Red River State Recreation Area, near East Grand Forks, Minnesota, is a lively campground that offers a unique blend of outdoor fun and urban convenience. With a variety of sites for both tents and RVs, it’s a solid choice for those looking to enjoy nature without straying too far from city amenities.

The campground is known for its spacious sites, many of which are well-separated from one another, providing a bit of breathing room. Visitors appreciate the availability of electric hookups and drinking water, making it easy to set up camp comfortably. As one camper noted, “The walk-in sites near the river are quite nice,” perfect for those who want a little more seclusion.

You’ll find plenty to do nearby, with bike trails that connect to both North Dakota and Minnesota, making it a great spot for cyclists. Plus, the proximity to restaurants and shops means you won’t have to venture far for a good meal or supplies. One reviewer mentioned, “If you did not want to cook, there are 4 restaurants within 3 blocks of your campsite,” which is a huge perk for those who prefer dining out.

While the campground has a more urban feel, it still offers a peaceful retreat with beautiful surroundings. Whether you’re looking to explore the local trails or just kick back and relax, Red River State Recreation Area has something for everyone.

Campground is open April 29 - November 6  
**Arrive prepared.** Go to mndnr.gov/redriver for visitor alerts and seasonal updates.

Sherlock Park Campground — Red River State Recreation Area

Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Grand Forks, ND has a lot to offer. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Grand Forks. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Grand Forks. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.

Grand Forks

The Best Camping Near Grand Forks, North Dakota

Nice facilities but very little privacy and shade. Very large playground and pool over the hill from campground as well as many smaller playgrounds throughout the park. HC Trail takes you through town and through a cool tunnel.

Urban Camping

This is an in the city campground that is clean and well maintained.  Showers are free and seem to last forever on one push of the button.  It’s walking distance close to restaurants, a movie theater and other stores/shops.  It’s also set along the Greater Grand Forks greenway with miles of paved bike/walking/jogging paths on both sides of the river.  Sites are pretty large and open some more shaded than others but it really seems to be used most by larger motor homes, 5th wheels and travel trailers.  If you are a tenter you can camp but you are not going to be out in the secluded woods , you will see your fellow campers and their rigs.  The campground is quiet for an in city campground and there is some car/road noise but it’s more like white background noise that really did not intrude on our 3 night stay.  If you want a nice campground
 to spend a few day this is a great spot, if you need privacy and seclusion and miles of wide open wilderness pass it by.  Oh and for the kids and young at heart there ice cream truck that travels through a couple times a day/evening...

Very Nice Campground

This campground used to be houses before flooding so the roads are paved campsites are pretty open mostly all pull through sites. Walk in campsites on the red river give amazing views and seclusion just a short walk away. Campground is also right downtown East Grand Forks for easy access for any supplies. 

Campground with a history

If you're looking for somewhere to park a big RV, this campground is modern, convenient, and nicely-equipped. There's no privacy or nature to be had, though. It's a grassy plain with straight rows of pull-throughs.  

  

However, there are a handful of walk-in sites off to the side that looked quite nice. That's definitely the way to go if you'd like to pitch a tent and have a little peace and quiet.

An RV camping experience, unless you're walking

This the most urban state park campground in MN. It’s within East Grand Forks. Not quiet and felt like a town of RVs. Great amenities and coffee nearby, not wild.

Urban RV Park

Was a bit curious about staying at a place that, on the map, was between two towns on a river. This campground was really nice. If you did not want to cook, there are 4 restaurants within 3 blocks of your campsite. And a Cabelas within 4 blocks, so if you forget anything, it’s close by. There are also other stores and restaurants within 5 miles of this campsite. 

The nearly full hookups were nice even though we were staying in a tent. The restrooms and showers were nice also. 

My only complaint was two things:  if the wind is out of the south or southwest, the smell from the Crystal Sugar plant was miserable. And the trains with their horns blaring at 4am was annoying. 

Otherwise, I would stay there again, maybe with a camper or tent trailer to drown out the smell and excessive noise. 

Inner city camping

Sites are decent size, and ample space between. No dump station. 

Mediocre

We have been to this campground for a quite a few times…we have missed out for a couple years now because of the situation. We booked again for 2022 to get back to good camping with family and friends 

Nice go to campground 

Beautiful well maintained park with large sites

In town but peaceful

Feels more like an RV park (like a KOA) than a state park. Lots to do as this is located right in town. 

