family

Wisconsin’s Top Ten Campgrounds #9

Posted on by kdiederich1

It’s been awhile but I haven’t forgotten. So now that the snow has melted (and hopefully stays that way) and we can see the grass it’s time to get our Wisconsin camping minds ready. As if they haven’t been ready for a few cold months now.

Number 9 Diamond Lake Campground, Porterfield, WI

Located in Northeastern Wisconsin in Marinette County, just off highway 41.

We have only been here once. But we loved it and every year we try to go back. But we have so many places that we want to go and some places get pushed off. Especially when they are the ones that you need to book a year ahead.  Booking ahead is key for the prime summer weekends here. It’s not a huge campground but we were spoiled with a site across from the pond and really enjoyed that so we are now picky.

The sites at Diamond Lake are of varying size to accommodate all sorts of rigs and tents, well wooded and have ample separation from the next site. They have full hook up sites, water/ electric sites, pull-thru sites and back in sites. They even have cabins, a bunk house and a Yurt you can rent.

The pond is huge and located across from a handful of sites, the cabins and the Yurt. It has large inflatables and a slide down the hill to enjoy, as well as a small sand beach to hang out on. The playground is located next to the pond as is a large activity field/ grassy area and a group pavilion. There is also a group site that can be reserved at one end of the pond. If all of this is not enough to keep one busy there is a mini golf course to enjoy as well.

The campground does rent golf carts for you to use. We did not do this since we were so close to everything but it is always a great option to have.

They also have theme weekends all summer long. They utilize the pavilion and field near the pond to host things like karaoke, cook offs, and tournaments.

My mom did have to make a drive up here to deliver one of the kids who had a party of some sort on Friday night. No problem with her driving in and visiting for a short amount of time with everyone. I’m sure if she had stayed for an extended period there would have been a day fee but it was one of the easiest drop offs we have ever had.

Best of all the owners are friendly and know how to make a weekend enjoyable for a group of families with a ton of kids!

It’s hard not to have a good time when you are with several families that all get along well. Adults and kids alike meshing together in nature is always promising. But a great pond and playground led to a great afternoon. Which then led to an excellent group dinner while watching a Brewer game. All of this is possible due to a great well run family campground.

Vista Royalle Campground, Bancroft WI

Posted on by kdiederich1

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Long weekends are the best for camping.  It’s always great to get an extra day. Even better when you can get there close to check in on arrival and there’s a late check out time. However they can be a little long with a broken leg. But broken legs don’t stop you from driving as long as you are able to caravan and your chair is ready for you once you are settled.

 

 

 

Vista Royalle is a fairly large, well groomed campground. It has just over 200 sites and a handful of cabins.  They offer both water and electric as well as full hook up sites and also have a group area. The trees perfectly outline the sites.  There are several sites that back up to the swimming pond.

 

 

 

There were two bathroom areas. One was located at the store and the other more centrally located in the campground.

The camp store is large with a variety of items you may have forgotten at home.   It also has a good selection of candy and 3 flavors of slushies. There is a snack shack near the pavilion.  It serves hand scooped and soft serve ice cream as well as a selection of hot food and snacks. They also sell wood- $6 a bundle, the bundles were decent size.

There is a swimming pond with a large sand beach and several inflatables for use.  It’s a great place to use the sand toys, catch some rays and cool off on a hot day. Next to the pond is a jumping pillow, large playground. Across from the store are mini golf, a gaga pit, horse shoe hits, shuffle board court, volleyball court.  There is also a fishing pond at the other end of the campground.

 

 

 

The campground offers scheduled activities.  The weekend we were there they had a Glow Run and silent auction with proceeds for charity, DJ’s, and a craft for the kids.  The DJ was great and played later than I expected on Saturday and Sunday night. And because he was loud no-one noticed how loud we can get!

