Kettle Moraine State Forest

The many hiking trails in the southern unit of Kettle Moraine are some of my personal favorite in southern Wisconsin. They are always well marked, cared for, and visitors are usually friendly and respectful of the forest. Kettle Moraine is a little piece of heaven on earth if you enjoy nature.

Finally back home from camping, but I’m having some major withdrawals now! I think this was my third time camping at this location, and it’s always a good time. It’s around an hour and thirty minutes away from home — not too far from home but far enough.
The campsites aren’t incredibly stunning but they are nice. Twice, we’ve gotten a group site and one time a regular site. The last two times I’ve been here, we stayed at the Hickory Woods location. We try to choose the prettiest spots secluded with trees. The last site we stayed at had benches around the fire pit. It also had more than a couple picnic benches for eating. At the group sites, you can have more than two cars and more than three tents which is why we try to pick it up. There’s an over-​the-​fire grill on the fire pit which you can swing on or off — very convenient. In Hickory Woods, the toilets are no-​flush and there aren’t any showers. Luckily, our team is always prepared.
There are hiking trails all around the campsite, which are beautiful. The Ice Age trail stretches the length of the state! Last time we were here, we were looking forward to the bike trails. Since it rained, we weren’t allowed to bike but there is a trail located near Alpine. It’s really cool because in the winter, I go snowboarding down that mountain. It’s so cool seeing it in the summer without all the snow! There’s a lake nearby where you can go canoeing or kayaking; it has a sand beach where swimming is allowed.
Anyways, I always have a fun time camping here. The rangers are really cool and as long as you aren’t making too much noise, they won’t bother you. Take note that there are «quiet hours.» They don’t have a problem with you drinking at their campsite either — open container!
I really enjoy camping here! I always have fun and there’s always something to do or something cool to check out. On top of everything else, it’s really beautiful.

Did you know. Kettle Moraine South is less than an hour outside of Milwaukee and contains 160 miles of hiking trails Including 30 miles of Wisconsin’s thousand mile Ice Age trail?
I’m going for the classic book report intro here because I learned a lot last weekend when I went camping at Kettle Moraine South for the first time. I am a camping lover and not altogether familiar with the camping options in this part of the state. My friends and I chose Kettle Moraine because it was convenient to both Milwaukee and Chicago and did not have an alcohol ban like at Big Foot Beach.
Unfortunately it was raining and a little cold the afternoon we arrived at Kettle Moraine. However, we were determined to get our camping fix in so after we checked in at Ottawa lake we found a nearby pavilion and waited out the rain. There is not a pavilion in the Pinewoods campground.
Luckily the camping gods smiled on our persistence and the rain stopped after a beer or two. We drove over to the Pinewoods campground and found our site. Then of course we took a loop around the mostly deserted sites to scope out our options. I, like many campers, am willing to go through a little hassle for a great site and in this case not directly across from a wholesome boy scout troop. Unfortunately, the headquarters made us drive back to the Ottawa Lake to change sites which is a 10 minute drive one way. In my opinion, this could easily have happened over the phone if the Pinewoods site host was given the reservation slips to swap out.
Once we were settled into our new, less wholesome site, we happily set up camp and got our campfire going. The sites are nestled into the woods so you really have a feeling of privacy and being surrounded by nature. I included the numbers of some of the neater sites in our loop below as you reserve by site number. Some of them even have walk-​ups to get farther into the woods, super awesome sites if you don’t mind carrying your gear up a short path from the car.
Sunday morning we woke up to a clear blue sky and headed out for a hike on the Ice Age trail. The trail options are many so if you want to go on multiple hikes you’d have no problems. We chose the Ice Age because of it’s proximity to our campground and I loved hiking on what I know is a much longer trail, we found a shelter used by thru –hikers with a great view.
We left Kettle Moraine, our camping itch temporarily satiated despite the rainy beginning. The short drive back was slight disrupted by a quest for Taco John’s without the aid of our battery dead smart phones. Like I said, I’m still getting to know the local parks so shoot me a message if you have suggestions for my future camping adventures!
Pinewoods Campground Site Recommendations (Loop 150 – 180)
154
159
162
180
150&151 if you want private sites together, hike-​up

