Black Lake Campground address: Forest Road 173, Glidden, WI 54527 operated by: US Forest Service informatIon: 715-634-4821, www.fs.usda.gov/cnnf; reservations 877-444-6777, reserveamerica.com open: Mid-May-October SIteS: 29 each site has: Picnic table, fire ring, a few also have upright grill assignment: By phone, Internet, or first come, first served registration: Self-registration on-site facilities: Vault toilet, pump well parking: At campsites and at walk-in campsite parking fee: $12 elevatIon: 1,400'' restrictions: pets: On leash only fires: In fire ring only; firewood must be purchased in state within 25 miles of campground alcohol: At campsites only vehicles: No restrictions other: 14-day stay limit Whoever laid out Black Lake Camp- ground made the most of the lakeside woods. Twenty-one of the 29 campsites abut this attractive lake in the Northwoods, which is completely encircled by national forest property. The arrangement creates an appealing setting to pitch your tent, absorb nature, and maybe enjoy some outdoor recreation. However, a laid-back campground such as this beckons you to snooze in the chair or take a little nap in the hammock as much as hiking down the trail.
Soon after the campground entrance, the lake comes into view just as you reach the Black Lake Picnic Area and the first boat launch. This is also the parking for campsites 27-29, which are walk-in sites reached via the first portion of the Black Creek Trail. The campsite trail spurs right and leads to three top-notch camps beneath towering red pines. Each of these campsites offers a great view of Black Lake and a sense of seclusion unrivaled even at the rest of this remote campground. These sites are the best at Black Lake, and that is saying quite a lot. Cross the outflow of Black Lake. This spot beneath a white pine is a favored fishing hole. Enter the main campground road, which is paved, to see a series of widely spaced campsites spur toward the lake.
They are cut into woods of paper birch, red pine, and some spruce and aspen trees. Ferns and smaller trees form a thicket-like understory that allows maximum campsite privacy. The campsites away from the lake are even more thickly wooded and private but are used less. A vault toilet lies past campsite 7. A pump well is next to campsite 13, which is very large. Many other sites are so large that they are open to the sun in the center. The sites become even more widely separated after 13. Campsites 16 and 17 are in a grove of paper birches.
Campsite 19 is closest to the water. A short road to the campground boat landing lies beyond 19. The campground ends in a mini-loop. The first part of the mini-loop has no campsites, and then lakeside sites resume with 20. Campsite 22 is highly recommended. The reservable campsites at Black Lake are 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13-16, 18-20, 22, 24, 25, and 29. All but 11 and 14 are lakefront. Be advised that the Black Lake Trail runs between the campsites and the lake itself.
Two pump wells serve the campground. The bathrooms here are the newer SST models. SST is short for "sweet-smelling technology," an improvement over the hole-in-the- ground technology of old. Black Lake covers 129 acres, and motorized boats are allowed. Commonly sought fish species include muskellunge, large-mouth bass, northern pike, and panfish. A swim beach lies along the lake, midway in the campground. A sloped grassy area dips into the water and leads to a small roped area in the lake. The 4-mile Black Lake Trail is a highlight of the area.
It loops entirely around the lake, crossing Fishtrap Creek via a bridge. Along the way are interpretive stops where you can learn about the logging history of the recovered woods. Pass through an old logging campsite, along a railroad grade, and by tree plantations from the 1930s. Much of Wisconsin''s Northwoods were cutover by the 1930s, after harvesting huge white pines and other trees. The federal government came in and bought these lands from timber companies, private landowners, and counties that had little use for tax-forfeited cutover land. The US Forest Service came in, and young men in the Great Depression-era Civilian Conservation Corps planted thousands of trees. The regenerated forests provide timber for harvest, give food and cover for wildlife, protect watersheds from erosion, and make recreation areas such as Black Lake viable again. Just remember that when you snooze in the shade under that tall tree.