The Playful Goose Campground of the Horicon Marsh

Rocio Stasi

2019-05

The Playful Goose Campground is such a quaint and nostalgic place. I went there with my two boys (ages 8 &11). We will cherish these memories for a lifetime.It’s an old campground and the owners are making a huge effort to update it while maintaining the integrity of the charming feel of it.My boys loved the game room and I loved playing on a few of some of the old school games (Ms.pacman and air hockey). We loved the pool and the grounds itself are highly maintained. The boys had a blast fishing and playing on the vintage playground. If we are ever in the Midwest again we will most definitely try to stop by for a visit.

Angela Daul

2022-05

We recently stayed here September 3-6 for Labor Day weekend 2021. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAMPGROUND TO FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN. I really loved how big the sites were. We received site 85 which fit our 44ft 5th wheel great. The entire staff here was great. Very friendly and professional. They don’t allow you to bring your own wood, which is fine, however I feel that they shouldn’t charge your for their firewood then. Paying $27 for 14 pieces of wood is just ridiculous. Kinda upset that only ‘seasonal’ camper are allowed to use golf carts. Security came by and told us we couldn’t use our personal one we brought along. Even though we have our own insurance for the golf cart. With the campground being so huge it took a very long time to walk from our site up to office or the pool area. Which brings me to the issue of the pool area. It is just downright disgusting. There was black mold and mildew all over the wood ceilings and wood walls. No lights in the area that we were in so it felt like we were in a dungeon. The showers/bathrooms up at the pool house also very dirty. The entire building needs MAJOR facelift and upkeep. Also the gravel roads basically impossible to push a stroller or wagon with it being so bumpy. Would be great to see some improvements here. For these reasons I will not recommend this campground to my family or friends if they have children. Until some upgrades are made I will not come back.

Lizzy Gunzel

2023-10

The views are absolutely gorgeous and the sites are decent. However Porta potties are over flowing and gross. The only actual bathrooms are a far walk for most campers and there are sinks and stalls out of order. The only play equipment is quite a hike and is very skeptical looking. Most of it looks home made and waiting for a kid to break an arm or a leg.

C. Berkey

2022-05

Quiet, peacful, hospitable, and spacious. They have pretty much everything a traveler needs: wood, propane, laundry, and showers. The Playful Goose also has a well equipped store, a social/play room, and an indoor pool. If you are looking for a party place, look elsewhere. I appreciate the peaceful wooded park. The owner and her boyfriend (high five to him) were super accommodating and helpful.

charles mayer

2023-05

Great campground with a laid back atmosphere....lots of friendly people....and everyone waves to you when they drive by your campsite! 😬

Lisa Rogowski

2023-05

Great campground! We will definitely camp here again. Lots more to explore. The sites are a good distance apart. Very friendly staff.

Brittney Roeske

2020-05

Very nice well kept campground. Highly recommend getting sewer. Unfortunately our original site was flooded due to rain so they relocated us to a site with sewer and it was great! We were by several seasonals however all were extremely nice. Lots of dogs, our pup did very well on his first trip. He was even able to swim in the lake. Very peaceful, not many people up at all hours of the night. Please buy wood there or the guy right when you come in. They have many ash trees that they are trying to keep alive. Definitely would come back.

denton naylor

2023-06

Enjoyed yet another very Honorable Memorial Day weekend here. Full of fishing and fun with distant family members. They even had a tasty food truck this year!

Brittany Adamavich

2021-05

My main gripe is: I cannot have my vehicle on the site. It has to be parked at the front office. (We had a truck attached to an RV, and my vehicle and 1 tent, on a giant campsite). How INCONVENIENT to have to trek all the way back to the office for my car. That means no gradual repacking unless I hike with all my stuff back to the office. What a JOKE. The indoor pool was inoperable. Someone sells campfire right outside the camp area, but as you enter the campground, it states you cannot bring in any firewood so you are forced to buy theirs. We originally were booked for a different site, but as we arrived, they didn't have our site available, and had to switch us but the employee never called to let us know. The woman I talked to at check in, was super nice, and even gave me an adapter for our rv, but I just wanted to give a gist of what we've experienced thus far.

