How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

[Stretch886]

Hi Everyone.

My family was big into camping when I was growing up, and I'd love to get back into it now that I'm off on my own.

My dream would be to load up the SUV, grab the wife and dog, and just go some where secluded. Somewhere we could just be alone, let the dog run around, maybe even have some type of scenic view (dare I dream a sandy beach even), just to relax for the weekend on our own. I just can't seem to find whether those types of places still exist in this day in age. Are there state parks that offer that type of seclusion? are there other options that maybe I'm not considering? Maybe people rent out private property or something? I see that there are walk-in sites, but the ones I looked at are still grouped together, not to mention the "walking in" aspect is not the most appealing.

Maybe it's a pipe dream, but I just figured I'd check in here to see if anyone has had those types of experiences. Would love to hear how, and where.

Thanks for any help.
-Chris

[terasec]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

lots of places offer that
states will vary in what they offer and how,
out west lots of places you can follow trails, and camp near your car.
places i am familiar with in NY and PA, would have to park at a trail head, and follow a trail till you find a suitable camp site,
NY even has leanto's along trails for hikers/campers to use.
how far down a trail you travel will determine how likely you are to come across someone else.

[05Kingquad700]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

We really need to do a sticky on MVUM maps and local area's. Are you close to any national forest's? Do a quick search to see if there are any national forest's close to you, if there is type in MVUM in the search box on this site.

[NYCgrrl]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Can't say about Wisconsin; done a lot of traveling in my time yet somehow have never been past the Missouri River, LOL.

I can say that NYS has some great campsites, with semi and completely private beaches for that "I want to be alone" feeling.

Here's a link you may find of use:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/tr...anted=all&_r=0

HTH!

[Mike]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Are you serious, Streth886?? You are in Wisconsin, man. How can you not find legal secluded camping?

OK. To start with, if you really want to be away from other campers, pick any of the trails in Chequamegon or Nicolet National Forest. Hundreds -probably thousands of miles of trails. Hike, find a spot and camp. It is legal. Want more lonely - hike off-trail.

You can also find official drive-up dispersed campsites throughout the forest- ask the rangers or look it up online. There are MANY dispersed campsites on lakes and rivers that you can drive to with a family sedan car. No SUV needed.

More seclusion? Apostle Islands State Park in Lake Superior. Rock Island State Park in lake Michigan. Yes, On the beach.

In the UP of Michigan, but on the Wisconsin boarder is Sylvania canoe area. Campsites are well dispersed. Yes, on the beach.

In fact, the Upper Peninsula (which should have been part of Wisconsin except for some bad politics when there were drawing boarders) has many under-utilized parks. Even their developed campgrounds are usually lonely - and beautiful.

Hike the North Country Trail that runs through Wisconsin and Michigan along Lake Superior and goes all the way to New York. Plenty of lonely camping.

Canoe down the Peshtigo River and find the many dispersed camping sites southeast of Governor Thompson State park - Yes, on the beach. And, oh by the way - the camping is free.

American Legion State Park has more dispersed lakeside camping than you can count - best access by canoe or kayak. There are many lakes with no motors allowed! Many of the campsites are free!

Check out the county forests in every county. Most have dispersed camping that is lonely and rough. If that isn't lonely enough, contact the county park managers and tell them where you want to camp. They will give you a pass to camp in almost any county forest. I do it all the time.

Canoe the Wisconsin River southern/lower portion with 92 miles of legal beach camping. Pick a spot and make it your campsite!

Canoe and camp on the St. Croix river - one of the best and most canoeable rivers in the USA. Man, there is so much to say about canoeing and camping the St. Croix river that I will have to leave it up to you to Google.

Camp in the Winter. Most state parks keep some of the sites plowed and open - you will have the park to yourself. Ski the groomed trails that every state park has.

Canoe along the Mississippi River with more miles of legal and free river beach camping than any state in the USA.

Mantitiwish County Wisconsin is the fourth most watered places in the whole world. There are lakes with road access and remote lakes with no road access. Bushwack to them and you will have the whole lake to yourself. If you can't catch fish in some of those remote lakes, you can't catch fish PERIOD. It is like fishing used to be 200+ years ago when the Native Americans and French explorers fished pristine waters.

WISCONSIN IS THE PREMIER CANOE/KAYAK STATE IN THE USA AND ONE OF THE BESTPLACES FOR BOATING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! This is not an exaggeration. Read Kayaking Magazineand see how often Wisconsin water trails are headline articles. If you don't have a canoe or kayak, get one. Wisconsin is the most watered state in the USA with more lakes than any other state (yes, more than Minnesota's 10,000 lakes), and more miles of rivers than any other state. Our eastern border is Lake Michigan. Our northern border is Lake Superior. Our western border is the great Mississippi River.

Dude, if you live in Wisconsin, you are in camping paradise. There is every kind of camping imaginable. There are so many camping, canoe/kayak, hiking and other opportunities that countless books and videos have been produced on the subject.

