Big Foot Beach State Park was conveniently located near a wedding, allowing us to camp here instead of doing a hotel. The state park is much smaller than average. Additionally, there is not as much to do. There are some trails, although they were cutting plants and working on some. The main attraction was the lagoon near the road. The city was working on gates from the lagoon with painted crosswalks. Given the minimal traffic past downtime, walking on the side of the road is safe enough. It connects to the Lake Geneva lake trail that goes through the backyards of nice houses. Calling it a beach state park is a bit of a stretch. Across the road from the entrance lays about 2 feet of sandy beach. The campsite does have RV options. read more

Its ok. The beach area is very small, if they simply raked the beach to make a bigger beach area, that will eliminate the weeds and burs, along with the sticks and other debris. Lots of big rocks after walking into the lake, wear water shoes. It is marked off so boats and jet skis can't enter the area. Easy access from Big Foot Camp grounds. read more

It was definitely off season on a very cool April Saturday when we visited to do some short hikes since we were in town for the day. We already had the State Park pass (a great bargain) so we zipped right in. The place was empty. Since moving back to Wisconsin we have now been to a number of the state parks in the southern part of the state. This is not one of the better ones. It is not really on the lake but it is close. They do have some hiking trails, a campground, picnic areas, and a playground but compared to some of the awesome other parks this one is just meh. It just doesn't have the natural beauty or stunning scenery. Despite those drawbacks I can only guess that in summer this place is jammed. read more

Not really my favorite place to camp, but all in all, not too bad. The pros: - It is close to Lake Geneva. - It seemed generally well kept and clean - It was fairly quiet at night [except the giant thunderstorm, couldn't they do anything about that? ;-) ] - There is a restaurant and a couple of boat rental places immediately outside the park if you aren't really roughing it. The cons: - Pit toilets. Ack. However, for pit toilets they weren't that bad. The biggest issue is slobby campers leaving the lids open or leaving TP on the floor. - Showers. Yuck. I'd read negative reviews on other sites about the shower house. When we were they it was being renovated so they had temporary showers. They were tiny and dirty. I know there are better temporary showers available, they should have found them. - No alcohol [see also "The in-betweens"] - I wanted to switch one of our campsites, the staff at the desk told me the park all of the sites were reserved and that the specific site I wanted was for bike-in campers only. The next night there was a family there that clearly had not biked in. Also, two of the other sites remained empty all weekend. The in-betweens: - Some campsites are in foresty areas, others are in grassy areas. We opted for a grassy area site. When we were scoping the park out we looked at Google satellite view. It appeared there was no separation between the sites, with the exception of the tandem site they are actually separated by tall grasses so you don't feel like you're on top of each other. - There is no alcohol allowed in the park. We like to have a couple of adult beverages while hanging around the campfire, and we don't get rowdy so this was a bummer for us. However, the no alcohol policy did seem to keep cut down on the sort of campers who go get drink and scream and yell all night. Perhaps because of the no alcohol policy, there did seem to be more families with small screaming kids. The don't-say-I-didn't-warn-you: - We happened to be there the weekend of the Big Foot Triathlon. It was very hard to get out of the park on Sunday and some of the open areas were full of triathlon stuff all weekend. I'd avoid this weekend if you aren't involved in the race. - We weren't there to use the beach, so it didn't matter to us but despite the fact that "beach" is in the name of the park, it's not really a beach. It appeared to be about a 2-3 foot wide stretch of sand between the water and the road, not really good if you're wanting to lay out. If you really want to be right by Lake Geneva but don't want to stay in a hotel, go for it. We've also camped at Bong State Rec area, which is about half an hour away, and I think it's nicer. read more

Big Foot Beach State Park - Campsite - Parks Near Me - Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

What a waste of $11.. There was absolutely nowhere to park as I came to wander around Lake Geneva plus it was a Memorial Day weekend. I decided to give this park a try, because I actually enjoy hiking and the weather was gorgeous. But I probably had to look at the map first and read the reviews, alas I didn't. Disappointed big time, hiking trails here are very short (max 2.1 or so miles), the park itself is very very tiny and was almost empty (including camping spots; there was one big birthday party and only a couple of campers), there was no drinking water for some reason, terrible facilities, and it is not pet-friendly. Then I decided to check out the beach as there was nothing else to do in the "park". Dirty, literally right on the road, thin stretch of sand and massive rocks - I won't even call it a "beach". Hated every second of my time there. If I could give minus stars, I definitely would, and I consider myself a very loyal person. This place should be free, as any other city park, I don't see any reasons why people have to pay to visit it. read more

This state park was ok. Nothing to be super excited about. Nice camping slots available although small. The most exciting thing I found while there was vending machine that dispensed live bait. read more

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Wonderful little state park campground. Close to Lake Geneva and downtown. This has become an annual stop on the Midwest RV tour.

