jamessheeran

I stayed two nights (Friday & Saturday) in a site with electric (30 & 50 amp) and water although i didn't use the water. The campground is a mix of RV sites that have shade but are not separated by foliage, cabins and a few seasonal sites as well. For the RV campers, you simply backed up to the tree line, but there is no foliage to separate the sites, so you're close together - pretty standard fare for a private campground. It was actually pretty quiet. The sites were very clean with a picnic table, fire ring and grass. The office has an attached bathroom/shower facility included in the price and they were clean and fully functional. Wood is available for purchase and they actually drop it off at your site. There is a basketball and volleyball court and a large, open sided pavilion where kids seemed to be doing crafts. There are primitive campsites down a narrow road through the trees along the river. The office rents canoes, kayaks and tubes and will transport you to to various drop off points up the Black River and you end your tour conveniently back at the campground.

I would say this is a base camp from which to explore the area, not a destination by itself. In addition to many people with kayaks and tubes, the area has UTV trails you can access - but not directly from the campground so there wasn't UTV noises at all as people trailered these to the trailheads. The area also has a Casino near Black River Falls and it's Amish country as well and you can see them driving their buggies down the road. A number of Amish farms sell food, crafts etc. There are wineries and breweries nearby.

So, all in all a pretty good place if you're not planning on hanging out at your camper all day, but exploring the many things the area has to offer.

Ottawa Lake Campground is within the Kettle Morraine Southern Unit in Southern Wisconsin. The Campground has numerous sites for both RVs and tents. Very standard WI state park camping, with paved roads and gravel camping pads. 30/50 amp hookup. Clean bathrooms and wells for water close by. Fire wood for sale at $6/bundle. Free fishing poles available to fish in the lake. Numerous activities for kids including swing sets, swimming in the lake and various learning actives about animals, bugs etc.

Most of the sites are flat but there are a few that were pretty slanted and might be problematic for larger rigs. The sites along the east side of the grounds back up against HWY 67, a quite busy two lane highway with lots of traffic. If road noise bothers you, avoid these sites. The good news is that if you're in one of these you can sneak out the back, cross the road and get access to the Moraine Ridge Trail - which then leads to Scuppernong trails and the Ice Age Trail. Otherwise you have to drive to the trailhead park entrance and pay a fee. Hikes run from 3 to over 10 miles. The trails are excellently maintained and well marked and range from easy too advanced. True to Wisconsin, I didn't see a single piece of trash on my 6 mile journey. Luckily I didn't see any ticks either!

Had a wonderful two night stay at Wyalusing State Park. This is a classic Wisconsin State Park in terms of camping and amenities. Stayed in the Wisconsin Ridge Camp ground which offered many electrical sites and some non-electric sites which were actually coveted because they're on the ridge directly overlooking the Wisconsin River, from about 500 feet up. I was in site 147, an electrical hook up site (no water) just across the road from the bluff.

The sites are well maintained although a bit closer together in Wisconsin Ridge than in other areas, mainly due to topography and popularity. It was a bit tricky getting my small tear drop camper perfectly aligned but did find a very level spot. Many bigger rigs there so clearly doable, but not by me!. Site had a picnic table, fire ring with a swivel grate and some shade. It was perfect really.

Within walking distance was a concession stand selling ice cream, water, soda, firewood, t-shirts. Canoe rentals also available. Both pit and full service bathrooms. It looked like the full service bathrooms may have just been redone because they looked new and were very clean. The showers were some of the best I've ever experienced in terms of cleanliness at a state park with nice warm water. Plenty of picnic areas, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts and a field easily large enough to play baseball. They have a night sky observation area as well.

Plenty of hiking trails with some of them fairly challenging due to the elevation change. the Immigrant Trail, which follows next to the Wisconsin River was closed, and has been for some time, because the river is running high and flooded some of the trail out. Lots of deer and turkey vultures, which some mistook for bald eagles - which do come to the park in the winter time, but not summer. Fantastic views of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers.

Would definitely go back

For my first RV experience on May 3rd -5th I stayed at Richard Bong Recreational Area for the proximity to my home. Using the online reservation system I booked two nights at $30 each for 30 amp electrical service, plus a $7.75 convenience fee. Also, as a WI resident I purchased an annual admission sticker for $28. If you're from out of state and don't have an annual pass, the state parks requires a daily admission sticker - which on average runs $11/day, but some of the more popular parks can be as much as $16/day.

