Quiet, gorgeous, and reasonably cared for. Perfect for a camper that enjoys staying in camp and doesn'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. read more

Perfect for when you want to get outside for a night or two but don't want to drive hours and hours to 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!! read more

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I wanted to check out the Highway 18 drive in theater but did not want to drive all the way back home after midnight. I figured I'd find a campground nearby. The first time I thought of visiting I was looking elsewhere. Wound up aborting the idea. Recently discovered that this location was only 4 or 5 miles away. As an out of stater it cost $14. You fill out a small envelope with your information, seal it, and then drop it into a slotted metal box. The campground was basic. I kind of laughed because I was the only one there. I did walk around a bit and saw a reservation for the following night. I schlepped my gear to a spot (#3) and set it all up before driving to the movie theater. When I returned after the movies I saw that there were some empty beer cans on the entrance road. I hoped it wasn't the 'children of the corn' or idiot rednecks looking for trouble. Again, I was by myself and was having momentary visions of 'The Blair Witch Project". I had to use the light on my phone to see because I forgot to get a battery for my flashlight, thus the wooded area looked eerily similar. As I settled into my tent I heard muted talking and laughing in the distance. Well, at least it isn't *screaming*. Eventually it settled down and I fell asleep. The cacophony of crickets blurred into white noise. The next morning it rained briefly so I waited for it to end before checking out the rest of the campground. Over in the group area was maybe 3-5 tents and a keg. Hmm, college kids ? In their parking lot was 4-6 cars. In the single site was just me. I didn't experience the pit toilet. Fortunately. This location was pretty convenient for visiting that theater without having to go all the way back home. I briefly considered a visit to Madison but the hotels were sold out presumably due to the football game. I didn't know where the so called showers were located but I figured I'd be home in a few hours anyway. read more

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I camp a lot and this is the quietest campground I've seen in southern Wisconsin. On a weeknight, even in the summer, you will usualy be the only one there. When I camp, I like to stay far away from other campers and pretend to be the last person on the planet, and this place does it for me. This isn't in the forest, it's a prarie. Tall grass surrounds every campsite, and in the end of summer it gets taller than a person. That's what would give you privacy if you had neighbors. Most campsites have one to several tall white oak trees to provide shade. Because of the prarie grass growth, end of summer is a better time to camp than the beginning. You are surrounded by wetlands with boardwalks over the marsh. It's a very cool and very short hike to check out the frogs and waterfowl. As the name implies, there are a lot of sandhill cranes there. I don't know if you've ever met a sandhill crane, but it's noisy. It goes "coo" like a pidgeon but higher pitched and louder, and a chorus of these assholes will wake you up at 5 am. When you stick your head out of the tent to shake your fist and yell at them to shut up, they won't even listen. There is nothing to do here besides check out the wetlands. There are only vault toilets. There is only a single well water pump that will fill your cup with yellowish brown water. Bring your own drinking water. The town of Lake Mills is very close, and has a very nice free and public sandy beach on the lake. I camp with a little child, and he loves that beach. You must haul all of your gear by hand to your campsite with no cart, so pack lite. To the Wisconsin DNR: please provide a cart. Edited to add: don't use the self-registration site here to pay for a year-long pass for WI-DNR state parks, the windshield sticker won't come for 6-8 weeks, burning away a good chunk of the summer for you. At least be sure to keep the carbon copy reciept if you do, another park may honor that as payment for entry. read more

Sandhill Station elevated my "like" for camping to full on "love." We found Lake Mills when my husband ran a half-marathon at their local brewery, Tyranena. The following summer when looking for somewhere to camp, we stumbled on Sandhill Station. It is definitely a no-nonsense campground. Fifteen sites that are individually surrounded by nice high grass so you feel very isolated. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. There is an outhouse with pit toilets, so maybe not the best place for the girly-est camper, but they are clean and well lit. There is well water for washing hands. No electricity. Not selling you on it yet? Maybe that's a good thing, because the best part about Sandhill is that it is SO QUIET. Immaculately clean and kept up, there is an easy to walk to parking lot for unloading your gear. There is a bike trail connected to the campground for easy road access. Rock Lake is about two miles away if my math is right, and you can bike it or drive it. You can reserve the site on Reserve America in advance, or you can put your money in the little envelopes when you get there. Many of the sites can easily fit two or three tents, some have good shade trees and some are pretty exposed depending on what time of year you go. It is a fun, romantic place with plenty of stars. read more

