Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Rice Lake is the way to go. Camping with horses is a beautiful way to experience nature. You're sure to find the perfect site for your Wisconsin horse camping excursion.
Highland Ridge overlooks the sparkling Eau Galle Reservoir located in Spring Valley, in western Wisconsin. The area boasts 648 acres of scenery with numerous opportunities for recreation, including fishing, canoeing and plenty of hiking. Horseback riders enjoy the trails around the lush region.
Hikers can enjoy the 7 miles worth of trails, along with overlook seating areas and a swimming beach. Horseback riders have a variety of trails to choose from. Fishermen cast their reels year-round. Kayaking, canoeing, and electric-motor boating are common.
The 35-mile Eau Galle River feeds into 150 acre Eau Galle Lake, which is surrounded by steep hills and bluffs. The campground is opposite the dam on the north side of the small reservoir. The area is set in a heavily wooded area that provides a welcoming habitat for native plants and animals.
This location has limited staffing. Please call (715) 778-5562 for general information.
Highland Ridge is minutes from Spring Valley Golf Course, Crystal Cave, Cady Cheese Factory, Red Cedar Bike Trial, Vino in the Valley, Nugget Lake, Wakanda Water Park, Maple Leaf Orchard and Goven's Farm.
$28 - $216 / night
Scout
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ScoutThis is a smaller Corps of Engineers park, lots of primitive sites and lots electric sites too. A smaller lake but no gas motors. Cell service with Verizon was ok.
Guide
This is a solid state park offering. The sites are decently spaced with good tree cover. Noise seemed to travel between sites, I had some loud neighbors during the day but they settled down before quiet hours. The grass was easy to get tent stakes into. Bathrooms were your basic state park situation. Clean with warm showers so no complaints from me. The star gazing area was great! Intermittently had 1-2 bars of T-Mobile with LTE Internet. Wi-Fi is available at the park entrance.
TravelerLots of RV campers, but none were obnoxious. T-mobile service is almost non-existent depending on location. The showers and bathrooms were spotless. Firewood is available at several roadside stands just outside the entrance.
ScoutGreat campground. Clean bathrooms, and friendly at office. Beautiful this time of year! Hiking was awesome
TravelerStayed for two nights at a drive-in double site here and found it ideal for autumn camping. We didn’t think we would get colors, but they came out a little early, adding a few splashes to the hiking and river view.
Site was private enough, the woods surrounding dense enough to obscure others while still feeling open. Also open enough to spot three white-tail deer.
Hike to the Nevers Dam lookout was easy enough for a five year old to walk (most of it) — featuring some very cool fallen trees and a wonderful winding staircase — and the adjacent sandy beach was a pleasant and peaceful surprise.
One complaint is that the nearby vault toilet reeked of amonia and was unusable so we had to walk to the adjacent loop for bathroom. Silver lining is that we discovered the free little library near that bathroom and grabbed a copy of ‘Ramona the Brave’ for the kiddo. We went back and left a copy of ‘Amira’s Picture Day.’
LegendHighland 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.
TravelerWe were at site 93. It's a large site with plenty of room for a huge tent or a few tents. It was very buggy so we got a screen tent. Nicely shaded site as well. Not far from the water station and pit toilet. For a bathroom with running water it's a long walk and there's not close parking either. The campground is a long drive into the park from the main entrance. 12x10 screen tent fit easily over the 8' picnic table.
GuideNice Campground under an almost complete canopy of shade. Older shower house but clean. Friendly staff and hosts. Long spread apart spots.
GuideGreat campground with plenty of privacy and space between sites. Excellent hiking trails along the river. Restroom/shower building and vault toilets well maintained.
TravelerLots of different camping spots. All with trees surrounding your area for a little bit of privacy but the spots are relatively close to each other. We really liked the far end of the campsite but would've preferred campsite 89 or 91 or any on those sides because they seemed to have the most room and privacy.
Toilets were great and they had some bathrooms not too far away that have running water as well.
Trails that ran along the river were great!
RangerWe’ve now camped here 4times…. This is a beautiful, densely wooded campground with fairly well spaced sites. Some sites on the short loop (28-38) are a bit smaller and slope down from the road, so be careful of the site’s size when booking. Our 29’ trailer would have been a challenging fit in some of those sites. Make sure to enter “Highland Ridge Campground” into your GPS instead of “Eau Galle Rec Area. (That’s the day use area of the park that’s about a 20 minute drive around the lake from the campground) AT&T service is spotty throughout the park with either 1 or 2 bars, although in the spring and fall when there’s few leaves on the trees, service is fine. The campground is well maintained and the bathrooms are clean, and only an hour from our home in the northern suburbs. Will definitely be back! One change from our last visit: there have been quite a few trees taken out at the end of the main loop, so now sites 18-20 are VERY open. (At least now it’s a nice view of the reservoir….)
