Great camping spot

This is a beautiful spot on the outskirts of a small town. The train museum is open for a few hours on weekends. Other towns are nearby with more things to do. This campground has sites relatively close together. Some look out over the water for beautiful views. It was mostly full when we went. We enjoyed looking at the variety of campers. A Westy van was beautifully set up for last fe on the road. Water lilies are the natural decorations. The boat launch is among the campsites. It launches you right into the greenery on the water. It kinda looks like green hiking trails if you didn’t know the water was there. The recreation area is just outside of town. The paved bike route heads along the Mississippi and connects towns. We explored up towards Savanna. It’s a nice trail to explore riverside life. This campground would be better for us if there was a bit more separation between campsites. Otherwise we are happy we discovered this area.

No shade between river and town

We agree with the other review that this campground is like a parking lot between town and the river. There is lots of pavement and no shade. We stayed for a bit looking around before deciding this wasn’t our type of place. The trail along the water is nice but quite sunny. We watched some of the boats moving along towards the Mississippi. Perhaps this would be a better experience if we had a boat. The campground is right in town. Many places are within walking distance. This could add some positivity.

Simple state park along the river

Potowatami campground is divided into four loops. We camped in the Osage loop. Garbage cans are at the start of the loop. A central shower house is on the main road midway between the loops. Right at the start of Osage is an entrance to the crushed gravel bike path. It gave us a great hike through the trees. You can find picnic areas and playground equipment by following the bike path. The camp host checks you in. He gave us the signal in case we drive out of camp. Wave the sign out your window and re-enter camp. He also told us about rock creek nature trail. It’s just across the main road near the ranger office entrance. There are another couple miles of trails if you want some diversity.

Nice state park near enough to the main road

These sites are separated by plenty of vegetation giving you good privacy. Water and restrooms are nicely distributed. The garbage bin is on the way out of the campground. The office was empty when we arrived. The way to get a site is through their website or calling. We didn’t have enough service for the website so we talked with a helpful agent. We didn’t have much time to explore the campground but we did have a nice walk around the outer loop of sites. This is near the main highway and a nice place to camp.

Free dispersed camping

On the west side of the water are a series of dirt loops. Choose one and you will find plenty of spots to disperse camp. There are no services so pack everything out. We parked right along the water and enjoyed the view. There is a gas station just down the road. Chamberlain is across the water and has a bunch of interesting places to check out. With 15 minutes of us being there we saw a couple police cars and a local who ran his dog around for a few minutes before leaving. I like how the community keeps an eye on things.

Small town park

This is a nice campground in a small farm town. The sites are lined up next to each other. One is not and is nestled in some trees. The rest have the sun into the evening. There’s a restroom with showers by the picnic pavilion. The playground was nice for the kids. I think it’s connected to the school. We walked the length of town and it was about a mile round trip. For $15 this is a great place to stop while driving I90.

Big field for dispersed camping

This is dispersed camping so there are no services. Bring your own water and take with you all of your garbage. The road in is gravel but really wide. There’s a number of businesses so they road gets used. It’s a logging area but clearing to camp in was fine. The turn off onto the road to this spot was narrow. It’s just wide enough for a vehicle. Luckily we didn’t encounter people coming the other way or one of us would have had to back up. This is a big open field surrounded by trees. Plenty of space for all campers. You can head over to the tree line to get some shade or stay near the middle. We stayed near the road in because we were unsure about the rain. We didn’t want to get stuck. There are homes along the main road but it was quiet here. Jewel Cave and Hell Canyon trail are nearby. Custer is a short drive the other way. This is a nice spot to return to.

Unsure if accessible

A fence closed off road so we didn’t try it. After you start in the road changes to a two track with grass between them. We didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the bus.

Tough narrow road up

The road went up but it didn’t look manageable in the bus. It didn’t look maintained like a campground so we skipped it. Just down the road are some great dispersed sites on rifle pit road.