Truth Matters

2023-07

1st timers here! My family and friends loved the Playful Goose! I think we found our new camping spot! Having 2 large sites across from the indoor pool was amazing! Gary absolutely made us feel right at home! We rented a canoe and 2 kayaks for a reasonable price. It was so fun! We saw turtles and baby fawns along the river.This is a perfect family campground for my family of 8! There is a ton of room to camp and for kids to ride bikes and explore. The “hamster wheel” was a favorite on the playground! To top the week off they played an outdoor movie for our kids! What a fun memory! When other nearby campgrounds tolerate loud parties till 2am, I was thankful the Playful Goose stuck to their quiet hours so my kids could stay asleep! I was very impressed with the staff and didn’t even mind paying $0.25 for a warm clean shower every night. If you are looking for a place that is full of nostalgia and family fun, look no further! The Playful Goose is calling!

Luke LaCrosse

2022-05

Hidden gem of a campground.Well maintained grounds, knowledgeable friendly staff, and a nice indoor pool. The seasonal campers are also very friendly and quiet hours are well enforced to ensure a great family experience. Perhaps, most notably, the camp store is 2nd to none if just about anything breaks on your camper while staying there - seriously.If you are looking for a quiet place to camp and enjoy nature (river with boat rentals and hiking trails) while having the convenience of full hookups, this campground is absolutely worth considering.

Trevor Vanburen

2023-09

I DO NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE. My grandparents who have a disability and have a very difficult time getting around got a site over Labor Day weekend. They have their own personal golf cart to get around when camping and not just be stuck in their site. The staff told them they were NOT able to use it because they weren't seasonal campers!

luis otero

2023-05

very good place to camp with extremely comfortable spaces with magnificent prices I will definitely return soon

Sara O'Leary

2023-06

Restroom situation was absolutely awful. Filthy, wet, broken, overflowing portables, just awful. They could really work a little harder on that. Worst I've ever experienced.The sites were decent, spacious and do have a lot of very nice old growth trees. Much of the staff was kinda rude or unwelcoming and they made me purchase a $23 cup that tipped over and cracked while I was looking around their store. Game room was pathetic with only a few run down things. Liked the few small trails within the site, and there were lots of birds to watch. Overall it wasn't the worst ever but will probably never go back.Restrooms: The worst bathrooms I have ever witnessed. Just filthy.

Sue Krueger

2023-09

Nice spacious site. Quite private. Campground is very quiet.Very friendly and helpful staff.

Katherine Higgins

2022-05

Huge sites and very peaceful. Love seeing the river and walking around the grounds.

Jennifer Burdick

2023-05

This is our first year as seasonal campers. We moved here at the very end of last season from another campground. The park has that state park feel to it. Very peaceful. The sunrises over the marsh are so beautiful. The sites are huge. I love to fish and the river is right there. I don’t have to drive anywhere! Yay! The playground is vintage and gives me such nostalgia of my childhood. I love that I get share the metal slide on a hot day with my son. He learned really quick this past weekend lolThe owner and her team are down to earth people. Not something we are used to coming from a more popular, overcrowded campground. Can’t wait to use the pool. Hurry up Memorial Day weekend! Lol

Tierney Biersack

2023-05

Campground was probably nice 20 years ago. Everything is pretty run down now which is too bad. It could be a great place if it was kept up. Sites were fine, on the smaller side, not much privacy, but we had a spot on the river side which was a pretty area especially during sunrise and sunset. The bathrooms were dirty and not maintained, the showers seemed newer and decent. The port o potty that we had to use unless we wanted to drive to the bathroom was full almost to the top all weekend. There was a round of applause given when the person came to empty it, if that tells you how bad it was! Even after it was cleaned it was still very full (and I mean so full if you sat down to go to the bathroom you were about an inch from touching what was in there-yuck!) not sure what that was about. The game room and pool is run down and could use a deep cleaning and a refresh. The playground was run down. Lots of extra charges for example to have an extra car, to have guests visit your site, for using an air conditioner or electric heater (on an electric site), just to name a few, which we wouldn't have minded as much if the place was well kept. Now after spending a few days there we can understand why there was so many sites open on a holiday weekend! Hopefully they can start doing some upkeep and turn this place around so it can stay open!

Tracy Werner

2023-05

Had a wonderful experience family camping at the Playful Goose. Unexpectedly, ended up being their Halloween weekend. It turned out to be a really good time for all ages in our group. The campground supplied pumpkins to carve and be used to light the path for their spooky hike. It was fun seeing all the different pumpkins and searching for the ones you made. The kids were excited to be able to take them home at the end of the weekend!We ended up having another campsite causing a noise disturbance after quiet hours, which was keeping some kids awake. Easily found an after hours number to contact at the office. They answered the call, were nice and understanding. Within 15 minutes the noise disturbance was taken care of. Overall, we had a really good experience and would go back!

david cornelius

2022-05

Sites are huge and staff is super nice! Right on the river with trails. Play ground for kids could use some attention but other than that loved the camp ground.

