Boulder Lake, Begley Rapids campground comparison tour in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

0:00 Amenities at Bolder Lake
1:36 Tour of the Campground at Bolder Lake
21:57 Group Sites at Bolder Lake
27:46 Begley Rapids Campground, Living simply on the flowing water
Looking for Camping in Wisconsin's North Woods. Don't know what to expect from the different public campgrounds. Well, you have come to the right place. In the series from the summer of 2023 I am working to remedy any questions about the different public campgrounds in both the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest, as well as the Northern Highlands American Legion State Forest.
Between the two areas of Wisconsin's north woods I have visited 32 Campgrounds. Some with as few as 6 sites and others with over 100.
I will provide you with a walking tour showing and describing each and every campsite I can without risking the privacy of children within them. I will also attempt to show what amenities each campground provides as the time of filming.
In the National forest the sites are spit between first come first serve and reservable sites via recreation.gov. Even the reservable sites can be nabbed for a few nights if the reservation sign does say it has an upcoming reservation. You would just need to move sites before the reservation date.
In the Wisconsin State Forest the reservations can be made on wisconsin.goingtocamp.com
All sites are reservable up to 11 months in advance. However, you can also make same day reservations through the site or by calling the number provided on the information sign at each campground. Except for a few overly loved campground in the state like Devil's Lake, Koller and a few others and on some particular dates like July 4th, You can usually find last min sites through out the system especially if you are only staying one or two nights. And same day reservations do not charge the reservation fee.
For example, I recently looked for a night at a campground with my wife on a Tuesday. I looked same day. Devils Lake was completely sold out, but by going up the road 10 miles to the other side of the Wisconsin Dells I found 1/2 the sites at Rocky Arbor empty and available. I did the same thing last year with a trip up the Lake Michigan coast. I tried last min at Koller with no luck, but had a great night stargazing at Point Beach State Forest.
The point is, be flexible, Plan ahead if you really want that perfect spot, but don't tell me All the State Park Campgrounds are always full. This series will show just how many waterfront sites could be nabbed last second throughout all of these campgrounds in Wisconsin's north woods for verry little money.

[@markmartello]

Thank you again for what you do. My wife and I like to camp and your videos are EXTREMELY helpful when picking a place to go.

[@SconnyWandering]

Glad to hear it

[@christinebicanic]

I hope Kentuck Lake gets on your playlist.

[@SconnyWandering]

Already done kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpO0ZZmGjZyLadU

[@Far-Beyond-Ordinary]

Back in the 70s, my parents took us camping almost every weekend in the summer. Boot and Boulder Lake were our family favorites. I really liked the nature trails.

[@SconnyWandering]

Thanks for sharing!

[@MFitz12]

Oh goody. Been looking forward to coverage of this area. 👍👍

[@SconnyWandering]

I visited 15 of them, should be 13 videos

[@Far-Beyond-Ordinary]

There are several free dispersed camping areas in that part of the national forest that I have been to. Some are on small lakes.

[@SconnyWandering]

The ones I stumbled on still asked $5 a night per car

[@tomlorenzen4062]

Do they have winter camping here? Thanks!

[@SconnyWandering]

You would have to check the NFS site for each

[@tomlorenzen4062]

@@SconnyWandering Thanks!

[@cheriezamel5913]

Thank you for starting this series!! I’m going to Laura Lake next month. I wish you had posted that one first 😊 selfish thinking. Do you know where to get firewood in the area?

[@SconnyWandering]

Look around, folks are selling everywhere. But it looked like they were dropping storage sheds at all the campgrounds, hoping it's for firewood.

[@SconnyWandering]

Laura Lake video is scheduled for July 12. Bring bug spray and a screen house

[@cheriezamel5913]

@@SconnyWandering thanks for info! Yes, screen house is packed along with my thermacell.

[@gennygibbons856]

There are 2 or 3 different places that sell wood on the way into Laura Lake. Be alert on trails we saw a wolf last year while walking the lake. We love the loons and the camp host has been their for years and is very helpful as are the rangers that come through.

[@cheriezamel5913]

@@gennygibbons856 thank you!!

[@exploringtheholos]

Boulder Lake?

[@SconnyWandering]

Nice catch

[@sdn40]

Bagley Rapids is my go to spot. There are monsters and ghosts everywhere so stay away.

[@SconnyWandering]

On hear the ATV trail across the river can be quite loud

[@tentsrus6945]

FYI Boulder is a National Forest not State Forest Cpgd, Do enjoy your campground videos.

[@SconnyWandering]

Did I really say that? Woops, wonder what I'll say when I cover the state forest. I'm sitting in one now

[@naturelover1284]

I like seeing the spots but if I was there I sure wouldn't want to be filmed

[@naturelover1284]

I am looking for tent only places away from people and their equipment, seems they are all boat in only?

[@SconnyWandering]

I do try and avoid that, another reason not to go on the weekends

[@SconnyWandering]

There are single "campgrounds" in the national forest that are remote. $5 per car. I didn't cover them because they are randomly placed around the forest

[@southernnana7059]

I’ve watched many many of Sconny’s videos and have never seen a person in video. He walks by if they’re occupied. And only films facing road then you might see width by opening He is very conscious of camping etiquecy And very polite gentleman. Nice job SCONNY. Love your videos. And have made reservations in Wi at East Twin several times. Thank you sir💜

[@tentsrus6945]

I do believe you are slightly miss-informed regarding the billing prices for a reserved site, In my experience reserving sites at National Forest CGDs you pay whatever the site fee is multiplied by the # of nights reserved, plus you pay an additional one time only "Reservation Fee" of $ 8 dollars. For example, 3 nights at $15 each plus $8 equals $53 plus taxes. Or $15 using Senior Discount Pass ($7.50 X 3 nights for a total of $22.50 plus the one time Reservation Fee of $8, resulting in a total booking fee of $30.50 plus taxes. I have found that the 50% discount varies from park to park and Nat. Forest regarding the pricing of electrical sites. Some will only allow the discount on part of your site fee. For instance, if a non-electrical site is $15 and an electrical site is $25, some camps will only allow a Senior Card discount on the base of $15, while charging the full electrical site's additional charge of $10. So your site with a Senior Pass would equal $17.50 per night plus the additional one time only charge of $8 for the reservation fee if you reserved on Recreation.gov. Yes, it can be confusing but I know that at least I have never experienced being charged an additional reservation fee for each day reserved. When you reserve on Rec.gov you will see the one time $8 or in some instances $9 fee added to your on line order invoice. Cheers1

[@SconnyWandering]

Either way, that reservation fee can ad up unless you're staying max stay limit. Cheeper to pay on-site