Ada Lake Recreation Area
3Heads up3 fires, nearest 31 mi
This is how it should work.
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $15From, per site
- Season
- May 2 – October 15Open May 2 through October 15
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
Ada Lake Recreation Area is tucked away from the hustle and bustle of some of the more popular recreation sites on the Lakewood-Laona District. It has many amenities of the other recreation areas, just not all the crowds. There are plenty of sites to see on the district and Ada Lake Recreation area can serve as a home base. Clear water, a sandy beach, and a blue sky are all it takes for many to have a memorable camping experience. Ada Lake Campground offers this and more. The exceptionally clear water makes it great for swimming, and the lake contains northern pike, bass, rainbow trout, and panfish. Keep reading
Another nice feature is the boat landing which makes the lake easily accessible to non-motorized boats. The Ada Lake Recreation Area is near popular local site-seeing spots Quartz Hill, Jone's Springs Area, Cathedral Pines and Knowles Creek Interpretive Trail. So, if you like to camp, swim, boat and fish then the Ada Lake Recreation Area is the place for you, conveniently located just 5 minutes southwest of Wabeno. Ada Lake is one of our dog friendly recreation areas.
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Beach
- Fall color · reported 13 days ago, 12 km away
- Near peak
Nothing to book, just show up
One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and a night costs $15 with nothing added. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.
recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.
Every line of the receipt · 11
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the lowest per-night amount the agency’s fee record states ($15), and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
How we know this receipt · 5
record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Ada Lake CampgroundNicolet National Forest · 0.0 mi
Richardson Lake CampgroundNicolet National Forest · 5.0 mi
Boot Lake CampgroundNicolet National Forest · 8.1 miBoot Lake Recreation AreaNicolet National Forest · 8.1 miBear Lake Recreation Area15 mi
Bear Lake Campground (Chequamegon-Nicolet NF, WI)15 miThe agency publishes this point for 2 campgrounds; it’s likely a district office, not the campground. Use the agency’s own page for directions.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Wabeno, WI
Typical weather
Typical October night 35°F, day 52°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical October night 35°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land

Ada Lake Recreation Area is in Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district. Its representative, Tom Tiffany (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →