The scenic and wild Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest occupies 225,000 acres across three counties in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, so there’s lots of options for exploration—especially if you’re looking for a campsite.
The state forest offers several different camping opportunities, including modern campgrounds, group campgrounds, rustic campgrounds and primitive camping, with many sites within a short drive of downtown Boulder Junction.
Here’s a closer look at three of the state forest’s modern campgrounds, all located near Boulder Junction:
- Crystal Lake Campground: The most popular modern campsite in the state forest, this campground offers 99 sites along the shores of scenic Crystal Lake. There are no motorized boats allowed on the lake, so it’s a relaxing place to stay. The campground surrounds most of the lake, and there are three hand pumps for drinking water, a flush toilet building with showers and a sanitary dump station. Nearby, there’s a large swimming beach, as well as access to the Heart of Vilas County Paved Bike Trail System.
- Musky Lake Campground: Located on the southeastern corner of Big Muskellunge Lake, this campground (81 sites) is located adjacent to the Crystal Lake Campground and has many of the same features, including vault toilet buildings, hand pumps for drinking water and a flush toilet building with showers, as well as a boat launch.
- Firefly Lake Campground: There are 71 campsites available (including two ADA compliant sites), and the campground is only about half a mile from the beach at Crystal Lake. No motorized boats are allowed on the lake.
Learn more about camping options in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest.
Start planning your trip to Boulder Junction here.
