The park provides opportunities for semi-modern camping, group camping, equestrian camping, backpack camping, and canoe camping. Visitors who want modern amenities can reserve the guest house which provides a living room, dining room, kitchen, and fireplace. The park also has six camping cabins which include bunkbeds, a table, and benches.

Wild River State Park Campground

This was my first time camping EVER, and I wanted a balance of car camping ease with quiet wilderness. I stayed in the E loop. No electric sites, which cut down the number of big rig RVs, but there were plenty of small campers and trailers. To me, this means louder guests than tent campers. That said, people tended to quiet down by 9-10p. There was occasional noise during the day from crop dusters and motorized boat traffic on the St. Croix.

Site 87 had nice privacy — less between sites 87 and 89 and much more between 87 and 85 (see photos). Site 89 is a double site, so be prepared for a little more activity if someone books there. If I went again, I'd try to snag site 85. Large trees and vegetation between sites, especially on the outside loop. Plenty of space for hammocks. The site itself was level and very spacious. We had a five person tent and could have put up a bug house easily. The fire pit was clean and had a grate on top. Pit toilets were clean and had plenty of toilet paper, especially for the end of a holiday weekend. Bugs were minimal, but could have been because the weather was on the cooler side (50s-60s).

A couple random notes:

*   Firewood is $6/bundle. Self-pay available if the ranger station is closed. Bring exact change since you'll be paying by envelope.
    
*   The ranger station was open for window service, and they sold fire starters, soda, t-shirts, etc. Not sure when hours are exactly. They were open when I went around 3-4p Sunday and Monday to buy wood.
    
*   Cell reception for T-Mobile was minimal to non-existent.

Great spot for first time camping

I have stayed here twice once in one of the rental cabins, and second tent camping. The campground is very quiet and never seems to be to busy. The tent sites are a little to exposed for me (I prefer to be in the woods) but they were all clean along with the facilities too. The beach is wonderful along with the section of river and hiking areas. Definitely worth a trip

Great quiet campground

Fun Hiking Trails! 

We stayed here in mid April, I believe we stayed at CC #6\. The site was beautiful, the cabin well kept. My only complaint about the site is how close the cabins are together, but the fact that the decks face into the woods and ravine is very peaceful and makes up for it. The cabins are nearby a trail that you can wander through the woods down to the river which is nice. We definitely used the heat at night to stay warm but had the windows open at night, it was perfect weather, this is a great place for spring and fall camping. (Never been during the summer months.)

Camper Cabin

Have stayed here many times in all seasons. Not an over crowded park with lots of room to roam. Horses are welcome here with their own special campground area and miles of trails to ride. Hiking trails cover open grasslands, hardwood forest and valley waterways. Lots of wildlife and a great place for birders. Paved bike trails trailer and tent camping as well as camper cabins. Especially beautiful in autumn with the colorful leaves.

Beautiful river valley area

We stayed 4 days over a busy holiday weekend. Our site was very large with a 20'x15' tent box, more secluded than the others, and all shade with little/no grass. The bugs were out in full force, but we still had a blast. The hiking compared to many other parks we've been to was just ok. There are many horseback riding trails that can be used for hiking, but they are sand so it was hard for our 4 &amp; 7 year old kids to walk through. We made a day trip down to Interstate Park (MN side) which is 15 minutes away, for a little extra hiking along the river to make up for it.

Nice Campground, Ok Hiking

Right on the main loop of the campground, but without having the neighbors right on top of you!

Was a little bit rambunctious during the day, but utterly silent at night.

Beautiful spot on the St Croix River.

Beautiful, Secluded Spot!

This campground is massive! Our campsite was on the farthest loop and was very private! We saw sooooo many deer some even walking right through campsites! You can hear coyotes, raccoons and very loud owls😂

We spent an entire day hiking and it was decent hiking along the river, some of the trails where a little confusing and trying to figure out where we at, but we made it just hiked a little further than we wanted to😂! This seems to be the hot spot for horses and if we go back I definitely want to do the horseback riding right outside the park! DRIVE to the visitors center from the campsites it’s a bit away!

Postives: Very private and remote, Lots of wildlife, friendly staff, okay hiking. The canoe rental place wasn’t open so we can’t comment of water activities!

