At the time of writing, Bear Hill has two Hipcamp listings at the same property. One is for tent campers, one is for those who want to take advantage of the "Love Shack" or RV parked on the land. We were Kevin's first tent campers, participating in the First Camper Club. I received special pricing from Hipcamp for leaving a review and photos.

First the good:
-The full price is right ($20/night for tenters) and compared to the nearby WI State Park and their steep camping and vehicle fees, it's a good deal
-Kevin is nice and genuinely wants you to have an amazing time while you are there
-There is a large fire ring with nice seating, a large shade awning with wings to keep you out of the sun on hot days plus an electric fan to move the hear out, and even a grill to cook on
-Two tables for prep and serving, plus a picnic table
-Lots of nice details around the camping area, like handmade decorations and structures made from reclaimed and leftover lumber
-The. Nicest. Pit Toilet. Ever. Seriously, wet wipes provided, humorous calendars, etc.
-Water is available to tent campers from a hose, shack & RV have hookups
-Free firewood; maple and pine
-Showers are available if needed, we didn't
-If you plan it in advance Kevin the host will take you out on his boat on the WI River. He also has two kayaks for rent and can put you in for an hourlong float. We had plans so didn't take him up on either offer.
-Kevin gave us an excellent tip to go 2 miles away to the local's swimming spot on the WI River, ask him for directions

And here's some constructive feedback:
-Kevin has only had a few guests through Hipcamp so far, so he seems more used to personal guests. While he was kind and very helpful, he stopped by several times after the initial hello with more information and questions. I think all this information could be presented in the listing, on a single piece of paper, or in the initial greeting by the host. Our group is self-sufficient and tends to prefer quiet and privacy while camping so every consecutive visit felt more like an interruption.
-The tent camping area is also where you park your car, which puts it right behind the Love Shack structure in view of the windows. Also, the Love Shack and the RV are less than a few hundred feet away from and in full view of Kevin and his wife's house. There is a small clearing in the woods that might provide more privacy to tent campers, I'd love to see him use that or otherwise clear a more private/remote area away from the house, RV, and shack. If he does I would probably go back.
-Kevin had surprise family guests, a couple with his 3 year old grandson, staying both nights in the Love Shack. The listing says "one group only" and we weren't really there to socialize so this made for an awkward first night. Kevin apologized, this may really have been a fluke.
-Listing could mention driving instructions for arrival once you're in the driveway. He had us drive around to the left and through an opening in the fence behind the house, this was a little hard to see late at night when we arrived. You'll drive over grass, but it's grass over hard sand so AWD probably not necessary.
-Kevin has at least two dogs but did not mention them in the listing. Some folks are allergic and some folks don't get along with dogs, so this should be mentioned.
-There are some other listing issues - as tent campers we did not get a flush toilet or tap water, the tent camping listing says $20 night and $60 night in different places.

Overall we did have a nice stay, and the property was empty the second night so we felt more comfortable using the communal areas, which are set up quite nicely and made car camping easy.

I would recommend this listing, just be aware of the details!

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Devils Lake State Park, Wisconsin

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