Mirror Lake State Park

I travelled here with a 35’ 5th wheel, long bed pickup and parked in site #67, an E only (30A), BI site for $39/night. The roads are asphalt and the sites are gravel. The site is on a circle with a couple of trees to avoid so go slowly. Otherwise, the navigation is easy and backing in was no problem. The site was unlevel side to side and I needed three boards to get level. The picnic table and firepit are on the back side of the rig. It forced me to position the front door close to the bushes. It has a lot of shade making it lovely to sit outside at night. There is a large shower house on the loop that is older and in need of refreshing. The showers have a bench to place your things and a couple of hooks. The showers in the Cliffwood Loop do not have benches. The campground was pretty quiet during the week. Connectivity: 2-3 bars LTE Verizon, 265 mbps download, no wifi and I didn’t check OTA channels. Many of the sites will accommodate larger rigs. My preferred sites were 68, 69, 83, 86, 137, 138, 140. The camp hosts were also really nice.

We were here for Labor Day Weekend. The town of Wisconsin Dells was absolutely crowded, but the camp ground did not feel over crowded yet pretty close by.
I really loved the fact, that we were able to "retreat" to "our" fairly quiet campsite after going to town for a meal and a boat ride.
The campground, we were in the Sandstone Ridge loop, is located in a beautiful forest. We could see our neighbors through the vegetation, but it did not feel crowded. We did not use our Starlink system due to the trees, but we were able to stream on our Verizon hot spot. FYI we did not see a single site where solar could generated much. If you need power please make sure to read the rules on generators or get a site with power!
It took an extra few adjustments to get our 33 ft 5th wheel backed in to get the trailer positioned just right to be able to use all 3 slides. We ended up with a tree between 2 slides, lol.... Surprisingly we were "in the bubble" in that spot and our self leveling system did the rest.
The size was gravel mixed with dirt. It had the obligatory lantern post, picnic table and firepit. Great fire wood was available right next to the camp host site. The campground hosts were visible and seemed to be checking on things regularly.
The campsite was free of trash, the fire pit had been emptied, the rest rooms were older (could use a bit TLC), but seemed to be getting regular attention. There were also a few vault toilets around (no lights at dusk!).
We went to the beach with our family. During the day it was super crowded as we saw while hiking, but after dinner it was perfect.
The park has a hiking and biking trails, boat launch, swim beach, playground near the beach, a picnic area near the beach, an ADA cabin, campsites sites with electric and sizes without split into 3 loops, a few group sites, some hike in sites.
I really likes that the "day use area" aka picnic area, play ground and beach are located on their own loop. The boat ramp has it's own area too. So people coming to the beach area or the boat launch did not have to go through the camping area.
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As in cost the Wisconsin's State Park system is different from many other states: Every car needs a daily or anual vehicle permit. For us out-of-staters (it goes by the vehicle tag) it was $38 (anual for the calendar year or daily $11). Then we pay $5 more per campsite per day as non-residents. For electric sites it is $35 per night and because it was Laborday two of our nights cost $37 for the site plus a reservation fee of $7.95.
So for 4 nights we paid $38 for our truck, $144 for our campsite plus the $7.95 reservation fee. That is $189.95 aka $47.48 for a 30 amp site (but to be fair the next RV park is a bunch more $$$ for a site with water/30 amp, but with much less room.)
A two lane portable waterfill stations and two lane dump station are available near the entrance of the park as are the multiple dumpsters. There also water fill points (to fill jugs etc) in the camping loops.

This was my first time camping at Mirror Lake the evenings of May 13th and 14th. I found the park to be a bit more than I was expecting - in particular I was assuming it was going to be very crowded because of it's proximity to the Wisconsin Dells. In fact it never seemed overly packed even though I was there on the weekend.

There are many sites both electric and non-electric and a fair number of double sites, which I used this time because I was camping with friends. I did have a challenge getting into site 118 - I should have gone by the site and turned around to give me a better angle. But once in, the dual sites felt like we were quite secluded with no direct line of sight to any other campsite. The site was very clean with a fire ring and picnic table and both 30 and 50 amp power. They have both vault toilets and showers. All were clean and working in the Cliffside camping area.