Seek Righteousness

2021-05

We love it camp here 3 to 4 times a yeaar as you can see its popular this is just friday night

Kristina Fraiser

2023-05

Nice campground for some, not so much for others. This past weekend was our first time staying here. I was a little shocked to see how steep and bumpy the long gravel driveway was to get into campground. Checked in and found our site. We booked 2 sites and said that we were camping together so we’d like them next to each other. They said they could do that. Well, our sites were separated by 20ft of woods. We brought up our concerns and they were able to move my sister-in-law to a site directly across from ours. That was great. The sites were a good size and grassy. Loved that! If you have a bathroom in your camper, you are fine. If not, you either need to drive to the main building to use the bathroom or use a porta-potty that was extremely full. And I mean EXTREMELY full. When I called to cancel our reservations for 6 weeks out, I was told I had to pay a $15 per site cancellation fee. When I explained why I was cancelling, I was told that I should have said something about the porta-potty being full and they would have had it emptied.

Don Koloski

2023-06

I was not happy with the way the ownership is very crazy about driving a little in the grass when parking the trailer. Some sites are almost impossible with backing into the site without driving over a corner of the camping pad.Also golf carts everywhere and the dust from the roadways get kicked up by the golf carts and the gulf carts drive all over the grass, it makes no sense to me.If you are wanting to do any work or use internet, there is no internet at the campground.I'll think twice about going back to camp there.

Sandra Allen

2023-05

I’d like to rate this better as we’ve been coming here for 40+ years but the management has gotten a bit picky and not real friendly. Adamant about not parking on the grass and driving 5mph. We were doing 7mph and got called on it. $150 deposit is required for any stay over a week for repairs to the campsite while the weekenders actually destroyed more of the grounds than the long term campers. It has gotten cleaner and better kept up than previous years. The showers are improved 100% over the years, but do require a quarter for water which is an adequate ten minutes. Water sports, golf, birding, and Horicon Marsh are all with in a short distance. We will continue to return.

Jen Ellingson

2023-08

Love the Playful Goose Campground! Big spots, lots of grass, indoor pool, game room with pool table and air hockey, classic playground, volleyball, shuffle board, and horseshoes. Love how quiet and peaceful it is.

Richard Erdmann

2021-05

Ok in a pinch. Sites could use a good grass clearing so you can see the gravel pad to park.

Jeff Thurston

2023-05

After a long day’s drive after a fresh wash of the RV and car we tow, imagine the shock of seeing that the entry road is a very dusty climb over a hill for over half a mile. The full hookup site we’d reserved was supposed to be capable of holding our 42’ motorhome, but after a twisting drive to the back of the park we found we could not get the coach level without jacking the front wheels several inches off the ground. Their alternative was a site with no sewer connection, which we accepted out of necessity, but left a day earlier than planned. The Staff were very friendly and there are lots of smaller campers who seem to fit in nicely. I guess the fact that we needed a complete re-wash of the rv and car, and that l will be changing the engine air filter left a bad taste. I think lengthy dirt road access mention should be required in all rv park descriptions.

Heather Schroeder

2023-05

Best campground and unbelievably beautiful! The big bald guy was the most kind guy ever! He was letting us know the rules and chatted with everyone and we appreciate learning about everything. This place is great for families!

Paul West

2021-05

Positive: Big spacious campsites. Gave us the option to check out late because no one was checking in after us. Mostly seasonal RV sites but those are nicely maintained by the occupants.NEGATIVES:All roads are dusty gravel which is not usually a problem but the entrance road is a pretty steep hill. Could be tough for an underpowered pickup pulling a larger trailer.Sign on office door said masks (COVID-19) were required but this was not enforced. I was the only one wearing one.Our pull through RV site was very unlevel. Couldn't get our 29' trailer level even after using 3 layers of leveling blocks but it was close enough to not cause major problems.It is a very large campground but they only have 2 bathroom buildings (with showers) and the showers were turned off in one of the buildings. The bathrooms need upgrading and were not very clean.OPINION:It seems that this campground would be VERY nice but they haven't spent enough time or money on maintenance or upgrades.

Suzy Gummo

2023-05

The campgrounds are firm on their rules for good reason for everyone to have a good safe camping experience 🏕 . Everyone is helpful and we were so lucky to have planned our trip on Halloween weekend, everything was included and so much fun! We will be looking at next year's calendar and making our multi family trip again!