If you have been following along with my posts, you know that we recently took a trip from Michigan to Wisconsin with our travel trailer. We pulled in to the Bayfield, WI area around 1:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon and it didn't take us long to get our campsite set up, so we decided to take the short drive to Bayfield to check things out.
The Apostle Islands Area Campground is just about a five minute (or less) drive to Bayfield. It sits just to the south of the town a bit inland from the water. While it was a very nice campground, I am not sure I would ever stay there again. I'll explain why in a little bit.
One of the things I didn't realize about this area of Wisconsin is just how elevated we would be. The maps I had seen of the campground ahead of time didn't really give you an indication of just how hilly this area was. The photos above are of the front area of the campground. It's actually pretty sloped and as you can see, they have some specialty cabins that you can rent out. These cabins sit along the edge of a small man made pond which they consider their swimming area.
The also have a Conestoga Wagon out in the woods you can rent if you want to. I've never quite seen anything like it before, so it was kind of cool, but I prefer my travel trailer thank you very much!
The photos of the campsites I had seen online made them look like they had a bit more space than they actually had. While that happens quite a bit with State Park sites, I didn't expect it to be the case with a resort like this. We paid close to $100 per night to have full amenities like electrical hook up, water, and sewer. It's kind of a necessity when you are staying for as many nights in a row as we did.
Despite the small size, out site was still quite beautiful, and the large tree in the second photo above had me absolutely captivated each time we sat outside at night.
I think my biggest issue with the campground and probably the reason I would never camp there again was the fact that it wasn't near the water. Knowing the shores of Lake Superior were so close, but not within your reach was kind of annoying. It wasn't in a way that made our stay horrible, but as we drove around, I saw some other resorts that I would likely check out first if we ever came back to this area.
One of the other things we found interesting about this place is you didn't have the typical sights, sounds, and smells that you often get in a State Park campground. Generally, it's like mass chaos, but in a really wonderful way. At a state park you have kids running around everywhere playing and screaming (it's not as annoying as you might think), people are cooking breakfast or bacon, or something and the smell wafts through the area, and you see people out and about sitting around their campfires.
Like I said, that wasn't the case here. It was unsettlingly quiet, which I know probably sounds crazy that I am saying this, but it is true. There is a point where it can be too quiet given your surroundings, and that was the case here.
Despite all of that, it was a good place to call home for five days or so. It met our needs, and we really had a quite delightful time there. I honestly don't know if any of the other places in the area are any better than this one was. Then again, there might not be anywhere that has the same amenities as where we stayed. You'd have to do your own research to find out.
Right outside the campground is a store that specializes in mountain biking and outdoor adventure sports. If you are into that sort of thing, this location might be perfect. Oh yeah, they also have a coffee shop and tap room in the store. I'll write more about that another time, but it's important to note, if you are big into mountain biking, this might be a perfect spot for you. In fact, 
Or Check out my Grilling and Smoking Community on HIVE
All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or