Typical Wisconsin park with sites relatively close together but separated by trees and bushes, although with the late spring this year the foliage was a bit sparse. Sites were mostly filled. Most are flat with gravel pathway and range in size. Behind the sites there is a picnic table and fire ring with cooking grate. Mine was in good order and I saw many people using them. You can buy firewood on your way in at $6/bundle - each bundle is probably good for one evening bond fire. If you arrive after the entrance office closes you can register manually although I found it a bit confusing since I had pre paid. The camp host stopped by on Friday night and I suggested I stop at the Ranger station first thing in the morning to make sure all was in order and avoid a ticket. . I did so and they provided me the registration slip to post by my site.

I was in site 140 and due to both the rain and my inexperience I had a bit of a challenge backing in and I created a bit of a rut. This particular campsite was pretty small and my 18' camper + 16 foot TV was all that would fit. The rain made things a bit muddy - but can't complain, although I might look for a slightly larger site with more room behind it - but this was literally the last sight available when I booked online.

Bathrooms had flush toilets and showers and were very clean. Plenty of hiking trails - mostly flat and sometimes shared with equestrian riders (so make sure to look down now and again) and great place to bird watch - especially for duck, geese and cranes at the west end. There are a few beaver dams as well and I caught a glimpse of deer passing through the trees. It's a marshy low land area so lots water. Have to watch out for ticks - it's a Wisconsin thing. Mosquitoes were not out yet due to the cold spring but will be. I think I was the only camper without a dog - hope they all had tick collars or front-line.

Although virtually all sites were filled, campers were very respectful - no blaring music or loudness. My site was spotless although without a lot of grass so a bit muddy due to all the rain we've been having. Other sites had much more space and greenery. On the west end of the area there are UTV and motorcycle trails, but none of that bothered me - not sure if they were even there.

Since civilization is close by cell service was full and at times you could hear highway noises if a band of harley's drove by. Dump station on the way out had easy access with a working flush hose.

Stayed Oct 14th-17th 2002. Easily parked my 18 foot tear drop camper on site 2 in the north campground. This single loop has electric but no water. Showers and flush toilets were closed for the season which is typical for this time of year here. Vault toilets were clean. Sites are generally small but I have a small RV. There was large Class A’s in the loop. Picnic table and fire ring. The south campground has rustic only sites and are fully wooded. Firewood was available for purchase at $7/bundle. The north loop has road noise from HWY 8 but it’s not horrible.

This is the western terminus of the Wisconsin ICe Age Trail so it has a very nice interpretive center s as bd the staff was quite helpful. The hiking trails were beautiful this time of year and some provided great views of the St. Croix River and the dalles. There is a nice lake for fishing and kayaking. No motorized boats allowed. There is a boat ramp to the St. Croix River.

From the north campground you can walk over the river on the HWY 8 bridge right into the popular little town of Twin Falls MN where there are shops and restaurants as well as the other side of the park with more hiking and camping. You can also ride a paddleboat on the River.

I really enjoyed the park and would go back. Here’s a link to a video I made.

https://youtu.be/qRnjCQteO7M

5,200 acres makes Governor Dodge State Park one of the state's largest. This means lots of campers - over 300 camping sites - and lots of hiking and activities.

Very typical Wisconsin state park with camping set up in loops with paved roads and generally gravel pads. I look for sites on the outside of a loop so no one is behind me, and site 335 in the Twin Valley Campground backed up to a deep ravine. It's a smaller site but was perfect for my 16 foot teardrop camper. Since it had electric I didn't need Solar and was happy for being mostly in the shade. Although it was in the 80's during the day, it cooled off to the low 60's at night and I didn't need my air conditioner.

While I didn't get a chance to do any of the water sports, most of the folks around me had kayaks to take out on the two lakes, created by damming some rivers decades ago. There's fishing as well and although you need a license (not available in the park, but at any bait shop right outside the park), they will provide equipment to use free of charge.

The hiking trails are great, and my favorites are the Lost Trail and Big Cave trails, but there are many others. Lost Trail goes by Stephen Falls, one of the scenic attractions. A hike down to Cox Hollow lake gets a good view and a concession stand. At times during the year they run plays, and educational events at the amphitheater. If you happen to use the All Trails app for hiking, I noticed while it was spot on for the main trails, the app indicated secondary trails where none existed. I walked around my campsite for about 30 minutes trying to find a trailhead access using the app only to realize those trails don't exist any more. So, if you're thinking about a short cut shown on All Trails, better get the park provided map and view that first. If you stick to the main trails however, it works great. There are bike and horse trails as well.

The park has both pit and flush toilets throughout and every one I used was clean. Fire wood is available for $5 a bundle. I did a "reconnaissance walk" and noted that empty sites were generally very well kept with no trash left anywhere . Spaces are pretty well spaced but that doesn't mean you won't hear your neighbors. That said, it was amazingly quiet at sundown - so no noise issues where I was.

