Nestled on the eastern edge of Lake Winnebago, Calumet County Park offers a peaceful getaway, as well as easy access to nearby Appleton and Oshkosh. In this guide and review, we’ll cover everything you need to know for the perfect camping trip at Calumet County Park. We’ll share our personal experience, activities to do within the park, and other fun things to do nearby. Whether you’re into hiking, fishing, or simply enjoying the views of Wisconsin’s largest inland lake, Calumet County Park has something for everyone.
Calumet County Park Campground Guide
N 6150 Co Rd EE, Hilbert, WI 54129
https://www.calumetcounty.org/650/Calumet-County-Park
Campsites
Calumet County Park has 84 campsites– 79 of which have electric hookups. Sites are split into North end, Upper Park, Middle Park, West End, and South End sites. Besides the existing sites, there are a couple areas in the South End that are marked for future sites. All electric campsites have 20/30 amp, some have 50 amp, and there are also a few sites that have water hookups too.
- 20/30 amp sites: S1-S20, W1-W16, U1-U7, U12-U13
- 20/30/50 amp sites: N1-N24
- Water + 20/30/50 amp sites: N1-N3, S21-S28
Cabins
We drove by the cabins and they are clearly very new! They look incredibly nice from the outside, and from the photos on the website look good inside too. Each cabin sleeps up to 4 people and has 1 queen bed and 1 queen sleeper sofa. The cabins all have heating + AC, a small kitchenette (microwave, fridge, toaster, coffee maker), a bathroom (with full bathtub), outdoor grill, and firepit.
Cabins cost $90/night, with a 2 night minimum. If you stay 7 nights, you’ll get a reduced rate of $550. There’s also a veteran discount of 20% that applies on Sunday-Wednesday night reservations. They’ll provide a fitted sheet, but you’ll need to bring the rest of your bedding and towels. Pets are not allowed in cabins.
Cabins are closed during winter, December 1-April 15.
Campground Amenities
Calumet County Park offers:
- Dump station (free for campers)
- Potable water
- Coin operated showers
- Camp store w/ concessions
- Recycling
The dump station and water are closed for winter- typically November 1- March 31 depending on weather.
Calumet County Camping Costs
- Basic sites: $22/night
- Electric sites: $25/night
- Electric + water sites: $30/night
All reservations include a $10 non-refundable service charge.
Camping Rules & Policies
Calumet County Park has a few standard campground rules, but nothing unusual.
- Check in is 3pm or whenever your site is available- whichever is soonest
- Check out is 2pm
- 2 vehicles per site are included in your registration, you can pay an additional fee for more
- Quiet hours are 11pm-8am
- There is a minimum 2 night booking and maximum 21 night booking. You must leave for at least 2 nights before your next 21 night booking
- Holiday weekends (Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July) you’re required to book a minimum of Friday/Saturday/Sunday night
The park offers refunds for cancellations made before the end of business hours 2 days prior to check in (minus your $10 service charge). Cancellations made after business hours 2 days before or less will get a refund minus 2 nights camping fees & the $10 service charge. You can also change your reservation 48+ hours in advance for no fee, but cannot carry over reservations to the next year.
Calumet County Park Campground Drive-Through
Our Review & Experience of Calumet County Park Campground
We stayed for about 2 weeks in site S10. We were at the end of our row of sites and it was a huge site- for now. On the map it shows that in the future another site will be built next to S10. From the back of the site we had a view of Lake Winnebago, but were way too high up to actually have lake access.
The downside of camping in the South End is that currently the only showerhouse is far away. They are in the process of building a new showerhouse near the South End, but it isn’t finished yet (as of writing this in September 2024). The South End area includes a row of sites above and a row below the escarpment. The one water hookup in the loop is at the top of the escarpment and we were at the bottom, so we had to drive over to fill our water jugs, but it wasn’t too big of a deal.
Overall, the campground was peaceful and quiet. It’s a good size campground, but each camping area almost feels like a mini campground because they’re so split up- which gives a cozier feel. You can tell that the county has been putting a lot of money into improvements and there are quite a few newer looking buildings.
