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HawkGTRider:

--- Quote from: Ride4MS on December 18, 2017, 12:08:11 pm ---June in La Crosse could be humid also.  Not the most enjoyable for sleeping after a long days ride, in a tent.  Both locations are next to river, in valley, with lots of trees, and with very little breeze, if any.  Oh, neither place has crocodiles in the river that I am aware of.  But, you may see a lot of Bald Eagles, and other wild life.

--- End quote ---

It gotta be better than pitching a tent behind the hotel in Oklahoma. It may be a slight exaggeration, but I seem to recall near 90 degree temps until after 10:30-11:00 P.M. each night. You'd lay there in your tent sweating until you finally fell asleep from sheer exhaustion. That was nasty.

There was a small group of campers in Staunton in 2009, and we had a campfire, conversation, and adult beverages each night. It's one of my most fond memories of any STAR.

Ride4MS:
That sounds almost like camping, when I was in the US Army in Ft. Bliss, TX.  We went to White Sands Missile Range, NM in the Fall 1973.   I was a Hawk Missile Technician and we slept in the back of a running deuce and half truck, while running, so we could keep the lights on so the tanks would see us at night as they came over the sand dunes.  A few trucks got hit by the tanks.  It was 95F+ when we went to sleep and woke during the night with the cool desert temp below 50F and then cover up and by morning there was frost.  We did not have a tent or cover over us, just looking at the stars.  And it was not STAR 1973 either.
After those camping adventures, I preferred to camp, only in a van or camper, no tents.  But, I did tent camp on several two week adventures in the US Army Reserves for another 23 years.  Ft. Mc Coy is just down the road from La Crosse.  And on the river near Winona, MN, just up the river.
What memories.
The Mississippi River area is a great place to camp with all the sounds of the birds, animals and other animals in the water.

HawkGTRider:

--- Quote from: HawkGTRider on December 18, 2017, 02:43:21 am ---Is anyone interested in camping during STAR? I'm giving some thought to pitching a tent 8 1/2 miles from the Radisson at the Goose Island Campground. Fees run about $22/night with a small fee for a shower. Call me a cheapskate if you mustr, but spending less for the entire event as I would for one night at one of the hotels is tempting.


--- End quote ---

I've been doing some more investigating regarding camp sites. I'm not really a big fan of commercial campgrounds with all of their so-called family activities and such. So in the interest of staying away from such places, I expanded my search to a couple of area state parks. Each of these are around 1/2 hour from LaCrosse, and that's something I can live with.
The first is on the Wisconsin side of the river north of LaCrosse. Perrot State Park (http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/parks/name/perrot/) is where the Trempealeau River converges with the Mississippi River. This would probably be a pretty good option, and would undoubtedly be much more quiet than any of the commercial campgrounds. But being right on the river, it's going to attract a fair share of boaters and fishermen.
The second is on the Minnesota side of the river, also north of LaCrosse. Great River Bluffs State Park (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/great_river_bluffs/index.html) really kind of trips my trigger, because while it overlooks the Mississippi River, it's not right on the river. Therefore, it probably won't be full of boaters and such (not that there's anything wrong with boats...I had one once and still have a canoe). It has only 31 sites with none equipped with any of those silly electric hookups. I'm going to guess that an experience there will be a lot closer to why I've enjoyed camping over the years. I'm not committed yet, but I think this may be the way I go.

Patmo:
Anyone interested in doing an Airbnb or Homeaway rental?  Looks like there are some decent opportunities, with room for small groups, that are within minutes of the host hotel.

Ride4MS:
We have not been to either park, so not sure what they are like for camping.  As far as the river with boats, the boats are mainly on the weekend, so not a big problem.  Goose Island, did look more like a party campground, unless you camped way off the main entrance, away from the party shelter, which is possible. 


The other thing to keep in mind is most state parks also require a state park permit, and some don't except reservations.  Veterans Memorial Park about 9 miles east of La Crosse is a nice campground, but is a first come first served.


When you, or anyone else narrows it down, and if you would like me to check it out, send me a pm and I will check it out when I get to the area.  We are thinking about going to the La Crosse area in February.


Airbnb is a great way to go also.  Can get a whole house very cheap sometimes.  We have used airbnb several times and will be doing it again in mid-January for South Padre Island.

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