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Moving back to Minnesota next month and looking forward to the great camping opportunities!
I've notice on the DNR website that "reservations" for tent camping are recommended. We often camp in the Buffalo National River area in Arkansas and have never had to worry about reservations.
I guess my question is how necessary are reservations for camping MN state & national parks? If they are a must, how far in advance should I make them to get a good site?
Also, any recommendations on a great park to camp?
If you want an electric site, I would make a reservation. If you are going rustic, you probably don't need them. Each park keeps a few sites as "unreservable" and are open first come, first serve each day (but can be rented for multiple days). It's easy to reserve them online though. Some people make reservations for the following year as they are leaving camp but most 90 days or so for the regulars.
If you are planning on going camping in most of the State Parks along the northshore, or up near Ely area you had best make your reservations right about now, as they will be hard to find a spot during the summer.
golfgal is correct in that most or all the State Parks have non reservable sites, however me personaly would never chance one would be open unless it is in late of the season or very early in the season, but for sure get your reservations asap for this summer.
As for recomendations I'd say Itasca State Park, where the headwaters of the Mississippi River, there are alot of things to do in this park, including remote walk in sites. Ancient bison kill site, Oldest and largest Red Pine tree and White Pine tree, Indian burial mounds, old post office, walk accross the headwaters, tons of other things also including hiking and biking trails.
Top four parks that Id say were the most popular are in this order,
Toss up between Gooseberry Falls and Itasca, but Id say Itasca, Jay Cook, Gooseberry Falls, defenetly Split Rock LIght House, BearHead would be in there also.
Why I like Jay Cook State Parks is the swinging bridge, that bridge is so cool, the miles of remote hiking trails, root beer colored river, taking pictures. I can be there in 30 minutes from my home.
My State Park sticker expires in June of this year, so I go to many of the northern Mn parks quite often. Soon the wildflowers will be up. In the back of the campground there is a huge rock that is really fun to climb on and get to the top. Its always intresting to view the river down below and the dam on the drive in from 23. I always keep an eye out for mud slides as the sign tells me to do so, we always say no mud slides today and laugh. The original swinging bridge was washed out by ice some years ago, and the one now sways back and forth some, creaks and groans when passing over, pretty neat.
Once over the bridge my favorite trails are to the left, in one portion you can see the trails are well marked and easy to follow.
Why I like Gooseberry State Park is of how I remember it years ago, when cars parked along the 61 to enter the park, that bridge has now been replaced, and parking along the highway is no longer done like that, the visitor center is outstanding with many things to do and see on the inside. Gooseberry is also one of the only parks that visitors can park in the main lot and not pay, unless you drive into the park past the outpost, one of the many reasons this park is so popular.
The out house the CCC camps built is still up there, over looking the lake, however it is not being used any more. Walking the trail on the north side of the river the elevation is quite abit higher, therefore more stairs, but views spetacular, but the trail on the south side of the river is much better as far as being closer to the river, and nearing the lake there are very good possibilites of seeing beaver, and eagles overhead. Many times I have spotted deer down below near the beaver houses. The sunsets are breath taking form here.
The trail will lead you to Lake Superior, and its sandy beach, cross the river here and look for agates along the sand bar. Observe the old foundations of fire pits and where wooden picnic tables stood long ago, concrete pilliars still capture 1" thick chains, slowly enduring the ravages of time. What these chains were used for I know not. The area out before you is a large surface of flat sloped rock, with an 8'x10' round rock sitting in the middle, how did this rock get here? In the center next to the waters edge is what I call the bowl, when on windy days the waves smash into here and shoot upwards, with a loud hollow gallooop sound.
The falls themselves the name sake of the park can be a trickle, or a raging thunder. Walking on the trails upstream passing under the highway you will come to two other falls, and the trails beyond will bring solitude if sought.
The Superior Hiking Trail is easily found here as well as in all the northshore state parks.
Why I like the Split Rock State Park is its ruggedness. The lighthouse is outstanding quite possibly the most photographed of any state park. The terrain and trails makes this park attractive, with mountain bike trails and remote hike in camping.
Tettigouchie and Temperance River State Parks are hiking favorites as well.
Have fun
Last edited by demtion35; 04-16-2012 at 07:05 PM..
Part of the deal is most of the MN State Parks are mostly drive in sites with gravel pads. Works great for RVs and pull behind campers, but often not so great for tent camping. Many of the parks have more rustic type sites or "walk in" sites that work great for tenters. Due to lower numbers of these sites, you do want to get reservations.
We only have one National Park, and it is really meant for boat access to get to the sites. Lot of house boaters and canoe camping up there.
There is a number of Federal Campgrounds too. I find them to be more suitable for tenting than most of the state parks. They tend to have more rustic services, but you you will not be hearing a hair dryer at 5:00 a.m. too. Here is a link to one of them. Facility Details - BIRCH LAKE CAMPGROUND, MN - Recreation.gov
Lastly the state reservation system is in process of upgrade an they ran into a few problems. They should be back online again now, but I am not sure about that.
Part of the deal is most of the MN State Parks are mostly drive in sites with gravel pads. Works great for RVs and pull behind campers, but often not so great for tent camping. Many of the parks have more rustic type sites or "walk in" sites that work great for tenters. Due to lower numbers of these sites, you do want to get reservations.
We only have one National Park, and it is really meant for boat access to get to the sites. Lot of house boaters and canoe camping up there.