The Jewel is Mirror Lake itself which is a very narrow and long lake surrounded by steep hills and sandstone cliffs. While motorized boats can be on the lake, they can only troll, and so it's super calm and perfect for kayaking and canoeing. It seems that it's a popular lake to kayak fish on. You can rent a single person Kayak for $17/hour which I did and really enjoyed it. There are a number of hiking trails. The Northwest Trail, which is about 2.3 miles is the best one. I recommend you go counter clockwise which leaves the best views of the lake for the end.

The park is situated just to the west of I94 so you can hear traffic noise if you camp on the east side of the park where I was. This didn't bother me but might others. It was kind of interesting kayaking under the freeway - which runs over a a narrow link between Mirror Lake and Lake Delton and that you can Kayak up.

Since it's close to both the Dells and Baraboo, there are plenty of other activities to enjoy, including water parks, breweries and wineries in the area. I like it enough that I would go back. The road noise is the only drawback.

Big private sites we had electric and filled with water. There is a dump station on-site. The lake is pretty and has a nice swim beach. Great kayaking. We didn’t have many neighbors it was so quiet at night. There are some trails behind our site others in there too.

The supper club Ishnala is there and gas great food. Very pricey but very good. Celebrated our anniversary there. After dinner we sat at the bar and watched the sunset over the lake.

Devils lake is close by you couldn’t get in or park way to busy. The Dells aren’t to far and the town of Baraboo is close by. We ate several tine at the little village cafe it was great food and homemade desserts.

I stayed in Bluewater Bay and it is a nice place to stay even when somewhat busy—there is enough tree cover and bushes to give you some privacy regardless of how busy it is. There were lots of mosquitoes and I got eaten alive, but that’s my fault for being unprepared. Don’t be like me.

The really part of this park that makes it worth a couple nights is the lake itself. An absolutely beautiful place to kayak or SUP. Just really amazing. I SUP’d Devil’s Lake the next day and it was crowded and not nearly as beautiful a lake to SUP. I’d return here ever year for the rest of my life, if only to SUP the whole of the lake (it only takes a few hours tops).

The crown jewel of the Wisconsin state park system is arguably Devil's Lake. It's huge, with 3 different campgrounds, it has a wonderful lake and all the concessions you need. It has great trails for all levels of difficulty. But it's also hugely popular, and there's hardly a weekend when it isn't very crowded. Not very conducive to social distancing. But there's a hidden gem just a few miles away.

Mirror Lake State Park is all of that in a much more compact package and a fraction of the crowds. Plus, it is closer to Wisconsin Dells and all of the attractions therein. It has the same geological features as the Dells. Rent the watercraft of your choice (including pontoon boats) from the concession. There is a classic Wisconsin supper club (Ishnala) within walking distance from the campground. Add in a beach and a fishing pier, and everything you need is there. All of the campsites are shaded and most are fairly secluded. I think our spot, 77, was the best one in the park, with our nearest neighbor more than 30 feet away. The Cliffwood loop is closer to the interstate, so noise may be an issue there. The Sandstone Ridge loop is further away and noise was minimal.

The sanitary station has been upgraded recently and it features two fresh fill lines and two dump lines with plenty of waiting room. A minor disappointment was the firewood. It came in small, wrapped bundles for $6 each. We went to another state property later and was able to get twice as much wood for $5.

In all, it's a very relaxing park where you can do as much or as little as you want. It's on our regular rotation.

My family and I recently purchased a travel trailer and, unlike our inaugural excursion in a RV "resort," where we felt captive in a noisy fishbowl, we appreciated the solitude that Mirror Lake State Park offered. Nestled right outside of the Wisconsin Dells, approximately one mile from Interstate 39, the park is secluded in the Baraboo Bluffs to feel like you're in nature yet close enough to civilization for any last-minute needs or access to food, water, medical, et cetera.

The campsite area itself was in a cul-de-sac, which I appreciated. The RV spot was nice with ample room to maneuver the trailer. The electrical service (30 amp) worked great. The tent pad for the kids was large and flat and there was plenty of shade without feeling as if we were in a rain forest.

Overall, the camp was busy but not to capacity and there was no issue renting kayaks and paddle boards. The amenities at the park are what one would expect -- showers, toilets, pit toilets, boat launch, water points, duping station, and electrical hookup for the RV. The restrooms/showers were clean -- the park was clean. The park itself has hiking trails, a paved trail that allows for easy access for everyone, and the views of the lake and bluffs are great.

I will certainly be visiting Mirror Lake again!