Mauthe Lake Campground — Kettle Moraine State Forest-Northern Unit-Iansr

I camped at site #102. There are great views of the lake and easy access to water and bathrooms. The site that I stayed at was actually a teepee site and had a large-ish wooden platform. Parking was right in front of my site but not a drive-in site.

I've become a spoiled baby after hiking the PCT last year, so established campgrounds are hit or miss for me, primarily because of how noisy they are. That said, the hosts were wonderful and the park is clean and very well-maintained. I ended up leaving halfway through my second day because I just didn't want to deal with the noise and traffic.

Overall, I would definitely visit this park again! Next time, I'll aim for dates outside of peak summer camping!

Awesome views and tons of sites to pick from, although they are crowded and close together and some even have open paths connecting them. Great fishing and day-camping experiences too.

Mauthe lake is in the Kettle Moraine Northern Unit. It feels remote but we drove through a bunch of rural houses on the way in. The rustic roads made for good cycling. We passed quite a few pedaling up and down the hills.

The campground itself sprawls along one side of the lake. With the loops for each group peeling off, it is easy to lose your way. The signs mark the direction well so go slow. It helps to know your site number.

There was nobody at the entrance office. I’m not sure if it’s just today but make online reservations. It seems to be the 2022 way.

There is a shower house but we made use of the more convenient vault toilets. Water is available in different ways - even a drinking fountain. There seems to be only one garbage collection site on the way out. This was less convenient since we have dog droppings to deal with.

There is a nature trail that goes around the lake. By the beach and picnic area it’s paved. The rest is gravel or dirt. With recent rains we found a few puddles to walk through and mud to avoid. Our dog loved having the trail so close. Most of the trail is in the sun so bring water on hot days.

Swimming isn’t allowed due to a blue algae bloom. This left plenty of empty space for us to sit with our dog under the trees. Folks did make good use of the fishing pier and playground. We also saw kayaks and stand up paddle boards on the lake.

I have a self contained van and so like to camp in rustic sites. The full electric sites here are pretty small and tightly packed, but the tent / rustic sites are great. Aim for the 500 loop.

A quick last second get away for the first time as a family this season. We stayed in site 201 which was convenient. I wouldn't stay in the site again as it had nothing but swampy muddy low ground around it. It was also right at the entrance. Lots of traffic. However, the kids had plenty of fun running and playing on the hill directly across the street. The weather was great. The easy access to the lake and surrounding hiking trails made for an enjoyable weekend. The Mauthe Lake campground area in the KM forest is a great option for all. Nice and quiet early in the season with beautiful scenery.

We went late in the year in October the place was full but still peaceful. Did some biking and walking along the trails.

The size of the campsites are inconsistent. I found the  sites in the 200's are the smallest and closest to the lake.   The 300 and 400 series have larger sites with more  gravel and less vegetation close to the sites.   Since  the bugs are huge here that is important.   We stayed in 212 and if I came back would look at the 400's.

The pluses of this campground are the lake and beach.  There are some canoes and  kayaks to rent on line here  and they are right at a  boat launch so you don't have to relocate them like some parks I have been too.  The prices were $20 an hour.  There are lots of hiking trails.   This campground is part of a very large park system and there is an extensive bike trail that is about 7 miles that links up different parts of the park.   It is gravel and mostly level and goes through the woods and in sections on a separate trail at the side of the road.   There is a playground at the beach with a large amount of picnic tables.   There is a long fishing pier that juts out into the  lake for fishing.   Both AT &T and Verizon have very strong signals.

Mauthe Lake-Kettle Moraine is a joy for campers. Located right on Mauthe Lake the campsites are separated by lush trees and bushes. Make sure to pick the right campsite, tho.

Some of the campsites seems very shallow but if you looked closer they have a path or another site to put a tent.

The sites are well separated for privacy. Also, the shower house is perfect for an end of the day washing. The lake itself is great for canoeing or kayaking. I would highly recommend visiting.

I visit this site often and love it. Great walking and biking trails, and reasonably private sites. The 300 and 400 loops are better and the 500 loop is the best in terms of space and privacy.

If you do t mind cold camping (or have a 4x4 class B like me) go in the winter. Beautiful and empty. So peaceful.

