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Water Enthusiasts, hunters, hikers, and anyone who enjoys the outdoors will find solace in Buckhorn State Park. Situated within the heart of Southern Wisconsin, this park and an adjacent wildlife reserve showcases over 9,000 acres of unspoiled midwestern wilderness. At the end of the Wisconsin and Yellow Rivers, this park is famous for the large man-made reservoir it occupies. The intensity of nature here is staggering. The park prominently exhibits dense, green wetland forests, exposed prairies, and sand-swept dunes. The sandy landscape found in certain areas are the result of glacial erosion and sand deposits left after the last global Ice Age.
Westward expansion caused massive amounts of damage to the surrounding region. Before European settlers came, the region housed over 4.1 million acres of barren pine and oak forests. Today, less than 10,000 acres remain standing; a stark contrast to the once thriving wonderland. Thankfully much of this acreage is now protected, and serves as a hugely popular area for tourists and visitors to recreate year-round.
The park is most famously known for its large wetland flowage, owing to the poor soil conditions of the region. Subsequently, kayakers and small-craft boaters visit to spot flora and fauna not found anywhere else in the state. The flowage fills just enough every year to accommodate and protect a number of endangered species, including the Karner Blue Butterfly, and the state-threatened Osprey.
Aside from bird watching and unparalleled views of wetland nature, the park also offers up a 300 foot sand beach complete with volleyball nets, picnic shelters, horseshoe pits, and recreation areas perfect to recreate under the sun. Outside of the beach, fishing is one of the most popular attractions, as the slough houses delicious Bluegill, Salmon, and Wisconsin Trout.
Camping in Buckhorn State park is similar to many other state parks. There’s a handful of rustic sites facing west that line the length of the wetland overflow. This is perfect for catching multicolored sunsets that pain nearby water surfaces hues of pink, orange, red, and purple. On the opposite eastern end of the park lies campsites perfect for catching the sunrise, if you’d prefer. There is also a cabin available for reserve, and various bird-blinds for use placed strategically throughout the park. You’ll need a vehicle admission sticker to end, and all Wisconsin Camping and Fishing fees apply.
Buckhorn State Park review for: hike-in campsite #17, South picnic, restroom, and shower area, main office, pull-in sites, hike-in campsite #7 area, and camp host.
The pros: beautiful , spacious lake-side, hike-in campsites, very clean rest and shower areas, super camp host, main office staff were very helpful at check in, wood and ice are available at the main office as well and bike, kayak, and canoe rentals.
The cons: Mosquitoes and black flies! I'm m going to be honest here - I did not see one soul outside of their campers during the evening and I would guess it is because of the insects. I have never encountered the severity of mosquitos and black flies in my time camping on this earth - and coming from someone who camps quite a bit, I think that means something. Deep Woods off does not even help much, the mosquitoes bite during the day, at night, and there was not a time that the bugs were not intense.
The ticks were bad as well.
The walk-in/hike-in sites were all very nice 6 - 8 and 17 - 19...plan on quite a long pack in for these sites and be aware that #7 is not water accessible directly because there is 150' of reeds.
Clean campground that's definitely worth the trip! One of the first things that made my day here was the wheel barrows left outside each group campsite. It made the trips to and from the vehicles so much easier since you park in front of the site and follow a small trail into your site. The scenery was beautiful and the whole group had a blast! Don't forget to bring your bug spray when you come to stay and you'll be leaving with a ton of good memories too! I'll definitely be back for another stay myself
This is a really nice park and campground. Sites are good sized and spread out pretty good. Vault toilets are newer and clean. Picnic tables are composite instead of rotting wood. The trails are nice and wide and in good condition. Beautiful. And best of all almost no one else was there in November!
Arrived in August. Zero bugs, plenty of sunshine, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Went paddleboarding from the canoe landing. It was lily pad heaven.
For ppl with families: there are canoes to rent at the landing. It's super easy to get to: enter the park, follow the road until you reach a T, turn left, follow to the end of the road. The park maps are incredibly helpful.
There is a park for kids to play, great campsites, lots of fishing opportunities (I saw some big fish under my board), and the beautiful birds around the waters edge are fun to watch. This would be a GREAT place to camp in August for sure!
Recently, my family even held their family reunion there. Great buildings near the water, clean restrooms, and zero bug spray needed. I assume May is buggy because I know the area and May is mosquito torture. But August is paradise.
If I wanted a summer day on the water with my family, I'd go here or Mirror Lake.
This place is an amazing spot for camping. There aren't too many people around, and each campsite offers ample space, ensuring privacy from neighboring sites. While the bathrooms may not be fancy, there are plenty of portable toilets scattered throughout the area.
