Goose Island Campground: Lacrosse, WI

Sunset captured at Goose Island County Park

We’ve Officially Hit the Road!

Well, friends… we did it. We’ve officially set off on our big adventure. Cue the happy tears, the exhausted sighs, and the “is this real life?!” kind of moments.

The last couple of months have been a total whirlwind of emotions—equal parts excitement, chaos, and straight-up exhaustion. I’m not going to sugarcoat it—getting ready for this trip was a wild ride all on its own. Between training our management team to confidently run the business without us being there every day, prepping our house to rent out, and getting our new home on wheels road-ready, we were fried. Like, borderline crispy.

So, when we finally hit the road, Luke and I were done. Like, soul-level tired. We intentionally planned our first stop to be close to home—just a couple hours away at a low-key campground—so we could regroup, breathe, and maybe (hopefully) get some sleep. And let me tell you… we couldn’t have asked for a better spot to do just that.

Goose Island Campground – La Crosse, WI

🗓 Reservations: Click here to book

This little county park campground is seriously a hidden gem. Based on what I found online, I wasn’t expecting much. But for just $40 a night (water and electric included), we were pleasantly surprised. There’s no sewer hookup at the sites, but they do have a dump station—and since we were only staying four days, we were totally fine with that. Bonus: the bathroom was directly behind our site. Super convenient!

The campground sits right on the Mississippi River, tucked into some peaceful canals. We stayed at Site 1, which was right across from the beach. Since it was over 100 degrees while we were there (🥵), this was an absolute win. If you’re traveling with littles, heads up: the water drops off fast. I couldn’t touch the bottom within 15 feet of the shore, and there’s a slight current—so definitely bring those life jackets.

Oh, and despite the name Goose Island, we didn’t see a single goose. Not. One. 😂BUT! There were giant turtles everywhere, and they totally made up for it. We saw several each day and it felt like a real-life nature show.

Tent campers—beware. The raccoons here are next-level scavengers. Our neighbor said they were trying to break into their tent all night. Bold little bandits.

Campground Fun

One of the coolest features? They rent out kayaks and canoes for just $20 for four hours. YES, please. We paddled through the serene canals right off the shoreline, and it was absolutely dreamy. (Side note: trying to canoe with a Great Dane on board is… an experience. 10/10 recommend if you want some laughs and a core workout.)

On Saturday, the campground hosted River Valley Raptors, a nonprofit that does educational wildlife programs. We got to meet and learn about three fascinating birds:

🦅 A Falcon – Fun fact: they can read the words in a book from 100 yards away. Like, what?!🦉 A Burrowing Owl – If our eyes were as proportionally large as theirs, ours would be the size of fists.

🦃 A Turkey Vulture – Their stomach acid is as strong as battery acid. No joke. They’ve been fed animals with diseases like rabies and botulism, and afterward their poop tested completely sterile. Nature is wild.

Want to support them? Here’s their donation link.

A Slow Ending

Our last day was spent mostly inside the camper thanks to the heatwave. But honestly, a day full of naps and movies was exactly what we needed. We were still recovering from the chaos of launching this trip, and our bodies said, “Yeah… we’re done.”

All in all, Goose Island blew us away. We will absolutely be coming back and highly recommend it if you’re looking for somewhere peaceful, affordable, and full of nature’s little surprises.

What’s Next?

Now we’re off to explore our way across Minnesota and South Dakota before spending two weeks near Mount Rushmore. We’ll be there for the Fourth of July and I am seriously pumped. Fireworks in the Black Hills? Yes, please.

Thanks so much for following along on our adventure—we’re so excited to share this journey with you. Drop us a comment and tell us where you’re headed next. Whether it’s a road trip, a backyard camping night, or just a mental escape—you’re part of this journey too.

Let’s keep rollin’ ✨

—Tiffani