Camping
Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit
Reservations
Camping reservations are required and can be made for the same day of your arrival or up to 11 months in advance of your planned date of occupancy. Campers must make a reservation before setting up on any site.
Reserve a campsite online or by calling 1-888-947-2757.
Campgrounds
The Kettle Moraine State Forest - Northern Unit has several camping areas. Check-in for camping is not required. Campers should go directly to the campsite where they are staying. Directions and campground address are provided below.
Mauthe Lake campground
Mauthe Lake campground has 135 sites, including 51 electrical sites, one shower building with flush toilets in the 300 loop and several vault toilets throughout the campground. The campground is located within the Mauthe Lake Recreation Area. The beach area has playground equipment. Food/drink concessions and kayak/canoe rentals are available seasonally. Campsites accessible to people with disabilities are also available. A sanitary dump station and recycling/garbage station are provided for registered campers. Mauthe Lake campground is open for camping year-round.
Mauthe Lake Recreation Area and Campground
N1490 County Road GGG
Campbellsport, WI 53010
Mauthe Lake campground map [PDF]
Get Directions - Mauthe Lake Recreation Area and Campground
Long Lake campground
Long Lake campground provides 200 sites, flush and vault toilets and showers. The campground is located within the Long Lake Recreation Area. Campsites accessible to people with disabilities are available. A sanitary dump station and recycling/garbage station are provided for registered campers. Long Lake Campground is open for camping the first weekend in May through mid-October.
Long Lake Recreation Area and Campground
N3450 Division Road
Cascade, WI 53010
Long Lake campground map [PDF]
Get Directions - Long Lake Recreation Area and Campground
Greenbush group campground
The Greenbush group campground offers nine outdoor sites that accommodate groups of up to 40 individuals. The campground is located within the Greenbush Recreation Area. Only tent camping is allowed on the actual campsite. Sites are near the Greenbush Trails, where campers can enjoy hiking or off-road biking. An enclosed shelter building, drinking water and vault toilets are available nearby. There are no shower facilities in the campground. Greenbush group campground is open for camping from April through November.
Greenbush Recreation Area and Campground
N5854 Kettle Moraine Drive
Glenbeulah, WI 53023
Greenbush campground map [PDF]
Get Directions -Greenbush Recreation Area and Campground
New Prospect horseriders' campground
The New Prospect horseriders' campground has 22 family campsites with 20/30/50 amp electric service and three group sites. In the family camping area, each site has a picnic table, fire ring and a 30-by-30-foot graveled area with picket posts and/or pipe corrals where horses are to be kept. The camp area has one drinking water source, an open-air picnic shelter, a vault toilet, a covered stable with 24 box stalls and manure pits. There is no shower facility in the campground.
New Prospect Horseriders' Campground
W404 County Road SS
Campbellsport, WI 53010
Horseriders' campground map [PDF]
Get Directions - Horseriders Campground
In the group camp area, each site has a drinking water source, a fire ring, four picnic tables and a manure pit. Group sites A and C each have nine, 10-by-10-foot metal pipe corrals. Group Site B has two tether post areas and 12 pipe corrals. The group camp has a vault toilet. No more than 20 people may occupy a group site.
Campers are responsible to place all hay and manure in the manure pits which are located throughout the campground; wheelbarrows and forks are provided. Horses are to be kept in designated areas to protect the green space of the campground.
The campground is centrally located in the state forest and provides easy access to the 33-mile bridle trail which traverses the length of the forest. There also are two loop trails, the 2.5-mile Crooked Lake Loop and the 4-mile Forest Lake Loop. All horse riders 16 years and older must have a state trail pass while using the designated bridle trails in the state forest. The campground opens the first weekend in May and closes the last weekend in October.
Backpack shelters
Five backpack shelters are available year-round for rustic camping along the 31 miles [PDF] of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. One backpack shelter is available from April 1 through November at the Zillmer Trail [PDF] area. Each site offers a roofed trail shelter, fire ring and pit toilet. Drinking water is available less than a mile from each site.
These sites are not accessible by vehicle. All camping equipment must be backpacked in and all refuse packed out. A camping permit is required and you must camp at a designated shelter campsite.
Reservations are required for all backpack sites. Only one reservation (camping party) is allowed per site per night. Reservations are limited to 10 persons per site and are limited to one night per site. Another site may be reserved for a second night and a third night at a third site.
If all the backpack sites are reserved for a weekend night on your hiking trip, consider staying one night at the Mauthe Lake campground.
Firewood
Firewood is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from a vending trailer at each campground: Mauthe Lake, Long Lake, Greenbush and New Prospect Horseriders.
Don't move firewood! Due to the potential of carrying harmful tree pests and diseases, Wisconsin has restrictions for moving firewood. Firewood facts, rules and advice