Pinewoods Campground is a beautifully wooded campground within the overall Kettle Moraine State…read moreForest Southern Area. I've been camping here every late September, for a few years, and it's truly a gem of the Wisconsin system. Pinewoods has 101 campsites, flush toilets, vault toilets and showers. There are no electrical sites at this campground. A playground is next to the shower building. And news to me- This campground offers a designated area for those who want to enjoy the peace and quiet that nature has to offer. Loop 1 is a 24-hour quiet zone, meaning no pets, radios or mechanical device noises are allowed, ensuring a peaceful visit. The facilities are clean, there are a few large group sites, and a few hike-in sites. While my small crew prefers the hike-in sites, honestly the regular sites have ample privacy, nestled between the tall pines of this area. There is great hiking nearby, whether it's the Scuppernong trails or the Ice Age Trail, horse riding, Ottawa Lake, and some of the best mountain biking in the State (Emma Carlin and John Muir Trails). Not far from Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, Pinewoods Campground is a great getaway!

Our family loves camping here and walking the many trails they have. If you plan on camping here…read morewith a group, you'll have to book a year in advance because those spot fill up fast.

Walking trail around 17 acre lake. 87 acres of wooded rolling hills. 58 Sites, including pull…read morethru, full hook-up each site, (water, power, sewer), 30/50 connections, 2 bath houses, laundry, pets on lease, pool, fishing, pedal and paddle boats ($), 3/4 walking track around lake, wiFi in designated areas,office hours 8am-5pm week days, DropBox (weekends and after hours), cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, & Discover. Year round, easy access from I-65 North or South off Exit 231, close to shopping.

Celebrated my daughter turning 2 here. Awesome experience. Our group had over 20+ people. I am not…read morereally a camping person, however I would stay here again. Location is not that far from food, gas stations, and grocery store. Multiples camping sites and each one provides a different experience.

Food - family - fun…read more An amazing week vacation spent at Camp Kettlewood, E. Troy, WI. We stayed at two awesome sites. First, the Last Resort, Tuesday thru Friday. Vintage Airstream with an awesome view and amenities. Just me and the wife. We hit a couple of local restaurants and had a couple great meals. Barley's Hops & Malt and East Troy House Restaurant. We drove to Milwaukee and visited some old friends on Thursday. It is only 40 miles away. And the hosts stopped by and spent some campfire time with us. Awesome! On Friday our children joined us and we moved to the 'Hilton'. We treated them because they grew up camping with us and we thought this was a great way to get together, reminisce and be together without all of the setup and hassle of camping. We sat around the campfire, had some great meals. We had Dutch oven pizza in the fire pit on Friday night. Steak and lobster, COC, twice baked potatoes, and stuffed chicken breast (some not care for steak and lobster) all on the propane grill on site. Almost forgot the Dutch oven breakfasts, Biscuits, Gravy and Egg Casserole (https://iamhomesteader.com/biscuits-and-gravy-casserole/) and Overnight Dutch Oven French Toast Casserole (https://homemadeheather.com/overnight-dutch-oven-french-toast-casserole/) Extra large fire pit and propane grill made it easy to cook some big family meals. There is not anything that we needed that was not provided (bring your own food of course). Truly recommend Camp Kettlewood. Planning another trip in September.

Quiet, gorgeous, and reasonably cared for. Perfect for a camper that enjoys staying in camp and…read moredoesn't need a lot of amenities. **Boy Scouts may be available to deliver wood, but there's also wood sold nearby. Noting here, there's not much by way of hiking paths, mud lake is not swimmable, and they don't offer recycling collection. -There is a great bike trail onsite -Mud Lake (also onsite) seems to be great for fishing and tooling around in a small boat -It's quiet and campers seem to be respectful of one another. -The old Savannah Oak trees are beautiful and offer just enough shade to many (but not all) of the campsites. -This campground is not maintained on a daily basis, so the grass was a little overgrown and the pit toilets could have been slightly cleaner. There are also no garbage cans in the pits, but a dumpster in the parking lot. This campground is made for a more rustic camper, as it has less amenities than your typical state park campground. Noting here, these are all walk-in sites with the exception of the group site. There are pit toilets and a well for water, but no other facilities.

