Lake Maria State Park Campground

If you're looking for a beginner backpack spot, with privacy and not too far from the cities, then this will fit your bill. You can either do a short-hike from the parking lot via the road to B5 or a 1 mile easy hike via the trail. The backpacking sites are very spread out, we could barely tell anyone else was at the park with us ever. 

B5 was beautiful, already lots of mosquitos for May (and appeared poison oak/ivy). I'm not sure what this park does differently than most other parks, but our privy was LOADED with spiders. I get it, it's the outdoors. But still, I've used many in-ground toilets and never had dozens of spiders covering the toilet seat/front. 

Another reason we chose this park was for birding. The park ranger at check-in was not helpful and then said he's never heard of MN State Parks free birding kits to borrow, though it's clearly listed on several spots on their website. Bummer, but we still enjoyed our time.

I like the primitive sites the best. Nice lake to hike down to as well. I went in August though and the mosquitos were awful.

It was November but that's when our anniversary lands and dang it we wanted to go camping so we did. Walk in site# BP6 was a hilly 1/4 mile hike one way but worth the view. We were right on the edge looking out over a small lake with towering trees all around us. Each BP site also has it's own private latrine house slightly apart from your site. Nothing fancy but it was clean and private. There are miles of trails at this park. We didn't get to see any of the endangered Blandings turtles but there were trumpeter swans, this is a huge migratory area for the birds.

Did a camping weekend with a buddy and had so much fun. We hiked and made yummy campfire grub and hammocked and had a generally relaxing time.

I like that they have some easy drive in spots as well as some more private hike in spots.

We decided on a whim to camp here for a few days during a long weekend off - we were excited to do a bit of exploring and spend some quality time together, and didn't want to stray too far from home. This campground is perfect! We backpacked in and even took our dog - she loved it!!! Great tenting spots and even better scenery!

Site was great. Good shade cover, room for 4 hammocks and a small tent. Closer to other sites than I was hoping but overall a great oasis less than an hour from Minneapolis.

Spots were nice small. Dirt ground and tent pad. Each site had a fire ring and picnic table as well as a food box (we’re assuming) most sites fairly visible from the trail but not all. Bathrooms near by clusters of sites but did not appear to have toilet paper so you gotta bring your own.

I chose Lake Maria for a solo camping excursion because it was close to the Cities, but still offered the level of seclusion I wanted. I am not new to camping, but haven't been in a few years, and never solo.

I chose B6 because, on the MN DNR Reservation website, it said it was a .25 mile hike. Every other campsite was a mile+. Since I was getting back into the groove of camping, I made this choice so I'd have an easier time, especially because I'm no so active anymore working from home during a pandemic!

Well, let me tell you, it was definitely a mile or so hike from the parking lot to B6, despite what the website said. That's why I'm rating 4 stars instead of 5. I was ill-prepared, and I spent most of my time making trips back to the lot to get water and firewood from my car than exploring the park. Part of this is my fault for not having a big enough water jug and things like that, but I genuinely think the website was deceiving. Maybe there's another path or place to park that's quicker that I don't know about? Regardless, listen when people say all the sites are about a mile, because they're right!

Now, onto the positives:

• My site was secluded, but still fairly close to the road and group camp sites. I could hear people at the group camp because they were pretty loud, but if they weren't it would have been very quiet. I didn't run into too many people in general. Even though I could hear cars going down the road and it was a short jaunt to it through the woods, it was not distracting from the scenery.
• It wasn't excessively buggy like some say- I was fine in my short sleeves and leggings with some backwoods bug spray! (It did get worse the day after it rained, but that's to be expected.)
• Lots of mushrooms in the woods! I'm not great at identification, but I am fairly certain I saw some golden chanterelles and other treats. (Don't take my word for it, though!)
• B6 is on a pond, which was gorgeous. A bit steep getting to it, but nice to sit on the edge and look at the many frogs and turtles! (Blanding's turtles, which are endangered!)
• Lots of wildlife sounds you definitely don't get to hear in the city!
• Trails were well-marked and trodden, though not totally level.
• Firewood was available at the office (self-pay).

All in all, I will certainly come back here, but a bit more prepared for the hike to and from the sites. You can't beat the level of solitude you get here considering how close it is to the metro.

This is a fantastic park. No views or anything, just miles of thick forest. A million and one birds. Backpack site 4 is 3/4 of a moderately hilly mile from the parking lot (there is more than one lot at the park). There's a long footpath (like a driveway) off the hiking trail, so it's an extremely private site. The trees form a canopy over the circular site. You can cut through a few feet of grass to the lake/marsh. 

It is a low lying site in a park with a lot of water, so be prepared for more bugs than your average MN campsite in the summer (and that's really saying something!). No bugs for our trip this May, but we come here often.

This is one of the best camping state parks I’ve ever been to. One bit of advice if you haven’t been to the backpacking camp sites here. Buy a cart. We made way too many trips back and forth and less time enjoying the amazing state park. The trails are well maintained. The camp site was clean and secluded from other sites.