Dispersed site for larger rigs

This is a large open dispersed site. We were able to turn our skoolie around in it. The open overlooks a bit of the area. We didn’t like the open sun here. The other spot closer to the main road had more shade. However this one accommodates larger rigs. SOS cell signal with sometimes text only. It’s just down the road from Wind Cave National Park.

Dispersed campsite

This is a dispersed site that is near the entrance to Wind Cave National Park. The road in is wide and smoothly graveled. This spot has room for a small camper - our bus backed in fine. The trees hug you keeping you shaded. We didn’t have much Verizon signal. It fluctuates between sos and just text. This was a great discovery. The Dyrt entry says cold springs road but the road sign said rifle pit road.

Dispersed camping beauty

This is dispersed camping so there are no services. Bring your own water and take with you all of your garbage. The spots within the first mile are no camping allowed. Just keep going and you’ll be happy. The road winds along the creek between rocky formations and trees. There are plenty of spots to pull into to camp. We saw larger sites and narrow ones you could back into. There was one other van camping down this way when we showed up. Cell service diminished as we drove in. The other folks walked back along the road to get a signal. Choose your site carefully because we also saw cows eating their way along the road. This is a beautiful spot right in an incredible area of the Black Hills.

Beautiful dispersed camping

This beautiful place overlooks the badlands. We entered on the second road right by the cell tower. We heard that turning left at the wall was a smoother route. Even though the place was full we kept going and found plenty of spots to camp. We choose one opposite the edge but it was too small and angled for someone to camp there. This gave us a perfect spot to set up our chairs and enjoy the view. This is dispersed camping so there are no services. Pack in/pack out is important. This also means that folks have dogs off leash but they were respectful of keeping their dogs away from our reactive dog. This is a beautiful, free gem of a place to stay at.

Nice wooded area off the highway

There are two campgrounds in this state park. We snagged the last open site on the island. There are a mix of families, older folks and even a youth group. Our site is fully shaded as are most others. There is a central shower house and a couple vault toilets in the two loops. The trail heads out around the edge of the island. It’s a little over 1 mile long. There are a bunch of small trails leading to some spots to sit along the water. We headed down each offshoot and enjoyed our visit. A paved trail leads back and ends up right across from our campsite. The weather is cool so we stayed an extra day. The place cleared out on Sunday night. We are the only ones in this loop. We would stay here again but not in the middle sites. We feel too much in view of everyone which causes some distraction for the dog.

Kettle moraine trail access here

Mauthe lake is in the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. It feels remote but we drove through a bunch of rural houses on the way in. The rustic roads made for good cycling. We passed quite a few pedaling up and down the hills.

The campground itself sprawls along one side of the lake. With the loops for each group peeling off, it is easy to lose your way. The signs mark the direction well so go slow. It helps to know your site number.

There was nobody at the entrance office. I’m not sure if it’s just today but make online reservations. It seems to be the 2022 way.

There is a shower house but we made use of the more convenient vault toilets. Water is available in different ways - even a drinking fountain. There seems to be only one garbage collection site on the way out. This was less convenient since we have dog droppings to deal with.

There is a nature trail that goes around the lake. By the beach and picnic area it’s paved. The rest is gravel or dirt. With recent rains we found a few puddles to walk through and mud to avoid. Our dog loved having the trail so close. Most of the trail is in the sun so bring water on hot days.

Swimming isn’t allowed due to a blue algae bloom. This left plenty of empty space for us to sit with our dog under the trees. Folks did make good use of the fishing pier and playground. We also saw kayaks and stand up paddle boards on the lake.

Loud, party vibe

The campsites here are deep with lots of greenery. However we chose this site thinking that it was on the end. The loops curl around so there were campers around us. On the other side was a playground that had children enjoying it all day. While this is great for some, our reactive dog was quite distracted.

Upon arriving at the check in, there is still a couple miles to wind around until the campground, longer to get to twin lakes campground. The road is hilly too. It’s not a problem in our vehicle but it would be tiring on a bicycle. There are showers in the center of our loop. It could be expanded a bit - we had short lines for the restrooms. Water , garbage and recycling are available as well as a dump station.

