Buckhorn State Park Campground

I went in 2 weekdays in early October and it was very quiet and calm. Nice facilities and campsites.

Site 29 is lovely - it's situated directly on the shoreline with a tiny slice of beach. The weather was excellent and with enough wind to quell the bugs. There was an eagle fishing in the bay with us. Plenty of hiking, canoeing, and kayaking opportunities inside the park, too.

There is a bar and grill across the river with a live cover band on Friday night that could be heard loud and clear. Their setlist was pretty much identical to the 'Songs that Excite the White Folks' playlist on Spotify. We didn't mind it - it was amusing. They respectfully ended their set at 10pm sharp, so no big deal.

Only one of the showers had warm water in the nearby bathhouse, but we were grateful for it. There is nice, dry wood for fires and ice situated at the entrance to the park. There is also a cute little general store just outside of the park that is well-stocked with necessities. It's next to a food truck with a chef who proudly shared that he's from Chicago and serves up homemade gyros off the spit. 100% I'm getting one next time I'm in the area.

Our last day was kind of rough, though. A pontoon full of belligerent, drunken strangers blasting modern armpit country music pulled up to our site, parked their boat, got out, and made themselves at home in our campsite and proceeded to have a party. They blocked our entire beach access with their big fat pontoon so we couldn't use it at all. They got especially shrill when I suggested they park on an equally nice and secluded beach a mere 100 ft to the north that wasn't someone's campsite. They said too bad, they do it every weekend and that they're on public property. I'm pretty sure that's not how campsites work and what they were doing is trespassing, but I digress. Anyhow, one of the men started shouting some weird, irrelevant, cultish political nonsense that was probably intended to be offensive (while his unfortunate teenage son looked like he was about to keel over from cringe wishing his dad would keep his embarrassing opinions to himself). The irony of their 'don't tread on me' slogan was lost on them - they should just have a Jolly Roger mounted on their pontoon.

It's obnoxious that these folks make a habit of colonizing occupied sites instead of reserving them like everyone else, but for us, this was an isolated incident. Everyone else we encountered on the trip was delightful and gracious.

Anyhow, we decided to pack up a few hours early and head to Wisconsin Dells instead and we had a blast there, too.

We camped on site 22. It was an easy walk from the parking lot to the site with the help of the provided carts. It was peaceful and lovely! It seemed like a good spot for kayaks and canoes given the lake access; it appeared shallow and sandy at this site. The porta-potty was clean and located in the parking lot. There was a basic fire ring with grill grate and a picnic table. Fish were jumping frequently. We were able to set up our screen house and tent with plenty of room to spare. The only reason I gave this 4/5 stars is because the mosquitoes!!! I know, it's nature in all it's glory but we couldn't leave our tents until sun went down so it was a bummer. We will revisit earlier in the spring in hopes of avoiding the bugs.

Snagged a spot (#102) right before the Memorial Day weekend. Spacious site, somewhat private because of the surrounding trees. If you want to be surrounded by hammock-able trees, i suggest sites 94-99. Our site was both close to vaulted toilets/water and shower building, which was a plus. Shower head pressure was lovely and hot water was great! One downside was that people were loud and playing music till midnight but oh wells.

Was worried about bugs but I think it was okay. Maybe we were there before it began. i did find some ticks on my camping chair though so beware.

Though we didnt explore much of the Buckhorn SP, we chose this site because it was under an hour drive from Mirror Lake SP and Devils Lake SP. Making a day trip to those parks and Wisconsin Dells was a breeze.

This park has a lot to offer.

Pros:

- Most of the sites were relatively large. We had 3 tents and 2 cars on our site and it wasn't a problem.

- The lake/beach access is a nice bonus.

- Newer shower house and bathrooms, as well as vault toilets

- Decent trails.

- No apparent highway noise.

Cons:

- Despite the large campsites, it felt very "car campery" to me.  The sites I observed didn't have much in the way of tree canopy, so it feels very open.  

- Lots of campground noise and not secluded.    

So, despite Buckhorn being well-appointed, it just wasn't really the campground for me.  I prefer a more rustic and woodsy atmosphere and this was not it.  I think it is likely better suited for campers/trailers than tents.

We had a walk to site on the water and it was very nice! Neighbor sites were a good distance away. No problems with mosquitos but lots of ticks. I could hear kids at the group sites but didn't really bother me. Carts provided for moving your equipment. Clean bathrooms.

Stopped here as I was making my rounds of state parks in the area, and wow what a gem. Really was impressed with the trails and also the walk-in trails to the campsites that were by the water. A very beautiful park. There were a few areas that were clear cut in order to remove some of the undesirable plants, but other than that it was first rate.