Activities at Calumet County Park
Calumet County Park is clearly a popular and active park beyond just the campground. There are multiple playgrounds, volleyball courts, hiking, biking, Lake Winnebago access, and even prehistoric mounds.
Mountain Biking
NorthEast Wisconsin Trails maintains the 2.2 mile Sun Run trail inside the park. They are currently working on adding another 2.5 miles to this trail. In the Upper Park, near the bathrooms, there is also a bike repair station.
Boat Launch
Lake Winnebago is a popular boating and fishing lake. Calumet County Park has a large public boat launch. Besides a big parking area, there are 3 actual launch spots that can be used at the same time. Besides the regular boat launch, there’s also a fully accessible kayak launch.
A daily boat launch pass is $6, seasonal passes are $35, and you can also get a 3-county permit for $50.
Effigy Mounds
There are several Native American effigy mounds in the park. They’re marked on the campground map, but there aren’t signs with each one so we had to kind of guess on a few of them. We did find a couple that were more obvious if you know what you’re looking for.
Things to Do Near Calumet County Park
Gas and Groceries
The closest gas station to Calumet County Park is BP at 335 N Military Rd, Stockbridge, WI 53088. There is a smaller grocery store about 15 minutes away, Dick’s Family Foods (W647 Knight Dr, Sherwood, WI 54169), or if you drive 20 minutes to the town of Harrison there is a Walmart, Aldi, and Pick ‘n Save all in the same area.
Fun Things to Do Near Calumet County Park
While staying at Calumet County Park, we also explored High Cliff State Park which features an observation tower, effigy mounds, and ruins.
Mounds and Ruins: A Journey Through High Cliff’s Obscure Treasures
While staying at Calumet County Park, on Wisconsin’s Lake Winnebago, we made a trip over to visit High Cliff State Park. Besides the hiking trails and natural wonders, this park is full of oddities and history. We saw an old general store, climbed an observation tower, walked among effigy mounds, and even got to check out some ruins- I was in heaven!
Ledge View Nature Center
W2348 Short Rd, Chilton, WI 53014
https://www.ledgeviewnaturecenter.org/
We also visited Calumet County’s Ledge View Nature Center. This is an amazing property with lots of interesting trails, some really awesome nature center exhibits, another observation tower, caves, and more!
On our main adventure day, we visited a few stops in the towns of Kaukauna and Appleton:
- Charles Grignon Mansion– a historic home with tours and also the location for an annual Civil War re-enactment
- 1313 Augustine St, Kaukauna, WI 54130
- https://www.grignonmansion.org/
- The History Museum at the Castle– a museum dedicated to Appleton history and most well-known for it’s exhibit on Harry Houdini who lived in Appleton as a kid
- 330 E College Ave, Appleton, WI 54911
- https://myhistorymuseum.org/
- Houdini Plaza– this town square is dedicated to Houdini and features a statue of him
- 100 W Lawrence St UNIT 307, Appleton, WI 54911
- Vulcan Street Plant Replica– a working replica of the first commercial hydroelectric plant, which was in Appleton
- 530 S Vulcan St, Appleton, WI 54915
LaClare Creamery Cheese Shop, Cafe, & Goat Farm
W2994 County HH, Malone, WI 53049
https://www.laclarefamilycreamery.com/
Another fun activity near Calumet County Park is visiting LaClare Creamery. Here you can peek into the cheese factory where they make goat cheese, meet the goats, get some ice-cream, visit the cutest garden center ever, and of course buy cheese!
Green Bay Botanical Garden
2600 Larsen Rd, Green Bay, WI 54303
https://www.gbbg.org/
Calumet County Park is under an hour from Green Bay, which has tons of things to do. We only made it to the botanical gardens, since we went to video a tour for Josh’s work. Not only are the plants here beautiful, but the buildings and garden art make this one of the most whimsical places I’ve ever been.
