Best Tent Camping near St. Croix Falls, WI

I booked this on a whim since we needed an overnight close to the State Fair.  I loved the look of the "TENT ONLY" loop - you don't see this often - so it was a good fit.  Seemed that the whole campground was booked up and I assumed, for a similar reason.  The State Fair.

Booking was fairly easy through their website, and you can "hover" over the sites to see a photo of it.  I chose the one I wanted and hoped it would be what we wanted it to be.

You DO need a park pass to stay at the campground.

We arrived after dark, but in the dark you could still tell it was lovely.  I couldn't see any neighbor on the one side where there was a campsite (the other was a field...which is why I chose it). So we set up a tent, enjoyed the last of the evening and crawled into our bags.

In the morning, when I could see everything, I was thoroughly impressed by the space, the maintenance of the property, the size of the campsites.  All of them were impressive and big!  A few were only separated by swathes of grass, but most had enough trees you couldn't see your neighbor.  And the fact that this loop (F LOOP) was "tent only" meant no generators! It was very quiet!   There were port-o-potties (cleaned about every 3 days) and a centrally located water source (potable) that was in the middle of everything for easy access by everyone. The spaces seemed fairly level, lots of mature trees, fire rings at all of them (with cooking grates that flipped out of the way) and picnic tables at most (resin tables, not wood).

I took a quick look at the other loops.  The tent/small trailer loop didn't appear to have electric either.  And the RV loops obviously did.  All were very nice!  And there is a shower house (didn't go in) that was for all to use if you had a site.

We'd stay here again in a heartbeat.

**I've seen the other reviews here which seem to be based on the bugs.  I know that bugs are part of camping, so I don't review based on that, but I'll add details, if needed.  This one didn't have many, but it was raining, so I'm sure that factored in.  When I camp, I come prepared and I try to focus on reviewing the campsite itself, not the bugs, which I can not control.  I can, however, come prepared for them**

General: Smallish (38 sites plus four walk-in sites) Army Corps of Engineers campground. Some (see below) have electric hookups but no water or sewer hookups, however, there is a dump station. 

Site Quality: All sites are gravel/dirt (except for the ADA-accessible site), and most are very generous in size. Our site (7) sloped down but leveled out with plenty of room for our campervan at the bottom. All sites are wooded with trees providing separation/privacy between sites. Completing the site are a metal picnic table, fire ring, and lantern hook. 

Bath/Shower House: Sites 28-38 only have vault toilets (but you could trek to the other campground loop). Sites 1—27 have flush toilets and showers. They were very clean, and I especially appreciated the fact that they were cleaned daily before 6 am, a shout out to the camp host! The shower was great– warm water and great flow, although our friends (who arrived two days before we did) had cold showers when the campground was full.

Activities: Several short hiking trails. I give this campground 4 stars instead of 5 because Eau Galle Reservoir (Lake George) is about a 10-minute drive from the campground. Most Corps of Engineers campgrounds are located right on the water. There are no amenities (rentals, etc.) offered at the lake but it is small and beautiful, and we enjoyed a peaceful paddle. We saw a couple of people fishing on the lake and there is a small swimming area. At the campground, there was an interpretive center, but it was locked when we were there. There is also a nice, modern playground. 

Aside from the plentiful bugs (in August), we enjoyed our two-night stay at this campground!

This was my first time camping EVER, and I wanted a balance of car camping ease with quiet wilderness. I stayed in the E loop. No electric sites, which cut down the number of big rig RVs, but there were plenty of small campers and trailers. To me, this means louder guests than tent campers. That said, people tended to quiet down by 9-10p. There was occasional noise during the day from crop dusters and motorized boat traffic on the St. Croix.

Site 87 had nice privacy — less between sites 87 and 89 and much more between 87 and 85 (see photos). Site 89 is a double site, so be prepared for a little more activity if someone books there. If I went again, I'd try to snag site 85. Large trees and vegetation between sites, especially on the outside loop. Plenty of space for hammocks. The site itself was level and very spacious. We had a five person tent and could have put up a bug house easily. The fire pit was clean and had a grate on top. Pit toilets were clean and had plenty of toilet paper, especially for the end of a holiday weekend. Bugs were minimal, but could have been because the weather was on the cooler side (50s-60s).

A couple random notes:

• Firewood is $6/bundle. Self-pay available if the ranger station is closed. Bring exact change since you'll be paying by envelope.

• The ranger station was open for window service, and they sold fire starters, soda, t-shirts, etc. Not sure when hours are exactly. They were open when I went around 3-4p Sunday and Monday to buy wood.

• Cell reception for T-Mobile was minimal to non-existent.

Backpack site Buck Hill is right on the river, beautiful view to the east. Circled by flowers (goldenrod in the late summer), brush and trees. End of the path so zero foot traffic / passersby. Fine size for us but if you had two tents maybe tight. Fire ring and picnic table of course. No drinking water (we brought a bladder). It’s a great place to star gaze. There’s a teeny somewhat treacherous path to the river- no beach or anything (water was super low when we went) - Just can get your feet wet.

