This is a beautiful state park along the Kettle River, famous for its rock formations, the whitewater Kettle River, and beautiful oak-ash forests. You can camp at the park campground in the woods, or at several secluded paddle-in canoe campsites on the river. There are miles of trails to hike, including along the river and to a waterfall, all kinds of paddling and rafting possibilities(bring your own, or join a trip sponsored by a local outfitter), or go bouldering amongst the interesting rock formations. The problem for campers at this location is that the number of campsites available is exceeded by demand for them, especially in summer and on weekends. Reserve early if you would like to stay here! The campsites are of good size, nicely shaded, and convenient for both tent camping and RV or trailer camping, however there are two real drawbacks: the campground is pretty far from park activities you might like to do, so you may have to drive to trailheads, picnic areas, or boat launch, or else be willing to make a long hike. And because of proximity to metro areas, there is competion in the parking areas from folks who are just there for day trips, so an amazing number of cars end up parked up and down the main state park road. The other drawback is that the campground is kind of in a lowland forest with a muddy substrate, that stays pretty wet and buggy even when it has been a while since the last rain. A plus is that you have access to top-rated whitewater for river activities, and a park trail also leads outside of the state park to a premier rockclimbing destination in Robinson County Park on the south border of the state park. Folks come afrom all over the Midwest for the rock climbing and the whitewater, so scoring a campsite within Banning State Park is helpful if you want to access these stellar recreational opportunities.