Perfect for when you want to get outside for a night or two but don't want to drive hours and hours…read moreto get away from it all! Only about 30 minutes from Madison this campground offers a pretty tranquil camping experience given it's location and especially given that it's a State campground. No RV's allowed and you have to trek in all your gear 50-100 yards from the parking lot. Not a huge deal, but apparently inconvenient enough that a lot of people take a pass (fiiiine by me!). I think it's great not having any cars rumble past your campsite at night. All I heard was a rooster and a cow (this isn't exactly the wilderness, people, more like farmland). Set in a grove of old stately oak trees, each campsite has a fire ring and a picnic table. Some are definitely on the sunny side, so feel free to call up the ranger to make sure you end up where you want to. There are bathrooms (well, porto-potties) and well water near the parking lot. You will not be finding any firewood on your own, you'll need to buy it from somewhere local. The gas station sells bundles for $5 but an even better deal is the boy scout troop who sells daily at the campsite. Their number is posted upon your entry so just give them a call to find out what time they're coming by. The campground was only partially full when I was there one August weekend and the ranger said that it usually only fills up (or close to it) on holiday weekends or when there is an event at some nearby concert venue. BOTTOM LINE: I hesitated to even write this review because I don't want this secret jewel to become overrun. Good stuff!!

Camp Wandawega is a flawlessly re-created 1950′s summer camp. At $250 a night (plus a $60 airbnb…read moreservice fee), you can step back in time. Located in Elkhorn, WI about 90 minutes from where I currently live, on the way there, I drove by the place I used to camp as a kid and by towns I have met my parents in to go antiquing. Where many of the sites on the way were well-known to me, pulling into the camp site was familiar because it was like driving to the set of Moonrise Kingdom. Really, it was like plopping into any Wes Anderson movie. I could very clearly imagine children with their names emblazoned on sleeping bags and wooden tennis rackets being used as swords by campers. When I first arrived, I was early (although the reservation said there was a flexible check-in time). The cleaning lady was arriving in two hours, so I read outside for a while of (what would be) my cabin. The breeze was nice and my book was distracting, but then I started paying attention to a couple who were dipping their feet into the lake at the end of the dock while eating oranges AND drinking orange juice (?!?). That is commitment to Vitamin C, if I ever saw one. Once I moved past my internal giggle at the scurvy-free couple, I glanced at my phone and saw that time had slowed to a crawl. How can a morning at home go so fast and an hour at camp go so slowly? It is like that scene in The Jerk where he says the first day seemed like a week. Camp Wandawega is quite quiet, except for the crazy chipmunks. Sometimes, you can hear the muted, but distinctive click of the flagpole outside. Often, I caught myself looking to see if the crinkle of leaves or branch breaking was a person, but it was almost always a chipmunk (or, not to be out done, squirrels). If the chipmunks weren't there or if flags didn't move, I would have thought I was frozen by some witch's autumn spell. Overall, it seemed like it shouldn't all be there- the details. It felt like it all should have been swept away in a flood or be permanently planted in someone's dream, not surviving as well-preserved as it all is. There is no internet that I could connect to. I didn't need air conditioning or heat, but they are a window cooling unit and a floor heater respectively; nothing major to protect you from the elements. You are here to be (at least, a little) outside. There is a rope swing and open-air showers. There are old bikes and bird houses. The traditional camp colors of burnt red, forest green, and stark white are everywhere. Uneven stairs and rocky hills force your attention even while you walk casually around. The camp was at one point a brothel. Well, it was a speak easy, a distribution center for organized crime, a brothel, a lake resort and a church camp before the current owners bought it and renovated it to its current state. While at Camp Wandawega, what I felt was a constant pang of that very specific camp feeling. The anxiety before arriving your first time. The waiting of ONE MORE YEAR before your next camp experience always seeming like forever. The addiction in the autonomy and the freedom of no parents or siblings. You just being who you are. Someone good at archery. Someone who loves sitting on a dock. Someone who swings in a hammock. Someone who naps. Someone who hikes. While there, I got invited to a fire on the beach by one couple. At another point, a couple taking engagement photos came by to use the canoes. Untroubled people came and went. Some times a fish would come up to ripple the water in their hunger. The lily pads provided a little buffer from the reflection of the sun. There was the constant smell of a fire burning somewhere. What I recommend doing while at Camp Wandawega: -Eat PB&J. You can go into town for food, but why bother? -Sneak iced coffee or coffee grounds and a French press into the communal kitchen. -You don't really have to sneak, but sneaking around seems very camp-y. -Take a nap. Or several. -Read the books at the end of the bed (A Very Modest Cottage and Found, Free & Flea) by Tereasa Surratt. They will provide more information on the renovation of the property and the care of one of the cottages specifically. -Go on a walk around the whole site. You will find tipis (or teepees) and other fun finds. Just bring your hiking boots. -Canoe. (Language side note: canoe is a noun and a verb. English is so quirky.) -Sit with the liquor of your choice by a fire or just sit by the lake for a while. -Go on a bike ride. -Take pictures. You can't really take a bad one. During my time here, the bees were about. Flies and ants, too. Twice, a spider dropped down (seemingly from the sky) onto the book I was reading. Also, I am 99.9% sure there was a raccoon outside of my cabin door one night. Camp Wandawega is a natural and authentic place which makes it an ultimate place to reflect and assess. Yes, you have to constantly check your wine for bugs, but that is part of the magic of being fully present, isn't it?

