Camp Evergreen
Wild Rose, WI
Whether or not it is worth the packing, food preparation and set up time is debatable but we decided to kick off summer break with a weekend at Camp Evergreen. As a kid, I went camping with my aunt Marge and Uncle Bubbles. I also would go on a couple trips with my best friend Lindsey and her family. Every trip was full of great memories, sitting around a campfire, eating s’mores and the freedom of exploring the campgrounds as preteens.
Camping certainly takes some initiative but with a master list, strategic packing and a good group of friends you can have a lot of fun on a small budget. If you forget something hopefully someone else in your squad has it and there is always a store on the campground with essentials. Adjust your list as you take more trips and remember to add any forgotten items to your master list when you get home. Click here for my camping list.
This trip was no exception; we were about 15 minutes away from the site when my husband ask “Did we bring the camper key?” I tried to hide the irritation that I felt as he asked me about one of the few details I left in his hands. Seeing that the other families we were camping with were renting cabins, and we were camping in a pop-up camper, we wanted to arrive early and get set up so we could enjoy the half day. Instead I spent the first hour and a half frustrated and stressed.
Luckily we caught our friends in time for someone to pick up the camper key from our house before they got on the road. This was our second lost key situation with the pop-up camper and from the first incident we learned that the keys were universal by brand. Meaning that if someone else also owned that brand of pop-up, their key would work in ours. I did not want to wait a couple hours to start the process of setting up our site.
As I walked around in the heat my patience was waning. I saw every brand of camper except for the one we own and I thought about the amount of planning I did to organize and book the trip, the meals I shopped and prepared, the packing I did yet here we were without the most essential item, the key. Just as I was about to give up and had lapped the site, I saw one last pop-up with no identifying brand stickers. I approached the couple and asked my random question “What kind of pop-up camper do you have?” , to my delight they owned a Coleman and were willing to help us. They were not thrilled to learn that the keys are generic. I reassured them, campers respect each other’s space, you leave your belongings out in the open and as demonstrated by their willingness to walk with me and open us up- good people still exist!
I shook off my irritation and filled up my yeti and let the fun begin.
Here is my review of the campsite:
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- Train Ride $1- (Fun for the kids got a little long at the end but worth a buck)
- Game Room- games are cheap $.25 – (Kids light up for arcades and it’s nostalgic for adults too)
- Row Boats $3/hour – (Highlights of the trip, don’t resist the urge to play in water)
- Bathrooms – (Clean well-spaced throughout the campsite)
- Water Pillows- fun inflatables
- Pontoons for rent
- Several Playgrounds
Unfortunately
- Crowded Pool not enough seating
- Understaffed/Slow service and limited menu at the pool bar
- My friend was served a Hard Henry soda when he ordered a Crush soda, this broke his sobriety. It was either a mistake or an assumption on the part of the young bartender. This could have been ordered for a child.
- Tons of Pollen
- Sand on sites- ours was not a level site added a challenge to setting up the pop up camper
- Value of gifts in the game room is very low. Kids won tons of tickets and were excited to cash them in but the prizes were worthless. Friends spent $10 in game room and all tickets they cashed in got them $.60 worth of candy. They should invest in a couple decent prizes even from the dollar store.
