I'd like to seek the wisdom of those more familiar with camping on State Forests in Minnesota and/or Wisconsin. We have a 30' Motorhome and totally enjoy State Parks & Army Corps of Engineer parks. We are fine without campground utilities.We drove through several beautiful State Forests in Northen MN over the weekend - they were practically empty and that made us a bit nervous. Are these State Forests safe for a family in a motorhome? I do not carry any weapons with me when camping and would not know what to do if threatened. Late at night do these places fill up with people that could be of concern to my family? Or do they remain peaceful and just under-utilized?I talked with a State Park ranger who was patrolling a forest & he just said "If you have any trouble, just call me." but I'd like to avoid trouble in the first place.From your experience, do you encounter "issues" in State Forests that you would not in State Parks? Has your personal safety ever felt threatened?Thanks much, I'd like to learn from your experiences!

Most criminal elements are not going to go to a state forest in order to cause problems. Just like anywhere, check out your surroundings when you park. If something causes you to have concerns, leave.Keep your doors locked at night, and don't leave valuables laying outside or they might disappear. One of the biggest problems is people leaving coolers outside at night. Bears like to rummage through them, and teens have been known to "borrow" them when there are adult beverages in them.

Can't speak for Minnesota or Wisconsin, but we have never felt unsafe at state or federal parks here in the four corner states. There are plenty of times that these parks are somewhat empty during the week which doesn't bother us, heck we prefer it that way as we can chose a site to our liking.We do boondock often and for the most part have always felt safe, but under these conditions we always keep an eye on our surroundings. We have a couple of hunting rifles we carry when boondocking in the wild of the mountain west, mostly for protection against mountain lions, coyotes, and such.

Have been to numerous State Parks in both Minnesota and Wisconsin. We like to go during the week when crowds are gone. Never felt unsafe.

We've stayed in forest campgrounds throughout the country and absolutely love them. You sometimes find less campers because they need hookups nowadays. :)

The Northern ones don't fill up like the ones closer to the cities do. We love the ones up North.

Safety of Minnesota & Wisconsin State Forests | Good Sam Community

bucky
Explorer II
Jul 18, 2015
Remember that most bad guys are lazy. They would rather rob their neighbor than drive to the boonies not knowing whether anybody was there or not.
Dogs come in handy in remote places as early warning sytems. Even if you don't have one leave a giant bone or water dish outside near the door.
Quality_Johnson
Explorer
Jul 18, 2015
Most likely to be as empty at night as during the day. Few party people or troublemakers go into the forest campgrounds, especially far from major towns. Some forest campgrounds, especially the fee site campgrounds on major fishing lakes, can get noisy on weekends, but the remote places are very quiet.
rexlion
Explorer
Jul 19, 2015
Stop worrying and start enjoying the peaceful, quiet, empty places! Keep a clean camp so you don't attract bears, though.
donut_dave
Explorer
Jul 25, 2015
don't know about Minnesota state forests, but wis state forests are pretty much run the same as the state parks. in fact, if you didn't know that you were in a state forest you would think it was a state park. never had a safety issue at wis state forests. we've stayed at point beach, black river falls, and kettle moraine (pike lake, Ottawa lake, mauthe lake).

ps Alfred, several years ago you gave us the suggestion of henry's lake Idaho. that really worked out well.
campn4walleye
Explorer
Jul 26, 2015
We've never had a bit of trouble. We've never felt unsafe.
With your motorhome, the most trouble you could have in WI are low hanging branches removing your AC. They tend not to trim them in the rustic areas or even the non-rustic come to think of it.The biggest things to worry us are bears and wolves which we never seen in a CG.

Just to be safe, we do lock everything to keep the wannabe thieves out.

There are gorgeous rustic parks in WI that are seldom full or even known. I think the locals like to keep them a secret because they are such gems.

Have fun! Don't worry but be watchful just like at home.
highplainsdrift
Explorer
Aug 03, 2015
I have boondocked hundreds of nights on federal land throughout the Western United States for 40 years and have never had a safety or theft issue. I avoid campgrounds because of the noise...not safety concerns.

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