Nerstrand Big Woods State Park Campground

I've stayed here twice now. I love that it's close to home. The park has a cute little waterfall that's fairly close to the main campground. They also have a whole different section of the park with hike in and cart in sites.

Nerstrand is so lovely in October. We reserved sites 2 and 4. Though they were right next to each other, they felt very secluded. Site 4 felt a bit more private from the main road because the campsite slightly slopes downward. There is also a log bench positioned close to the fire which some may think is nice but was a bit inconveniently placed for our bigger group to gather around the fire. Plenty of trees to set up multiple hammocks at site 4.

The bathrooms were updated and clean. Unfortunately on our last day, the campground lost running water so only the vault toilets were usable. As someone who doesn’t prefer this option, the vault toilet near the ranger station was actually pretty clean and updated too.

This park has a nice, small campground. The sites have quite a few trees separating them, but most of the sites on the C loop back up almost into the sites on the right side of the B loop. (so we basically had the back our neighbor’s trailer hanging almost into our site. Also, there’s some sites that are tricky to back a trailer into, which would have been helped by some maintenance - there were LOTS of branches that needed to be trimmed back. On the flip side, the bathroom/shower building was new and clean, the camp host was friendly and helpful, and the hike to the hidden falls did not disappoint. It’s so close to the Twin Cities that it’s very convenient for a weekend, or maybe a commute-to-work midweek getaway. And, through no fault of the park, cell service (both AT&T and TMobile) was terrible. There’s WiFi at the office, which is just a short hike from the campground.

Nothing great but nothing bad. Hosts are very nice. Clean bathrooms. But can be loud from time to time.

As with most State Parks, the campground sites are really close together and you have very little privacy. The hikes were beautiful and the variety of old growth trees was spectacular.

Nice distance from the twin cities for a weekend away with some nice hiking trails. The tent pads have been upgraded to pea gravel by the friends association (which seems to be quite active based on signage around park improvements). Showers and bathrooms were clean. Wi-Fi near the park entrance and spotty T-Mobile service throughout. The outside of the loop is good for tent camping but could be a little noisy if the campground had been fully booked.

Stayed on non electric site which looking at the whole campground are the better sites. Sites are wooded so you don’t have neighbor issues. All have large pea gravel tent pads - very nice. Good fire rings with lots of room for lounging. Many trails to hike but due to prior heavy rain the only trail open was down to Hidden Falls - they were roaring. No cell/ very patchy cell signal and could only get WiFi signal when standing next to Ranger station. Would definitely visit again, maybe in the fall as I’m told the colors are wonderful.

Stayed at the cart in sites for the first time and am super impressed! Larger and more private than most state parks, especially so close to the cities. Trails are also nice and well kept. The only downside I might add is that there is only water/toilets at the campground or picnic area so if you plan on doing a full day of hiking just be aware of that. Carts are provided and parking is very close by.

We enjoy coming to Nerstrand in the spring to “kick the tires” on the RV after getting it out of winter storage, AND to view the beautiful flowers!!!

We are in site 13E which is disappointing due to its cramped and muddy location. The outer non-electric sites like 12, 14, 16, etc are much nicer.

It’s May 18 and I’m amazed there are no bugs yet. It was a long, hard winter so maybe we got lucky.

T-Mobile service is one (1) bar of LTE. We can call, text and email but not much more. The ranger station sign did say they have a public wifi hotspot at the office.

Only an hour from the Twin Cities so the location is ideal for us.

We haven’t gone out on the trails yet on this trip but past years haven’t disappointed us.

Absolutely adore this park. This is my second visit and it was just as pleasant as the first!

Not my favorite park but the trails were leisurely and relatively scenic. Campsite had a large tent pad but our site was not very large. Sites are close together and the use of large campers seemed to far outnumber those staying in tents. Office staff very friendly. Main trail to waterfall is conveniently located right next to the campground which was great for us as we were there for just one night and ended up being in the park for less than 14 hours total. Bathroom house was clean and relatively new. Not as quiet/secluded as we like, but overall we enjoyed our time here

If you enjoy hiking, large old deciduous forests and fresh air; this is the place for you. We stayed here 2 nights in our tent in April (which was a little chilly) so the foliage was still thin but spring was starting to peak out. The waterfall is a sight to see and the trail to get there is fun. We did not get to use the bathroom facilities but the pit toilet houses were kept very clean. This is a popular park with a huge picnic area with shelters and play grounds.