Every state has it's own beauty and I have camped in almost every state in the USA and I have camped and hiked all over the world from desolate Tibet to the Alps in Europe. I have hiked the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide of the USA and the Appalachians. I have hiked and camped countless miles on the great praries of North America and followed parts of the old Chisholm trail. I have been to the Amazon in Brazil. I like them all, but Wisconsin really is special. If you are an outdoorsman and live in Wisconsin, consider yourself very lucky.

[ddrinik]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Canoe the Wisconsin River southern/lower portion with 92 miles of legal beach camping. Pick a spot and make it your campsite!

Is the Southern portion where the WI River make a hard West bound curve?

I've been looking at doing a canoeing camping trip, but most of the locations I've come across are pretty far up north, which isn't a deal breaker, but being closer would be great.

Do you have personal experience camping on the WI River? I would love to hear about it.

Dan

[Mike]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Is the Southern portion where the WI River make a hard West bound curve?

I've been looking at doing a canoeing camping trip, but most of the locations I've come across are pretty far up north, which isn't a deal breaker, but being closer would be great.

Do you have personal experience camping on the WI River? I would love to hear about it.

Dan

Dan, I just noticed you are from Wisconsin!! Wow, great! Maybe we can meet in person sometime.

Now, I am a paddler, so my perspective is that of a paddler. However, the Lower Wisconsin River is equally accessible by motorized boat. Some rivers in Wisconsin really are paddling rivers due to rapids or shallows, etc, but you can do the Wisconsin by paddle or motor boat.

The lower Wisconsin River officially starts at Sauk Prairie. See the Wisconsin Trails website for starters. This site, by the way, has all kinds of Wisconsin trails including hiking, bicycling, paddling, skiing. It is a great resource: http://wisconsintrailguide.com/paddl...sin-river.html

Now, it is a long stretch of river with all kinds of environments. A lot of folks like to just camp on the sandbars and that is pretty fun. You can pick your own sand island and hang out there as your own personal island.

Dan, go to your local library. Through the Wisconsin interlibrary loan system, you can get all kinds of excellent videos about canoeing Wisconsin including a video on canoeing the lower Wisconsin River. There is an interesting video called "The Wisconsin River of a Thousand Isles" you might like to check out.

"I have been told..." that one of the highlites of paddling near Mazomanie is "Mazo (nudist) Beach", but I really could not speak about that from experience...

These links are from the Wisconsin Trails website section for paddling the lower Wisconsin. It has maps, suggestions, photos, etc:

Lower Wisconsin River, Segment 1
Lower Wisconsin River, Segment 2
Lower Wisconsin River, Segment 3
Lower Wisconsin River, Segment 4

Dan, if you are an outdoorsman from Wisconsin, then you know what I am talking about when I say that Wisconsin is a paddler's paradise. Of course, we have great hiking and even drive-up camping of every description.

I love Wisconsin!

[ddrinik]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Thanks for the resource links, I'll be sure to check them out when I have time.

Ah....the nudist beach. I just read an article in the paper about a month about about it. They closed it during the week and is now only open on the weekends, so they can dedicate more patrol personal, apparently they have been having issues with illegal activity. Not a place I think I would fit in anyway, God help anyone that would want to see me naked.

I enjoy canoeing, however the waters I've been on are VERY limited, mostly its just been the Sugar River, between Albany, WI and Broadhead. It's a pretty small stretch, but with all the downed trees, shallow area, and small passageways, it really help teach you how to paddle. My Uncle has a cabin on the river, and gave me access to the canoes anytime I want. It's only about a 20-25 minute drive from home so I try to make it up there when ever I can.

[Mike]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Wow, Dan, nice to have a cabin on the river!

River canoeing is fun, but like you said, there are the risks - dangers, in fact, of coming across downed trees and debris. If you canoe in spring when the water is high and flowing fast, these can be really dangerous.

The other thing about river canoeing is that you have to get your canoe BACK home which usually means two cars or organizing pick -up times/locations. Kind of a hassle.

There are some good lake to lake canoe-camping to be had that I personally think is better than river canoeing. See American Legion State Park (Wisonsin), the Chain-of-Lakes region, and Sylvania Wilderness Canoe Track in the U.P. of Michigan - it is a mini version of the Boundary Waters with nearly all the same rules.

[ddrinik]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

I took a peek at the links you posted. I for like a fool for not knowing these opportunities were only a couple of counties away.

[tplife]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

Stretch886, don't sweat it, man, Mike's got into his LA cousin's Medicinal stash and can't be relied on until next Tuesday at the latest for consistent reviews...

[Mike]

Re: How to get away from it all in Wisconsin?

I took a peek at the links you posted. I for like a fool for not knowing these opportunities were only a couple of counties away.

Dan, I don't even like to whisper the "Illinois" word, but some of my friends tell me that northern Illinois has some very nice river paddling. I personally have not paddled Illinois but from Janesville, you are pretty close to Illinois