Appreciated the camper cabin and the clean sites. Most if not all sites are in the woods from what I could tell so there is a lot of leaves. Good trails and a fun experience.

1/4/20-1/5/20. BP6

First camping trip of 2020. You can reserve campsites with the online reservation system this year, which was great. This site was a 1/4 hike (we snowshoed) from the parking area. It was down a hill and set on the cliff of a pond. There were not any other sites nearby, it was very private and had its own portable toilet.. I think it would be equally beautiful in the summer. They had hiking, xcountry skiing and snowshoeing. We went snowshoeing around midnight under a full moon and had the place to ourselves.

There are nice hiking trails right out of the campsite and we went exploring. We liked BP1, 2 and 3. Each were set on a lake and BP1 had a mostly unobstructed view of the lake. The only drawback was that BP1 does not have its own toilet and you have to walk a ways, back over to BP2.

We drove to the other parking area to do some more hiking and exploring. The hiking club trail is on this loop. We didn’t like the campsites on the west end as much (BP9-BP12) as they were all too close together and open. The campsites on lakes looked fabulous - BP8, BP14 and I assume BP5 is nice, but a big hike. The camper cabins looked wonderful as well.

I loved all the trails and hiking opportunities. We will definitely visit again.

Every site is a hike in site, including the three camper cabins. The trails are groomed enough that if you have a cart, you can pack your gear in that way too.

My wife and I stayed at camper cabin 1 on this Mon-Wed trip, and it is secluded and beautiful. You have to take a little bridge to get to it even.

There was a major storm that came through Sun-Mon, and this being a wetlands, things got muddy and buggy quick. The area around the cabin itself was good though as a breeze coming off the lake kept the bugs at bay.

The cabin itself is very cozy. Two bunks with queen on the bottom and twin on the top to sleep six total. A couple of good spots outside you can hang hammocks from too. Bring lighting as the cabin solar light only gives you a couple hours (assuming it could even charge up that day and it didn’t our first day) and it’s so wooded it gets dark very quickly. Everything is sealed up nice and tight too, so no bugs in the cabin unless you tear the screens or leave the door open.

All the necessary items to clean up the cabin were provided, broom, dustpan, spray bottle, cloth, bucket, so that made cleaning up easy.

I rated 4 stars based on three factors.

1. Park office is only open Friday through Sunday. Makes sense seeing as that if it’s not that busy of a place during this week of July 4th, I can’t imagine other weeks getting busier.

2. Rain can get things boggy quick, possibly closing the trail to your site even.

3. State website says fire wood is provided, and two cords were at the cabin when we got there, but nothing said we had to pay for the wood. It’s fine, but I’ll have to run into town as I didn’t bring cash with me to leave in the envelope at the office, since the office is closed during the week, which also means if I needed more than these two cords, I have to run to town... As of this review, cords were $6 at the park and $5.50 at the truck stop up by I-94.

Otherwise the place is great and I can imagine coming back again with friends and trying out the hike in tent sites too.

TLDR version: Great place, quiet on these weekdays during a holiday week, bring firewood, use a cart if you have one to bring things to your site.

We arrived hours before the office was supposed to close, but the firewood was locked up. After a long hike we got setup in the dark, nearly getting lost on the poorly marked trail. Went back to get some safe move certified firewood. (No good way to transport more than a few bundles on that terrain. Recommend fake logs for longer burning and easy transport.) By the time we got back and setup with a fire and food, we were exhausted. During the day though, it was pretty and tranquil. Didn't hear much from the neighboring sites. If we knew what to expect, it would've been a better start to the trip. We would possibly go again.

For being so close to the twin cities, this park boasts some really great camp sites.

Ive camped here several times and enjoyed all the sites I’ve had. 1-4 are pretty objectively the best ones but there’s no bad sites IMO

If you’re lucky you’ll see a Blandings Turtle, wow! State turtle of MN dontchaknow

Lots of other great stuff to see too. Lots of bugs but like, deal with it, you’re in the wetlands of the big woods

This is one of my favorite parks to spend a night in when I don’t have time for an extended trip farther from home, living in Maple Grove this is only a 40 minute drive but you feel like you have really gotten away! I’ve found it’s also easier to snag a campsite at the last minute unlike most of the other parks around this area of the state, and especially during the week when you will likely have the park to yourself.

The hikes to the campsites are easy, wide trails without much up and down and most are about a mile hike in. The spots that I have stayed at have good places to set up a hammock, and all sites have a fire ring, picnic table and food locker.

Walking in on the trails can be a little buggy in late summer but clears up around the campsite, just make sure to bring some bug spray. The variety of birds in the park are fun to observe, the owls were hooting loudly all through the evening and there were a few woodpeckers hanging around our site. These sites in specific also had an outhouse really close, just remember to bring your own toilet paper. Sites 1 and 3 are on a little lake, but the water is more swampy so don’t plan on swimming and it’s probably not ideal for cooking or being purified for drinking water. There is a water pump in the parking lot where you can restock. You also shouldn’t have any trouble finding downed wood for fire around either of these sites. It’s secluded and you don’t see any other campers here but easy enough to get to! The view of the water from site 1 is beautiful and the sunset over the lake in October with the fall colors is a must see.