Group dinner was fun as always.  We used the kabob grill and the dutch oven. We highly recommend fun ways to cook while camping.  The kabobs are a group effort, everyone brings the various food items and helps prep them. This year we had marinated chicken, steak, shrimp, hot dogs a variety of veggies, and Texas toast for garlic bread.  In the dutch oven we made French Onion Soup, topped with Muenster for lunch and apple croissants for dessert. It was the first time we have made soup in the dutch oven and won’t be the last! The soup was a last minute idea while we were at the grocery store in near by Plover, WI.  And it was a good one!

 

 

 

The free WIFI worked great. And yes, even though we are camping we still like to stay connected.

 

 

 

Camping with a broken leg is interesting.  Not much you can do but sit around, scoot to the lake and let others do all the hard work.  Sitting around is always a good time, especially when the kids join in. And when sitting around creates extra family bonding and memories it is even better.

 

 

 

Thankfully the RV is easy to level, we have an able teenage son- who is willing to help, and PBS came in very clear for the times that the leg needed to be elevated.  Found a great show to watch and a new way to make garlic bread over the fire!

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Overall another great weekend at a great campground.  Lots of laughs with friends over wine and in front of the fire.  Even poured my Sunday morning screwdriver into a stemmed glass so I could use my wine hook www.thewinehook.com

 

 

 

Want to see more of the campground?  Check out our 360 video here

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Lake Dubay Shores Campground, Mosinee WI

Posted on by kdiederich1

This weekend our travels took us to Central Wisconsin. We headed to Lake Dubay Shores Campground in Mosinee which is located right on the Wisconsin River.

The campground has a few lake side sites that can be rented overnight, but most of the lake sites are occupied by seasonals.  We did book early (just under a year ago) and were able to nab two in a prime location.  There are also several sites right across from these sites that friends were able to book.  The lake sites are not large.  They are outlined with trees and fairly easy to get into. The 40′ Class A and 32′ Class C fit perfectly.  We were able to park in an L shape maximizing our space and giving us a great view of the water.

Sites have water and electric hook up (20 and 30 amp.) There are also full hook up sites available closer to the office.  There are two small playgrounds and a game room. The camp store is a decent size with a nice selection of stuff.  They do sell wood by the gator full and deliver it to your site for you. The campground staff was friendly- just make sure to have your parking pass showing at all times or you will get stopped to make sure you have registered.

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The campground has a boat landing for registered campers to use as well as boat docks that can be rented.  They also rent small boats, peddle boats and pontoon boats. There is a small swimming area with a grassy park next to it.  There are a couple of picnic tables and large swings available if you are watching others swim or just enjoying the water.  The swim area has a lily pad and a shallow area for the little kids to play in and big kids to stand in.  .

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We also had stair access and a path down the hill to the boat docks that were closest to our sites

There was only only one bathroom with flush toilets and showers whic was next to the office.  They were clean and centrally located in the campground.  There were also some porta potties available near the lake.

We had a great time here. The kids all hung out together; swam, played games, kayaked, paddle boarded, watched movies, explored, climbed hills, played with their dogs, talked to each other and the teenagers were entertained by the little ones.

The adults sat around, hung out in the water, kayaked, told stories, played games, built big fires, ate and drank wine using our wine hook from http://www.thewinehook.com.  We love our camping family and the fun we have together. We cannot wait to do it all over again.

Hello world!

Posted on by kdiederich1

I love to go on vacation.  I love to go with my family.  Yes not just with my husband but with our 3 kids as well.  It’s just not the same with out them.  There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the excitement and thrills of vacation thru the eyes of your children.  Beyond that I love to have others come to; family, friends, anyone- its more fun with more people.

I also like to go as much as possible.  If I have it my way there is always a countdown to some where on my countdown app.

One of the ways we are able to make that possible is by driving.

Overwhelming for some but we embrace it.  We look at as extending the vacation by a few days.  And we are able to see the country.  The kids have been doing it since they were little, there have been rough times, but they are pretty good at it now.

We leave for Panama City Beach, Fl tomorrow.  Dance Nationals for my oldest daughter.  Unfortunately she isn’t dancing- broke her leg in March and not quite ready to compete.  But we will have a ton of fun watching out dance family and spending time with them there.

So here I will share how we do it what we do, for what is worth.  I hope you can take something – even just a laugh- from it