How can you not like this state park? I mean it’s a state park! Gets you out of the hustle and bustle of the city and back into «real life» as I like to say.
The 40min drive is worth it. I have camped, hiked and hunted here and enjoyed it all.
I especially recommend the scuppernong trail system. I like to take the Ice age trail that cuts through that system and end with the red trail back to my car.
Today that equaled about 5 miles of pure zen and melting of the fat off my winter thighs :)
So get out there, be outdoorsy! The $ 25 annual pass for WI residents is so worth it.

The cool thing about this state forest is that there are 3 backpack-​in sites. I did a solo overnight in the first weekend in November to scout it as a location for a group winter camp in January. As noted above — make sure you pick up some blaze orange — which really is valuable in twilight and dusk time periods.
The shelter stayed in (#1) was actually off the trail by about ¼ mile so there is no traffic going by it. It’s really more like a 2-​car log garage with 4 walls and a garage door sized opening. The view is tremendous.
I will also tell you that there is a coyote pack out here. They started at about 12:30 to the east (~1 mile).at 1:30 they were a bit closer and to the south… by 3:30 they were pretty loud near this ridge and to the point where I built up the fire and pulled my solo tent into the shelter (crazy things go through your head when you are alone in the woods with all of that yapping).
Of course nothing came of it.
I wonder if the archery deer season meant there were some fresh guts lying around leading to the raucous. Some recent news articles note that the pack is losing it’s fear of humans. If I go back for a solo overnight I will likely take an airhorn or some other protection just to remind them of the food chain hierarchy. If you are with a group I would think you are safe with a bit of noise.
Mornings are beautiful at shelter #1 as you overlook the wetlands with the sun coming up from behind. Give it a try!

Let’s start with I am no outdoorsman. I haven’t hiked here or hunted. What I do here is ride.
If you love motorcycles, then chances are you love twisties. And kettle moraine is chock full of twists and turns and elevation change.
It’s also one of the most scenic places in SE Wisconsin (to me at least). Shade in the heat of summer, beautiful foliage in fall. Wide open expanses with deer, coyote and fox. Hawk’s galore (sorry no AJ).
Great paved roads.
This is my weekly ride of about 100 miles. Clears the head and feeds the spirit.

This is one of the first places I ever went camping. We brought our mountain bikes too and the trails were awesome! It’s not too far from Chicago, where I lived at the time. The campsites were okay but not breathtaking or anything. A really fine weekend getaway for the city-​dwelling nature lover.

A few things to know…
Mosquito population is booming this year. And last year. And the year before last. And the year before that.
Jimmy John’s doesn’t deliver to the place where we play wiffle ball. Not that big of a deal but I did just see a Jimmy John’s commercial before writing this review so it sticks in my mind that we called but they wouldn’t make the trip even though it was only about 4 miles.
Everything (trails, crappers, camping sites) seems to be well maintained.

I initially believed that after going hiking in Colorado, it would be hard to feel satisfied with the mountain-​less Midwest. The Kettle Moraine State Forest however has proved me wrong.
Trail: We hiked the Scuppernong Trail which has three routes that go in a loop: Red (2.3 mi), Orange (4.1 mi), and Green (4.9 mi). We took the orange loop around, and WOW it was beautiful. The pinewoods towered over us on the sides of the trails and so did the rest of the trees (I am not very knowledgeable about tress, sorry!). The trails were very well marked and we never had to second guess where we were going. Every so often, you will run into a bench off the side of the trail or a map, usually at a fork, that will tell you where you are on the trail, and other posts with colored arrows that show which trail is which. There were a few slopes here and there, but nothing that someone who knows how to walk can’t handle (If I can do it, you can too!) Keep an eye out for wildlife too! We only saw a chipmunk and some random butterflies just flapping on by and landing on the wild flowers that grew on the sides of the trail. Very cute, made me feel like I was in Bambi.
People: My bf and I went on the Saturday after the 4^th of July, and there was barely anyone around. One jogger and a couple with their toddler.
Parking: Since we’re from Illinois, there was a $ 10 parking fee (out-​of-​state), which is not bad for the scenery and especially if you are hiking more than one trail.
Only problem: We originally planned to take the Green trail since we only had time to hike one trail before driving back to Chicago, but since there were a flood of mosquitoes feasting on our legs, arms, neck, and even behind the ear, we opted for the Orange. (Well, it IS a forest, so expect no less!)
Advice: Wear long sleeves and long pants to cover yourself up as much as possible and also use mosquito repellent on top of that. (Even though i wore long pants I still got 4 bites on my legs and one on my arm. My bf on the other hand, 8 bites with 4 on his neck, one behind the ear and the rest on his arms and legs.) Do yourself a solid and repel those mini bloodsuckers. Don’t forget to take photos if you love taking photos of nature! (:

