Halloween costume parades, haunted walks, potlucks, and chili cookoffs are among the activities posted on campground websites affiliated with WisconsinCampgrounds.com. Start planning your October camping weekends now.
Fall is still officially nearly two months away, but campgrounds across Wisconsin are already mapping out pre-Halloween-themed weekends, carnivals and other weekend activities with autumn themes.
“Wisconsin campgrounds have lots of activities planned every weekend heading into October,” said Lori Severson, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners, which hosts WisconsinCampgrounds.com, the travel planning website.
“We recommend people check WisconsinCampgrounds.com to find campgrounds in areas they would like to visit, and then click on the campgrounds’ websites to check out their activity listings,” Severson said.
Here’s a sampling of some of the activities planned at Wisconsin campgrounds over the next couple of months:
— Dell Pines Campground in Baraboo: This campground is planning a Halloween-themed weekend Sept. 22-24. Children will be able to sow magic pumpkin seeds. Other activities include pumpkin painting and carving, a costume contest, trick or treating and dancing. The last weekend of September will feature a fall chili and soup cooking competition.
— Duck Creek Campground in Pardeeville: This campground will have three consecutive Halloween-themed weekends starting Sept. 16. Activities include costume and campsite decorating contests and spooky wagon rides.
— Evergreen Campsites in Wild Rose: This campground’s fall activities include a Harvestfest Weekend Sept. 7-10 featuring craft beer samples, caramel applies, a pumpkin patch ride and a vendor craft fair. The park’s four-consecutive Halloween-themed weekends begin Sept. 13-15 with spooky train rides, trick or treating for children and adults, and dances.
— Holiday Shores Campground & Resort in the Wisconsin Dells: This park will have a Halloween themed weekend Sept. 22-24 Activities include a campsite decorating contest, a golf cart decorating contest and trick or treating.
— Lake Arrowhead Campground in Montello, Wisconsin: This campground has a state-sanctioned barbecue competition called the Puckaway Pigfest Sept. 8-10 and four Halloween-themed weekends including the last three weekends of September and Oct. 13-15. Activities include a magic pumpkin patch, a haunted walk, a costume dance and trick-or-treating. Halloween-themed weekends will also include a Candy Corn Carnival where you can play games, win prizes, make a caramel apple, or tie dye a shirt.
— Lakeside Fire Campground in Nekoosa: Two Halloween-themed weekends are planned at this campground Sept. 15-17 and Sept. 22-24. Activities each weekend include a visit to the pumpkin patch, face painting, a campsite decorating contest, a haunted walk, a movie and trick or treating for children and adults. A football and chili weekend is planned for Oct. 6-8 with a campsite decorating contest, a football-themed golf cart parade, a chili cookoff and a bonfire. Sunday’s activities include a potluck brunch.
— Little Creek Family Campground in Fairchild: This campground will have its third annual “Church Lady’s Potluck Dinner” on the weekend of Sept. 22-24. Guests are invited to bring their favorite comfort dish to share. The park will have a Halloween-themed weekend Oct. 6-8 with games and crafts, a costume parade, and trick or treating.
— Merrymac’s Campground in Merrimac: This campground will have two Halloween-themed weekends, Sept. 8-10 and 15-17, with campsite decorating contests and trick or treating.
— Wilderness Campground in Montello: This campground is planning two Halloween-themed weekends, Sept. 15-17 and 22-24, with a magic pumpkin patch, a pumpkin decorating contest, a kid’s costume jam, a Halloween costume party, a campsite decorating contest and an outdoor movie. The weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 1 will have a Camptoberfest theme with German-inspired activities, including kids hammerschlagen (hammering a nail into a wooden beam) and schokoladenessen (chocolate eating) competitions. There will also be an adult hammerschlagen and a stein holding contest for men and women. The winner keeps the steins and gets a 12-pack of beer.
Many Wisconsin campgrounds are not only planning seasonal activities for the weeks leading into fall, but visits from Gilbert Brown, a retired Green Bay football player and some of his football player friends, who plan to engage in creative activities, including meeting with campground guests, playing games and signing football memorabilia to raise funds for the Gilbert Brown Foundation.
Through his nonprofit foundation, Brown has made a positive difference in the lives of more than 150 children since he established his namesake foundation in 2005, providing families of children suffering various hardships with everything from gas cards to access to summer football camps to funding for life-changing surgeries. Some of Brown’s upcoming appearances may include Brown’s other Green Bay football friends, such as Santana Dotson, Dorsey Levens or Leroy Butler, subject to their availability. The dates, times and campground locations of their appearances are as follows:
Aug. 12th
— 4 to 5 p.m., Hickory Hills Campground in Edgerton
— 6 to 7 p.m., River Bend RV Resort in Watertown
Aug 26th
— Noon to 1 p.m., Oasis Campground in Hancock
— 2 to 3 p.m., River’s Edge Campground in Stephens Point
— 4 to 5 p.m., Kinney Lake Campground in Marion
Sept. 2nd
— Noon to 1 p.m., Stoney Creek Resort in Osseo
— 2 to 3 p.m., O’Neil Creek Campground in Chippewa Falls
— 4:30 5:30 p.m., T.J.’s Timberline Resort in Chetek
— 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Hitts Wildwood Resort in Chetek
Sept 3rd
— Noon to 1 p.m., Chetek River Campground in Chetek
Sept. 15th
— 7 to 8 p.m., Backyard Campground in Gratiot
Sept. 16th – 17th
— Time TBA, Backyard Campground in Gratiot
Oct. 6th
— Mississippi Houseboat Cruise, www.greatriverharbor.com This event features over 12 former Green Bay Packers
Oct. 7 – Legends Weekend
(This event features over 12 former Green Bay Packers)
— 10 am to 8 pm Champions Riverside Resort in Galesville
Oct. 14th
— Champions Riverside Resort in Galesville (Gravedigger Slamathon) featuring WWE wrestling star Kurt Angle
About the Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners
The Wisconsin Association of Campground Owners (WACO) is the trade association that represents independently owned and operated campgrounds, RV parks and resorts in Wisconsin, including most of the family-owned campgrounds in the state. The association hosts WisconsinCampgrounds.com, a travel planning website that features campgrounds, RV parks and resorts not typically listed on state or national park websites. The association also publishes a campground guide, which is available for free in digital and printed formats through WisconsinCampgrounds.com.
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