Bugs were not too bad - although admittedly I was wearing a generous coating of Deet. I think I got two misquote bites and didn't see a tick - which is a big plus. There are tiny nats everywhere however, and although they don't bite, they didn't pay any attention to the Deet and kept bouncing off my head, neck and even my sunglasses. Oh well, that's summer in Wisconsin

The park as well as the drive to it are beautiful. Definitely going to see if I can get back there for the fall colors.

Be aware that regardless if you're a resident or not you need an admission sticker. For out-of-staters it's $38 for the annual pass to all parks, but if you don't have that, it's $11/day at Governor Dodge - plus whatever your camping fee is. So, it only takes four days to more than break even. The reservation service also charges $7.95/transaction.

This was my first time camping at Mirror Lake the evenings of May 13th and 14th. I found the park to be a bit more than I was expecting - in particular I was assuming it was going to be very crowded because of it's proximity to the Wisconsin Dells. In fact it never seemed overly packed even though I was there on the weekend.

There are many sites both electric and non-electric and a fair number of double sites, which I used this time because I was camping with friends. I did have a challenge getting into site 118 - I should have gone by the site and turned around to give me a better angle. But once in, the dual sites felt like we were quite secluded with no direct line of sight to any other campsite. The site was very clean with a fire ring and picnic table and both 30 and 50 amp power. They have both vault toilets and showers. All were clean and working in the Cliffside camping area.

The Jewel is Mirror Lake itself which is a very narrow and long lake surrounded by steep hills and sandstone cliffs. While motorized boats can be on the lake, they can only troll, and so it's super calm and perfect for kayaking and canoeing. It seems that it's a popular lake to kayak fish on. You can rent a single person Kayak for $17/hour which I did and really enjoyed it. There are a number of hiking trails. The Northwest Trail, which is about 2.3 miles is the best one. I recommend you go counter clockwise which leaves the best views of the lake for the end.

The park is situated just to the west of I94 so you can hear traffic noise if you camp on the east side of the park where I was. This didn't bother me but might others. It was kind of interesting kayaking under the freeway - which runs over a a narrow link between Mirror Lake and Lake Delton and that you can Kayak up.

Since it's close to both the Dells and Baraboo, there are plenty of other activities to enjoy, including water parks, breweries and wineries in the area. I like it enough that I would go back. The road noise is the only drawback.

I camped on Brunet Island State Park October 17-19. I had site number 1 in the southern loop which is a pull-through and could fit a sizable rig.

Since my stay was after the facilities closed down, I cannot comment on things like boat rentals, services provided, bathroom cleanliness etc. Value toilets were the only thing available and they were clean enough for me. I had 30 amp electrical service.

There are two camping areas, the northern and southern loops. The southern loop had electrical service for sites 1-23 while the northern loop is primitive camping for sites 25 - 69. While I loved the park given it's unique location and the abundance of wildlife, I don't think I would camp in the southern loop again unless I was able to get sites 8-11. The sites are closer together than they appear on the map and there is no foliage or trees between the ones on the inner loops, so you're pretty much in a bowl.

The northern loops is entirely different. All the sites are wooded and back up to water. They're beautiful. Mostly this is tent camping but there were some sites I could have fit my 18' teardrop into and I did see some popups. I would definitely "boondock" there next time and plan to.

There was a very nice hiking trail that crossed the river - about five miles or so. Being so close to the water is a great experience and I was able to see many deer, woodpeckers, geese, loons and lots of playful squirrels. Lots of fisherman on the waterways as well.

It's a great ride from Chippewa Falls up Hwy 178 to the park. I started off at the Leinenkugel Brewery Tour and then made my way north.

Remember there is a $7.75 fee tagged on to each reservation for processing.

This is my first time camping in a FHU RV resort so take the review with a grain of salt. Bottom line, this fit the bill perfectly for a one night stay on my way from southeastern to northwestern Wisconsin. As the prior reviewer said checkin was very efficient and the owners were pleasant. Access was easy off of HWY 53. It's a good base if you want to explore Chippewa Falls or even Eau Claire although there were no hiking trails with immediate access.

Since I was in a double site with friends, the water hookup (not used) was shared and a bit further away than normal and the owner immediately said if we needed extra hose or electrical cords to just ask. We didn't but it was nice to offer.

The sites were level and easy to get into with shade. The bathroom were clean and functional. Entry was with a code which I thought was interesting since I couldn't imagine any person not staying here wandering into the area or the bathroom.

The Wifi was functional for my phone, but for some reason my laptop wouldn't connect so I used my phone as a hotspot. 3 bars with AT&T. Didn't try to watch TV, but was able to get numerous radio stations on my Jensen radio.

While RV parks are not my. cup of tea generally, I'd stay here again as a quick stop.