Best Tent Camping near Stratford, WI

Tent Camping Reviews near Stratford, WI

206 Reviews of 11 Stratford Campgrounds

• 

  Michael M.

  Ranger

  Oct. 3, 2017

  Dells of the Eau Claire Park Campground

  Nice views fishing not so great

  This campground is right on the Ice Age Trail and a nice place to stop off during an extended hike.

  There are not that many sites available here and most do supply electricity. More people tent camp here rather than RV camping. There are pit toilets but no shower house although there are water spigots for drinking water. The sites are closer together than some campgrounds but it's not like a city block of camps like some KOA's I have camped at. The night time temperatures dipped in the low 30's in the middle of May when I was there. The campground attendants were on site twice a day to sell firewood and collect camping fees. The DNR rangers do patrol the campgrounds on a regular basis. There is places all along the river to fish and I was told the fishing is good, however I did not have very much luck when I was there. The campground firepits with cooking grates were OK and the wooden picnic tables are worn, but there is level ground for pitching tents.

  The scenery and hiking along the river and on the Ice Age Trail is great. If you had better luck fishing than I did this would have been a great camping weekend. Bring warm cloths and a great sleeping bag.

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• P

  Paul K.

  Traveler

  Oct. 26, 2019

  Jordan Park

  Beautiful site on the water.

  Quiet little campground, I was in one of the three canoe/ walk in sights and they were right on the water. All three sights were separated from the rest of camp and are tent sites. All have a picnic table, grill, and fire ring and are big enough for 2-3 tents depending on the size of the tents. Set back from a county hwy and state hwy, however not too much traffic and the traffic that does exist was not very disruptive. 2 night minimum, 14 night maximum reservation.

• 

  Lesley R.

  Legend

  Oct. 29, 2022

  Black River State Forest Outdoor Camp — Black River State Forest

  Low Ground

  This campground would be best for RVing IMO. The entire place is lifted from a swamp which means that it’s low, damp ground. They also must have used sand, as it drains very quickly. I describe the site as such because we spent the weekend in a tent and it literally rained the entire weekend. The site we were at turned into a lake four times, submerging our fire pit and picnic table. This made making a fire near impossible, let alone accessible, it was in the middle of a small lake! As we scrambled most of the fear to the car, we watched the water creep to the front door of the tent, from the highest ground. It’s a good thing we had a tarp under the tent, otherwise we would have been swimming in our tent. Anyway, busy place, near the road and a honky tonk. Not our preferred experience. Vault toilets, firewood, nice beach if the weather was nice.

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• 

  Amy G.

  Legend

  Jul. 18, 2022

  Coon Fork Campground

  Lovely campground with lake views

  The campground is lovely considering it's only $20 for lakeside ($17 non lakeside). It has a shower house, bathroom, dump station, wood for sale ($6/bundle), ice for sale and is non electric. The sites are very generous with a lot of green between spaces. You are not on top of your neighbor.

  I like to hammock, and while not a lot of the sites are ideal, they're are a few that are. A3 was one ($17 non lake) and 2LR ($20 lakeside). The latter was perfect for several hammocks.

  All sites have very clean fire rings, picnic table and a bench next to the fire pit.

  There is a totally separate loop (Loop D) for units that are self contained.

  If you don't make it before the office closes, there is self check in. A total of 108 spaces with about 30 that are first come.

  Very little road noise here… Pretty far off the road. I did have noisy radio neighbors the second night I stayed, but it happens sometimes.That did not reflect on the campground itself.

  Raccoons frequent the park, hence the name, so they will give you trash bags at check in to keep them at bay. That's a great way to help control the problem.

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• 

  Jen R.

  Scout

  Jul. 16, 2019

  East Fork Campground

  Quiet rustic site right on the river

  We were able to reserve site 120, right on the river.  It was a lovely site with a nice view, but little shade.  The sunsets were amazing here.  This campground is small and quiet, with minimal amenities.  The vault toilets were clean.  We saw some interesting wildlife too.  We purchased firewood on site, it was a bit wet and challenging to get started.  The ranger was super friendly on check-in.

• A

  Anikka T.

  Scout

  Sep. 7, 2020

  Eastwood NF Campground

  Beautiful, Remote

  We stayed 3 nights at site number 9 in the midst of the pandemic. Overall fairly quiet and private. One side of site 9 is a parking area. Our site had a wooded trail down to the flowage and onto the Mondeaux Esker Trail segment of the Ice Age Trail (“East” segment - most people use the dam as their definition). I had a hard time confirming before hand but yes the trail runs right through this campground. The Mondeaux Esker segment was challenging (muddy) but fun.

  Our site was large though not real flat. We fit a car, suv and 17 ft boat.

  One drawback was the water at the campground is shut off due to bad water tests (not due to covid). Plan ahead - there is a glacial spring within driving distance and other federal campgrounds that you might be able to get water from. Pit toilets were very clean and didn’t stink. No showers. stayed late August 2020

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• 

  Kendra N.

  Traveler

  Sep. 7, 2021

  Camp New Wood County Park

  Nice FCFS

  We decided to hit the road on Labor Day Weekend and took a chance on not knowing where we'd stay the night. This first come first served campground with only 7 sites still had some available. The sites are a decent size and it's right on the Ice Age Trail with lots of hiking to be enjoyed right from your camp site. It was a bit tricky to find as its north of the park and not well identified. The water is a bit of a hike down the trail and through the woods so you might want to bring your own. The fire rings are quite large and hold a lot of fire wood. There are no grates for cooking over the fire ring but there are stand alone grills at each site that would require charcoal. The pit toilets are not in the best shape and have no lighting so bring a flashlight. There are no showers but that didn't bother us for the 2 nights we were there. Others we spoke to that stayed there before said its hardly ever full and you can easily get a spot. For $15 a night, it was a decent stay and we would go again if ever in the area.