Down the path a little bit is an unenclosed toilet - not the best. The other direction down the path (only about 20 ft) is a smallish bear box.

You can harvest your own wood (at this time) and that was really great - bring a backpacking saw!

Only downside to the site— you can hear cars on both sides (river and opposite side of forest).

It was a 2.37 mile walk from the parking lot, mostly shaded.

Side note: we checked out Deer Creek site which is much closer to the car. It is a hike in / canoe site. It’s wayyy more spacious, and even has two separate clearings. Also has cool stairs down the to water, and a much more expansive view of the river. We will be staying there next time! We want to take a few days to canoe the whole length of the park, camping along the different sites. Next year! :)

Site 27. This is a river landscape. Spiders and snakes..oh my. The parking lot is paved and has a dumpster. This is also where the nature center is. There are often music festivals and family events here. It is also next to Afton Ski resort. This park has a lot of beautiful prairie landscape with some temperate forest features. Wildflowers, shrubs, fungi, evergreens, and deciduous trees. Backpacking to the top hill sites has gotten easier as the park has curved the new wide groomed and wood chipped trail to spiral around the hill instead of a straight climb. There is a solar panel generated drinking water pump at the top and a honor system fire wood station. There is a bathroom, but not super close to this site. This site has a fire pit with grate and table but no bear box. This site does have a clear view to the trail and the site next to it, but it is set back a little bit. I can hear the joggers along the trail that wraps around the site. The sites are mapped out on a wide open prairie ground with some sites tucked back in the trees along the trail. There is not a water front view, but there is plenty of wildlife. The dear and flowers are beautiful. There is partial tree covering but we did bring a tarp for the rain.

We live in Minneapolis and love having this camp close to home, yet far enough to feel like we are up north. We come here a lot during the summer!

The camp is rustic, in a good way. Lots of trees, nice sites with water and electric and a dump station (that’s not stinky!) Bathrooms have been renovated recently too.

Depending on what type of camper you are, there are lots of options. What you won’t find is an RV Park that is open and on top of each other. There are sites big enough for large campers, there are drive-in tent sites (several have been upgraded with electric this year), and a few walk-in sites. There are some seasonal campers too who are friendly and willing to help out if you need something.

A previous review mentioned the roads. They washed out one night when there was really heavy rain and big storms but the owners where fixing them right away the next day. They said that happens now and then because it is a dirt road but they have all the equipment to fix them promptly. You can tell they care a lot about the campground and they are very attentive. They are good about coming around and monitoring what’s going on. They enjoy good conversation too.

It is a kid friendly campground. I often see kids meeting each other from different sites and then hanging out and playing games together. There are nice playgrounds on both the A and B hill.

The campground owners are great and very helpful. They will help you get situated into your site and bring you firewood and even a cooked Heggies pizza! They are also great about explaining the different sites and making sure it will work for the type of camping you are doing. They truly are hosts!

There is a walking path down to the river and the Lions Park is in walking distance. There is a big hill up into the campground, (because of the river) but there is parking at the Lions Park if you want to drive. The Lions Park also has a boat launch for the St. Croix and there is a parking lot at camp where you can store it during your stay.

Taylors Falls is two miles away where you will find cute shops, ice cream and good dining. St. Croix Falls is right over the river where you have more restaurants, a grocery store, Menards and a Walmart.

There are a few ATV’s and mini bikes but they mostly stay over on another hill where there are trails set up for them and no campsites are over there. If you enjoy riding, bring them along!

For the most part, people are respectful of the 10pm quiet hours. If people are loud, the campground owners have asked that you call them no matter how late so they can take care of it. They appreciate k owing if others are not being respectful, day or night.

The camp store has lots of necessities like ice, snacks, s’mores stuff and more. They have games you can check out and little items you may have forgotten at home.

We often stay at State Parks. We liked this camp because it is similar when it comes to rustic and wooded, but they don’t have all the strict rules like the State Parks. We will keep coming to Camp Waub O Jeeg!

Love love love this park! We did the backpack site so you hike in almost a mile and you go up on the ridge that's open in the middle but each site is heavily forested and some overlook the river. During the late spring, summer and early fall months you can't really see the river but if you do it after the leaves drop or before they come in then you'll have a great view of the river. Our site is off of the main trail so you have a nice little hike in and it feels very secluded and you have a nice even gravel tent pad that's raised up as well as a fire pit and picnic table. There is not a lot of room to play at your campsite but if you just take your trail up to the main trail then it opens up. Off the main trail you will also find vault toilets and firewood that you just have to saw yourself with the saw that is provided. You are surrounded by excellent hiking trails including some great single track as well as a great beach on the St. Croix River that is also very clean. The raccoons are not messing around so make sure to secure your food inside your tent or in a well fortified cooler otherwise you'll be listening to them ravage your site as you try to sleep at night.