Update: This property was just awarded 2nd place for 2024 as the 2nd best Hipcamp in Wisconsin out of 252 Hipcamp's based on reviews and ratings! Thank you to all who have enjoyed this amazing property and provided a review or rating!!!

If you value a camping experience with privacy vs. camping a few feet away from another tent or RV, this camping experience on your own piece of the Bad River is epic! You will not see or hear another camper unless you happen to stumble on the few other campers that may be hiking on this private property's trails to the multiple waterfalls nearby. Or, other campers may be floating quietly by in the canoe that's free to use at all 4 of the campsites.

IMPORTANT: After you book the site, you will be provided detailed directions and other important info in your Hipcamp account. Please log into your Hipcamp account and find this info before your travel to the campsite. Thanks.

If you’re looking for a campsite where you can interact, see, or even hear other campers, this campsite isn’t for you. There are no other campsites within 1/4 mile so you will definitely have lots of privacy. You may see other campers on the hiking trails to the waterfalls but you'll still have seclusion. This is a tent/RV site along the Bad River and you'll be camping within about 25 feet of the river near 3 very large (The trunks are 8, 9, and 10 feet in circumference) old growth White Pines. The name "Eagle Pines" is such because I often find Bald Eagle feathers on the ground in the campsite since they use the massive White Pines over the campsite to roost and preen their feathers.

I have 2 other hike-in backpacking tent sites nearby; "Balsam Shores on the Bad River" and "Bad River Point" so if this site is booked for the dates you want, check out those sites also.

You can drive your vehicle up the road right to the campsite. If you bring RV's or trailers you could back your camper up the road if you're good at backing but it is mostly a straight-line back of about 150 feet. You can run generators for your RV. If you're not comfortable about backing your RV up the road, you can park it in the gravel pit. I will have some 8" X 8" and 6" X 6" blocks at the campsite to help with leveling your RV. Please leave those for the next campers.

This site is just a 10 minute drive to Copper Falls State Park. Also nearby is Morgan Falls, St Peters Dome, Lake Superior, the Apostle Islands, and just a 20 minute drive to the Clam Lake area to watch the Elk along the roads.

There are very secluded and little known waterfalls a short hike away on the Bad River and I will leave a map in the ammo can at the campsite to find those. The map is also included in the images for this site. The trailhead with signs to these waterfalls begins right at the campsite with an easy to follow path. When you walk up the steep hill to the tracks at the end of the trail, turn right to go to waterfalls #2 and turn left to go back to the campsite area. These waterfalls are on private land so the only way you can see these is if you camp at these campsites.

We have no light pollution up here so the gravel pit is a great place to stargaze and view the Milky Way.

I'll provide some free cherry wood for cooking with the grill over the firepit as cherry has a really good flavor for cooking. Please only use this for cooking as it's hard to find. The cherry wood will be on top of the woodshed or in the old outhouse structure. I'll have an arm-full of campfire wood by the fire pit for you and will have small woodsheds full of campfire wood you can purchase for $20 or $15 (labeled) which will be much less than the cost of the wood you find at gas stations/convenience stores. l'll have an ammo can on the woodshed you can leave the money in if you want to purchase the firewood. There are some bags of dry sticks for kindling wood in the small shed if you might need those.

If you might wish to purchase cherry firewood for cooking or smoking at home, I'll sell a 1/2 face cord (16" long X 4' high X 4' wide) for $50, or 1/4 face cord (16" X 4' high X 2' wide) for $25. Just let me know and I'll drop it off before you leave.

I'll also have cool handmade fire pokers made by my military Veteran buddy that he sells for $20. I'll have them hanging on the Caribou antlers and if you'd like to purchase one please leave the $20 in the ammo can for those. I'll place a picture of the fire pokers in the group of photos for this site.

If you're interested in geology, there are interesting rocks in the gravel pit and we have found rocks with seashell fossils in them there. I am an experienced gold prospector and own 5 mining claims in Idaho and we do find gold in the gravel pit so you can pan for gold there if you'd like. The gold is very fine as it's been ground up by the glaciers so it's difficult to see unless you're experienced in gold recovery. You can also pan or sluice in the river.

There are larger rocks in the gravel pit that would be cool for a momento from your camping trip and good for landscaping and you can take a few home if you'd like. If you'd like to take a large amount of rocks home we can discuss a reasonable price for them.

You can have your pets off-leash here as long as they will stay around the campsite as there are wolves in this country. You may be able to hear the wolves howling at night.

There is good Brook Trout fishing in the river near the waterfall pools 1/3 mile downstream along with nice kayaking/canoeing on the river. There is a canoe and paddles for you to use and I do have adult life preservers available I'll hang by the small woodshed if you'd like to use them. Most of the river is a calm paddle about 3-4 feet deep and it's easy to paddle up or downstream so the river is yours to explore. The river going upstream about a mile and downstream about 1/2 mile is a slow current lazy river great for paddling. If the water isn't too low, you can canoe to the upstream bridge where the Drop Tine Bar & Grill is located. Further downstream are some serious whitewater rapids that deserve caution. Please don't consider going through the rapids with the canoe.