The hiking trails are so serene and the waterfall is so beautiful. Campground is nice and clean. Other state parks not too far away if you're looking to explore! Firewood is available for purchase on site and each campsite comes equipped with a fire ring and picnic table.

We wanted to check another MN State Park off of our list. We enjoyed this small campground with a newer and very clean bathroom/shower building. It has separate showers which is nice. All sites seem very spacious. We look forward to seeing again in full fall colors!!

This campground's sites and roads seem a little smaller/tighter but plenty of room for smaller rigs to maneuver.

The outer loop is non-electric and more "in the woods" than the center, which also helps provide a bit more privacy. The sites are still close together but we didn't have much noise to contend with the one night we stayed. Some of the sites are much less level than others, which is typical in a state park.

Trails that we were able to check out were well-maintained and the Hidden Falls is worth the short trek out there. Be ready for a lot mosquitoes on the trail (after a rain at least), although they weren't as bad at the campsite.

Bathrooms and showers were modern and clean.

With this many trees, we'd like to get back in the fall as the color should be impressive.

Verizon cell service was decent but T-Mobile was nonexistent.

Sites were great but a little wet. Some of the south trails are closed because its too wet.

This is a great campground for Fall camping. The color's are amazing. Nice hiking trails. Little area to get wet but not swimming. Sites are good and some can handle bigger RV's. Some Electric sites. Nice dump station. Closed all 2020 camping season for Covid. Great for a weekend getaway.

A nice state park they have good hiking and biking trails with great scenery like waterfalls and rivers

Beautiful views, not too crowded, nearby waterfall

This is a Nice campground middle of Minnesota. Surprising place in the middle of farm country. Very nice campground and lots of walking trails. Great for leaf peeping.

We stayed in the group campground for a Cub Scouting event. It's just a bit of a walk from the main campground and opposite of some very beautiful walk-in sites. The group campground has an open space to play games as well as wooded areas all around. There are vault toilets that are well kept. The hiking trails are well taken care of and far enough away from the Hidden Falls the capture the beauty of the state park, but close enough for a group of elementary age kids to manage. The walk-in sites are nested within the trees, far enough away from group sites for privacy but without a long distance to carry gear. The state park itself is only 10 miles away from a neighboring city with ample shopping resources available. Small gas and convenience store within the town of Nerstrand.

Hidden water falls and some what secluded sites. Beautiful weekend with nice trails.

Nerstrand is a good state park located outside of Fairbault, MN. Nerstrand is wet accommodating to camper with large, slightly wooded sites and nice bathroom facilities. Nertrand is lacking good secluded walking trails. Majority of trails come together into the main trail. The main trail doesn’t have much support especially when it is muddy. They do have a nice waterfall to visit but that is the main attraction.

This state park has pretty secluded campsites. The bathroomd and showers are very clean and nice. They have a little park for kids as well. The hiking was my favorite park. They had great trails through the woods as well as down to the river with a pretty waterfall. The trails were a decent length and pretty! Dogs are welcome on a leash. The only bummer (like several other state parks) is no hammocks allowed due to destruction of tree bark. Other than that it was a nice park!

This campground has nice big trees throughout the park and many trails to hike on that lead to a waterfall. I’ve camped at this park several times and enjoy each time we go.

Beautiful campground. Definitely would go back.

A friend and I stayed here over Jesse James Day (Northfield; 20 minute drive; $30 cab ride). The trails near and around the campground itself were great! We had gotten a ton of rain the week before, so the big woods trails were too swampy to hike unfortunately. The facilities were nice and the campground wasn’t overly crowded; larger sites, but not much privacy. The falls are pretty and that trail is really beautiful.