Best Cabin Camping near Wauwatosa, WI

I drove through this state park to find some great campsites for future camping; I haven't actually stayed here yet.

The purpose of sharing the following is that is difficult to figure out what are nice sites from the online reservation site. For anyone who is interested in camping here, the following sites, in my opinion, are the best campsites in terms of shade, not being flooded during a rain and privacy.

There are several camping areas in this state park, I found the most appealing sites in the Pine Woods area because it has no electricity, is a 24-hour quiet area and no pets allowed. The sites in this area generally have long driveways, more "privacy" than I've seen in many State Parks campgrounds and generous space between sites. I don't think there is a lousy site in this loop but my favorites are the following.

4

7 very private 

10 pull-through driveway 

11 private, long driveway 

12 awesome, large, private, long driveway 

14 private, long driveway 

19 a bed of pine needles to sleep on 

33 level, pine needles, room for two tents

Conveniently located next to absolutely nothing just due northwest of Fort Atkinson, you’ll love Pilgrim’s Campground for its successful delivery of (capital letters) P&Q! What I love most about this location is how they keep all the RV campers penned in up against the slight diagonal embankment, which actually provides some pretty phenomenal views of the surrounding areas (if not your next door neighbors) as well as excellent drainage and subsequently separated from the primitive TV campsites. These latter sites are placed just due southwest of the grounds and are pitched perfectly in a tree-lined meadow, encircled by freshly cut corn fields, where you’ll find no shortage of amazing animals coming to graze throughout the day (and night) from deer, raccoons, opossums and endless tag teams of squirrels. 

Because there isn’t so much around, be prepared to bring everything with you (save ice and wood, which is sold on-site). While the bathroom / shower facilities are just passable, what you are giving up in terms of creature comforts is more than made up for in the sheer proximity to all of nature. During the warm summer months, there’s a small in-ground pool on-site, which sits right in front of the main office. All of the standard camping surround-sound elements are here from fire rings and picnic tables to water, electrical (50 / 30 / 20 / 15 amp) and sewer hook-ups. In all, there’s about 100 sites here at Pilgrims Campground, with the lion’s share of this pet-friendly property dedicated to overnight and seasonal RV / 5th Wheelers offering both back-in and pull-through sites. 

Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you don’t mind some rough hiking, there’s fantastic ‘spazierengehen’ to be had just wandering around the countryside in the bountiful corn and bean fields or head over to nearby Dorothy Carnes County Park for some decent trails to explore; (2) In the event that you don’t like being awaken too early from all of the nearby roosters, then bring some ear plugs; (3) When you grow tired of having to forage through either your on-board RV mini-fridge or bear-proof Cordova roto-molded cooler, then look no further than ‘What’s the Point’ (no, seriously, that's the name of the restaurant!) for traditional Midwestern comfort food like corned beef & cabbage, fried fish, BBQ ribs and prime rib; (4) Should you come bearing watercraft and looking for a decent spot to dip your kayak or canoe at, then check out Rose Lake State Natural Area, which BTW is quite small, but very convenient, or try out much larger Red Cedar Lake or Lake Ripley; and (5) Cell coverage and WiFi is pretty horrific in these parts, so bring a booster or plan to leave civilization behind you. 

Happy Camping!

Living rather close to this park, this is our "go-to" place to camp. It has a great variety of activities available. There is a beach AND a dog beach so it's pet-friendly. Dogs are not allowed on all of the trails, but there are many you can take them on. Being on the water, you can swim, kayak, fish, or just soak up some rays! There are also non-reservable sites available. There are many electric sites, clean bath houses, friendly campground hosts, some rather private sites as well. It's a short walk from the campsites to the lake. Our favorite site is next to the woods where we have seen ample deer, turkey, foxes, and birds. Close to town if you need supplies, firewood and ice is available in the park.

Weekend camping with old and new friends. About 20 minutes from Sheboygan, WI and 2 hours from Chicago, IL, Kohler-Andrae State Park Campground, is a few minutes drive or walk from Lake Michigan. There are about 130 campsites, cabins with ADA accessibility, two group sites, an amphitheater, and shelters. Each site does have a fire ring and picnic table. However, the sites are very close to each other which leaves very little privacy, but the campers are very respectful to each other. 