GuideFairly level, clean, wooded sites. Clean showers. Friendly Hosts and Rangers. Great trails.
TravelerWe stayed at a backpack site where we were greeted with well maintained paths, great hiking options, and good views. The only con I have with the park is the lack of water accessibility for backpack sites located in Highland Loop. We have to either carry in all water for our trip or do the steep, winding hike to the Visitor Center to refill. There wasn’t any area to filter water. Otherwise, everything was great!
GuideWe enjoyed our stay. Large, wooded campsite with electrical service and T-mobile service (1 bar). Good trails and plenty of wildlife (deer, etc).
ScoutWe were just passing through and had a difficult time finding somewhere to stay since it’s early April. This site was easily accessed off the highway and incredibly convenient to reserve online! $20 for a non-electric site got you a quiet, private site, perfect for a good night’s sleep on the road. Would stop here again due to convenience and comfortability!
GuideOut of about 20 campgrounds we've stayed at this year so far, this was one of our favorites. There is a lot of space between sites, there are a lot of trees, it's very quiet at night, and there are trails from the campground. The camp host was very friendly and helpful. There is a dump station on the way in to fill up with water as there are no water or sewer hookups. We had one bar of service with Verizon and 3 bars with AT&T. Further up the loop the Verizon signal was much better.
GuideThe layout of Wild River State Park has a lot of potential for great trails and exploration. April is a bit too early to go since the trees are still pretty baron. That said, it does have a surreal “Blair Witch” vibe and the further down the trails you go, the more you realize how separated you are from the rest of the world.
Traveler
Great campground and been here many times. Plenty of wildlife and can hear the owls talking to each other
RangerJust a wonderful campground, close to the city, with large secluded sites. This is our go-to when we need a quick one or two night getaway.
TravelerCame here without a reservation while driving cross country. It is only a few miles from the highway but is a beautiful and quiet, natural environment with lots of trees. We got here around 6pm on a Thursday evening and there were lots of available sites. It was a little confusing to begin with, because every single site has a sign that says “reserved,” and the hosts were off-duty. We drove around and found a relatively level site with a very long driveway, then went online to recreation.gov to check it’s availability and reserved/paid for it. We have AT&T and had no problem getting signal and cellular data to complete the process. We accidentally selected a site without electric, but if we had taken more time to use the website and enter search criteria, we could have found one with electric. The site itself was very nice, and we only had to level front-to-back. There were mosquitos, but with a little repellant it wasn’t too bad. We were close to a restroom but didn’t use it and can’t speak to the cleanliness or whether there were showers. There is a little dump station near the entrance where we got potable water and will dump on the way out. Someone had firewood for sale in front of their house as you drive toward the park, there is no firewood for sale at the campground when we were there. Overall, this was a great stop for a short overnight, for only $20 and absolute quiet for a good night’s sleep.
GuideThe camper cabins at Wild River are located just above the St. Croix River. Our cabin seemed to be at a trailhead to the river, which we took advantage of. The camper cabins had electricity and heat, no plumbing. Excellent fire ring for cooking. The park itself has many trails.
TravelerVery secluded RV sites. Some shallow some very long. Restrooms and showers were very clean
TravelerLittle hard making the turn to back in, but nice flat, shaded lot
GuideNice campground on the river. There is lots of hiking trails but the deer flies could be bad on some of the trails. Spotty AT&T cell phone coverage.
GuideThis campground is well maintained and a beautiful park within the woods. Great for hiking and kayaking/canoeing is near by.
GuideStayed middle of the week found local firewood from farms nearby. Also a creamery is a short drive from camp.
Camping near Rice Lake, Wisconsin, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a fun family adventure, there are plenty of campgrounds to explore.
Camping near Rice Lake, Wisconsin, has something for everyone, from families to solo adventurers. With beautiful parks and friendly communities, it’s a great place to enjoy the great outdoors!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Rice Lake, WI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Rice Lake, WI is Lake Wissota State Park with a 4.3-star rating from 35 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Rice Lake, WI?
TheDyrt.com has all 4 equestrian camping locations near Rice Lake, WI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
