Surrounded by the gently rolling farm country of southeastern Wisconsin, Meadowlark Acres Family Campground (meadowlarkacres.org) is 9 miles southeast of Alpine Valley Resort. Open from early May until early October, the campground has nearly seven dozen sites, most with water and electricity. Roughly two dozen primitive sites are set aside for tent camping. All sites have their own picnic tables and fire rings. Facilities include a seasonal outdoor swimming pool, sports courts, playground, centrally located bathhouse with showers and restrooms, and a dump station.
Part of the Waukesha County park system, Mukwonago Park (waukeshacounty.gov) perches on a high ridge 11.7 miles north-northeast of Alpine Valley Resort. Open year-round, it has a family campground with roughly 30 sites available on a first-come, first-served basis, as well as six group sites that can be reserved in advance. Campground facilities include picnic tables, fire rings and restrooms. In addition to its campground, the 355-acre park has a variety of recreational facilities open to both daytime visitors and campers. These include a swimming pond, two fishing ponds, hiking trails, archery range and a sledding area for winter use.
Sixteen miles south of Alpine Valley Resort, 271-acre Big Foot Beach State Park (dnr.wi.gov) lies along the eastern shores of Lake Geneva. Although the park is open year-round, its campground is fully operational from May until October. About one-third of its 90-plus campsites have electricity, and all have their own picnic tables and grills. Facilities for campers include vault toilets and showers. Recreational facilities include a sandy swimming beach on the lakefront, 6.5 miles of hiking trails, playground and boat rentals.
Near the town of Mukwonago, 16 miles northeast of the resort, Country View Campground (countryviewcamp.com) has more than 150 campsites, ranging from primitive tent sites to RV sites with full hookups. Open from mid-April through mid-October, Country View offers campers a variety of recreational facilities, including a heated outdoor swimming pool, sports field, beach volleyball court, game room, playground, picnic area with pavilion and petting zoo. Among the campground’s other facilities are hot showers, restrooms, a camp store, coin-operated laundry facilities, propane service and a dump station.
The southern unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest (dnr.wi.gov) covers more than 22,000 acres of typical kettle moraine terrain in southeastern Wisconsin. Two of the state forest’s campgrounds lie within 20 miles of Alpine Valley Resort. Ottawa Lake Recreation Area, open year-round, has 100 sites, about half with electricity. Other facilities include showers, flush toilets and vault toilets for use during the winter. Among Ottawa Lake’s recreational facilities are hiking trails, a swimming beach on the lake, pet swimming area, fishing pier, boat ramp, playground and activities field. Also available is a campground reserved for campers traveling on horseback. Near Palmyra, 19 miles northwest of the resort, Horseriders Campground, open from early April until late November, has about five dozen campsites, some with electricity. Each site has a tether post and fire ring. Other facilities include drinking water, pit toilets, picnic shelter, horse shower and manure deposit stations.
