Such a lovely place to stay!
I loved this campsite. It was beautiful. There was plenty of wood that was easy to collect for fires. The waterfall was absolutely beautiful. There weren't many bugs pestering us. It's in a nice location for getting to the places we were visiting. It was quiet and peaceful. I expected the tree tent site would have people in it but there wasn't anyone there, so it was nice to not have to worry about that. It was nice being by the river. There were so many frogs, it was a fun entertainment feature. There were so many beautiful tall trees. It was such a joy to spend a few nights there.
I can name downsides, but none of them were deal breakers or things that would deter me from coming back. The fire pit is small, which sometimes was a little bit of a hassle, but it was clear that design had a purpose and does help with cooking food. It just took an adjustment. The water in the river was too low for canoeing, which was a slight bummer, but that's weather related, not something controllable. Was not a huge loss when it comes to enjoying the site. There were some wasps, but they didn't cause much issue, just something to be aware of. The frogs like to jump on your tent at night, which is comical. The neighbor's dog barks in the distance, but that helped with feeling safe from bears. The carrying things a quarter mile was a bit of a hassle, especially with the terrain being up and down, rocky and has a lot of dips. But it was very manageable. I was definitely worried about that part when booking. The only concern I have about that part of it is if you were to get stuck in a thunderstorm, trying to get back to your car in a heavy rain would be really difficult. There are so many parts of the path that in a wet scenario could result in some minor injuries and could be prevented by trying to fill in the big dips in the ground or some wood to go over them. But I anticipate the owner is building this up into a location with many camping sites to enjoy, so I am confident the path will likely improve a bit with time and get safer to traverse in the dark or the rain. I was glad I brought toilet paper since the stuff that was there was all wet. The pit toilet was nice to have.
I had a wonderful time at this site. I would recommend it 100%. The only hesitancy I would have on recommending it is just in the ups and downs of the path getting to the site, if someone isn't agile and able to handle it, that's the only situation in which I would not recommend it. There are some very tiny downsides, which you will get anywhere you go, but they were very very very minor and the waterfall on the property by far outweighs them all. It was such a nice feature to have. It was about 10 minutes to walk from the campsite to the waterfall on the property. It was so beautiful and is a wonderful way to start the day.
The owner had a saw, rake, grill grate, and metal box at the site. There are three logs for seating, so bring chairs if you want somewhere comfy to sit. You can tell a lot of thought was put into putting this together. The tree tent site is very close nearby, but you can't see it when you are at the site. We only saw it when we walked the path to get to the waterfall.
I really enjoyed this site. I fully intend on booking this site again in the future. I liked it a lot and definitely want to go back. It is such a gem!




Past trips
Balsam Shores
in Bad River Wilderness, WisconsinSuch a lovely place to stay!
I loved this campsite. It was beautiful. There was plenty of wood that was easy to collect for fires. The waterfall was absolutely beautiful. There weren't many bugs pestering us. It's in a nice location for getting to the places we were visiting. It was quiet and peaceful. I expected the tree tent site would have people in it but there wasn't anyone there, so it was nice to not have to worry about that. It was nice being by the river. There were so many frogs, it was a fun entertainment feature. There were so many beautiful tall trees. It was such a joy to spend a few nights there.
I can name downsides, but none of them were deal breakers or things that would deter me from coming back. The fire pit is small, which sometimes was a little bit of a hassle, but it was clear that design had a purpose and does help with cooking food. It just took an adjustment. The water in the river was too low for canoeing, which was a slight bummer, but that's weather related, not something controllable. Was not a huge loss when it comes to enjoying the site. There were some wasps, but they didn't cause much issue, just something to be aware of. The frogs like to jump on your tent at night, which is comical. The neighbor's dog barks in the distance, but that helped with feeling safe from bears. The carrying things a quarter mile was a bit of a hassle, especially with the terrain being up and down, rocky and has a lot of dips. But it was very manageable. I was definitely worried about that part when booking. The only concern I have about that part of it is if you were to get stuck in a thunderstorm, trying to get back to your car in a heavy rain would be really difficult. There are so many parts of the path that in a wet scenario could result in some minor injuries and could be prevented by trying to fill in the big dips in the ground or some wood to go over them. But I anticipate the owner is building this up into a location with many camping sites to enjoy, so I am confident the path will likely improve a bit with time and get safer to traverse in the dark or the rain. I was glad I brought toilet paper since the stuff that was there was all wet. The pit toilet was nice to have.
I had a wonderful time at this site. I would recommend it 100%. The only hesitancy I would have on recommending it is just in the ups and downs of the path getting to the site, if someone isn't agile and able to handle it, that's the only situation in which I would not recommend it. There are some very tiny downsides, which you will get anywhere you go, but they were very very very minor and the waterfall on the property by far outweighs them all. It was such a nice feature to have. It was about 10 minutes to walk from the campsite to the waterfall on the property. It was so beautiful and is a wonderful way to start the day.
The owner had a saw, rake, grill grate, and metal box at the site. There are three logs for seating, so bring chairs if you want somewhere comfy to sit. You can tell a lot of thought was put into putting this together. The tree tent site is very close nearby, but you can't see it when you are at the site. We only saw it when we walked the path to get to the waterfall.
I really enjoyed this site. I fully intend on booking this site again in the future. I liked it a lot and definitely want to go back. It is such a gem!
Balsam Shores
in Bad River Wilderness, Wisconsin