Lake Maria State Park has great hiking trails for the whole family, the camper cabins are spread throughout and are hike in only. Each cabin is pretty secluded and on a body of water. The cabins themselves are very basic, but the setting is awesome.

I haven’t stayed in the backpack tent sites, but I bet they’re fantastic.

This park is only about 50 minutes away from me, and for hiking/camping I only think it is worth a trip in the fall. I went a few weeks ago for the first time in the summer and I thought it was just kind of average as far as hiking goes. Campsites and cabins are walk-in only as far as I know and the site I visited had a private rustic pit toilet a stones throw away. The campsites ARE nice though and private, this just felt too close to home and too similar to parks that are closer. Last year the middle of October was prime color season- drive to the very end where Little Mary Lake is (the bigger lake) and behold- your new destination for your annual family portrait session. Seriously, the yellow leaves are VIVID.

Really enjoyed the short hike to our campsite, BP7. There is a bathroom and water station before you head out which is awesome! The campsite was secluded and absolutely beautiful. Definitely will be going back again!

Campsite included: 2 tent pads, a few areas to hammock, fire ring w/large grill, small bench, picnic table, bear box and latrine.

I don’t think I would change a thing about the campsite.

This is a beautiful park! There are plenty of driving/biking/walking paths. Very woodsy and there's lots of wild animals!

After hiking Lake Maria SP many times, and camping 5 times, it's my go-to spot for a consistently great experience. I hosted a ladies weekend, taught my stepson how to overnight, and have solo camped. The trails are well marked, there are easily accessible sites, as well as more rugged. Water, privies, and wood are available.

The lake is beautiful!

Give her a go!

The camper cabins were cozy and I loved reading the logs of past visitors!

This is a great place to adventure into backpacking. The sites are about a mile hike in. We went in late April and we able to hammock camp. It felt isolated even though other sites were nearby. I also appreciated the vault toilets. Bring your own tp.

My friend had been here before and picked out the most beautiful site for us overlooking a gorgeous, untouched prairie. There was a nice picnic table and fire ring available at our site. We hiked in and had a little trouble finding trees to hang our packs from due to a lot of new growth, but overall, this place is somewhere is go back to and recommend. It's one of the nicest and cleanest places I've camped within 2 hours of the metro.

The site won't let me add photos :(

I visit here often, great walking trails and wildlife.

We had a great time camping here with the family!

First: my only complaint... The pump for the water was very slow.

Ok done... This lovely spot is a one mile hike from the parking lot, so be ready to walk if you need to make more than one trip.

The hike itself is rather hilly, and the site is about a quarter mile off of the main path. When I went, the black flies were vicious, so be careful.

You could see the occasional car from the site, which is surrounded by a small pond. You could hear voices, but not see anyone. In fact, I went the whole weekend without seeing a single person.

There are two trees perfectly spaced for a hammock.

Love this spot.

Stayed here overnight being its so close to my hometown. Its a nice quiet park and so are the campgrounds!!! They also have little cabins to stay in that id like to try out!

To be fair I'd like to preface this review with a word of caution. We went in the middle of Summer. High bug season. Take a look at other reviews as they come in and see what time of year they visited. Maybe they'll have a similar experience, maybe not. The fun thing about this state park is that all the sites are hike in. No drive up camping. It has a couple camper cabins as well. But everyone is spread out along a few trails so it's a little quieter than your typical campground.

When we pulled up to the parking lot we knew we were in trouble. The black flies were dive bombing the car like a scene from Armageddon. We prepared the kiddos for a quick grab and run and jumped out of the car. Our campsite was about a mile from the car so we started at a quick walk onto the trail. First step onto the grassy trail exploded in a cloud of mosquitos. Walking along the kids all looked like Pig-Pen from Peanuts. Even though we'd sprayed everyone down the bugs must have felt safety in numbers because we were covered in welts in no time flat. That's when the jogging began. Soon we were running and also planning out how to set up camp the quickest. Little tent first, throw the kids in, big tent second and then everyone in there while dinner was being made. Luckily at our actual campsite the bugs weren't quite as horrendous so we were able to get out a bit after applying a few more layers of repellant. Our site was on a short private trail off the main loop and opened up to a decent space. We had a picnic table and fire pit and plenty of space for our two tents and an area to play. We were all entertained by the plethora of mushroom varieties that surrounded the camp. We spent a bit of time outside and then played in the tent the rest of the night. Unfortunately the bugs were bad enough that the next morning we just packed up and headed back to the car. I would like to come back to this park in late fall and try out a camper cabin. There are three of them all on lakes so if you can get past buggy season it has the potential to be a great experience. Have you ever been to Lake Maria? Stayed in one of their camper cabins? Let me know, I'd love to hear how it went!