After visiting the National Lakeshore, Tom and I spent the afternoon and night at Apostle Islands Area Campground.  Despite the name, the campground is not related to the National Lakeshore, except for the location in Bayfield, Wisconsin.

Apostle Islands Area Campground is a large and quirky campground located at the south end of Bayfield.  After staying at so many state parks during the rest of our trip, this private campground was a fun change.  I’m sure it is very busy in the summer, but at the end of September there were plenty of open spots. The owner checked us in at a very nice office and camp store and gave us clear directions to our site.

There are over 100 campsites spread out over three distinct areas of the park.  We stayed in the Madeline Island section.  Most of the sites in that section are back-in and some do not have full hook-ups.  There was a playground in the middle of our “island” with a bathhouse and laundry.  We were glad to see the laundry because we were running out of clean clothes.  I put a load of laundry in the washing machine and then Tom and I took a walk around the facility.

After making a loop around our “island,” we walked up to the Oak Island area.  The campground is set on the side of a hill and there is nothing level except for the campsites.  Then we headed across Trailer Court Road to the biggest area of the campground, Stockton Island.  Stockton Island has all pull-through sites and is set up for big rigs.  The roads all go downhill, and there is a great view of the Apostle Islands from the top of the hill.  A large swimming pond surrounded by fun-looking rental cabins sits next to the RV sites.  The owners are renovating the camping cabins and adding some fun features.  We saw a covered wagon, a pirate ship, a tugboat, and two lighthouses.  In addition to the places to stay, Stockton Island also had a playground and a mini golf course.

As Tom and I walked around the campground, we could tell that it was owned by people who were campers themselves.  Everything was set up in the most useful way for campers, from the roads, to the sites, to the WiFi.  Although there was only one washer and dryer in our area, they were reasonably priced and worked well.  We especially appreciated the excellent WiFi in our RV after weeks of sitting outside bathhouses to use a Hotspot.

We enjoyed our stay at Apostle Islands Area Campground very much.  If you are looking for a place to stay in the area, I definitely recommend it.