It was raining when we arrived but we drove around to see the park. We hiked the short distance to Stephen’s Falls and was not impressed. Maybe they need more rain this year but all we saw was a splatter.

We saw folks who kept their kayaks and canoes locked up by the lake. The beach looked nice too. The other end of the park has an equestrian campground. We did see some horses riding the trail around the park.

The vibe here wasn’t for us. Various sites had music playing loud enough for us to hear. Trails from camp would be great. We ended up walking along the narrow road.

A busy spot but enjoyable

A short drive from Houghton brings you to the shore of Lake Superior. McLain sprawls along the shore giving almost every campsite a beautiful view. Our site has a picnic table and even a couple wooden deck chairs looking towards the sunset. Every site has electric with water available at a few locations. There is a dump station near the trash bins. With the park stretching a couple miles you can get in a good walk along the paved camp road. There are a few extra trails to add some adventure. We found some that parallel the road and head to the beach - there’s even a dog beach! There are plenty of shelters and benches to find some personal space. Humans can walk down to the sand and sit by the beach (no dogs for most of it). Some folks put their kayaks in to paddle a bit. One drawback is the sparse restrooms. A centralized shower house is by the entrance. Vault toilets are around but you could have a bit of a walk. Tips: the entrance is earlier than google will take you so keep an eye open. Another camper told us to stop by the Jam Pot in the way north along 26. The monks make and sell a variety of things but Greg kept raving about the cupcakes. It’s nearJacob falls. We are stopping by on our way out tomorrow.

Far north respite

This is a beautiful haven from the warmer temperatures with easy access to hiking and relaxation. We stayed in the west campground and extended our stay for a week+. The heat hit even just a few hours south. The northern point of Copper Harbor stayed in the 50/60s during the day with nights at 40. With 2-3 miles of hiking right from camp, we loved our stay. The campsites in the west have some trees between sites. Without reservations we took an open first come first served site. This let us extend the stay. 101 is an end spot which means less dog interaction for our reactive pup. However every vehicle drives by on their way in or out. We didn’t find this to be a problem at all. There were a few big groups - one very large group in the east campground and one on our side. This added in to the number of children riding bikes in a loop throughout camp. The historic fort provides some interesting history. 1.5 miles of hiking brings you to the small town. A country store has groceries. Anything more and it’s a drive back to Calumet. Don’t miss taking 26 so you can get some jams and baked goods from the monks at the Jampot - the sign says it’s only open on Fri/Sat but luckily two newlyweds tried the door and they were open. We will be coming back to this area in the future.

Remote camping along an active lake

For those venturing out this way, the road from Sayner is paved the whole way. Coming in the opposite way has a mile or two of gravel. This campground seems to be much more active than others in the area. The lake is large enough to have motorboats towing people around. The campground beach was hopping when we pulled in. The campground itself is situated on a couple loops. We had a site in the back with no lake views. While the scenery at other sites may have been grand, we appreciated being separated from the crowd. The noise rose at nighttime between cheering, bags thudding and campfires reverie. There are vault toilets evenly spaced along with a couple hand pumps for water. We walked right across the road into the Aurora Lake State Natural Area. The road ends at another boat launch but it gave us a secluded 1.4 mile walk. We rode our bikes along the road and appreciated the pine scent as well as resplendent nature. This spot is a little too active for us but there are plenty of other campgrounds in the area to offer options.

More modern compared to others in the area

This is a beautiful campground nestled in Wisconsin’s north woods. There are many choices for sites. Some are larger (we saw a site with a camper and double sun shelter along with space for vehicles and a trailer) and some smaller (vehicle and tent). New rules say that you must have reservations but we had cell service so you can do things when you show up if there’s room. A sprawling beach was enjoyable - didn’t see swimmers. There are vault toilets throughout along with a nice, centrally located shower house. The paved bike path goes right to the campground. You can visit Fallison Lake to hike. This way accesses other campgrounds too. Keep riding and you will discover a corner store with ice cream. Go the other direction and you can pedal to Boulder Junction. We did get a bit turned around with all the campgrounds and snowmobile trails but it added to the fun of discovering our adventure.