This is a great camp site for people that love the outdoors, fishing, the beach, and trails. This camp site has it all. The people are friendly, the scenary is great, and the atmosphere serene. The worst part about this camp site are the "toilets.." err....out houses. Dirty! If your not use to peeing in a deep pit, then this will take some adjustment. Also, the showers NEED updating. The rust and the mold is glaringly scary!!!!! read more

The address listed takes you to what appears to be vehicle and supply storage and not the actual main entrance. they need to update that. The actual entrance with the Big Foot Beach sign isn't illuminated so if you arrive after sunset you may miss it. It needs more street lights... even if they're dim. The restrooms need more attention. I used the restroom several times on our one-night stay and saw the same dirty toilet paper on the stall floor over a 10 hour period. at the end of the stay (but before check out) 2 of the 3 stalls didn't have toilet paper any more at all. Not a good place for adults in their 20s - 30s as there's a "no alcohol" restriction and an "Officer Bar Brady" type who can't wait until 11:01pm to threaten to oust you if you don't quiet down. Be careful, he skulks up with no flash light and then turns his high beam on you. Very unnerving. I've been there twice. I will not be back. read more

We spent a few days in the middle of the week, and it was exactly how you would imagine. Nice campground, fairly large campsites for this type of place. Most of the tent sites were separated by a few feet of high grass/weeds/growth, which made it feel more private. I can't speak for the weekends, but it was fairly quiet and peaceful on a Thurs and Fri night when it was about 3/4 full. As others said, the beach is a bit small, but completely fine if it's mid-week and not crowded (or later in the evening) -- nice place to hang in the water and watch the sunset. Otherwise just walk the mile into town and pay the $6 for the beach there during the day -- not bad. I read a lot of negative reviews (on other sites) but I'm glad they didn't sway me. It's your basic campground, and even came in a bit better than I expected for being a state park. read more

Don't bother. Beach is crowded, tiny, filthy. Campground has very narrow roads and the pads are short. So unless you are okay with parking on the grass... there is no ranger enforcing the rules so many sites have 4-5 cars and 3-4 tents. No noise regulations, read more

I was a bit disappointed in this state park. They have no septic hookups, but they did have water and a dump station. But what bothered me the most was they charged our visitors $11 to enter the park. I have never had a state park charge for entry like this. I could understand if they had a swimming pool they could charge for entry to the pool. This park had no real amenities. The way it was advertised it sounded like the lake adjoined the campground. It is actually outside of the park and across the road. The "so called" beach was nothing to brag about. It was a bit of a disappointment. read more

Big Foot Beach State Park is a very nice, clean, and well kept up campground. It is small and quaint, but the campsites are pretty private. They just built a new shower house on the property that sure beats the pit toilets. Rangers are friendly, and the beach is beautiful. We stay to the right of the beach and are able to let our dog swim. This is definitely one of our favorites as you can make a reservation ahead of time. read more

Pros: Mostly shady sites, friendly staff/hosts, hiking trails, showers, recycle station, reservable campsites. Cons: We camped for Memorial Day weekend, and I expected they would have had the trails and sites mowed a bit better in anticipation of one of their biggest weekends of the year. Also, TONS of mosquitoes on the trials, not a ton of privacy in the campgrounds, Beach was packed, and as others have said, it's not much of a beach. Overall, for basically being a campground in the middle of the city, it wasn't bad. We'd probably stay again, but aren't in much of a hurry to do so, since there are so many parks out there. read more

We camped here for one night only and we didn't get to our site until 9 pm, so we couldn't see much of the camp ground initially. Our site though had a construction site next door which was an eye sore with its large metal fence and machines behind it. Our camp site was a good size, we were able to fit a 4 person and and a 8 person tent and a trucks with a boat behind it. Bathrooms were something we did not look forward to going and using when we needed. They were basically porta potties but indoors and there was no running water to wash your hands or brush your teeth. Oh also this place does not allow any alcohol, so being in our 20's -30's with no children we found this to be a negative for our group who was celebrating a friends birthday. Our site was nice and flat and the fire out worked well for our needs. When we left in the early morning we saw a nice park area too. read more

We just got back from Labor Day weekend camping with grandparents, adult children and small grandchildren. Beach was ok. Pit toilets were awful! I would expect a state park to keep them better. Been in many a pit toilets- they don't have to smell that bad. Pity the poor people who camp sites were too close because the smell drifted with the wind. Regular toilets were worth the walk. Also, even if you are tent only, camping in a RV site lets you have your car on site, not parked by the road. We might go again, but scoped out the best sites for another time. Rangers and staff were very friendly. There is a fee for every car, but a discount for 2nd car of same address and 1 or 2 day fee if that suits. Plenty of woodsy breaks between camp sites, at least in tent only. If it weren't for their music, wouldn't even had known others were there. We had 2 connected sites, 3 tents in each plus a canopy screen over the one table and did not feel crowded. We may try again. Traffic in town on a holiday weekend was very bad. Maybe it's like that all summer, but don't think we will try a holiday again.. read more