Nice beach/swimming area, bike path, and playground for the kids. Also the most beautiful sunset over the lake and pines in July

My partner and I camped here with our son for a night. We reserved a spot kind of late and wound up between the shower building and a loud group of hunters in an RV. If we return we'll definitely try to get one of the more secluded walk-in spots that are maybe 40 meters off the road. I'd recommend those spots in any case, if you don't need any of the amenities of the spots very close to the road.

Bring cash for firewood. You can get it on sight (need $5 bills to use the giant wood vending machine), or you can get it at the nearby general store.

The trailhead for the Ice Age Trail is close to the entrance, and there are lots of other spots for fishing, picnicing, or biking.

Pros:

Quiet

Beautiful area with tons of trails

Plenty of bathrooms

Few insects due to the cooler weather

24 hour automated firewood vending

Cons:

Water was shut off due to covid19 except at the sanitary station, and that water was very rusty and not appealing to drink 

Sites are often close together; do some recon if you want some privacy

Be prepared for:

Standing water between sites

Fearless raccoons roaming the grounds after dark 

Really dark roads/walkways--the pit toilets have interior motion detectors, but otherwise, it's a dark toilet trek!

Mauthe has several great wooded sites.  You can’t go wrong with how close the park is to Milwaukee.

We had a pretty cool site up on a hill which was awesome. But the noise from the congested RV campgrounds below made it feel less peaceful. I can deal with mosquitos, but the mosquitos here were unbelievable. It seems like a fun way to get out on a lake, but in terms of hiking or rest and relaxation it wasn’t really our thing.

Our campsite was up the hill and away from the lake as those sites are quite ‘busy’ and we usually look for sites with more privacy. This campground is huge and offers many different kinds of sites depending such as open sites in a pine forest, down by the lake, or tucked away in the trees and bushes. We found several decent choices on a busy fall weekend without a reservation. We enjoyed the spacious campsite that had a couple of it’s own mini-trails and plenty of opportunities to hike in and around the area. I don’t fish, but it seemed like the popular thing to do for many other visitors. The vault toilets were okay but there is a nicer bathroom down the lake.

The campground and campsites are pretty standard.  Nice amount of space and privacy. 101 Walk in site was quite nice. Level ground, nice tree cover so it didnt feel too open. 

Loved being close to the beach and playground area! The kids really appreciated it :) The beach was very clean and even though it was a warm, busy day we didnt feel like it was too crowded.  The earlier you arrive the better chances you have of getting a picnic table in the shade ;)  

Enjoyed the walk around the lake, some parts are still a bit muddy, but overall it was a nice walk and the kids actually made it without too many complaints ;)  Nice variety of scenery!  Even caught a couple frogs.

Definitely a place to visit again! 

*checked out some of the trails near by which were really great as well!

I backpacked the IAT with a group and we camped for the night at Mauthe Lake at the beginning of April. There are lots of downed trees at the campground, which sort of detracted from the landscape (tornado damage, I'm told). Pit toilets were open, but water had not yet been turned on so be prepared to filter if you go this early in the season. We perused different sites/loops for a while to find adjacent non-electric sites large enough for multiple tents at each and were able to fit 8-9 (small backpacking) tents between 314 and 313.

Took our kids on their first camping trip here. Nice, small lake. Ice Age Scenic Trail is nearby. Exhibits at the VC. Overall a very nice time.

lots to do at mauthe lake. big campsites. not too close to neighbors, good fishing!

lots to do at mauthe lake! one of my favs. good fishing.

The campground itself is fairly small, but is segmented in ways that allow you to have great privacy and some decent hiking. The lake has a nice area for swimming, as well as dedicated boat/kayak launches. There's a nice hiking trail that wraps around the entire lake, which makes for a good hike. Very family friendly.

Campground Review

Mauthe Lake is a solid campground with nice sites and a beautiful lake. There is ample hiking in the area being part of Kettle Moraine State Park. The 2 mile trail around the lake is very nice.

There is a good mix of options for campsites: full shade all the way to sunny. While most sites are good sized, there are a few small ones.

The campground has a central bathroom/shower building and each has its own pit toilet restrooms.

Overall, this is a nice campground and we try to go once a year.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time, this time I got to test the Renogy Solar Backpack[https://www.renogy.com/renogy-solar-backpack/].

As a backpack it is great, and the solar panels are an added bonus.  

