Campground is open year-round  
**Arrive prepared.** Go to mndnr.gov/myre for visitor alerts and seasonal updates.

Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park

Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Hayward, MN has a lot to offer. Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Hayward, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Find the best campgrounds near Hayward, MN. Read helpful reviews and tips to find the perfect camping option for you and your crew.

Hayward

The Best Camping Near Hayward, Minnesota

The car camping sites at this park are nice and well-shaded with a constant cool breeze to beat the heat.  The hiking trail on the island is cute as well.  One thing to be aware of, is there are a bunch of raccoons who have figured out this is the place to go for food so be sure to pack up all food before going to sleep at night.  

The near by town is also nice and fun to stop by for lunch.  

Camp on the Island for Shade and Trees

We loved the quietness of the campsite. We were able to hike the great trail system and buzz into town when we needed to. 

Quite and clean

Restrooms were very clean and had fabulous showers! Sites didn’t seems to be very level, but we eventually got our rig leveled. Staff was very nIce!  Beautiful area! 

Great camping!


Myre Big Island has two beautiful campgrounds with shady, private campsites and the lake is great for kayaking. The people who work there are incredibly kind and welcoming.

Love this campground!

We were passing through and needed a place to camp for the night. The camp hostess was so friendly and helped us get a perfect camp spot for our needs. Very quiet and clean. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Lovely Campsite

Amazing sunset views on the lake. I’m here during hibernating season for the mosquitoes so it’s very pleasant but I can imagine it’s not pretty during the summer!!

Amazing sunsets on the lake

This review is for the campground on Big Island, we stayed in spot 21.

The spots are very well maintained, but close to neighbors. The facilities are brand new, and very clean. Had a toilet, shower, and dish washing area. The park office does sell firewood and other things, so definitely take a look when you check in!

We dropped our kayak into the lake at the boat launch, which was a 2 minute drive to the other side of the island from the campsite. The lake was great, and calm.

We really enjoyed it here! Except for the mosquitoes, so pack repellent!

Great spots, new facilities, and easy access to lake.

We stayed in site 4e on Big Island. Incredible views of the lake and sunset. A beautiful new restroom &amp; shower facility. Water for filling tanks wasn’t available on the island but you could fill up at the adjacent campground. We’re not used to all of the bugs but if you are then it’s great! 

Beautiful lake & campground

We are camping here for one night. Site 14e. Nice large wooded site near the lake but with no lake view. Nice new shower building. Quiet tonight. We heard a Barred owl hooting. Campsites are spread out, with some trees separating and giving some privacy.

Camp on an island

I've always considered myself blessed to have this state park so close to home. This is a beautiful, well kept state park. Now days if you plan to camp on the weekends you basically have to make a reservation here as it is usually pretty busy but even than if you can get a spot most of the sites are pretty private, you'll hear the other campers but especially in big island there's a good amount of growth between camp sites. 
I've camped here many times throughout my life because it's close to home and is super convenient for a quick overnight or weekend trip, it's only a few miles from home but once I'm out there and camp is set up it's an escape and it wouldn't matter if it was a few miles or a few hundred miles, it's spending time in nature. There's really nice hiking trails here and access to the lake for fishing. Both white fox and big island have new bathrooms that are very nice and updated.

This one is close to home for me

There are two campgrounds in this state park. We snagged the last open site on the island. There are a mix of families, older folks and even a youth group. Our site is fully shaded as are most others. There is a central shower house and a couple vault toilets in the two loops. The trail heads out around the edge of the island. It’s a little over 1 mile long. There are a bunch of small trails leading to some spots to sit along the water. We headed down each offshoot and enjoyed our visit. A paved trail leads back and ends up right across from our campsite. The weather is cool so we stayed an extra day. The place cleared out on Sunday night. We are the only ones in this loop. We would stay here again but not in the middle sites. We feel too much in view of everyone which causes some distraction for the dog. 

Nice wooded area off the highway 

We stayed at the Big Island Campground in the beginning of August. The sites seemed pretty large to us. My kids loved skipping rocks at the little shore at the entrance to the big island. You cannot swim in the lake but there are canoes and kayaks to rent. We really enjoyed our time here. Rangers were super nice and helpful. We hiked about 5 miles, saw a few deer and other animals. Bathrooms were very nice and clean. All of us that remembered to reapply bug spray didn't have any bites.

Great spot in SE MN

We arrived after dark last night so we weren't able to see the gorgeous view until the sun rose! Luckily we woke up early and went for a walk right as the sun was coming up. It was quite cold, a little over 20°, but that meant the lake was frozen solid so we got to walk around on it! Tons of fun. Unfortunately the bathhouse, water spigots, and dump station were closed. That is not a super big deal since we have a camper. And it was publicized on their website about the dump stations being closed. The sites were spacious, the one we were in was non electric and a back-in site. But for $24 a night it was pretty nice! Especially would be worth it if more of the amenities had been open, but with how cold it is, it's very understandable that they would have them closed. There was still an outhouse with a vault toilet that was open. Unsure if there is a working sink because we did not use it. We had to call to make a same day reservation which was a tad bit annoying but the man on the phone was very helpful and nice so not bad at all. 

Great Campground, Even in 20° Weather

Ok cell coverage for Verizon, no issues web surfing. Site 7E was larger with a good size and distance from others. Not the fault of the campground, bugs were in full force. Tons of tree coverage and very humid making it a great place for the little buggers. Would probably visit October/November when cold gets rid of them and the tree coverage. Hard to see the amazing views in the summer. Again, no fault of campground, just a consideration. Also, no real potty spots for pups. Either weeds/woods or muddy spots attempting to be grass/weeds. Best was around the showers/restrooms. Those were by far the shining gem of this campground. Fantastic bathing facilities. We’re self contained, so didn’t need it but my spouse did go use the restroom there instead of waiting. We peeked in the showers and they were really nice looking. 

Nice Campground 

We were here mid week and pretty much had the place to ourselves. Beautiful old growth forest with lots of shade. For July the bugs weren’t bad. After traveling across South Dakota and dealing with 100 plus temperatures with no shade this was a welcome change. 
The rangers and hosts were welcoming and helpful. The bathrooms and showers are ultra modern and clean. We are planing on stopping back here on our way home. 

We loved it  

Big Island was nicely wooded, keeping a very cool temperature but with little cover from other campsites.  Tent pad and fire pit were well maintained.
Restrooms were well cleaned, if not exactly maintained (soap and Toilet paper ran light over the weekend, and spiders hung out after a cleaning). ADA accessible.
Even with a few trails closed, plenty of trails to explore around the Big Island campground. 
Rented a tandem kayak from the ranger station, looked like one of the two kayaks, plenty of canoes for rent. 
Spotted pelicans, turtles, and birds along the shore. 
Campground host never came by, but the ranger was spotted twice once to keep hammock straps off a smaller tree. 
Mosquitos were out in full force during the cooler weather.

Big Fun, Even With Closures

Met up with friends to get outside. They brought their dogs and we had a grand time. Windy weather kept us off the lake - there are canoes and kayaks for rent at the state park - but we took several walks around the island. We visited a nearby winery and we went geocaching around the area. Our friends’ site backed up to ours. A group of retirees in RVs were camped on three sides of us, and they spent the weekend hanging out together. One guy shared the PB rice krispie bars he made. They had clean bathrooms with showers. There was an outdoor dishwashing station, convenient for disposing of our washbasin full of gray water.

Photos of Big Island Campground — Myre-Big Island State Park

Real photos from real campers