Whitewater Lake Campground

Nice campground with roomy sites. Lake was clean and you could rent kayaks on site.

Photos are of campsite and nearest hiking trail (ice age trail). The maps are very confusing as to location your campsite and then referencing the nearest trails. (whitewater for reference). No showers or flush stalls on site which we knew of. However the nearest showers are 12 miles away or so, which through country roads translates to 25min drive one way. To top that off, the water was lukewarm at best and absolutely reeked of sulfur (horse rider campground) not about to drive an hour to another camp site. Pit toilets smelled pretty bad and laden with flies and mosquitoes. People here don't really respect the rules regarding noise. Nor does dnr enforce them. Lot of people driving down the wrong way down one ways. Very little wildlife to be seen? Nearest trail was marked very poorly (only one that connects this camping area). With no mileage or good maps close together. Ironically enough the trail was very demanding but with beautiful views and great photo ops. (went about 5 miles up on ice age trail). DNR website very misleading with photos too. It showed a mountain side which isn't even in the southern section lol. What really bothered us is the directions they give you on the confirmation letter are to reach the headquarters and not your camp site. (Why the heck would anyone want to go there? Took us away from our site with another 25 min wasted driving after it already got dark....) There is a BP where you can get some supplies about 10 min away, and a Walmart about 20-25 min away. Weather for this location is very poor. 0% chance of rain and it pours randomly. Cellular reception is 3 bars on Verizon LTE but connection doesn't reflect that. Not a terrible camp by any means, but most definitely take everything into consideration before you come here. Governor dodge state park isn't far away, and it is a much better experience overall. Also be wary of the posted speed limits. Lots of cops in the area, waiting to increase their revenue with speeds as low as 15mph, and no RR crossing gates only stop signs.

Camped at group site N in the Hickory Woods Group Camp. We easily fit 2 eight person tents and 3 four person tents with a 10x10 canopy to give some coverage over some of the picnic tables. This site is mostly surrounded by trees and you will be far from other campsites but not too far from the bathroom! The toilets are pit toilets with little or no lighting in the building so bring a flashlight or your phone to see clearly! The toilets not having much light and being pretty messy is why I am leaving a 4 star review instead of 5. The other reason for 4 stars is that it was difficult to find a ranger at the ranger station and buy firewood (as advertised) so we bought firewood from Casey's in town. For a few surprises, there is also a steep trail leading into the woods at this site, which was nice and there is a cast iron grill attached to the fire pit. I highly recommend camping here as it is surrounded by trails, it's not even 5 minutes away from Whitewater Beach, and only 10 minutes away from town and anything you could need!

My reserved campsite was occupied when I arrived. No one would really help. Camp host isn't a cop(they failed to post the reservation on the site post), the ranger didn't want to confront the trespassers and the game warden had nothing to do with this but all fingers were pointed to them? This lack of assistance knocked a star off. The sites here were on the muddy side, they need some attention. The sites are nicely spaced with vegetation between them giving you a nice sense of privacy. The pit toilet seats are about 10" off the ground so you'll really be squatting. :-) There is very little signage about needing a daily permit as well as the campsite fees and the host offered no recommendations on where to get one, so I didn't.

Recommend site 757, nice open area, wind breeze. Restrooms, pit (in and out:) ) but fairly clean. No showers, the only downside. Definitely hike Ice Age Trail.