Blue Mound State Park Campground

My wife and I tent camped here. We had never been here before.

We stayed at site 77 as the majority of the sites were booked.

77 is sloped, as well as gravel with hard packed earth. Some patches of grass, but for the most part it’s gravel. My wife and I sleep on mattresses, so it was not an issue for us.

If you’re tent camping, I highly recommend looking for a site with a leveled tent pad. We did not inspect any of them, but from a distance the pads look like packed sand or something of that nature.

The pit toilets are very well taken care of. The shower facilities were not open during our visit.

Here is where our problems lied (and this has little to do with the park itself)

there was no end-of-night patrol of any kind. The biggest issue we faced was the amount of noise. All of the sites surrounding us knew each other and partied together. People that partied until 1am, yelling and being loud as hell. Screaming at cars that drove by. quiet hours are listed online starting at 10pm.

We left our campsite to ask the Onsite host for help or to do something about it, but they chose not to come out of their camper. We called every line we could to get someone to come and shut them up, but alas, no park employees or hotlines were available. The wife and I certainly did not want to call the cops since we were surrounded by a group of drunk loud people and that can get out of hand fast.

Park staff came to our site the very next morning and talked to us. They warned all groups around us of the noise level. While this did calm down the partying our next night, it did not stop them from yelling things towards our campsite to try and scare us. Making animal noises and non-sense scare tactics to try and intimidate us.

Trashy and disrespectful, we walk away from our experience with an extremely negative stain.

This has nothing to do with the park itself, just the unfortunate circumstance that we were surrounded by terrible people that do not respect the rules of camping.

Tl;dr: shower house is great. Nice campers, rangers and camping vibes. Go to Blue Mounds Grocery on the way in. easy access to hiking, mountain biking, and running trails - including Military Ridge Trail.

Camped here with 2 friends during a cross country road trip. We had site 5 and were tent camping. When we showed up it was raining and it was unseasonably cold, but other campers in adjacent sites looked like they were having a great time - lots of family groups. This kept our spirits high as we set up camp, made a fire, and made dinner. The site was standard with a big picnic table, tent platform, fire pit, and room for our car. The bathroom and shower house was a really great amenity and there were spots for cars to drive over there if their spots were far. A very nice camp ranger came by to say hi and let us know that campers are expected to quiet down at 9ish and not be cognizant of that. Campers were being respectful of socially distancing and wearing masks for the most part. Seems like there is a great bike/hiking trail network all around. A couple of us are runners also a friend from Madison met us and we ran on the military ridge trail in the morning. There is very easy access to that. Also, insider note, on the way in, go to blue mounds grocery for anything you need (esp firewood). The cash register gave us some great camping advice.

I spent two nights in the campground at Blue Mound State Park. Overall, the park has well-maintained hiking and MTB biking trails, extraordinarily clean and well-kept vault toilets, and ample access to drinking water. Both tent and RV/camper sites are on a typical one-way road pattern with a couple of loops there are plenty of sites with and without electricity. At the time I was there, the camp host sold high-quality hard wood for $5/bundle from a trailer on the honor system, so if you run out in the middle of the night, wood was easy to replenish. One of the park's highlights are lookout towers with views above the treetops, Unfortunately in 2020 both were closed, presumably because it would be difficult to keep a safe distance from others when on the stairs or while at the top. Pity, it'll be a reason to return. Still, there are several observation areas that are maintained well enough to keep the undergrowth from blocking the view of the Wisconsin River Valley nearly 15 miles to the north. This is where the "Blue Mound" name must come from, the hills at that distance did have a bluish cast to them.

If you've read any of my other reviews you know what's next, my list of the best campsites. While I've visited several parks now that have "walk in" sites, with cars parked a minute or two from the campsite, about a dozen sites in Blue Mound State Park take "walk in" to a new level. Cars can drive to a barrier across the road, and the sites are a 10-15 minute walk downhill, The park provides ONE medium-sized cart (250 lb weight limit, 20-minute use limit) that I guess would be in high demand during load in and load out. (NOTE TO SELF, camp Thursday through Monday if going here, or arrive EARLY to get a cart). Most of these sites are quite sunny; 105 is nice and shady and private, 106 slightly shaded 109 and 110 are shaded, very close to one another and would be good for a group camp setup 111 is quite shady. There's water and toilets in the walk-in camp ground. You'd want to sip wood for campfires and cooking, the nearest source is a 15-minute walk uphill and back, and then if using the cart, you have to return it for another round trip.

Back in the family campground where mortals and RVs park, I think the following are the nicest in terms of shade, level, size and privacy.

42, 45, 47, 51, 64, 66, 69, 71, 73

We love this state park for family camping. The sites for RVs have electrical, but no water. The bathrooms are OK, its what you expect from a state park. But the hiking around the park is amazing. There are tons of trails, and 2 wooden observation towers to climb so you can see all the way to Madison on a clear day! If it's a hot summer day, enjoy the swimming pool or head over to Cave of the Mounds where it's always cool. There's also a biking camp ground right off the Ice Age Trail, which makes it a great stop for an overnight or just a break. You're also close enough to drive to Mt. Horeb if you need more action or beer.

We've always enjoyed this campground because the overnight camping are has fewer sites, and therefore less crowded. It's a nice shaded area with some tight spots. If you are in a tent, some even have gravel pads for a level area that drains well. For RVs, be sure to select a bigger site than you think you need. Sometime's it's tricky to maneuver your camper so big rigs may want to stay elsewhere. Our 30 ft. travel trailer fit fine, with some skilled driving. Lots of trees for shade or hammocks, and bigger fields and picnic areas if you need some space to play frisbee.

Blue Mounds State Park is a great campground.  I love the area all the trees.  They have hike in campsites, bike in campsites and regular campsites.  They also have a group area.  If you are in a tent you will have great luck, I would advise in a trailer or Motor Home to inspect you site closely before you say yest to it, or you may be like us and change it 3 times.  Not very many level sites unless you can get up on the tent pad.  At one we thought was fairly level our tires were a good 3 inches off the ground in front.  We finally found one we could live with.  They have limited sites with Electricity so also if you need that look around.

I will have to say that the facilites are really nice and very clean in fact I have never seen a bathroom floor that clean on a weekend.  

Speaking of weekends it does fill up most weekends so you will need to make reservations unless you want to use the hike in sites.

They have a recreation are also in the park that has a beautiful pool.  Picnic areas that are great and towers you can go up to see the Mounds. 

WE have spent 2 times there this summer and will be back next summer.

If you are there there are a few areas to visit.

Mt Horeb the Troll Capital.  It is a small town about 20 miles if that.  Has a Troll theme and you can see the trolls all over the town.  Some good restaurants and one of the weekends we were there was the Art   Tour it is in the entire area and had some great art studios you could visit.

Cave of the Mounds is another place you have to visit.  This is a great cave during the week they give guided tours on the weekend it is self guided but have docents around explaining everything.  Well worth the money and trip.  This is about 5 miles from the Park.

I will say no internet and cell phone was very spotty. It is also one of the darkest areas if you are into the stars, just put something on for Mosquitos. 

All in all a good solid 4, only down side was we were in a Motor Home and the not level sites was not the best.