Winter Camping
in Wisconsin State Parks and Forests

If you have the right equipment and warm clothes, Winter is a great time for camping. There are no crowds and no bugs, and there's plenty to do—cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, animal tracking, bird watching, and ice fishing.

Winter camping at Big Bay State Park
Winter campers will find quiet, solitude, and clear views through leafless woods.
DNR Photo by Mark Eggleson

The table below lists campsites that are open during the winter. "Water" means a faucet or pump in or near the campground. None of the sites have water hookups. Information in the "Reservations" column applies to winter camping only; most campgrounds do accept reservations for spring through fall camping.

Park or forest Sites Electrical Hookups Water Reservations
Amnicon Falls 36 backpack no no no
Big Bay 5 plowed yes hand pump no
Black River 50-60 sites,
6-10 of them plowed
5 at Castle Mound yes no
Blue Mound 4 plowed
78 backpack
2 sites yes no
Brule River        
Buckhorn 3 walk-in no handpump no
Copper Falls 3 plowed yes yes
(contact ranger)
yes
Devil's Lake 14 plowed
15 walk-in
yes (11) yes yes
Flambeau River

2 plowed
6 walk-in
at Lake
of the Pines

no hand pump no
Park or forest Sites Electrical Hookups Water Reservations
Glacial Drumlin - Sandhill Station 15 walk-in no yes no
Governor Dodge 10 plowed
23 unplowed
6 walk-in
yes (4 plowed, 13 other sites) yes no
High Cliff 30 walk-in yes no no
Kettle Moraine North 12 plowed
2 walk-in
yes yes (near entrance station)) no
Kettle Moraine South 40 at Ottawa Lake yes hand pump no
Kohler-Andrae 48 sites, 12 of them plowed yes hand pump no
Lake Wissota 81 walk-in or backpack yes (17) yes (at office and shop) no
Lapham Peak 1 backpack no no yes, call (262) 646-3025
Mirror Lake 13 yes (11) yes (at office) no
Nelson Dewey 4 yes yes (at office) no
New Glarus Woods

4 plowed
3 group camps

no no yes*
Park or forest Sites Electrical Hookups Water Reservations
Newport

16 backpack
1 group backpack

no yes (at office) no
Northern Highland - American Legion 6 sites plowed at Clear Lake no yes no
Pattison 1 plowed
17 backpack
Plowed site only no no
Peninsula 10 plowed yes yes no
Perrot 7 plowed, walk in to others yes yes (at office) no
Point Beach 5 plowed yes no no
Potawatomi 7 plowed yes yes (requires hose) no
Willow River 6 plowed
72 backpack
yes yes (at office or shop, hose required) no
Wyalusing 55 sites, 6 of them plowed
yes yes no
Yellowstone Lake 4 plowed,
18 walk-in,
14 backpack
yes (4 plowed,
11 walk-in)
yes (at office) no


For more information on this topic, ask Wisconsin State Parks, (608) 266-2181.

State Parks || Ski Trails || Camping || Reservations [exit DNR]
Last Revised: Friday May 29 2009