Side Lake Campground, near Hibbing, Minnesota, is a fantastic spot for those who love the great outdoors. With its proximity to both Side Lake and Sturgeon Lake, you’ll find plenty of opportunities for kayaking, canoeing, and swimming right at your fingertips.

The campground is equipped with essential amenities like drinking water, electric hookups, and clean bathrooms, making your stay comfortable. Campers have praised the beautiful sites, with one visitor noting, “The site was lovely! I stayed at #48 and it was nice and level.” You’ll also find picnic tables and fire rings, perfect for evening gatherings around the campfire.

For those who enjoy hiking and biking, there are easy trails nearby, and the area is dog-friendly, so your furry friends can join in on the fun. The beach area is a highlight, with shallow waters ideal for kids and a great spot for relaxing or playing water games. As one camper put it, “Beautiful lakes, beach and campsites,” which sums up the charm of this location perfectly.

While the campground can get busy during peak season, especially with families enjoying the beach, the overall atmosphere remains friendly and welcoming. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a longer stay, Side Lake Campground offers a great mix of relaxation and adventure.

Drive-in Sites 86 sites Electric Sites 21 sites RV Length Limit 40 feet Length is measured from front of tow vehicle to rear of vehicle being towed. Walk-in Sites 3 sites These are first-come, first-served sites in the Beatrice Lake Campground. Horse CampLocated in George Washington State Forest, Stony Brook Horse Campground. Not located in the park. Although the horse campground is not located in McCarthy Beach State Park, they are managed by the park. The Stony Brook Horse Campground is located 9 miles from the park office. Trails connect the park to the horse camp. Group Camp 1 Site - Accommodate up to 40 people Site located on wooded bluff overlooking Big Sturgeon Lake, nestled between the picnic area and boat landing. Spigot for water and vault toilets available. May accommodate a few small camping trailers, but is primarily a tenting area.

Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

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Chisholm

The Best Camping Near Chisholm, Minnesota

Situated by a lake and awesome regional trails, McCarthy Beach is a great weekend trip. Lots of great wildlife and the lake is beautiful to sit and chill by on any evening. I loved it - quiet campsites and peaceful region.

Remote, scenic, relaxing 

**We really enjoyed this park.** Electric loop was tight and some sites had minimal privacy. The non electric sites were much more private. All sites had nice shady trees. It's a very forested park. We really appreciated the new restroom facilities. 

We had easy water access for our kayak off the campground loop. And it was easy enough to carry the kayak across to the other lake to explore out there. The beach on the big lake was very nice, clean and there were easily accessible "ends" of the beach to have a dog. The sandbar was expansive! 

This was a great park for campers of all styles; very family friend - it was very busy with lots of kids. Trails can be reached from the campground but the hike to the trails would be a hike in itself for some. Trail heads seemed remote compared to other parks. 

There were temporary problems with the drinking water on the whole campground - couldn't brush teeth with sink water, and had to go to the dump station to fill up from the one safe water spigot, but it wasn't anything that would keep us from coming back.

Stupendous camping. 

Located just outside Hibbing and Chisholm, this campground is on Side Lake and Sturgeon Lake. If it is too windy on one lake, just walk across to the other one. Beautiful beach, with modern beach house and nice picnic area. The lake is shallow for quite a ways out so it’s great for water games and younger swimmers, as well as those who just just love floating around. The group campsite is beautiful. We have been Camping there now for over 10 years and it is still one of our favorite spots. Love listening to the loons at night and enjoying a campfire among the tall trees of the campground. This is also the best place that I have seen the northern lights.

Beautiful lakes, beach and campsites.

This state park that may be well known to locals for its stellar beach and day-use picnic grounds, but seems to be off the beaten path and a well kept secret as a family camping destination.

I would give the beach area a five star rating, as the beach is on Sturgeon Lake which is incredibly beautiful (even on a cloudy weekend like when we were there), the beach is amazing with crystal clear water, shallow depths for kids and family swimming, great picnic spots all along the expansive shoreline, new beautiful bath house, and overall terrific accessibility for folks of all kinds, including families with young kids and folks with disabilities as there are great paved walkways and gentle access ramps everywhere. There is a public boat access onto the lake just south of the beach area on Sturgeon Lake, and also in the campground which is actually across the isthmus on adjacent Side Lake. It is worth camping here if you want a relaxing vacation with daily trips to the beach, or time out on the water of either lake for fishing and boating. There are canoe rentals avaialble if you dont have a craft of your own. There are also naturalist programs,and regular outdoor perfromances by local music ensembles too, so overall there is lots to do in a relaxing and fun outdoorsy location.

I am giving the campground itself just a 4 star rating for a couple reasons. First, there is currently a water issue--testing has found contamination in the campground wells, so there isnt potable water and you have to get drinking water from other locations in the area. The campground also seems a bit cramped, with most sites placed very close together, so you dont get a real quiet secluded experience. An exception are some of the sites at the end of the loop, such as campsite 30, where the neighbors arent so close. Also, the Group campsite, which is located in between the beach and the boat access on Sturgeon Lake, is probably the best camping option in the park, with its own indoor shelter and tent sites for groups up to 40--for your best camping experience here in the park, get a group together and go for the group site!

Off the beaten path at McCarthy Beach

Family friendly, beautiful forest, and awesome lakes!!!

The pines though!!!!

the sand was so nice and the area was very well kept up! so many tables and spots to sit.  They had 4 trails we didn’t get to go on but were well marked and the staff was very nice! I can’t wait to go back!

swimming beach was so nice!

We were right on side lake. Nice beach at McCarthy. Good fishing.

Spacious. Wooded sites.

We camped here in the fall and were the only people in the campground.  The office staff was very nice and we really enjoyed the fall colors in the park.  We didn't use the shower/bathroom facilities, but the outhouse worked just fine for our needs.

Great Campground

The site was lovely! I stayed at #48 and it was nice and level. The only bummer was that the camp office was closed when I arrived at 5pm so I couldn’t buy firewood. 

The lakeside trail was very pretty!

Lake views!

Beautiful spot, close to great mountian biking. great time of year

great state park

Nothing says Minnesota like the call of the Loon and that’s what greeted me upon arrival at my site! This site is lovely—water and easy to access to water sports on either Sturgeon or Side Lake. Some road noise but not too bad. I am imagine it’s much more hectic in the summer with the big beach across the road. Great for kids! Easy trails for walking and dog friendly.  Can be buggy but that’s MN. For more rustic, head further up to Beatrice Lake Campground. 

It’s “Loony”!

I personally liked the Campground, close to the lake and clean bathrooms.

Photos of Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

Real photos from real campers