State park in the city

Busy on weekends, near restaurants and other businesses 

Close to restaurants and attractions 

Nice enough campground, but appears to be a bit dated. Has full hookup sites or just electric like my site. Both pull thrus and back ins. What I did like most was the site I was in is well separated from others. Located right in town, so of course there is road noise. But restaurants and bars within a block is nice. There’s a Cabellas a couple of blocks away. The bads are no dumpstation on site, older showers and pit toilets, and appears not enough help here to keep the grounds cut and trimmed.. but was still a nice stay with shopping and banking nearby. 

Older campground 

Not going to say anything that everybody else hasn't said in the reviews but I thought it was charming there's space between the campers and well there's no privacy there tends not to be in city campgrounds. Also it's right on the River trails so if you're a biker it's fun to do the loop that goes from both the North Dakota and the Minnesota side. The bike trails also connect you to the larger city and there's several other very charming parks and downtown neighborhoods or downtown houses to see. The walk-in sites near the river are quite nice I wouldn't come here if you wanted to be in a quiet state park but that's not the intent of the park and it's a good use of the green space. I'm fully self-contained so I didn't use the bathrooms I've heard their little bit older but there's water there's sewer there's electric sites their sites with electric only and then their sites for just camping also group sites.

City camping at ita best

We followed the instructions on the confirmation email across the bridge from Grand Forks to East Grand Forks, MN to check into the campground (CG). After going through the Avenue of Flags and near the Blue Moose Bar&amp; Grill there’s RV parking in front of the little check-in cabin. Check-in was easy and as disabled veterans, we got a free Minnesota State Park Vehicle Pass. We then proceeded to the Sherlock CG, which is the camping area and site 106E. Site 106E is a long pull through with FHUs. Pulling in was super easy and utilities are placed in the middle of the long pad. The utilities worked great with water pressure at about 50 psi. We got two bars on Verizon. There are trees in and around the sites, but we were able to get a clear north shot for Starlink. The sites in our area were well spaced apart, which we really liked. We were on the back row where the cement walking/bike trail is located far enough away that you still have privacy. There are a lot of sites in this CG mostly pull throughs but there are back-ins. They are serious about the vehicle permits and you cannot just lay the pass on your dashboard. It must be adhered to the windshield. We went to the office to clear our ticket, which didn’t cost us anything as we were prompt to respond. The office also has t-shirts, which we purchased. There was not a formal dog park, but plenty of areas to walk. Red River is one of the better CGs we have stayed at in our 5 years of“Most Timing.”

Highly Recommend

We stayed here for 2 nights on the way north to Canada and another night after crossing the border again.  It is a lovely park with large crescent shaped pull thru sites (There are some back-ins as well). Sites are well spaced with plenty of trees and green spaces in between.  Super walking trails, great playground, walking distance to restaurants and downtown.

  

We would stay here again.

A delightful place to stay

We spent a 3-day weekend here as a shake-down cruise for our new camper. It was nice to have full water, electric, and sewer hookups. The sites are well prepared, mostly level and pull-through. We enjoyed being able to bike the greenway on both sides of the river and downtown is just a couple blocks away.

Nice campground

I'm always looking for a campsite late in the afternoon. And this one turned out to be perfect. I pulled into East Grand forks. Got out my phone and started looking, and I said oh, there's a state campground right near here. Here. Right in town in fact. I'm traveling with the dog on this trip so I'm always looking for places that I can run the dog, if possible off leash in the morning. Well, technically you're not supposed to have docs off leash here, there's plenty of space down along the river and trails that go away from the campground where the dog can have a little bit of a free exercise. Because it's October, the place is almost empty. And I got one of the no hookup sites, so it was reasonably priced.

Perfect for the month of October!

Great state Park campground

This campground is a gem in the middle of Grand Forks ND and East Grand Forks MN. The sites are large and the surrounding campground is beautiful parkland. Katheryn (hope I spelled it correctly) and her staff do a great job keeping it ship shape. Right on the Red River and you can walk to downtown. Stayed here many times and we will return again.

Photos of Sherlock Park Campground — Red River State Recreation Area

Real photos from real campers