The Playful Goose Campground of the Horicon Marsh — Hotel in Horicon

Booked for two months due to being in the area for work, but left after one month. If you’re not a seasonal camper, beware. You’re not in the clique, you’re not welcome, and you’re watched like a hawk. The rules don’t apply to seasonal campers. Their dogs don’t have to be on a leash. Yours do. They don’t have to follow the speed limit, you do. The workers on the golf carts also don’t have to follow the speed limit and you better get out of their way when you’re walking or you’ll get run over. If you’re in a spot without a sewer hookup, don’t wait for the honey wagon if you’ve signed up and paid for it, they don’t show up when they’re supposed to. The gravel road is terrible. They drag and drag instead of investing a little money to put some stone down to make it nice. The playground hasn’t been updated since the campground was built many many years ago. That’s why there’s no photos. The bugs are so terrible that you can’t sit outside. I know they have no control over that but that’s just a heads up. Management is awful. We were put in a spot that had no grass whatsoever. On our second day we had to put an outdoor rug down to avoid tracking dirt and mud into our camper. Fast forward to the third week of August (we left the last day of July) we get a partial refund of our $150 deposit with an explanation of the grass beside of the camper didn’t grow back. Well thank God I had date stamped pictures of it the day after moving in, even though Gary was with my husband standing there when he backed into the spot like he needed to supervise and saw it! I sent the two pictures proving it was like that so I could finally get my full refund which I got with a response saying I should’ve told them. Ummm, no. They should’ve looked when the other people moved out. Which I’m sure they did and didn’t give them their deposit back either. Poor management skills. The nonstop moving of old campground work vehicles falling apart with trailers pulling branches and limbs that looked like the tires are going to fall off was ridiculous. But don’t dare bring a golf cart. That’s only for seasonal campers. Now let’s talk about the trash. Would it be too difficult to get two dumpsters for a campground with that many spots? There’s just one. It’s monitored. You feel like you’re being watched everytime you put a bag in. The day we checked in the power box post was broken. We pointed it out to Gary. He said oh my. That will be fixed tomorrow! It was never touched. Counting on Starlink to get you through there? Don’t. It won’t even help there. There was a bachelorette party one weekend there. We didn’t care. Have as much fun as you want. But the kicker…it was in the seasonal area so it was ok. Don’t dare do it if you aren’t a seasonal camper. You can’t be loud and have fun. Oh and if you have to be there a while and are desperate to receive an important package? Forget it. You have to get a P.O. Box and hope it’s not from FedEx.

Beware...

I'm not exactly sure how to describe this campground. It is very large, very spacious and each site has plenty of room. We have camped here 3 times now and usually our first trip of the season to make sure everything checks out in our RV, prior to traveling.

There is an extremely large and steep gravel driveway to get into the campground. Once in the campground, you need to pass the junkyard where the owners have apparently decided to store junk cars, trucks and old trailers. I'm not going to lie, it is an eyesore.

Adjacent to the junkyard is an overgrown playground, of sorts. I'm not sure I want my children playing on the playground however. The dumpster is overflowing, and the owner's solution is to take a back hoe and pack it in tighter. You don't want to be downwind during prime camping time of this dumpster--Trust me.

In addition, the owners, by signage which is posted, want you to remove your trash from the campground rather than throwing it away. This is camping, isn't it?

This year the fees appear to have gone up noticeably. There are now extra charges for having a trailer equipped with air-conditioning and sewer. These were always included in past years but are no longer.

Buildings and roofs are badly in need of repair and upgrading. They need paint, shingles, stain and so forth. If you are a child of the 80s, you will feel right at home, especially in the arcade. Nothing more current than those manufactured in 1982...and you need to ask the owner to turn on power to the room. Apparently they are not inclined to leave the lights on for that welcoming feeling. The lobby either.

I did have to chuckle at the laundry facility however. If you remember your grandparents bright orange and avocado green machines, then you will thoroughly enjoy the laundry. I thought it was unusual when I needed to use the dryer: the owner needed to come out with a Bic lighter and light the pilot for me.

This sounds like a bad review but it isn't meant to. We still enjoy coming here, but there are very few amenities. If you were looking for upkept and current, you are in the wrong place.

If you are looking for a quiet and spacious campground where there is very little noise to simply camp, then you are in the right place. Plenty of time and quietness to reflect and enjoy.

And now a guess: it does not appear that the owners are struggling financially with this business, however they appear to not want to put any money into infrastructure or maintenance purposes. Like a previous reviewer said, this campground could be a gold mine. From talking to seasonal users, the owner doesn't want to spend any of his hordes of money. This is a shame considering what this...

I took my family here for a weekend get-a-way this last weekend, 7-11-25 When i called on Thursday to make the reservations, i was told that they will waive the $50 reservation charge as i will be arriving the next day.. $50 to make a reservation?? i think not, but glad they did! When we pulled into the driveway, i was shocked to see it is no more then a very poorly graded gravel driveway, kinda steep hill and sharp curves, ruts from rain runoff, the speed limit sign said "5 MPH"... no, you got to slower then that. But yet, the seasonal campers with the golf carts could fly through grounds like it was a NASCAR race to see who can get to the beer first! Now that we got into the grounds, i was waiting in line for a camper to check in, after waiting 10 minutes, another camper walks in. When the couple i was waiting for to finish, the attendant then helped the people who were behind me.... i love to be waiting in line to be served. While i was waiting, i did have sometime to look around, and as i was looking around there store and noticed that they charge $7.50 for a small bundle of firewood, and that wood HAS to logged to your site!! What?? $7.50 for a small bundle of wood that might burn for an hour, maybe a hour and half. As i was finishing my "Check in", the attendant informs me the showers are $0.25 for 6 minutes, ok, time for a fast cold shower, no time to wait the 5 minutes for the water to get hot. After i got the family set up at our site, And after i was able to fix the leaking water valve on my site.. We got water now. i got a text from the campground inviting me and my family to play Bingo!! Yay.... $5 a card with a chance to win "Up To $65!!", oh heck.. deal me in on the big old bag of fun... NOPE! Yeah, it was quiet campground... had to be, no one wanted to pay that much for firewood to be able to sit outside and enjoy them self's. I did think it is great to see a campground that had RV, and TT parts department, this is nice, but most of the "parts are Used parts" To me, this campground is in for just for the money and not for the campers! Will come back,, oh heck no, will i recommend this place for others to enjoy... not a chance! Avoid this place...