This campground does have a lot of amenities from showers, vault/flush toilets, water spigots spread around, playground, amphitheater, dump station, electric sites, and recycling containers. The sites on the south end and in the center seem more spacious and the surrounding pine, birch, and beechwood trees offer great shade and places to hang hammocks. I did see a teepee and can be reserved. Campers have access to Lake Michigan. The camp fee varies from$15-$35 along with a daily park entrance fee of$8-$15 depending on your license plate. The trails nearby have boardwalks to prevent damage on the dune vegetation. You could see the stars on a clear night. Keep your food in proper storage and in vehicles. Raccoons frequent the campground and are not afraid of humans. They would take food at any opportunity they get. Our marshmallows were stolen as we were about to make smores.  But besides, that mishap, Kohler-Andrae has a lot to offer. I would definitely camp here again but do hammock camping.

*** reviewing as a baby/toddler camp family on the go :-) we chose the loop 11 was on because it was close to the path to the playgrounds and lakes plus bathrooms… avoid the first 2 sites from either end as the ones closest to the main loop aren’t very deep. Closer to the center of this row is best.

Pros- easy pull in sites and lots of walk-in availability. Sites are almost all flat thankfully, so no weird slopes to sleep on and easy for babies/toddlers to stay safe. Also seemed pretty respectful in the evenings with people toning down the noise.

Lots of electric sites, deep enough for 2 tents, 2 cars (although close to neighbors and no trees between sites), picnic table and fire pit.

Bathroom shower houses were decent (we usually just have toddler use her travel potty, but this one was fine).

Multiple playgrounds, access to launch sites for kayaks, little store to buy ice cream or snacks.

Cons - SO many ticks. With a baby crawling that needed to be set free, we were constantly doing checks. Luckily our screen house pop up on a tarp that was sprayed ahead for tick repellent plus a blanket on top of that did the trick, but they literally fall out of the trees into people! Plan for toddlers and babies to have a contained covered screen house and have them wear hats or a wagon shade on walks so nothing lands in their hair.

Also - the raccoons at night here are no joke. The second it’s dusky, they come scavenging for absolutely anything food has touched. So basically, eat dinner and do s’mores early, then everything must be packed into cars for the night and all surfaces wiped down.

We liked this site because it was on the "quiet loop." No radios or pets allowed. I'm not sure about children! :) The sites are fairly close together and the trees are sparse, but it was a beautiful site and wonderfully quiet for the long weekend over the 4th of July 2017.

You can walk over to an area that has hiking trails right out of the campsite. State park mountain biking trails are also close by, but you would need to drive to them. The showers were clean and when we used them, available. There is a playground right next to them as well.

The campsite itself had a good log-stopper so you wouldn't drive too far into the woods, great fire ring, and picnic table. We had nice flat areas for our tents.

I am not so sure I would have enjoyed myself if I'd been in another loop. The quiet was perfect!

We had a wooded site in the Sunset campground, mid-week.

The sites are rustic but nicely groomed with a tree line between most campsites, although almost none of the spots had occupants. The camp hosts were very nice and very communicative about all the happenings. Picnic table and fire pit included. Long enough drive in for RVs. But enough grass for tenting. Not many trees available for clothes lines.

Unfortunately, we might have had bad timing. The beach was closed due to high levels of bacteria. The pit toilets closest to us were also closed due to a bee hive being found so we ended up driving to the flush toilets if there was any urgency but could walk if you wanted. We also picked a spot by the water fountain. The water was yellow from iron. It had just stormed so the bugs were bad and everything was wet. So mostly a series of unfortunate events but we still enjoyed our time.

Because this is a prairie, there is so much to look at! The hiking trails are great through prairie and woods. The sunrise over the prairie and the sunset colors of the sky were great.

We mostly enjoyed our trip here over Memorial Day Weekend. It’s not too far away from our home and a nice gear testing first trip.

Pros: Spacious grassy site. This one even had an attached smaller clearing perfect for our 7 year old to use for her own space where we set up a hammock for her.

The campsites feel very private with a thick brush between each site. It’s not a huge campground.

Bathrooms and showers are very cleans and actually closed from 11am-noon each day for complete cleaning.

Gorgeous magnificent trails and right on Lake Michigan. Also a beautiful quarry lake with a trail all the way around and a cute pond full of turtles!

Very nice, completely cleaned fire pits.

Cheap bundle yourself firewood. Cons:

Gorgeous hikes, but short. We prefer more distance.

Maybe because of its proximity to the lake and Milwaukee or perhaps the holiday weekend but this was a louder campground. More of a party vibe than we really look for in state parks. A particular group was extremely loud and kept us up until 4 am the first night. No park ranger on duty. It’s nice when quiet hours are observed.

No trees really on the campground and it is built on and surrounded by wetlands that are actively in restoration. At the height of summer this place is going to be sweltering and full of bugs. The mosquitoes will be especially terrible.

Overall we have and love this park for a day trip but probably won’t return to camp.