AMAZING. This is an awesome place with rich history dating back nearly 100 years ago. The tree…read morehouse is soooo cool, there are many options as far as areas you can stay in. Teepees, old Army tents, the old "dormitories," and small cabins. We were here for a wedding over the weekend (which is rare from what I hear), and the place was recently renovated (in the last 5-7 years or so). This is a very rustic place with a historical feel. In the 1920's during the prohibition years, it was a speakeasy (my favorite part of their history), but there is much more. To learn more about the history check out, www.wandawega.com. This place is also a very well kept secret. I grew up less than 10 miles away from Wandawega, but had only heard of the lake not the "Camp" or "Resort." This place is meticulously decorated, clean, historical, rustic and all-around awesome.

Our family loves to camp a few times a year, and most recently we tried Ottawa for the first time…read more Overall I think it was a lovely campground! It's Situated conveniently between Milwaukee and Madison, serving as more than just a campsite, but a great spot to hike, fish, and swim. It's a really big park (literally 100 sites!) so there is plenty of peaceful outdoor space to enjoy. We were lucky enough to snag an electric site, which comes in handy for our RV. Beyond the RV we had two tents, and everything fit comfortably. This site in particular was tucked back close to the lake, but I can see how the outskirt sites closer to the highway might be not as well enjoyed. This campground is fairly wooded with plenty of shade which we appreciated. All of the grounds are well-kept, including the paved pathways throughout. We loved the various playgrounds for our kiddos too. The lake itself has a fishing pier, solid sand area for swimming/hanging in the warmer months, a boat launch, adjacent restrooms that are clean, and lots of walking paths surrounded. All in all, it was a goodie and we had an enjoyable time.

We had a quick stop at the Ottawa Recreation Area while trying to find the entrance (and hiking…read moremaps!) for the Kettle Moraine State Forest's Southern Unit. The entrance was unmanned (Wednesday morning in early May), but we entered with our Wisconsin Parks Annual Pass. We were pleased that, between the maps at the entrance station and displays there, we were able to figure out where we would hike next. (Not at Ottawa Lake). We continued on to check out the recreation area. There is a small lake that features a fishing pier, pet swim area, boat launch, shelter, clean rest room, horseshoes, and short waterfront walking path (no pets). There's also a longer pet trail that is not waterfront. There does not appear to be a trail around the lake. We were one of only a few cars in the parking area though the car next to us had at least a dozen fishing rods in the grass. Suddenly, a long line of cars pulled into the lot, filled with teenagers who would be users of all of the fishing rods! The main feature of the recreation area appears to be the campground, with showers, flush toilets, water spigots, and dump stations. (Seasonal).

