Astico County Park Campground

We visited this park last year for a picnic, but are back for a couple of days this time. Very nice 5-star campground, were it not the the run down restroom facilities. Everything else was great, particularly the location and nicely spaced sites. It is necessary to reserve online, which incurs a service charge… but at $30, it’s still reasonable and easy. I came of age camping in Wisconsin and it never disappoints!

The campground has 40 sites in 3 areas. Sites are clean with gravel pads. Mixed shade. Very open.

'Little' is relative as Astico has 4 sections - River, Point, and Danville - all along the river, plus Upper (sites 31 - 40 are large paved sites in a more open area, and sites 41 - 53 are gravel and more shaded). Great views from site 34. Freshwater fill conveniently located on the road in. Dump station loop with rinse water on the way out. I already made plans to return so we'll see what it's like going from mostly empty to mostly full. Great cell reception: T-Mobile 5G varied from 50-140 down and 11-18 up. AT&T 35 down and 13 up.

A gem of a park just outside of Columbus surrounded on 3 sides by the Crawfish River. Great if you like fishing or paddling and some easy walking trails. The sites are clustered (probably as they were developed, some are more "finished" than others) into 5 groups. The primitive tent sites at the north end are right on the river and a tent campers' paradise. Two of the four electrical site clusters are along the river, and the remaining two electrical site clusters are on the high ground parts of the park. Pay VERY close attention when booking your site to get the size of the site correct. Even within clusters, site sizes vary greatly. And for sites 1 through 4, you will have to back your rig a fair distance to reach your site. Not for the faint of heart. There is a canoe rental on site, but it appears rentals are suspended due to the pandemic. Here are some pros and cons:

Pros:
- Excellent value for electrical sites.
- Verizon data reception is excellent. Great for working and streaming. OTA reception exceptional from the upper sites. Can receive both MKE and MSN stations (55+ miles).
- Water fill at the park entrance and away from the dump station.
- Sites in the upper loop feature paved pads.
- A lot of sites perfect for popups.
- Six geocaches right there in the park (although Columbus is a caching desert overall).
- Excellent access to the river.

Cons:
- Some sites not very level/hard to level
- Despite conspicuous signage, quite a few dogs not leashed. If your dog approaches my leashed dog, I can't guarantee the safety of your dog, no matter how "well trained" your dog is.
- Not all electrical sites can accommodate a camper.

Wood is available at the camp host. The shower building is on the small side, could use some upgrades, but is otherwise serviceable and clean. There is road noise from busy Hwy 60, but nighttime is pretty quiet.

Bottom line: We really like this park and look at it as a great early or late season weekend getaway.