Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You'll do yourself a disservice if you don't experience the Wisconsin pastime of
camping out in a state (or national) park or forest. Some jewels are out there, from
Mississippi River, Huck Finn solitude to deep forest under-the-canopy camping.
You'll notice that state parks and forests here offer far fewer options for cabins,
lodges, or even electrical hookups than many other states. These do exist, but
Cheeseheads have long told the Department of Natural Resources that the emphasis
should be on rustic. Indeed, no “glamping” here.
Camping is so popular, in fact, that you may (and many do) reserve up to
11 months in advance, or as late as two days before. At the most popular parks
below, choice sites fill up at 12:01am the first day it is possible to reserve them,
yet it is still possible to get last-minute reservations; just keep checking
www.wisconsinstateparks.reserveamerica.com
or calling 888/947-2757 (no waiting
list is kept).
Wisconsin residents pay $7 daily/$25 annual for a park sticker. For out-of-state
guests, it's a $10 daily/$35 annual park sticker. In addition, non-residents' campsite
fees range from $14 to $19 (Wisconsin residents pay $2 less); everybody adds five
bucks for an electrical hookup. If you're reserving, we all tack on another $10 ser-
vice fee and $5 to cancel a reservation.
The following are the state parks most people would vote to stay in if they had
but one chance to experience a Wisconsin state park:
•
Peninsula State Park
in Door County gets more visitors than Yellowstone Na-
tional Park-for a reason.
•
Devil's Lake State Park,
two hours north of Madison, has dramatic escarpments
and a devilishly chilly deep lake. Yours truly hikes there at least monthly.
The following are two of my oft-returned-to favorites:
•
Newport State Park,
also in Door County, is easy to get to, but is the last remain-
ing stretch of wilderness in the county and also has hike-in only campsites.
•
Wildcat Mountain State Park,
in southwestern Wisconsin, has less privacy
between campsites but sits in a magnificent region of unglaciated coulees (val-
leys) and is near the gorgeous Kickapoo River Valley and Amish country. Not
many Wisconsinites know about this one.