Clean, nice, very well kept campground....the biggest drawback is no toilet /grey water hookup...if…read moreyou want to shower in your own RV, not the public showers, this is not the park for you.

I can see how some people like this, it's fairly remote and the trails are unmarked.. Only two…read moresmall areas where you can see Lake Michigan. View was nice but not spectacular.

Came here for a weekend because I was attending a concert at Alpine valley. Had an amazing…read moreexperience. Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. I will never go anywhere else!!

The owner of this campground is an absolute scammer. I paid for 2 months of full service camping…read more(Sewer, water, electric) 3 weeks prior to my arrival. Aware that I wasn't going to arrive until another 3 weeks, the owner said that my 2 months started from when I paid. The day before I drove down the owner said I needed to go to a temporary spot until a full service site was ready. So he charged me for the site even though one wasn't even available.. I sat over a week at a spot with no sewer even though I paid for it. I was staying at this campground for work, so after working 12 hour days I would have to hook my camper up to the truck, bring it to dump, and re-set it up and level it back into place. The icing on the cake was when he told me my time was up even though I had only been there 5 weeks out of the 2 months I paid for (4 weeks of an actual full service site). When I would call Tom Jurasinski the owner, he would screen my phone call everytime and text me back "I'm in a meeting buddy". He assured me he would call me back. He must be in meetings 24/7 as he never called me back once after I repeatedly tried to call him. The only reason I was able to stay the extra week (making it 6 weeks) to finish the work at my jobsite, was to threaten him with my lawyer (Via text of course because he wouldn't answer the phone). When you arrive onsite he takes a deposit of $300. Don't expect to get that back. I've tried contacting him about it many times but I haven't received it. Tom Jurasinski is a thief. For anyone that camps there, I recommend before you leave to dump your black tank right in the site you left from, that way he can at least earn the $300 he is stealing from you. Tom Jurasinski is an absolute coward of a man, and I feel bad for his parents knowing they raised a little weasel like him. John L.

Going against the grain here a bit…read more Pros: -Place is clean. Very clean. Even the water looks clean. -Decent life guard coverage provides adequate safety -Plenty of picnic tables, space, and even some spots to get out of the sun if you need it Cons: -Yeah definitely not cheap. May not be practical for the family outings. Definitely more geared towards grown ups Bottom Line: -If you're going to worry about the nickle and dimes, then yes I'd recommend other options. I think people that come here pay their own way and just want to chill. I'm by no means wealthy, but I could really care less about the price when I can just as easily waste more money on God knows what... (drinking, video games, gambling, televangelists....)

On Thursday August 21, 2025, I made a road trip from Chicago to Pearl Lake Beach. It was good…read moretiming because there were only about two dozen visitors there, due to the local schools being open for the first day of the school year. This was the first time that I have been here since 1992 when I was scuba diving, and this lake is definitely known for scuba divers. The manager Ginger and her staff (Sophia, Parker, Kameron) were just magnificent. I told them that I was hearing-impaired, so they assisted with filling out the computer waiver. They showed me where I can go to lay out on the beach and where the handicapped parking was located at (only three spots). When I arrived, the water was slightly chilly, due to the weather being 75 degrees and an overcast day, I laid out a blanket, fell asleep. It was a magnificent siesta but the sun came out around noon while I was sleeping and caused sun burn on my legs and neck. Lesson learned- bring sun screen next time. Pearl Beach Lake is only open from Memorial Day to Labor Day and currently there is a $25 per person fee. Be warned- I was told that on hot summer weekends there could be as many as 2,000 people a day visiting this beach. Week day visits are probably less crowded...Five stars!