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• 

  Steph H.

  Legend

  Nov. 1, 2017

  Sailor Creek Campsite

  Ranger Review: Ledlenser MH2 Headlamp and MT10 Flashlight at Sailor Creek Campsite, Ice age Trail, Chequamegon National Forest, WI

  Campground Review:

  Sailor Creek campsite is a backcountry site located within the Chequamegon National Forest in Taylor County, Wisconsin. It is the 15.2 mile Jerry Lake Segment; part of the 1200 mile long Ice Age Trail. A 2.5 hr drive from the Twin Cities it is an excellent diverse section of trail with many geologic wonders formed by continental glaciation, with the most recent effects formed at the end of the Wisconsin Glaciation, a period ending about 10,000 years ago. In the Jerry Lake Segment you cross over the mile-long Hemlock Esker. An Esker is basically an inverted river. Look it up, it’s fascinating. It also provides incredible views as you’re about 80 feet up.

  Continuing our backpacking trip from the Lake Eleven campsite, we hiked about 8 miles from our previous site to Sailor Creek. It is located in a grove of hemlocks about 150 feet away from your water source, Sailor Creek. It’s marked by a large blue gray boulder that looks exactly like Jeff Dunhams, Walter, and some very open ground. The trees are lovely but the site is a bit rough for tents. Lots of roots and low dips make for uncomfortable, possibly damp sleeping. Hammock camping, however, is readily available. This site has no pit toilet and not a lot of “privacy” so finding a place to do your business is not for the modest. You are also directly in contact with the trail. It’s literally right along the campsite so even though we never saw anyone, if you happen to camp during a busy time you will not have any privacy from those walking the trails.  The fire pit is very nice and there are plenty of dead downed trees to start a fire. The pit is surrounded by logs to sit on and oddly enough some of the “bridge” of Sailor Creek. We’re not sure if someone broke the boardwalk or they’ve repaired it and those were left over pieces. They made for nice tables though.

  Product Review:

  As a Ranger Reviewer for The Dyrt, I am honored occasionally to test and evaluate products. During this trip I tested out two LEDLENSER products, the MH2 Headlamp and the MT10 Flashlight. https://www.ledlenserusa.com

  First up the MH2. This sturdy, well built, headlamp is great for tasks around camp. It is not incredibly bright at 100 lumens but it’s a no frills get the job done light. You can twist the front to go from soft 15 lumen light to the more direct spot of the 100 lumens. It’s lightweight at a little over 6 oz and has an excellent price point, for its qualities, of $25. It provided plenty of light for walking around camp, gathering firewood and setting up the tent. It requires 3 AAA batteries which were pleasantly included in the box along with instructions and a 7 year warranty.

  The MT10 flashlight is in a word, intense. If the packaging doesn’t convince you (a chainsaw would have been useful) then the 1000 lumens of light might. It is incredibly well built and while just under 6 oz feels a lot denser. It’s a convenient, compact size at a little over 5 inches long and comes with a handy sheath that clips to your pants, shirt, backpack, etc. Like the headlamp you can go from a soft 10 lumens of light to the powerful direct 1000 lumens. As a women I considered the fact that this 1000 lumens light would blind a would be attacker in a heartbeat. The light comes with a rechargeable battery via usb cord and is advertised as providing 6 to 144 hours of light depending on your lumen intensity. I enjoyed using this light for a middle of the night bathroom run as I could see everything within a 500+ foot radius. No shining eyes were sneaking up on me. I would completely trust this light for late night trail jaunts. The pictures below looking up into the 100 foot tall pine trees give you just a peak at the power of this flashlight. This light comes in at a steeper price point of $80 but given its capacity I think it’s more than worth it if you need sunlight in the darkness.

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• 

  Amber G.

  Scout

  Jul. 17, 2022

  Marathon Park Campround

  Convenient - But not truly Outdoorsy

  The campground is part of a larger park. There are multiple playgrounds, tennis courts, splash pads and even an amphitheater and ice rinks within the park.

  There is a lot of traffic during the day from park visitors. The evening is mostly quiet, but with traffic noise from the outside of the park streets and occasional loud vehicles that can be disruptive. Morning was largely quiet as well.

  The campsites themselves are small — if you have a camper there’s not much room outside. Even the tent spaces are small.

  There are no open fires allowed - which didn’t bother us given it was just an overnight stop. You can use grills etc though.

  Being a city park it is quite well lit - which has its pros and cons. The back left corner where the nonelectric tent sites are seems to be one of the less bright areas. We slept fine with the rain cover off.

  There is a 2 day minimum for online reservations. That’s not required for walk up self registration so you can do one day as a walk up. Self registration has a 3 day maximum.

  There is a bathroom/shower for the campers. As a walk up registrant you will have to contact the phone number on the board to get the code. Not sure if online registrations get it in the email. There are other bathrooms (no showers) that are not locked that are a further walk into the park though.

  Overall it was a nice place to stay over spending $100+ for a hotel room on a quick overnight on our way further north.

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