Long line to get a park pass.... arfcom sticker on black truck:

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I don't understand going to state parks.  You want to get away and enjoy nature, and then there are people everywhere.  There's more isolation in the northern county parks and national forest campgrounds.  Maybe it's the showers that are available at the state parks.

Peninsula has plenty of room.  I will be there next weekend and never have a problem getting way from people.

Places like Peninsula, Perrot and Wyalusing offer excellent views and hiking while also offering minor amenities that many enjoy. Especially those who prefer RV camping.

At Wyalusing, I was able to pull up and camp 5 feet from the top of a 500ft ridge that overlooked the Wisconsin and Mississippi rivers.

At Perrot, I got a camping spot right on the bay with a wonderful view.

Personally, I prefer to do dispersed camping while backpacking on national trails, but for a quick adventureb or with a few people who prefer a more casual getaway, State Parks have a ton to offer.

Are the towers back open in Door County? I know the one on Washington Island closed for repair and at least one other one in Door.

The one on Washington Island was closed back in March, but I'm not sure about now.

My wife and daughter were the 3rd/4th people to climb the Peninsula St. Park tower when it opened on Tuesday of this week!  I'm about to go climb it in about 30 minutes.  I don't think it's as tall as the old one, but similar view of Horseshoe Island, etc.

Is peninsula more crowded than devils lake?

I never quite understood why Russian seems to be the predominant language you’ll overhear at devils lake and why there’s always buses full of Japanese tourists there.

That's all the foreign lobbyists from Madison here to buy a politician.

It's pretty busy, but I'd wager Devil's Lake is the busiest in the state.

It's close proximity to Milwaukee, Madison, and being right next to the Dells really increases the numbers. It's easy for them to get on a bus, hit 94 and get there in 90 minutes.


Peninsula is right in the middle of Door, so you're less likely to get a bunch of day trippers from a large metro area. However, the camping reservations are usually booked up months in advance.

Just my experience, but top 3 busiest state parks are probably:

Devil's Lake
Wyalusing
Peninsula

In no certain order. If you want to camp at any of those on a summer weekend, you need you start trying to reserve spots 8 months out, or earlier.

I worked at a campground in Egg Harbor for 5 years and nearly every weekend we’d have folks pulling in later on a Friday night who didn’t make reservations at Peninsula and thought they could just drive up and snag a site.

Always felt bad having to turn them away because we rarely had weekend availability but that’s what you get for not planning ahead at all I suppose.

It's a gateway drug for when you have small kids and want to get them into camping.

At least, for us.

State parks are a great compromise between amenities and wilderness.  Campsites there usually offer more seclusion than county parks and with showers and flush toilets.  The campsite usually have a Ranger on patrol and they don’t tolerate BS like how county campsites tend to devolve into teenage party sites.