On a spur of the moment decision, me and my boyfriend decided to go camping over the long 4th of July weekend that we both had. The camping grounds were nearly full, but you are able to reserve camp sites online. There is about 100 camp sites, easy meandering hiking trails, a small lagoon for fishing (restriction in place on the lagoon limiting fishing to those 16 years old or younger), and a very small beach. Pros: - The camp sites are split into a tent camping area and a RV area. Each site is well sized and the majority are made more private by plant growth between the sites. Some of the tent sites are walk-in (maybe 100-200 yards) if you want a more private feel. - Each site has a picnic table and fire pit with grate. - There is ice and wood sales on site. A good size bundle of wood which lasted us two nights costs $6. (Cash only!) - Nice new shower/flush toilet house located centrally in the campgrounds. Cons: - Busy on holiday weekends. (and really, that is our own fault for choosing to go then!) But, if you are interested in visiting on a holiday weekend, be aware that the front area of the park fills up with families having holiday parties. The place was absolutely packed on the 4th. - Poor beach. The very narrow beach runs right up to the road and has no separating guard rail. While the traffic that goes through the area is conscientious of people crossing the street, it still is not the safest beach front. - Hiking trails are very easy. If you are looking for anything a bit more challenging, or with more variety, this is not it. Things to do: - Walk along the lake shore path to downtown for a meal. It is about a two mile walk each way, but it runs through the backyards of the large manors on the lake and is right next to the waterfront, so you have nice views on both sides. To find the path from the park, turn right when you reach the beach and continue to the end. There will be a crosswalk shortly after the beach ends, and there will be a pathway that leads into the trees towards the lake. This path will take you all the way to town. - Of all the trails we went on, I thought the orange trail was the best. It goes through restored tall-grass prairie, and was rather picturesque at the time we went as there were many flowers in bloom. - We did not brave the hordes on the 4th to try and get to the beach to watch the fireworks, but we did go on the 3rd. While there were not quite so many, the beach was nearly empty and we had a great view of a decent show of fireworks mixed with the odd firework thrown up by an individual. Length: - I would recommend no more than a long weekend. read more

Loved our stay here! It was so relaxing and the sites are well maintained and private. It was a great weekend getaway from city life.

I camped here this past weekend and had a BLAST. Granted the weather was awful, the landscape is stunning. Because it was colder, it wasnt overly buggy, but I did end up with 22 bites on one foot, I only have four elsewhere so go figure on that one. It was a little loud and people around us were definitely drinking. The fishing was useless - didnt catch a thing but thats probably user error. Skip the toilets and go in the woods... Also the showers are so small you cant even joke about dropping the soap because you have to shimmy to a crouch to get it back. But thank god they have showers! I am actually going back there in two weekends. Also I did the walk to the camp site section (because all the others were rented out) and I think it was the best decision - lots of privacy and nature on every side! read more

Not a huge fan of this park for camping. It was on our to do list of state parks we hadn't camped at. The biggest hurdle as an out of towner was actually locating the park entrance. Gps took us to a side trail with no car entrance, followed by a another drive to a dead end road. We finally did find the park, and found it weird that the lake this park is really known for was located across a busy road. Our camp site was hard to find, actually branched off another site. Most sites are set back from the parking areas and road, but they are close together. We did like that the sites were rather level for setting up tents. Because this park is located smack dab in the center of town you can hear cars and town life from your camp site. A little off putting while camping. There was a nice park and a field to play ball in nearby. Firewood was available at the host site but way over priced for the amount of wood you got. In a pinch it's a descent place to pitch a tent instead of getting a hotel room, but we won't be going back. read more

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No privacy, Campers stay up all night making noise, rangers are short staffed, security minimal at best. Positives: It is close to the bars and they have a shuttle service to Alpine Valley so your party level can continue through the night - morning. I wouldn't bring a family. There are other options. read more

Really pretty park to hike around. Lots of trails and easy access from Lake Geneva. The trails are varied and have a lot of bodies of water in the park and also on Geneva Lake as well. Not a bad place to go fishing during the summer. read more

We went to check this "Beach" state park out. Planned to have the teens stay at the "beach" while the adults hiked a trail or two. Even though we asked questions at the entry & weren't sure this would work out too well, we told her we'd try it out; paid the $11 fee to park. We noticed multiple "No Pets Allowed in this area" signs including the camp area, the lagoon, the "beach". Never saw a "Pets Welcome" or "Keep Pets on a Leash sign". CLearly, not a dog friendly park. The "beach" is outside of the park and across a very busy street. It is a thin stretch of sand mixed with rock, dirt, and yuk; definitely would not fit anyone's description of a beach. We did not even want to walk on it. We realized this was not going to work out for our group with 2 adults, 2 teens and our dog. Went back to the employee and explained this and I offered to split the fee and give the $5.50 for the 10-15min we parked in the lot. She declined and said the money was not refundable at all, no matter what. The only thing I can see this park is good for is hiking (but we didn't try a trail) or avoiding the hotel fees in the area by camping. There must have been a time when there was an actual beach, but it's time to take that word out of their name; it is very misleading. read more

Great campground!!! if you want to escape only for weekend Big Foot campground is the best place.not expensive, close from Chicago, peaceful and nice. Park rangers are friendly but they don't let you drink even a beer. alcohol in the park is prohibited. Toilets and showers aren't new but you can close your eyes :) and you will be fine for a couple of days. Overall I love that place. we are going there again for Labor day weekend. just make sure to have reservation for Holiday weekends because is really hard to find available camp sites. read more