Great day and beautiful colors. Not that far of a drive either. The trails were so colorful.

I’ve been ‘mountain’ biking here twice. The first time I had a bad experience (don’t eat a big breakfast before you go…). The trails here are really nice and there were some places that were very peaceful and nice to chill at.

This place is not worth the tick infestation. Many of the trees were dead and I felt the forest was not that well maintained. I’ve been to beautiful places, such as Devil’s Lake in Baraboo, WI, so I did set my hopes high. It did not have any special or fantastic elements that would set it apart from a typical forest preserve.

Came camping here, not thrilled about the large group sites being almost right on top of one-​another. The ranger on duty came by to yell at us at 11:15, even though we weren’t being very loud. (we were playing some music using a cell phone) The 13 year old girls in the site next to us spent most of the night screaming, and we could hear people from the sites on the other loop of big sites. Also having to pay to park for a day is $ 10 and the yearly is $ 35, so if you’re camping for a long weekend you might as well buy the year long parking pass, which is kind of BS, never had to pay to camp and then to park before. Will go somewhere better like Gov. Dodge next time.

Fantastic place to hike. Trails are well marked and there is a good variety of loops to choose from. The topography of the forest lends to some fun, yet challenging hiking. You’ll find tall Ponderosa Pines, hardwood forests and prairies. There are plenty of hills to climb and some great vistas to enjoy.
Being that this is a State Forest/​Park, you do need to pay an admission/​use fee. The State Park sticker is $ 25 for an annual pass (WI resident) or you can pay $ 7 for a day pass.
I hiked the Ice Age Trail and Scuppernong Trail this week which was a 5+ mile «rollercoaster» loop. Other than the two people I saw in the parking lot, I never ran into anyone else on the trails, which was great — just me and nature. There are a lot of birds and I am sure plenty of deer looking at me. The only «wild» animal I came upon was a wild turkey.
Hiking is great here at any time of the year. Just remember to wear blaze orange during hunting season.
The facilities at the Scuppernong Trailhead were well-​kept and clean. Water was not running yet in the «bubbler» (Wisconsin for water fountain.)
Looking forward to going back and hitting some of the other trails. The Ice Age Trail, which I am trying to complete in my lifetime, meanders through the Kettle Moraine State Forest for approximately 30+ miles.
For anyone in the Greater Milwaukee area, this is truly one of Wisconsin’s gems. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful, pristine recreational area just 30 minutes from the «urban jungle.»

Wheeeeee, nature!
Camping. Hiking. Biking. We did a bit of each here, but I wish we’d done more. Our weekend visit was much too short. Saw some deer and wild turkey. Drank some champagne by the campfire. Was awoken by a 700 pound bear. I would love to return!

The Pinewoods campground is becoming one of my favorites. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from MKE — it provides a nice mini-​excursion from the city.
The sites here are really nice… most offer a great deal of seclusion and space for a group of campers.
Looking for something to do while there? HIKING. There are trails every-​which-​way. While I have not hiked on any of them myself — I sure hope to soon! OH! And, the windy, hilly surrounding roads offer for a nice challenging bike ride as well.
The only downfall to this campsite is that the swimming area — Ottawa Lake — is about a 10 min drive from the campground but every time we visited for a swim we were welcomed by a lovely family of three Sandhill Cranes. They were quite unfazed by the hoards of children screaming, yelling, running and swimming. It was great to watch these majestic-​like creatures wandering around the picnic tables picking up some leftover Doritos and the like. I wonder it that fits in their diet? They really were my favorite.

