Our private campground can be found just north of Lake Tanglewood, near the dam. The camping area offers a fun play area for the kids, a pavilion with free wi-fi, bathhouse, dog run, and a cozy, quiet place to relax and enjoy your summer nights! We offer several different ways to camp including:
Daily Camping
Members and guests may camp in one of our available electric or primitive camping sites on a per-night basis. Maximum stay of 16 nights before you're required to move and no reservations are taken for daily camping sites.
Seasonal Camping
Lake Wildwood offers summer seasonal electric camping to members from May through November. A lottery may be held to assign sites when demand exceeds availability.
Same-Site Camping
If a member obtains a seasonal camping site and meets all requirements they may be eligible for same-site camping. This allows a member to maintain their camping site from year to year without needing to enter the summer seasonal camping lottery each year.
Visit our detailed camping section for more information including pricing and camping documents.
Article by Kathye Brock-Wrobleski
It started with a simple question from Mindy Taber, “Can we move that totem pole so people can see it?”
“What totem pole?”
In the 1960s, Erich Ohrt, Sr., born in Hamburg, Germany and raised in the Village of Limestone, IL, was a scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America. Erich Ohrt Sr., and his sons, Steve and Erich and the boy scouts, built totem poles.
In 1967, Erich Ohrt Sr., Jack Strickland, and Jim Wilson who all belonged to the Lake Wildwood Association got an innovate idea to level out the area that is the current campground. They worked tirelessly in the evenings and on weekends operating heavy equipment to create a section at Lake Wildwood that families could use to make a lifetime of memories. When it came to leveling out the huge mound, it was rumored that when Boyce Cascade sold the property, they believed that mound was an ancient Indian Burial Ground. Showing respect, Erich Ohrt Sr., with help from his sons and the boy scouts, constructed a totem pole that was placed at the foot of the mound and dedicated it to Lake Wildwood between 1974-1975.
The original colors used to paint the totem pole are unknown but Erich Ohrt Sr’s son, Erich, who has camped at Lake Wildwood for over 50 years, remembered they were colors that the Indians couldn’t make using what they found in nature. Numerous members like Erich and his son Craig, Tom Chorak and Troy Hesser fondly remember playing and climbing on the totem pole as children while camping with their families.
Former camper and now homeowner at the Lake, Joe Grahovec, kept the totem pole area clean and on display while he and his wife camped for years. The area then became overgrown with foliage and the paint wore off and soon the totem pole was hidden from members and guests.
Mindy’s question sparked more questions and led to an idea by Donna Rutgens to restore the totem pole. In the summer of 2018, during the 50-year celebration, Erich Ohrt, Tom Chorak, and Troy Hesser cleaned up the area, painted the totem pole, and made a sign to re-dedicate it to the Association. Brian Eggleston, Board Member, Joe Rutgens, Campground Host, Erich, and Virginia Ohrt, Tom Chorak, and Troy Hesser are seen in the pictures showing the amazing job they did. At night, the totem pole is lit up for all to enjoy.
In his lifetime, Erich Ohrt Sr. made four totem poles. Two are located in Morris, IL with the Boy Scouts of America. One, an identical pole to the one at Lake Wildwood, was in Custer Park but the land was sold and the whereabouts of the totem pole are unknown.
A very special thank you to Renee Edmiston Campagna of Tigbe Studios for the pictures.