What's great

• The backpack is stylish, has tons of pockets everywhere, and small features that add to its utility
• It has a solar panel that can charge your stuff

What's not great

• The solar panel part zips off and can be reversable on the backpack itself, but to access the inner pockets of this part while it is still attached to the backpack is somewhat difficult/awkward.
• The solar panel is slower to charge than I thought it would be. It charged a little less than a quarter of my 13k mAh battery in about 3 hours with mostly sunny conditions. This was about 70% of my phone. I don't have much experience with this small solar kits, so maybe this is normal, but I was expecting faster. 
• Mine was stepped on and it got some cracks in it. I would have expected it to be a bit more durable on a backpack. It does still charge, but looks all cracked. I'm not sure if the performance is affected by this.

Final thoughts

Overall I'm still very happy with the backpack and will definitely make use of it, though if I were to need a solar charging kit, I'd probably buy it separately from the backpack itself. I don't see the practicality of hiking with the solar panel charging…the pack would only be a day pack, but if you only need a day pack, your phone should be fine for just a day. You'd get better performance from a stationary panel, which is how I used this one anyway.

Very busy on the weekends. The public can come swim on the lake without having a campsite reserved so it is PACKED in the summer, otherwise beautiful campsite! very family friendly, there’s a playground, snack stand, and paved trails leading up to the beach area. There is a trail that takes you all around the lake that you can bike if you wanted. Great area for kayaking/canoeing too!

This lake is an amazing place to swim, bike and hike. There are plenty of sites for camping, electric, non-electric and tent. It is a no motor lake, so it is very quiet and clean. There is a playground, a big field, plenty of picnic area and a concession stand.

Mauthe Lake Campground is located in the Northern Kettle Moraine Forest in East/Centreal Wisconsin. This is one of my frequent visited campgrounds in the state given all the recreational trails for hiking and bicycling. The campground is clean and spread out. This campground offers some of the cleanest showers I have encountered on my camping trips. The Lake to Lake bike trail connects Long Lake Campground and Mauthe Lake Campground which is abut an 8 mile trip one way. This trail is a mix of paved, dirt, and gravel and travels through different landscape . There is a short hiking trail around Mauthe Lake that you should be able to complete in an hour at a average pace. The Ice Age Trail also runs through the park as part of its 1200 plus miles through the state. Ice cream and restaurants are close by, just follow the Kettle Moraine Scenic Drive, which takes you on a scenic rout through the North Kettle and Southern Kettle Moraine Forest. Be prepared for LOUD FROGS when attempting to sleep, if you can sleep through this noise the campground won't let you down.

Mauthor Lake is a beautiful state park in Wisconsin. Good for biking, hiking, swimming and fishing. Sites are fairly wooded and private. Most of them seemed to be a decent size. Electric hook-ups, but no water. You can fill up at the dump station but I recommend bringing drinking water. There is a general store just outside the park where you can rent row boats, kayaks and paddle boats. The beach is mostly shallow water great for little ones. Flush toilets and changing area nearby. Small concession stand and playground within eyesight of beach

Fantastic campground. Been there couple times. Bathrooms are great showers are OK. There is plenty of hiking swimming boating kayaking etc. The Ice Age Trail runs through the park and makes for great hiking. This is a campground I would go back to over and over again .

One time we locked her keys in the vehicle. The Rangers were very helpful.

Mauthe Lake is a great campground for both family camping or friendly adult camping. Each campsite comes with a fire pit and grate, as well as a picnic table. Sites are spacious and clean. Showers are warm and clean.

Sites 522 and 523 make for a perfect "group" site without the group price. Book them together and you have an instant party pad that fits 12 people. 522/23 are also in the upper corner of the park so it's a little more private. You get a similar effect with sites 508 and 510 but much more foot-traffic.

I love camping at Mauthe in the fall while the leaves are turning. As it starts to cool, the crowds thin out. We've camped while being the only (party) group on the entire upper-500s loop. It's fantastic! I also prefer camping at Mauthe in the fall because the hiking is lovely. I don't miss the swimming because the lake and beach are small and not great for sunbathing or wading. It gets VERY crowded.

There is a general store just outside the park gates and they have anything you could possibly need in a pinch. Owners are very friendly and helpful.

great state park to go to. my family has been coming here with a group for a few years now. the shower facility is nice. it’s a good lake to bring our kayaks to with a little ro er to go up. bike trails go straight from the campground into cute town of Dundee

Nice clean swimming and lots of hiking and biking options