What is your favorite campground in the Midwest?

[jlnten17]

We Just returned from Fort Wilderness and the kids (ages 3, 6) loved it so much we want to take another camping trip over Labor Day. We are looking for somewhere we can rent a cabin or RV because we are new to camping and are still seeing if we like it. We went to a Jellystone once before and had a bad experience -lots of unsupervised older kids running around making it dangerous for our kids to swim, ride bikes etc. What are your favorite places to camp in WI, IL, MO, IA, MN, MI, or IN? Would love to have a nice sand/beach area and splash pad or similar for the kids.

 

[bjschil]

We just came back from a fun-filled family reunion vacation at Smokey Hollow campground in Lodi, WI. There were several families that stayed in their campers, and many more families rented the cabins. Last year they rented the plain cabins that did not have water, bathrooms, or a sink. Too rustic for them. This year they stayed in deluxe cabins, and they were happy, and I will say, very nice. Tons of activities for the kids, especially on the weekends. There are numerous inflatables in the pond. We all had a great time. Our favorite place is Door County, at Peninsula State Park, but there is no cabin rentals.

 

[Teamubr]

Pretty broad circle you are asking about, but I'm from outside St Louis and have camped a lot in a 350 mile radius. I prefer state parks or COE campgrounds. More my style (and price range) than the private places.

Favorites in no particular order:

Indiana Dunes SP (Indiana on the southern shore of Lake Michigan)
Rend Lake (South/central IL) multiple COE campgrounds around the lake and Wayne Fitzgerald SP
Carlyle Lake (South/central IL) Multiple COE campgrounds (Coles Creek is a favorite) and Eldon Hazlet SP.
Johnson Shutins SP (SE MO)- Hard to get a reservation but nice cg and interesting area.
Thomson Causeway- Thomson, IA- New favorite thanks for bjschil

j

 

[mickeyfan0805]

We just came back from a fun-filled family reunion vacation at Smokey Hollow campground in Lodi, WI. There were several families that stayed in their campers, and many more families rented the cabins. Last year they rented the plain cabins that did not have water, bathrooms, or a sink. Too rustic for them. This year they stayed in deluxe cabins, and they were happy, and I will say, very nice. Tons of activities for the kids, especially on the weekends. There are numerous inflatables in the pond. We all had a great time. Our favorite place is Door County, at Peninsula State Park, but there is no cabin rentals.

I'm following this because we are looking to expand our local camping experience as well (we tend to do longer trips, as weekend camping is not an option for me). We currently have an email into Smokey Hollow because they list 4 kids as a max in their campsites, but if our 3 kids bring friends (which is what we want to do in the spring), we go over that limit. We will see. I hear great things about Plymouth Rock campground in WI as well, but they have the same capacity issue that I am trying to track down.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Not sure on the cabins, but this is our neck of the woods and we love camping in Wilton, WI at the Tunnel Trail campground but this is mainly because the owners are awesome, the sites are quiet and the pool is always empty. The mini golf is lame but occupies the kids at only 1.00. We mainly go there, because it is on the tunnel trail and we love to bike in the old rail tunnels! The best time for this is during the color changing, the trips are cool and beautiful!

We are headed to QuietWoods South in Door County this weekend and they have an awesome set up for kids. We are camping there for a week.

In the Dells, we like Bonanza when we are not staying at the Great Wolf and want a more laid back trip.

We are Good Sams members, so we do tend to pick Good Sams campgrounds when we can but we have also just chosen the ones we like.

 

[team bradfield]

Governor Dodge State Park, Dodgeville, WI
Sugar River FP, Shirland, IL
Seward Bluffs, Seward, IL

 

[bjschil]

Literally live 25 minutes south of Governor Dodge, and haven’t been there in years. Shame on us. Will have to take a look through. As a child, went there all the time.