This small town on State Highway 17 between Rhinelander and Eagle River in northeastern Oneida County has a sweet history—the area has been known as Sugar Camp since members of the Flambeau Tribe of the Ojibwe Nation built a settlement around Sugar Camp Lake and Indian Lake hundreds of years ago. The tribe gathered wild rice around the lakes and harvested sap from the area’s plentiful maple trees, giving the area its name.
The Sugar Camp name stuck around even through northern Wisconsin’s logging years in the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, when the area was officially known as Robbins (named after Frederick S. Robbins, who ran a lumber company in the area). Today, Sugar Camp is home to several bars, restaurants, and places to stay, as well as local recreation options like the Tara Lila Trails (Ripco Road Unit) and the Rice Lake State Natural Area.
