Buddy
For Copper Range - Brule River SF: We went here with a group of 12 people for a canoe day trip in the middle of July. It was probably one of the worst camping experiences I've ever had.
For a bit of background, I camp on average a half dozen times throughout the summer, so my group isn't a bunch of novices. We often stay at campgrounds so we know the score, including camping etiquette.
What was bad about this one? One word: The DNR were complete jerks the entire weekend.
The campground was half empty on Friday night, but nonetheless the ranger patrolling came through our camp at 10:59 and warned us to be quiet "or else you'll get a $180 ticket! And be kicked out first thing in the morning with NO REFUND!" - this despite no noise audible outside of our campsite; no yelling, no music, nothing. We then sat and conversed in whispered tones for the evening. Not fun.
Saturday was worse. During the day, we kept track of the DNR babysitting us - they drove past no less than once every 15 minutes, slowing down to a crawl next to our site and staring at our group like we're a bunch of escaped inmates. They stopped a few times and made sure we knew they were babysitting our group (by the way, we're all in our 30's, so hardly need the supervision) and reminded us of ELEVEN PM CURFEW, as if we'd forget the previous night's lecture. This continued the entirety of the afternoon and evening.
Sure enough, at 10:59 that evening the ranger returned and warned us to "be quiet or face $180 fine and eviction from the site". This was beyond ridiculous because there was no noise whatsoever above a conversational tone. We complied, but he came back within 2 minutes and read us the riot act in a way that I haven't seen since middle school.
The DNR here is completely unreasonable. Do not camp here unless you want to be babysat and treated like children. No wonder the other nearby campgrounds were all booked and this one was half empty.
Oh, and their vault toilet was the foulest smelling place I've been in the last decade. That's not surprising considering the weeks of 100 degree heat before our stay, but still... yuck.
Posted Sep 07, 2012 by Buddy from WI. This is the subjective opinion of a traveler and not of AllStays LLC.
