Carley State Park Campground

We went to Carley State Park for a short day outing from Whitewater State Park. Less than 10 minutes away, it's a cozier, smaller campground with a more private and deeper part of the River. I would think you could start floating/canoeing here and end up at Whitewater State Park by boat. We went on the Wildflower hike, and saw many flowers and berries even in the middle of July. The camp sites were a bit smaller, but all were heavily shaded, private, and would be enough for 1 tent or small RV. There was a huge green space and pavilion so family gatherings or day picnics would be perfectly accommodated. This would be the perfect spot for cross country skiing in the winter.

Cozy State Park

There is no running water FYI!!! But it's a pretty place

Relaxing 

Carley State Park is located near Whitewater State Park in southeastern Minnesota. Carley state park is extremely neglected. When walking through the trails, they were overgrown and the bridges were broken down and dangerous. This park could be great with a little TLC. 

Not worth your time.

This isn’t the type of park that you come to conquer, you come here for a lovely time. Carley State Park is easy to overlook in favor of nearby Whitewater State Park. Whitewater has an actual visitor center, the dramatic scenery, the flush toilets, and spacious/level sites. In lieu of those amenities, Carley offers you rustic charm, relative quiet(vehicles have a max length of 30 ft which cuts down on monster RVs), and a hint of summer camp nostalgia in the picnic area. 

  

While we were here we attempted to do the hiking club trail, unfortunately the water levels were high and we weren’t able to cross any of the river crossings. When the water levels are lower you are able to cross on giant concrete steps. We were there on a Monday and there were maybe 3 cars parked in the whole park. 

  

Barely any of the sites were occupied when we visited. The campsites are all situated on a hill and they were all very close to this road and were slightly cramped in addition to not being terribly level. Most sites could accommodate one 4-person tent, nothing bigger than that. If you value privacy you might want to be strategic about which site you choose, but I assume that it is a quiet enough campground that this wouldn’t be a huge problem.

Not exciting, but nice

A very small, but great state park right by the more-touristy-Whitewater state park. We lucked out with booking a group site for Labor Day weekend at the last minute. There are two group sites that share one vault toilet. Site #2 is further down a path with 4 picnic tables and room for 4-5 tents. The site is right at the park border, with farm land/prairie just on the other Side of the trees. 

Hiking was great with plenty of hills along the whitewater river, as well as a few places to jump in the VERY cold river. Highly recommend this park - and only 1.5 hours from Mpls! Only downside is there is no firewood within the park, so plan ahead there. 