Our favorite state park that no one around has ever heard of. We had so much fun exploring the sheer wilderness of this place, all the different camping areas, canoe and kayak launches, picnic areas and trails. There are lake views (and beaches!) almost anywhere you look. The shower areas and vault toilets were very clean and were definitely on the new side (October 2020.) I hear the bugs get nasty in summer, but fall here is magical. The tower doesn’t offer much of a view, but it’s still a fun little walk. Highly, highly recommended.

Disclaimer: We exclusively camp at national, state and county parks and have no children, so can’t comment on the amenities you may find at private campgrounds.

We had a group in sites 17-18-19 the weekend of June 26-27, 2020. We boated in and some people also walked in with more equipment. Beaches are sandy and sites large and with 3 reserved it was very isolated. The 3 sites had one porta potty to share which was fine since we were all together. Only drawback was the bar across the lake was blasting music late into the night so sleeping was affected. There was also noise from boatloads of people leaving at bar close. Never saw any of the actual campground since we boated right to the site

So, like other reviewers, I’ll warn you that the park itself is brutally buggy, but you’re in the woods on a peninsula. It’s to be expected, so I don’t hold that against the campground.

This is a typical WI state park campground. The sites are spacious and very wooded. Amenities are few. If you need to fill your water tank, be advised the water and the dump station are poorly marked and positioned so that if you need to fill your water on arrival, you have to enter the park gate, turn around, fill it, leave the park, and turn around to come back in. It’s an awful design.

The bathroom buildings look newish and were fine, so I don’t understand why the showers were so awful. Full of mold/mildew, and the shower itself is line trying to wash your hair under a leaky gutter during a strong drizzle. I even saw park employees come service the bathrooms, yet the showers remained gross.

It’s okay for a layover type stay. I can’t imagine staying there for more than a long weekend and I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back. WI state parks have significantly better offerings than this one.

Super clean campground. Enough space between campsites so you never really got super close to any other groups. Beautiful lake to swim in and nice trails. Also nearby a gas station to get any last minute necessities.

I may be biased- because I really hate mosquitos and ticks but wow! The ticks here are so tiny they’re very easy to miss so look I it for those. Also the mosquitos never let up- even in the rain. As you can see in the pictures though, our site was fairly close to our own beach which was nice for fishing and swimming. Good fishing off of fishing pier and cool wildlife (pictured). Caught a sheep head and some white bass! Campsites are a nice distance apart and the bathrooms aren’t a far walk and are well maintained.

Site 12 - pack in was perfect! 12 yr old boys being BOYS all weekend- sun up to sun down. Clean showers - very rustic amenities but gorgeous park! Bugs late August were fine...

This was my first time camping next to a lake and we loved listening to the water falling asleep and waking up in the morning. The sunrise was absolutely gorgeous. The main swimming area of the beach had a nice sandy bottom and clear water. We stayed at backpack site 21. I was a little apprehensive doing a backpack site pregnant and with a toddler but there was a wagon shared between 3 campsites available at the parking area to carry your gear to your site. There was a nice picnic table and a couple benches as well as a fire pit with a moveable grill top. There was also a porta potty shared for sites #20-22. Our campsite was fairly secluded. It was also quite a hike from the heart of state park so we ended up driving to trailheads and to the playground and beach. The first night we were there the flies were horrific and biting at dusk and it was miserable being outside. Just going into our tent quickly caused at least 30-50 flies to sneak in. The second night was windy and we had no flies. After reading some reviews the flies can occasionally be a nuisance in mid to late summer. We were there end of July. We would absolutely camp here again, the sunrises were breathtaking. I think next time we will try for the other side of the lake.

We stayed at site 17 which is a backpack site about a mile walk in from the nearest parking lot. The walk to the site was on a very nicely maintained trail, however we almost didn't make it there as we were all nearly carried away by mosquitoes. It didn't get much better when we got to our site, as they were everywhere.

Aside from the bugs, this was a great site withe a private beach access and great water to swim in on Castle Rock Lake. We didn't really treat this as a "backpack" site and we had enough gear for our family of 6, water toys and other accessories. That was a long walk with all that equipment.

For traditional backpackers, this would be a fantastic site, just make sure to bring the OFF spray.

