East Arbutus County Park

Hi all and happy summer! I am so so sorry we haven’t checked in with you in so long. The last year and a half have been a whirlwind. Last year was spent planning and then executing a successful COVID wedding. That’s right, the Lucky Wanderers are now a real-live family! So let’s play catch up. I am doing a ton of extra work at my office job lately, so hopefully it doesn’t interfere with me posting about our recent adventures and I can crank out a bunch of posts in the next few weeks. I’ll do what I can, regardless.  

For right now, I guess I will start by telling you about the awesome campsite we had in the Black River falls area.  

I did not get compensated at all for my time or the opinions expressed here monetarily or with goods or services. Any links I provide in the following are just for informational purposes only and I do not claim affiliation with any of the linked sites. I did my best to only include information here that I knew for certain was correct but things can change and often do quickly. If you have questions or need specific information, it is always best to contact the agency that runs the campground directly.  

Quick Stats:  

East Arbutus County Park- Jackson County - W7898 Duck Hill Rd, Merrillan, WI 54754 

https://www.jacksoncountyparks.us/parks/camping/east_arbutus

• 193 campsites within the park, 149 with electric, 2 of which are handicap accessible. Also has 8 group sites and a bunch of their sites are waterfront sites. Part of the park is even ATV Accessible and there are ATV sites right there by the trail system. 

• 4 shower houses spread throughout the park, multiple restrooms.   

• Fresh water spigots within each camping section of the park 

• Playground for the kids 

• Beach and boat launch 

• Closest Vet offering 24/7 on-call emergency service: Northwood Vet Service, LLC- Black River Falls- N6630 County Rd A, Black River Falls, WI 54615- 715-284-4424. I have not used this vet service before, but before we went I did research on the closest place to take Irish in the event of an emergency and they seemed like the best bet. Because businesses change constantly, I would advise calling them and confirming that they still offer on-call care before you go on your trip.     

• A nice hiking trail. 

• Dog friendly- allowed everywhere but the beach/picnic area and in buildings.  

Last year was such a rough year for everyone. Because of COVID so many things got cancelled, including some of the races that we count on going to every year, leaving a 5-day span that was open to go wherever we wanted. Of course, all of the state parks were already booked up, so we began searching out county parks as we have been making more of a habit to do. First we were thinking we would go up toward the U.P., where we would have gone if the races hadn’t been cancelled, but after much discussion, we decided that we would rather stick a little closer to home if possible.  

Wanting to go north no matter what we started searching the counties across the middle of Wisconsin and stumbled on Lake Arbutus. The east side of the lake has a large campground. They do a great job of providing campsite photos on the reservation site. All you have to do is select the dates you would like to go and the map refresehes, then it’s only a matter of clicking on the site number you want to see information about (the green ones are the ones still available) and it will pop up for you. I wish they would provide sizes for each site as well as a photo, they do tell you if the site is super small, which helps, but measurements for each would be better, especially for those with big camping units. I was pleased to see that they do offer pull through sites, which would be super useful for big units or folks that aren’t very comfortable parking yet. 

Reservations were easy to make. They do not do cancellations according to their site, but I never had any reason to ask to see if that really were the case. Camping fees are reasonable at $28 per night for a lakefront electric site or $25 per night for an electric site away from the lake. One vehicle pass is included with the site fee, but if you need more than that you will need to purchase more vehicle passes.  

Check in was done at the office when we got there and was simple. We were able to purchase firewood at the same time, so we were set in the matter of minutes. Water fill is just up the road a bit from the park office, across from the dump station.  

The site we reserved was 176 in the section of the park that allows ATVs. It was a nice size for our little camper, but I think anything more than 26-28 would have been too large mostly for the parking. Backing in was a bit nerve wracking as there were a bunch of trees on either side of the gravel pad, but we were fortunate to be able to use the pull through site across the road from us to get a straight shot, but obviously that wouldn’t always be the case for everyone.  

Our site didn’t require a ton of levelling, which was nice, but we had to do some, which is to be expected. Being wooded, with pine trees, there was really no grass, but we had a huge open yard area in front of our camper that was all ours as we were the last campsite in that row.  

The best part about our site was the fact that there were a TON of places to hang a hammock. We had ample opportunity to set up our hammock in different trees and when Mark’s sister, niece and nephew visited us for a day, they were able to set up their hammocks and enjoy the trees too.  

If you are looking for peace and quiet, I wouldn’t recommend camping in the ATV camping area. They are on the go all day. It didn’t bother us in the least, as we would have been listening to ATVs and race trucks all weekend if we would have been able to go to the races, but if you want peace and rest, stick with the campsites down closer to the lake. 

The showers and bathrooms were clean and well maintained. The showers are pay showers, so make sure to bring quarters along with your soap and towel. They do have nice hot water, so it’s well worth the spare change. I know lots of people that would be miffed about having to pay for a shower, but I don’t mind in the least. 

We spent a lot of our time at our campsite, just lounging around, hanging out by the campfire and making meals, but did venture out and explore the park multiple times per day. The beach, playground and fishing are a short walk away, making easy to head down and cast a line for a little bit or lounge on the sand, while the kids run and play on the playground right within sight. We also checked out the walking trail, which while it didn’t seem to be that long, it was beautiful and plenty of exercise for our lazy husky. To see a map of the park, including the trails and camping, click here. 

Dogs are welcome at the park and allowed almost everywhere except the beach and picnic areas. They must be leashed at all times and attended (and obviously cleaned up after). Irish loved lounging around in the shade and watching the activity of the squirrels and fellow camping dogs and I would say she gave it two paws up. If you plan to take advantage of the ATV trails, I would recommend leaving your pooch at home, but if you are looking for a weekend away with the entire family, this is a perfect place for everyone. 

East Arbutus County Park is a great place to check out in the northwest section of central Wisconsin. A lesser known gem than the state parks that Wisconsin is known for, but just as nice with decent amenities and a great atmosphere. The lake itself is gorgeous and affords spectaular views, especially at sunset as the campground faces west, the land is beautiful and very wooded. We will definitely be returning to check out a lake front site at some time in the near future.