After you get past the grumpy lady at the welcome center you’ll find a most beautiful piece of nature. And BTW the welcome center (the only free parking spot) has washrooms, a museum, and a gift shop.
The scenery changes every 5 minutes. Lakes, sand, train tracks, open fields, hills, a million different types of tress — this forest has it all.

I came with a pair of friends to this beautiful piece of Earth yesterday to ride bikes. We rode bikes my friend, and it was nice.
I’ve been getting into mountain biking and so far, i am kicking myself for not getting serious a decade ago. Such a great sport…
Anyhow, the other reviewers were spot on, Northern Illinoisians, Wisconisnites and Chicagoans who are ‘serious’ about riding and have forks need to come here. We did Muir and the Connecktor and had to ride back due to sunset, but what we did wiped 2 out of the 3 (myself being a part of the 2).
There are lots of little breaks built into the Connecktor to cross roads or get around the corrals, but the best thing about these two trails were the ONE WAY TRAIL DESIGNS. amazing. all you had to worry about was what was ahead of you and not so much of someone slamming into you. 5 stars to whomever thought of that.
be warned, the sand was more like cookie dough. made for lots of cursing.

Went camping at the Whitewater Lake campground this past weekend and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking to get away. The campsites are on top of each other so you can see and hear your neighbors.
Quiet hours are no enforced and their was loud music blaring most of the time we were there and well into the night. Also, should have realized that the close proximity to the lake would create noise from the boats and jet ski’s. Definitely a downside.
The lake itself is a quick drive from the campground which is nice, but its really small and has an even smaller «beach». They did put on a pretty great fireworks show though on Saturday night which kind of saved the trip for us.
Can’t speak to the quality of the hiking trails since we didn’t wander too far due to the extreme heat and insane mosquitos. Its a pretty area, but I’ve camped in much better scenery in the mountains and along the west coast.
This would be a good spot to bring a loud group of people just looking to sleep outside, but not as a quiet get away.

When you’ve hiked through redwoods (yes!) and mountains (ehh…I’ve done some serious hills?) then it’s hard to get enthused for trails in the Midwest. However, the Nordic Trail in Kettle Moraine State Forest is solid fun, and if you live in northern Illinois then I can’t imagine there’s a better alternative around.
My girlfriend and I set out on the blue loop of the Nordic Trail on a lovely Sunday, and we had 9.2 miles of peaceful fun. Seriously, we didn’t encounter more than a jogger or two our entire hike. I get the feeling that this trail is severely underutilized, and that’s just a shame because it’s got to be one of the best hikes around. Then again that’s good news if you need to bury a body or just want to get away for a bit.
Benches very rarely dot the landscape throughout the hike, and they’re not often in the best condition. Also, some of them aren’t placed in the most scenic of spots even though that’s what they’re allegedly for: a spot to rest and soak in some pretty sights. If you’re looking for big, beautiful vistas of lakes and wildlife then you’re in the wrong place. There ARE vistas but they’re more of the prairie grass or patch of trees variety. Not bad but didn’t really set my world on fire.
Here’s a tip: If you’re from Illinois then do what you can to get someone with Wisconsin license plates to drive you to the trailhead. Out of state plates will cost you ten dollars for a parking permit, and I’m pretty sure Wisconsin residents don’t have to pay. (That’s a guess. I don’t really know.)
YET ANOTHER MINDBLOWING TIP: This is common sense for trailgoers but be sure to wear long sleeves and pants. It was like Starship Troopers in that forest with the insects flitting about like mad trying to suck our brains for the wealth of knowledge within. We were eaten alive, and, to cap off the day, I found a meddlesome wood tick stuck to my calf when I got back to my car. I got it out almost immediately, and it was even kinda fun disengaging the thing, but let’s all be sensible and dress appropriately from now on, okay?