Baker Campground - Baker Park Reserve

This is just the best campground that is close to Minneapolis! Peaceful, quiet, with spacious sites that are situated in a staggered way, so you never feel like you’re on top of each other. The lake was a bit reedy and silty but overall a fantastic and easy option.

Baker is our favorite campground when visiting family in the Twin Cities.  The grounds are absoutely gorgeous, with huge hardwoods that provide lots of shaded sites.  RV pads are gravel.  Shower facilities are very nice.  We enjoy walking the grounds down to the lake.

Lake Independence has occasional bouts of bacteria that can result in beach closings.  So if swimming is an important part of your camping getaway, be sure to check whether the beach is open.  

I can also say the site D03 is densely shaded, which is great for spreading out on hot summer days, but there is little grass near the pad which can result in muddy conditions after a deluge.

The "loops" aren't straight so it gives a variety of sizes in the sites. Some loops are electric and some aren't. No water or sewer at any sites. Water and dump station located at the office. Office staff are very helpful. Beautiful park to walk around. Couldn't do anything at the lake due to bacteria in the lake.

Everyone here at Baker is so helpful and accommodating, even when you show up and immediately have trouble getting your RV to get moving. We feel very safe and taken care of here!!

We had a rough start to camping here by breaking down 50 feet outside of the grounds. The staff helped us so much with figuring out what was wrong and chatting us up and welcoming us once it was fixed. It is a 14/30 campground, has an immense amount of space for RVs of any size, lots of clean restrooms and showers, trash and water fill up stations. It’s the bees knees

Campground and swimming beach are well maintained.

As a solo traveler, I was looking for a safe and calm place to sleep—Baker’s Reserve is perfect for that! The campgrounds were quiet at night and the showers were clean. I would definitely come back here to camp again.

This is a fantastic place for families. They have an incredible playground and very clean facilities.

The bathrooms are nice and clean. The set up is great. Camp site is very clean of debris. Brand new playground for the kiddos. Close to 2 beaches and endless bike paths.

I enjoyed the recreational activities at this campground. There is a great beach area with swimming and opportunities for boating. There is also a great playground area, a walking and biking trail and plenty of open space areas to enjoy. It was nice to have electrical at the campsite though I would have rather had water and sewer available.

Huge lake, many things to do, mostly quiet family camping

Wonderful

Spent a lot of my childhood playing and exploring this park! It wasn't till a few years ago that I actually stayed and camped overnight. The campgrounds are grouped, we'll maintained, and always have firewood(etc) stocked for their guests. I love briding here as well,

This was our first time there & we are so glad we came. One of our kids & her husband live in Minneapolis, a sister & several nieces & nephews live close by. Covid held us back with visiting, but our daughter & husband & our grand puppy came to visit. Parking for visitors (or 2nd vehicle) is the bad part as they are all quite way from some/most of the sites. They are strict and no parking on the grass (understandable when you see the pictures in the office.) The park is very well maintained! It is pet friendly. Office sells firewood for use $7.00 for 12 pieces (split pieces) There are bathrooms thoughout, but the main one has a separate, awesome, private showers. The beaches are stellar, We took out kayaks while some of us sat on the dock. There are dedicated walking trails & bike trails that are really as long as you want to go! From the park, we rode the trail that goes under the road 19 and all the way around Lake Katrina (we took the left way around, less hills to go up for this 62 year old🤣) It is BEAUTIFUL with the leaves turning. We loved our stay. The only thing we may do differently next time is to get a site closer to a parking lot. At night, it is DARK! & visitors would have a hard time finding their way back to their car without being driven. We WILL be back!

We stayed here with two young kids tent camping. We stayed in site A20 due to the close proximity to the bathrooms. The grounds were very well kept and groomed. The sites were pretty close together with no trees in between, but only around 25% of sites were occupied when we were there so it wasn’t a problem. I would imagine it would be very cozy and not much privacy when full, which could be the only potential drawback. There were a fair amount of RVs- we were one of only a few tents I saw. There were some nice looking cabins on our loop as well. It was a very short walk down a path to the beautiful lake which was deserted when we were there. The bathrooms looked new and were very well kept. There was even one family restroom with a shower which was so awesome for trying yo get two small kids cleaned up. Loved that. Overall this was a great campsite when not full and we had a great time.

It is a very large campground. There is showers and dish washing stations that were very nice. Most of the campsites are shaded. The lake was very busy on Saturday but the boat launch was nice! I would definitely camp here again.

Clean gravel sites with electric hook up surrounded by well maintained grass, picnic table, and fire pit. Central water spigot and dump station. Great signage throughout. Showers and restrooms available. A couple disc golf baskets, sand volleyball court and well maintained grass fields were available for play. Lake independence is a 5-10 minute walk along a newly paved trail. Lake offers two swimming beaches, a water equipment rental area, new restroom facilities, and a playground that was under construction at this time. Simple online reservation process at $26/night our one night total cost $36.03 all fees included. Morning of our reservation, camp staff called to communicate a change of site due to our reserved site having issues with its electrical. All amenities functioned appropriately. My wife, two young boys, and I had a great first time experience with our Bambi 19CB Airstream!

Clean, campsites easily accessible and lots to do! Lots of trails and lakeside access!

