This is a campground located only 40 minutes South West of Milwaukee in the South Kettle Moraine Unit. We have often camped in this area being that it's close to home but we have not stayed at this particular park since I was a child. At that time it was an open grassy field, buggy and HOT in the summer. The lake was more like a small pond and dirty. But it was surrounded by gorgeous, easy hiking trails, many large open picnic areas with covered buildings and the fishing was decent. I remember several large picnic gatherings which I have fond memories of. I especially loved the hiking trails which, in my younger years we use year round including in the winter months for cross country skiing.
Today this park is very different except for the hiking areas which are still year round playgrounds. The pond, as I remember it, is now more like a lake. The beach area is raked every morning and the water is much cleaner than I remember it. It is, in fact, a very nice swimming area now. There is also an ADA fishing pier where we went to look into the clear water to see the fish swimming around. Many of the small trees that were planted, when I was a child, have grown and the spaces between have filled in. The campground is now semi wooded and very nice. There are still some open sites along the prairie side bordering the open picnic areas for those who prefer that. Poison ivy is minimal. I didn't see any surrounding our camp site which was a pleasant surprise as we've seen so much of it creeping into our sites this year all over the state. The sites are large and comfortable with gravel pads and grassy yards. Most appeared level and only a few would be in what we call our avoidable area's. In this case they were in the valley of two hills where we could foresee water problems creeping in of it were to rain heavily.
The ladies bathroom near our area was just okay but my husband went and complained to the ranger about the stench and filthy condition of the mens bathroom. He said the ADA bath was not adequately cleaned regularly either as there was a build up of hard water grime in the shower area. To their credit, someone came out a few hours later to clean both and the husband said the filth was improved but the smell had set in and the showers didn't look much different. They either need a better cleaning crew or, once again, I'll blame it on the governor for not adequately funding this beautiful natural resource our state has always been known for.
The firewood was pricier than any of the other state parks we'd been to and you didn't get near as much but the wood was harder, it burned a bit longer and it did come in recyclable bags which was a feature we hadn't seen before. I hope they use the extra money to hire a better cleaning crew!
No pictures this trip. I just didn't think about it. It was a close to home quick trip planned so that we could spend time in nature with family and friends. We had a very nice time doing just that.
While I still prefer the Pinewoods camp area, I did like this park for the open skies and meteor shower viewing. It's still not far enough away from city lights for truly dark skies but it's well enough to enjoy the show not far from home. It's a perfect gathering place for family and friends who are non campers to enjoy the fun of camping for a day. I was so glad that the changes from my childhood were positive. I would no longer avoid coming here to camp like we once did.
A plug for a nearby eatery called The Trout House at Rushing Waters. This locavore restaurant is located 10-15 minutes from Ottawa Park in Palmyra. After eating thousands of Friday night fish fries in my lifetime I do not hesitate to declare this place had the best fish we'd ever tasted. This was the consensus of all 7 of us in attendance. While the service was slow, it was well worth the wait for the most moist, buttery, perfectly breaded in a light beer batter, melt in your mouth fish we'd ever had. Most had the all you can eat Cod. My brother and I had the trout. Both were excellent and well worth the drive from the city. We will be back, camping or not, for more!
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