Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Summit Lake, WI

We have been coming here for a long time. It is under new management and we thought things would get better. While we were here other guests trashed the beach and had dogs running and using the bathroom throughout the campsite. The rules for dogs were to keep them on leashes and clean up after them. These rules were not being followed which caused the beach, in the past is lovely, but with the dogs using it as a bathroom the beach smelt like poop. Nobody in our week of staying cleaned up after them so we needed to go somewhere else to swim. If your place is pet friendly please make sure to keep up with your own rules. The cabins are run down but showers are hot and the utilities are still able to be used

Park is located in the Peshtigo River state forest. Pet friendly!! Your pets are aloud on trails and with you at your campsite. They must be on a 6 ft leash. The park is beautiful. What surprised me the most was the pit toliets that looked like tiny houses. Pictures are attached. There is a small lake which is great for kayak and swimming. This park also has a boat launch onto the Cauldron Falls Reservoir. I've attached photos of the map. Almost all the campsites are private and hidden away in their own little spots. There are a few hiking trails which i enjoyed spending time on. If you go down the street a bit you will find Old Veterans state park which has a secluded quiet lake and beach. I spent an afternoon at the beach and never saw a soul. There is not a camp store. The only thing you can buy at the park is firewood.

We chose this campground on a whim since we wanted to be near Lakewood where I would spend summers as a kid. We love this place and ended up choosing it for both of our camping trips last summer. We in fact got the same exact site and it’s our favorite anyway. This campground is pet friendly- We took our bulldog camping with us. We checked out the beach and it was very accessible. The showers , Bathrooms and Vault Toilets were all clean. We did enjoy the hiking on the campground but there were some parts that were a little overgrown. Overall we love this place and it’s our go to!

We stopped here for a quick overnight pit stop on our way from Minneapolis to our final destination camp site in Rowleys bay , Door county, Wisconsin. We were in a bind & needed something last minute but we still had specific wants.....like privacy! Their online reservations were easy. Pics of the sites were clear. Electric hook up & a great rate!
This camp is well off the beaten path , narrow windy roads abound. But all paved & no traffic. In fact, we never saw a soul. The drive is lovely thru the Nicollet State forest. Although, you will lose service & it your relying on GPS directions, you’ll find yourself in a bind like us. But we got out our trusty map & winged it. Cell service kicked in just in time & we made it!

Check in was a breeze. The gal was lovely & helpful. You will need a Wisconsin park’s admission sticker. The drive is still a 2.2 mile trek beyond the check in building. Our site was perfect. It was lush, green, & private . Well sized, easy to find, part grass, part gravel. Picnic table & fire ring. If you need it , they have a few bathroom buildings peppered around the loop & a very well kept shower & bathroom building upon entering the campground. I’m telling you, this place is PRIVATE. It is out there.. but still very well maintained. We were impressed by that.

If anyone one else was camping , we didn’t know until we walked the dogs around the loop. Our site was surrounded by forest & the dogs were able to roam our site freely. There were mosquitoes, as it was slightly humid & rained a bit. But nothing mosquito spray couldn’t handle. FYI- if you have kids they will be bored. There is no playground that we saw. But if you just want some peace & quiet - this is the place for you! Most of the campers were older retirees. It looked like there were trails to explore but since it was a quick stay, we didn’t get a chance. We plan on coming back for sure & checking it out. For reference: We have a 19ft travel trailer & a ford truck. We stayed at site 19 , it is pull in & it was perfect,with plenty of room for everything. We took a walk to be nosy &also liked site 20, it was even bigger! Site 14 looked great for a pull thru site. There were also some much larger sites for bigger rigs. There also plenty of tent sites that looked great too. Dogs are welcome. As an added bonus- there were raspberry bushes everywhere! They were just coming in , but if you catch it right. You’ll be up to your eyeballs in fresh raspberries.. yum!

Bagley Rapids Campground is located in the Lakewood- Laona District of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which is about as far South as the Forest goes. This makes Bagley Rapids Campground the perfect spot for a quick weekend trip from surrounding larger cities. It's roughly 2.5 hours away from Madison and Milwaukee and just over an hour away from the Green Bay area. 

If outdoor recreation is your thing, this is the perfect base camp. The campground entrance is right off the ATV / Snowmobile / Horse Trails which connect to thousands of miles of trail systems all throughout the Northwoods of Wisconsin. I've stayed here 5 times in the last two years and frequent the local logging roads on my Dual Sport motorcycle. I'd say over 1/4 of the spots are actually located on Bagley Rapids, a very clear, crisp refreshing spring fed river that runs around the campground. It's great to wade into and enjoy after a hot day hiking and exploring trails. 

A couple miles from the campground is nearby Mountain, WI where you can get basic groceries, gas and a great bar burger. Within 30 minutes you can be in the smaller town of Wabeno, which is home to some of the best ATV trails around and also has a very cool old style downtown.

The sites are a mix of tent and RV with some really great spots with some elevation that back down into the river. It's always been peaceful during my stays and never gets loud and rowdy.

As there isn't a beach, small children should stay out of the river due to it's strong current, so this might not be the best choice if you're going purely for the water.