There is not much privacy between camp sites. It is very clean. The staff is great. We were pleased with the experience. The playground was awesome! Till they tore it down to build new. Not done yet. The beaches are some of the best in Minnesota. The bike trails are nearby and plentiful.

I keep coming back to Baker Park every chance I get! Small yet big at the same time! You don’t feel crowded or in a massive space at the same time! The bike trail is great!

Family friendly and just wonderful. Always a great time!

We had electric hookups. They had a dump and water up by the office. The showers were decent and there was a dish washing station at the back of the shower house. Our whole giant site was shaded with trees. We stayed 2 nights and left for alcohol and gas, that's it. We didn't even go to the lake, we were just too relaxed! We had a fire but had to buy their wood.

If you’re looking for a county park close to the Twin Cities metro area with a beautiful lake, good fishing, swimming, recreation rentals like paddle boards kayaks and canoes that also has a campground with Camper Cabins attached, look no further than Baker Park Reserve. Baker Park reserve is just outside of Maple Plain Minnesota which is about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities metro area.

Lake Independence is attached to Baker Park reserve which is a beautiful lake for fishing, swimming, kayaking and, recreational boating. You can catch everything from Crappies, perch, sunfish, walleye and, musky on this lake. A lot of people come out and troll the lake for musky and also bring pontoons for swimming. You can jump right off the pontoon into the lake and have a great time with the family or just be alone on the boat and catch a ton of fish.

The lake can be busy especially on holiday weeks and weekends and The park and restricts how many boats around the lake and enforces no wake zone’s during the holiday I’m busy times. So check the leak before you go if you’re planning on doing or jet skiing or just cruising around on your boat.

The campground that’s attached to the park is pretty open and there are very many secluded sites if any at all. I took a few videos while driving through the campground to show you what the campground is like. There’s a campground office that offer snacks and sodas and ice and such. If you’re looking for a good getaway for the weekend that’s close this would be a good park for you.

Overall, I would give the campground a three out of five because it is so dang open and there isn’t much privacy. There is however, very nice shower buildings and a nice office. I would give the park a four out of five for usefulness and overall fun. There is a lot to do and it is close to the metro.

Baker park reserve is one of the favorite local parks. There is great camping for everyone. The boat launch is close and the lake has good Muskie and pan fishing. Park gets very busy on holidays and can be hard to find parking and such but overall it has everything you could want. Has playground/fishing dock/beach and water sport rentals. Park is patrolled regularly by three rivers police. Overall our family goes every holiday for the most part to the park!

Great family camping. Bring your boat, bike, and in-line skates. Bathrooms and campsites are in excellent condition. 6.2 mile paved trail. Nice beach, mature trees. close to Twin Cities. If you've never camped before this is a good first introduction.

This campground was nice and the bathrooms were nice and clean. They have nice walking trailers to the lake and beach area. They lake and beach were nice and has a big sanding beach area. You an bring you boat with you. The only down fall was the location of the fire pit. It was located closer to the neighboring campsite and was awkward to use because it was behind the camper and you would think it was the other campsites. The site were very close together and had no privacy. The site had electric but no water.

Great

Ok so the trails and beach are beautiful. I wish we could have spent more time at both. I still owe my son a canoe trip which we unfortunately didn't realize until the weekend was over that it is only open for rentals on the weekends.

The campsites themselves from what I saw were nothing special. Typical crowded campground campsites. There was plenty of space but no privacy...not a complaint just the observation that would make a difference for me depending on what I was looking for.

There were both portapots and running water bathrooms. The only portapot I used was not disgusting but definitely could have been cleaner. The sheet said the last time it was serviced was a week ago...it looks like its done every 2 weeks to a month...it probably should be done at least once a week. The main bathrooms also were not disgusting but not super clean. It just felt like your typical busy bathroom that probably gets cleaned once a day but should be cleaned twice.

There is a family bathroom/shower that we loved but only had one shower stall in it...as a family shower two definitely would be more convenient. The showers in the main bathrooms were spacious for a campground and clean. You can't control the temperature and it never really regulates sometimes it's so hot I had to jump out sometimes its cold...but most of the shower its somewhere in between.

As a whole we really enjoyed our week at this campground and would definitely stay again

Baker Park near Minneapolis Minnesota was a our camp choice for inexpensive camping on the last leg of our Minnesota vacation in 2017. After reading a lot of Pinterest reviews I’m glad we stayed at this camp. Managed by ThreeRiversParks.org (make your reservation here) this is one of the cleanest camps I’ve ever stayed at. It was crowded with RV’s and tents alike but it never seemed loud or cramped. The shower house was very clean and roomy and an easy walk from the camp sites. We didn’t take advantage of the nearby lake or other numerous activities because we used it as a base camp for the Mall of America. You’ll need to book for at least two nights and book as soon as you can. There are 200 sites but on the July weekend we stayed, I’d say almost all of them were booked. The camp staff are very friendly and you’ll need to get checked in before 9pm I believe because they close it off to paid guests after that. The camp was pretty quite for as full as it was. I did notice that local law enforcement did patrol the camp a couple of times each night but it felt very safe to me. I’d definitely recommend this camp and the next time we stay we will check out the hiking trails, lake, and playground for sure.

Lots to do! Bike, walk, swim, boat or play in the field.

we love to camp here. Access to lake independence. A lot of biking trails. Nice clean bathrooms. Nice park for kids just a small hike away. Plus a decent amount of rentals.