Nice campground with large private sites. Some of the sites are full sun, but the majority of the sites are partial shade. Read the description of the site before you book. Stayed here over the Fourth of July and it was rather crowded. The Ranger said that on a usual weekend, only 3 of the 15 sites are in use. Everything was perfect except the fact that the only restroom option were pit toilets. The toilets smell like you would imagine and actually led me to dry heave on one occasion. That said, the campground is near Lake Mills with has everything you need in the event that you forget something or want to rejoin civilization for awhile (McDonald's, Subway, Grocery Store, Walgreen's, Etc.). Furthermore, there are showers and proper rest rooms a mile away at the bike trail head. Keep in mind, that the sites are NOT drive up sites. Whatever you pack you will need to sling to your campsite. This could be anywhere from 100 - 400 yards depending on where your site is located in relation to the parking lot. While it doesn't seem very far, after the fifth trip to and back, you'd wish you would have packed less. I likely won't stay here again since its a little far from the Mountain Bike Trails at Kettle (and mountain biking is THE reason I camp). But, if I were ever in a pinch, I would certainly consider this as an option. One last thought - If you reserve online and you don't show up within a reasonable time, your spot is forfeited. Just keep that in mind. read more

My boyfriend and I booked a site here last minute, for 4th of July weekend. All other major campsites were full, plus we had really enjoyed stopping in Lake Mills in January on our way to New Glarus, WI. Our site was large and mostly secluded, although it was right next to the path to the pond (site #15). I was a little worried about how far we'd have to trek all our stuff from the parking lot, but it was definitely manageable and closer than I anticipated. Pit toilets and water are close as well. Unfortunately, showers are out back onto the main road in Lake Mills. Only a few minutes driving, but it can be a bit of a pain if you're like me and need to shower daily. I also don't think there are many rangers present at night, as a couple sites stayed up till at least 12am or 1am, fairly loud. I don't imagine it's like that during non-holiday weekends. It was kind of annoying, and Wagon Wheel was heard coming from two opposite sites at one point. All in all, I would recommend this site for a little weekend getaway but not for longer camping trips. The campsite does not have a lot of trails or things to do, like Mirror or Mauthe. It was perfect for my boyfriend and I, who went and saw Lake Mills fireworks (which I enjoyed WAY more than the Milwaukee fireworks back home), toured Tyranena brewery, swam at Sandy Beach, and went antiquing. There is a biking trail, Glacial Drumlin State Trail, which took you all the way down to the showers, I believe, and it seemed fairly busy that weekend. Great for pairing with Lake Mills touristy activities, a little dull for those interested in just staying on camp. read more

I love this place. I'm only not giving it five stars because of the weeks worth of trash piled up in the over flowing multiple dumpsters in the parking lot. Everything else about the place was great. The water comes from a cold pump that works perfectly. The bathrooms are clean if simple, and the sites are isolated from one another. The borough oak trees surrounding the sites provide incredible shade without too much obstruction of you. The June weekend we stayed here in 2021, there were no bugs. I don't mind bugs, but this was amazing. A local Boy Scout troop provides firewood for five bucks a pack, and their organization is very efficient. Finally, the class of person, and by class I do not mean income class or social class, but the kind of people who are willing to go for a weekend or night to a campsite with no shower or bathing facilities and no electricity, and where you have to walk to your car from the site itself, those kind of people are a slightly different category of outdoors people from the type you made another places. We had a great time. Oh, and Lake Mills is wonderful. There was a triathlon on as we were in the hood, and it was a pleasure to see the healthy energy of a diverse population racing through town and around it. I highly recommend the place read more

While 'Primitive', this Campground is everything you want in a great place to pitch as you Ride through on the Glacial Drumlins Recreational Trail. The first time I stayed it was deserted save for another Bicyclist; the second time (hence only a 4-star rating) there was a group that showed up to their already pitched tents at Bar Time, whoopin' and a-hollerin'. It's cheap, and cheaper still if you're on a Bicycle, and there's even a short-cut Bicycle-entrance. The well-water is refreshing and the tent-sites visually (if not audibly) secluded. It's especially cheap if you're a Wisconsin-resident. An added selling-point is the fact that both Minnesota and Wisconsin will not turn you away from a full State Park if you arrive on a Bicycle! read more

We stayed at the one group campsite here. Very quiet site away from other individual campsites. Nice fire ring, 5 picnic tables, large paved parking lot very close to site. Very clean pit toilets - cleaned every morning. Boy scouts deliver firewood right to site with a text. Excellent for tent camping. Lots of Sandhill Cranes fly over to Mud Lake. read more

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I have done quite a bit of "car camping" in upstate New York. Though the Sandhill Station State Campground in WI isn't nestled in the mountains, it is a beautiful place to get away for a few days! There are only 15 sites at the campground, spread nicely apart. All but 3 sites are, I would say, mostly shaded. If you are a sun worshiper, sites 12,13 and 14 are for you! If not, head for any of the other sites. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit. There are outhouses on the property that are clean and not the least bit stinky, even on a 90 degree day. The only downside for some people is that you have to walk in, but the parking lots are close enough that it isn't a huge inconvenience. Also, you can drive to showers about a mile away. I would absolutely go there again! read more