events for the campers to enjoy including a chili cook-off and activities just for the kiddos (including a water ballon filling station!). This is the place to go if you are looking for a party type campground. Be careful when you arrive and drive to your site as kids are running around and riding their bikes everywhere! The campground has several bath houses scattered between the loops and all were kept very clean.
Tent camping near Portage, Wisconsin offers a variety of scenic spots and outdoor activities for nature enthusiasts. With well-reviewed campgrounds, you can enjoy the beauty of the area while engaging in fun adventures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Portage, WI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Portage, WI is Devils Lake State Park Group Campground — Devils Lake State Park with a 4.4-star rating from 5 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Portage, WI?
TheDyrt.com has all 10 tent camping locations near Portage, WI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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