There is a 32 foot dock that extends into the river but please, no head-first diving as it is not deep enough for that. The river is about 3 feet deep in the middle so it's great for swimming and cooling off. The dock wood can also get slick when it's wet so please be careful with that.

There is good Musky and Walleye fishing in a nearby lake called Spillerberg Lake.

I have a hardwood tent/relaxation platform I made from local trees I cut on my sawmill on the slope along the river where you can place a tent or your chairs to relax along the water.

There is a retired couple that live 1/4 mile from the campsite and you may hear their lawn mower or a dog barking once in a while but the local bears do not like anything to do with dogs as they are hunted up here with hounds. So, the dog that sometimes barks helps to keep the bears away from this area. We have never had an instance of a bear at the campsite so the dogs are keeping them away. Nobody else lives within a mile so it's a nice and peaceful location if you want to hear no other campers and want the forest all to yourself.

I've seen Eagles, Otters, Beavers, ducks, Mink, Fisher, Pine Marten, Weasels, Kingfisher, Snowshoe Hares, flying squirrels, and deer from the campsite as I worked to expand and improve it. There is a family of 3 otters that come by in the river pretty much every day and they're fun to watch as they make cool sounds as they look at you and swim by.

I will set the refund policy for 100% up to 3 days prior to check in. Please do a check on the weather outlook at least 3 days before you arrive to see if the weather will be nice for at least part of your stay. If you cancel within 3 days before your arrival, I am sorry but the system won't provide a refund. If you need to cancel, please cancel at least 3 days prior to your arrival date so you can be refunded and others can have a better chance to schedule a stay. Thank you for understanding this.

There is a solar powered motion sensor light near the outhouse for lighting if you use the outhouse in the dark. Please don't be startled when the light comes on! :)

There are numerous trees to hang hammocks on. I also have fishing baits in the ammo can that work good here. They are marked as either $2 or $3 each and you can leave the money for those in the ammo can.

Suggested items to bring: 1. Dry newspaper, lighter/matches, and kindling wood as it may have rained and it will be difficult to find dry twigs etc to start a fire. Also maybe bring lighter fluid or diesel fuel works great too. 2. A leather glove or potholder to adjust the grill handle over the fire. 3. Child size life preservers if you prefer them if you use the canoe. 4. Bow saw or hatchet to use if you’ll want to cut up dead/down firewood. 6. Bug spray. 7. Camp chairs.

You will see my "No Trespassing" signs as you drive in the road to the campsite area but just ignore those please.

Verizon has good cell service at the campsite. AT&T does not, and T-Mobile has 1 or 2 bars of service. I am not sure on other carriers.

We have no poisonous snakes or spiders up here. I’ve also never seen Poison Oak or Poison Ivy anywhere near here. You may see harmless Garter Snakes along the railroad tracks but please don't harm them.

Please take pictures as you explore this amazing Bad River wilderness to share with other campers as you'll be asked to provide a review and have the chance to share your pictures.

This is the woods and wilderness, not a populated campground where there is an insect control program. The bugs could be minimal or they could be bad since this is a natural woods. Insect numbers depend on many variables including how much rain we've had, how cold or warm the weather is, or insect hatch efficiency. I'm sorry but I cannot control how good or bad the bugs are. After early August the mosquitos are pretty much gone. We've had very few ticks the last few years and after spending hundreds of hours in the woods cutting firewood and brush, I've only had 3 ticks I found crawling on me over the previous 2 years.

I have now extended the hiking trail past the first waterfalls (marked with ribbons) that will follow the river and eventually lead to the railroad tracks instead of having to backtrack on the same trail to get back to the tracks. Then, once you get to the tracks, if you turn right you will head towards waterfalls #2 and if you turn left you will head back towards the campsite. The hiking map won't reflect the trail extension.

The Drop Tine Bar & Grill in Cayuga 1.5 miles away from the campsite has great food and drinks. They're closed Monday-Wednesday, open at noon Thursday-Sunday. If you stop in for drinks or food there is wi-fi available here too. The public library in Mellen 7 miles away has available wifi in their parking lot. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the low cost of drinks compared to any bigger city! :).

So that you are aware; Hipcamp will be adding a "service fee" (15-20%) when you complete the booking to cover their site management and other things that is somewhat a high %. I don't get any of this service fee and they also take an additional 10% from the price I list to cover the $1 million in insurance for you. The total % Hipcamp gets is 25-30% which I and other folks that offer campsites do not appreciate as we have discussed this on social media sites for Hipcamp hosts. I am very sorry for this and I will do everything I can to ensure you enjoy this very special wilderness on the Bad River.

Also, for 2024, my property taxes went much higher and you can imagine how high taxes are for waterfront property. Besides my military disability and retirement pay, this is my only income and I make so little after expenses and taxes but my greatest joy is seeing the families enjoy this awesome property.

Best Hipcamp in Wisconsin 2021 runner-up.