My husband and I picked this park because of it's friendliness towards kids. We took our 2 9 year old nieces on their first tent camping adventure. We chose site 28 because it was a walk in site and on the water. When we arrived and checked in we grabbed one of their pre-loaded GPS units for Geocaching; It's something the park offers for free. They give you a bag, GPS and information book on all the Geocaching sites. We drove to the site and started loading up the cart to walk in. We walked past a very open campsite that was right next to ours, could be bad if you have loud neighbors but ours were great. There are 2 other sites in this location but far enough away and they don't walk past your site to get to them. The site was spacious and has a great fire pit for cooking. There is a small trail leading to the water with an extremely small beach front but it was enough to keep the girls entertained. Set up camp and started our geocaching fun. We hiked to the kids fishing pond & the tower. Trails are easy and well groomed. Following hiking we made our way to the beach; unfortunately, the algae was in bloom so the water was caked green! However, it doesn't do any harm so we made our way out into the more clear portion of the water and had a blast! The beach area has showers and a great area to have a picnic. The evening presented itself with an amazing sunset from our beach and lots of crickets chirping. It made for a peaceful night. In the morning we took the girls fishing off the dock and then over to the kids pond; the park also offers free poles and tackle. We ventured into the campground area for fresh water. From what we saw the sites were spacious and fairly private. The shower area was well maintained and is also accessible for anyone with disabilities. We will be coming back to this park; it was great! We didn't run into any issues with mosquitoes or other bugs while there.

Gorgeous campground in the middle of no where Wisconsin! Perfect place to camp if you like to climb at Necedah! There are a few lake entrances and at one of them we saw a couple large gorgeous cranes!

Truly enjoy a walk in site! Although the site we stayed at didn’t have a lake view, we explored a little and found some sites we want to stay at next time- right on the shore!

Hiking paths were great, the check in was seamless and we will be back!

We took an extended weekend to camp at Buckhorn. There is a bar that has live music close by and you can hear it at night. We were not on the sites closest to the bar so it wasn’t unbearable. We bug bombed the site when we first arrived and didn’t have many issues Friday Saturday. However, Sunday night when there were a lot less campers the biting flies became a problem. They were horrible!!

The bathrooms were rather clean easily accessible the showers were clean, private and free- however the water pressure was pretty bad - could only have 1/4 of your body in the water at a time.

There are many activities you can do : you can rent bikes kayaks canoes plus it is right on an inlet for the Wisconsin River and there are boat landings etc. There are some hiking trails but they are not overly scenic or require much effort.

If you’re looking for a campsite that transports you away from the usual Midwest fare, this is the place to be! The site we stayed at was beyond perfect. Only a short walk from the parking lot, it was entirely heged in by trees and completely separated from the nearby sites. The real gem however, is the miniature private beach that sits literally on the edge of the campsite! This particular spot had a small bench which boasted a phenomenal view of the sunset over Castle Rock Lake. The lake itself is clean, large, and the sandy shore extends probably a solid quarter mile into the lake if not farther. But let me tell you about the sand. It’s perfect. It is so soft you will forget you’re in Wisconsin and think you’ve been transported to some remote island (especially since this small section of beach is surrounded by trees and separated from the pitiful “lake access points” that belong to the sites on either side of this glorious nook).

The rest of the park is lovely as well and there are several hiking trails to choose from which have an abundance of wildlife and pretty views to see. There is a good selection of both primitive and electrical sites with nearby water stations and bathrooms.

My boys and I loved the hike in site we stayed at right on the water. Just far enough to feel adventurous but short enough to use the provided pull carts. Fun place across the water for a meal as well!

My friends and I go every year in July and grab a spot on the west side of the peninsula at one of walk-to sites 0.6mi in. Beautiful sunsets! Pretty secluded sites on the water. The water is shallow, warm and the bottom is very soft sand.

I have camped at the majority of state parks in WI... if you enjoy privacy they have a ton of hike in sites both long and short hikes I've done both. They provide carts to haul your gear. Lots of water front sites. The rangers are incredibly nice, super helpful and accommodating cheapest wood is at the little store just outside the park $10 for "half a wheel barrel" it was two nights worth for us. Fishing was good .. we've checked out a good majority of the hike in sites you really can't go wrong the pictures tend to be old on reserve America there are a lot more trees than pictured. I'd live here if I could. they do have an issue with biting flies/mosquitoes bring lots of STRONG bug spray.

This campground is nice. Good tent sites, camper sites and is well maintained. There are several hikes around and good fishing. I would recommend for the young and old alike.

I stayed here last summer and had a wonderful time. Our campsite was secluded and was right next to the water. There were steps leading straight into the water and it was fairly shallow with a lot of sand- perfect if you have kids. We were able to launch our kayak from the campsite but unfortunately didn't have much luck fishing. I know this area is typically good for fishing so I might just have to try again!

I have camped here several times. I have hiked in, backed in, and camped lakefront. All are gorgeous. The trails are beautiful with some wooded areas and some prairie. The hike in is just shy of a mile. The lakefront is a simple walk in, but you can launch your kayak or canoe from your site, which I did. The fishing is fantastic with Striped, Largemouth, and Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, Musky, and all kinds of panfish. Many natural sites are within driving distance. Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, as well as the International Crane Foundation, many other fishing opportunities. Very minimal noise. Modern showers, fishing pier. Great for the family.