Council Grounds State Park
Explore park information, recreation, camping, maps, and visitor details.
Park overview
Situated on the banks of Wisconsin River, Council Grounds State Park offers year-round RV camping for families and large groups alongside a varied array of recreational opportunities. Each year millions of families bring their RVs and trailers to this Wisconsin State Park to enjoy a diverse range of recreational activities.
RV campers with love for water recreation can swim, boat, or angle in the blue waters of Wisconsin River. Hikers can park their rigs aside and get set trekking several miles of beautiful trails full of towering trees and fragrant flowers. Hunting enthusiasts will have a great time trapping and shooting down game species during established hunting seasons.
Winters are ever so lively with opportunities like cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. If you plan to picnic at Council Grounds State Park, go ahead and book the beachside picnic pavilion for your next RV visit. You can also party at many other picnic spots near the Big Pines Nature trail and shelter building.
Council Grounds State Park is named after stories of the site being used for Native Americans’ council meetings before becoming a state park. Camping is offered in a heavily wooded 55-site campground with electric and non-electric campsites, picnic amenities, and restrooms.
Park map
View the park location and surrounding area.
Nearby lakes
Lakes within 25 miles of Council Grounds State Park.
Things to do
In-season activities
Popular things to do during the park's primary season.
Picnicking
Summer, spring, and fall are all great times to have an outdoor lunch with friends or family. Where better in Wisconsin than at this riverside state park? If you are bringing your rig at any time between spring and fall, we recommend reserving the picnic area near the Lake Alexander beach. Or, you may also get your hands on a few other fancy picnic spots near the Big Pines Nature trail and a shelter building.
Boating
A dam formed the pristine Lake Alexander from the Wisconsin River at Council Grounds State Park. This gorgeous waterbody is noted for all the right things like its crystal waters excellent for boating, canoeing, and kayaking. Water skiing is also quite a favorite activity at the lake. During your next RV trip at Council Grounds, don’t miss the chance to have lots of fun in the water at Lake Alexander.
Fishing and Swimming
There is so much more to do at Lake Alexander than just boating on the water surface. Wisconsin River and Lake Alexander are brimming with your favorite game species like northern pike, smallmouth, walleye, yellow perch, muskies, bass, black crappies, and bluegills. You may also get your hands on some fishing gear provided free of cost at the park office. Check out the 217-foot beach, the swimming hotspot of Council Grounds State Park, during your next RV vacation and hush your heat away.
Off-season activities
Recreation commonly available outside the primary season.
Hiking
Explore Council Grounds State Park’s impressive and ever-changing topography by strolling through several of its hiking trails. The park has a lot to offer when it comes to hiking, so come prepared to have your breath taken away with all the gorgeousness. From the nearly one-mile Big Pines Nature Trail to the Blue trail, also roughly one mile in length, there are a total of six terrains of varying lengths that showcase the park’s natural features and spell-binding flat and rolling topographies.
Hunting
Hunting season is established twice a year at Wisconsin state parks to let wildlife enthusiasts indulge in their favorite adventures during their RV vacations. Hunting and trapping lovers can entertain themselves aiming at a variety of wildlife during spring, fall, and winter at Council Grounds State Park. If you are a hunter and planning to set up an RV camp during the winter, make sure your trip dates align with the hunting season. Open areas of the park allow gun and archery hunting as well as trapping from November to December. Hunting with legal archery extends up to early January.
Winter Recreation
Winter campers, get ready for some outdoor fun at Council Grounds State Park’s icy trails during the chilly weather. Snowshoeing and backcountry cross-country skiing is permitted during the winter. ICheck for winter campsite availability, book yourself a place for your RV, and head over to Council Grounds to appreciate the goodness of winter with some incredible outdoor activities like skiing and snowshoeing.
Campgrounds
Reservable campgrounds
Sites that generally accept advance reservations.
Family Campground
More than 50 campsites for RVs and tents comprise Council Grounds’ family-friendly campground situated in a heavily forested region of the park. There are 19 electric campsites. Others don't offer hookups of any sort. A picnic table and fire ring come with each campsite. Campers will find a dump station, as well as restrooms with showers and flush toilets in the campground. The camping season typically lasts spring through fall. A campsite may be reserved as far as up to 11 months in advance.
Getting there and around
Driving directions
Council Grounds is located along the Wisconsin River nearly two miles west of Merrill off of Highway 107 in Lincoln County, Wisconsin. You can also use a map or GPS for clear-cut directions for reaching the park. If you are visiting in summer, spring, or fall, you will drive more easily compared to during winters when snow and ice conditions may affect roads availability. Upon arriving at the park, get an admission sticker for your vehicle at the entrance and get inside. A majority of the park roads are narrow including the main road. Almost all the state park is heavily forested, so there are large trees on both sides covering much of the space and thick branches hanging down the streets. Small RV, trailer, or motorhomes can easily get through. Road signs direct drivers to where ever they want to go inside the park from the beach to the fishing pier and from the trails to the picnic shelters to name a few. Parking is also sufficient inside Council Grounds State Park with various parking slots scattered throughout the park.
Average monthly temperatures
Typical daily high and low temperatures near Council Grounds State Park.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 23° | 28° | 40° | 54° | 67° | 77° | 81° | 78° | 70° | 56° | 41° | 28° |
| Low | 7° | 10° | 21° | 33° | 45° | 55° | 59° | 58° | 49° | 38° | 26° | 14° |
Historical averages describe typical conditions and are not a weather forecast.