There is a number of Federal Campgrounds too. I find them to be more suitable for tenting than most of the state parks. They tend to have more rustic services, but you you will not be hearing a hair dryer at 5:00 a.m. too. Here is a link to one of them. Facility Details - BIRCH LAKE CAMPGROUND, MN - Recreation.gov
Lastly the state reservation system is in process of upgrade an they ran into a few problems. They should be back online again now, but I am not sure about that.
While we don't to a lot of camping, we do some and tent camp at modern sites. Yes, the spot we park our car is gravel, but we have never lacked for room, grass, flat spots to put our tent (8 person tent) at the state parks we have used--Flandreau, Sibley, Camden, Big Stone, Fort Ridgley, Nerstrand. We usually go with several families and half have campers and half tent camp and we haven't had problems at any of these parks with tent sites.
My personal favorite is Fort Ridgley. It's a smaller site, not nearly as many people as you find elsewhere and good sized sites. Big Stone is HUGE, spread out, with a lot of open space for games, etc. Our kids love that one, especially because of the 32 mile long lake. It's quite a ways out of town though so getting ice, etc. is kind of a pain. Sibley is nice because it is close to "stuff" so if the weather is bad, there are things to do around Spicer/Willmar.
If you are planning on going camping in most of the State Parks along the northshore, or up near Ely area you had best make your reservations right about now, as they will be hard to find a spot during the summer.
golfgal is correct in that most or all the State Parks have non reservable sites, however me personaly would never chance one would be open unless it is in late of the season or very early in the season, but for sure get your reservations asap for this summer.
As for recomendations I'd say Itasca State Park, where the headwaters of the Mississippi River, there are alot of things to do in this park, including remote walk in sites. Ancient bison kill site, Oldest and largest Red Pine tree and White Pine tree, Indian burial mounds, old post office, walk accross the headwaters, tons of other things also including hiking and biking trails.
Top four parks that Id say were the most popular are in this order,
Toss up between Gooseberry Falls and Itasca, but Id say Itasca, Jay Cook, Gooseberry Falls, defenetly Split Rock LIght House, BearHead would be in there also.
Why I like Jay Cook State Parks is the swinging bridge, that bridge is so cool, the miles of remote hiking trails, root beer colored river, taking pictures. I can be there in 30 minutes from my home.
My State Park sticker expires in June of this year, so I go to many of the northern Mn parks quite often. Soon the wildflowers will be up. In the back of the campground there is a huge rock that is really fun to climb on and get to the top. Its always intresting to view the river down below and the dam on the drive in from 23. I always keep an eye out for mud slides as the sign tells me to do so, we always say no mud slides today and laugh. The original swinging bridge was washed out by ice some years ago, and the one now sways back and forth some, creaks and groans when passing over, pretty neat.
Once over the bridge my favorite trails are to the left, in one portion you can see the trails are well marked and easy to follow.
Why I like Gooseberry State Park is of how I remember it years ago, when cars parked along the 61 to enter the park, that bridge has now been replaced, and parking along the highway is no longer done like that, the visitor center is outstanding with many things to do and see on the inside. Gooseberry is also one of the only parks that visitors can park in the main lot and not pay, unless you drive into the park past the outpost, one of the many reasons this park is so popular.
The out house the CCC camps built is still up there, over looking the lake, however it is not being used any more. Walking the trail on the north side of the river the elevation is quite abit higher, therefore more stairs, but views spetacular, but the trail on the south side of the river is much better as far as being closer to the river, and nearing the lake there are very good possibilites of seeing beaver, and eagles overhead. Many times I have spotted deer down below near the beaver houses. The sunsets are breath taking form here.
The trail will lead you to Lake Superior, and its sandy beach, cross the river here and look for agates along the sand bar. Observe the old foundations of fire pits and where wooden picnic tables stood long ago, concrete pilliars still capture 1" thick chains, slowly enduring the ravages of time. What these chains were used for I know not. The area out before you is a large surface of flat sloped rock, with an 8'x10' round rock sitting in the middle, how did this rock get here? In the center next to the waters edge is what I call the bowl, when on windy days the waves smash into here and shoot upwards, with a loud hollow gallooop sound.
The falls themselves the name sake of the park can be a trickle, or a raging thunder. Walking on the trails upstream passing under the highway you will come to two other falls, and the trails beyond will bring solitude if sought.
The Superior Hiking Trail is easily found here as well as in all the northshore state parks.
Why I like the Split Rock State Park is its ruggedness. The lighthouse is outstanding quite possibly the most photographed of any state park. The terrain and trails makes this park attractive, with mountain bike trails and remote hike in camping.
Tettigouchie and Temperance River State Parks are hiking favorites as well.
Have fun
Your response was fantastic! I'm going to copy and paste it to a word doc for later use. Lol. I've been to Gooseberry & Split Rock as a child, but I look forward to going back in adulthood with a professional camera!
Thanks to everyone for the responses. I'll make some reservations this week and hope I can get a good spot for later this summer! Looking forward to some Minnesota exploration!!!!
To add to the list above we had a great time at Whitewater. It's known for having few mosquito's and I can attest to that. I'd recommend it for late summer so you can enjoy the bug break.
Here are a just a few more Minnesota state park ideas among our favorites:
Interstate State Park is located on the Minnesota and Wisconsin border at Taylors Falls. This is both one of the most scenic, and also most popular state parks. You can view the bluffs on a riverboat ride and learn about the glacial potholes in the park.
We also love Frontenac State Park near Red Wing for it's scenic beauty and bird watching, Blue Mounds State Park near Pipestone, a great area to explore Native American history in Minnesota, and Zipple Bay State Park on the shores of Lake of the Woods in Northern Minnesota.
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