U.S. Forest Service · Nicolet National Forest · WI

Laura and Gordon Lake Recreation Area

3Heads up3 fires, nearest 15 mi
Wildfire
Blackberry fire · 15 mi away · 3 acres · updated Oct 16, 2026
Wildfire
Bee fire · 28 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 11, 2026
Wildfire
Memory fire · 43 mi away · 0 acres · updated Oct 11, 2026
The agency doesn’t say how you get a siteIts record carries no access type, so treat it as a place to phone before you drive.
Right now
Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
Season
May 2 – October 15Open May 2 through October 15
Drawn from the record · 1,500 ft · 86% tree cover · Lake Laura within reach · Bortle 3 sky
1,500 ftElevation
232 ftWater · Lake Laura
19.5 miNE of Crandon, WI
86%Tree cover
Bortle 3Night sky · 38th darkest of 70 in WI
Open May 2 through October 15Today

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

With two beautiful clear water lakes, undeveloped shoreline, Laura Lake Campground provides an exceptional camping opportunity. Campsites are located on the southwestern shore of 110-acre Laura Lake. The picnic and swim beach are located on the adjacent 50-acre Gordon Lake. Both lakes have developed back-in boat landings. Please note these lakes are restricted to electric motors only. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest has an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities. Those most enjoyed at Laura Lake are fishing, swimming, kayaking, canoeing and hiking the trail that goes around the lake. The 2. Keep reading

25 mile hiking trail passes through a forest of northern hardwoods, hemlocks, and balsams. Bring your binoculars as there are frequent observations of loons and osprey on this quiet lake, which is restricted to electric motors only. A bench is located along the shoreline at the half-way point. A short walk to the north leads to a small bog lake that you may want to explore. Look for the blue reassurance markers that designate this trail. The area also provides a 6.5 mile bike trail that runs along the old Lake 9 railroad grade. Laura Lake Campground has 41 sites. A majority of sites can accommodate campers as long as 30 feet and longer. Drinking water, vault toilets, swim beach, picnic area and a boat landing are also provided at this location. All roads are paved with blacktop. Both Laura and Gordon Lakes provide good fishing opportunities.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
“…as 30 feet and longer. Drinking water, vault toilets, swim beach, picnic area and a boat landing are…”
Drinking water
Yes
“…campers as long as 30 feet and longer. Drinking water, vault toilets, swim beach, picnic area and a boat…”
Source: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, Beach
Fall color · reported 4 days ago, 37 km away
Peak color
Source: Stated in the agency description
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (37 km) · Oct 13, 2026

Phone before you drive

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.

Booking window6 months outBooking opens 6 months ahead; today unlocks arrivals through April 16, 2027. The agency publishes no reservable season in the record we hold, so the window may close earlier than that.recreation.gov
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 10

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service publishes no per-night rate for this campground that we can read, so there’s no sign price to print. That’s a gap in the record, not a free campground.
Individual campsite fee is $15, or $7.50 with the use of an Interagency pass (access or senior).
The interagency pass applies only to the fee for the campsite physically occupied by the pass holder, not to any additional fees or campsite(s) occupied by members of the pass holder's party.
There is a $5 recreation use fee for the Gordon Lake beach.
This does not apply to registered campers.
The Forest also has an annual pass available for $30.
The USDA Forest Service honors all four Interagency Recreation Passes that may be applied at National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife sites charging recreation use fees.
The booking feerecreation.gov
We hold no recreation.gov booking record for this campground, so we can’t say whether a booking fee applies.
What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s no total to show.
How we know this receipt · 4
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight26°Clear
Saturday53°Sunny
Saturday Night36°Clear
Sunday59°Sunny

NWS forecast for Goodman, 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.

80°32°0°

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.

Measured at: LAONA 6 SW, WI (USC00474582), 18 miles away and 195 ft higher

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.

Source: MTJP Threatened Lands map · Sep 28, 2026

Who answers for this land

Tom Tiffany, official portrait

Laura and Gordon 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: The agency lists it out of season. The season it publishes is the bar below.
Season: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (37 km) · Oct 13, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Goodman, WI, 8.3 mi NW (a census designated place). Straight line.