Negatives: Only one shower house and we had to drive there, the primitive toilet smelled so bad it burned!! It needed to be emptied and wasn’t the entire time we were there. This isn’t a comment on this state park but because we where no where near a real bathroom and we have a toddler who wears a diaper/potty training there are no trash cans in the primitive toilet it could create a problem if you had a little one or if your a women😉

overall it was good camping trip, but if we did come back we would definitely camp closer to the shower house.

Very spacious and private campsites!! Lots of wildlife!

The mosquitos were terrible due to all the rain and there was a threat of bears in campsites to eat food while they humans cooking it. Yes this is all part of nature and so are snakes, but do not go here if you fear snakes. This part is a research area for snakes in Minnesota.. which I wasn't aware of and am terrified of snakes. Probably will try camping and visiting in the winter when 2/3 of these will be minimized greatly. That aside, it was a great quiet park on the river. 

Bears and mosquitos and snakes oh my! 

Great, easy-to-access campground and state park. Absolutely beautiful! The park even had free family-friendly archery available while we were there!

I stayed in one of the group sites, and while there were several other groups, the sites are well-spaced enough that the noise wasn't too bad. There are 2 vault toilets available at the group camps, as well as an old-fashioned water pump. Note: the group sites are cart-in ONLY.

Plenty of hiking trails, and there's almost always something scheduled on the weekends for families to enjoy. Highly recommended!

Beautiful & Family Friendly!

Great trails! Most sites are located along the river. We were at the furthest location called buck hill. About a 2 mile hike from your car. They did give us the option to temporarily park on the hwy to drop our stuff off (yes it's totally cheating but if you were given the option wouldn't you take it?) Then go back and walk it without all of our gear. They allow dogs with us a plus for us. The grounds were all kept very well! Definitely would recommend this location. Only down side is that you are near the hwy and can hear all the cars driving by.

Variety of spots

Wild River State Park is my go-to campground since it is within an hour of my home.  I make it my first place to camp every season. Love the scenic trails and all the park has to offer. Hiking, biking, kayaking, fishing, exploring, informational programs, and the wooded campsites. 

Love this State Park

Wild River was a great campground, and only about an hour drive from the Twin Cities. The sites were nicely shaded and roomy for our tent and screen tent.

  

There is ample hiking, however due to early spring rains, many of the trails near the St. Croix were flooded, which is pretty typical for the river in the spring. We would have liked a swimming beach for the kids, but they enjoyed exploring the trails, especially the trail with a lookout over the river. 

  

The great thing about June is that the bugs weren't bad at all. We escaped early in the morning due to impending rain, but found a lovely brunch spot on the way back to the cities.

Nice place to stay!

I’ve camped here on several occasions and have not been disappointed.  The group sites are walk ins only.  No drive ins/pull through.  They are spaced out enough for privacy.  The individual sites are decent &amp; drive in. The space between sites are far enough apart.  There are a couple of double sites that will accommodate more than 6 people but less than 13.  We’ve rented canoes in the past and have enjoyed it primary because of the sandbars, but have not done it recently so I’m not sure if that has changed or not.   The mosquitos were bad in late June!  Even with bug spray, candles thermacell, etc...we were still under massive attacked.  I’ve always enjoyed coming here year after year, not so much because of the park (although it’s nice overall), but because this place holds lots of memories for me.  

Nice getaway not too far from the Twin Cities

Backpack site Buck Hill is right on the river, beautiful view to the east. Circled by flowers (goldenrod in the late summer), brush and trees. End of the path so zero foot traffic / passersby. Fine size for us but if you had two tents maybe tight. Fire ring and picnic table of course. No drinking water (we brought a bladder). It’s a great place to star gaze. There’s a teeny somewhat treacherous path to the river- no beach or anything (water was super low when we went) - Just can get your feet wet. 

Down the path a little bit is an unenclosed toilet -  not the best. The other direction down the path (only about 20 ft) is a smallish bear box. 

You can harvest your own wood (at this time) and that was really great - bring a backpacking saw! 

Only downside to the site— you can hear cars on both sides (river and opposite side of forest). 

It was a 2.37 mile walk from the parking lot, mostly shaded. 

Side note: we checked out Deer Creek site which is much closer to the car. It is a hike in / canoe site. It’s wayyy more spacious, and even has two separate clearings. Also has cool stairs down the to water, and a much more expansive view of the river. We will be staying there next time! We want to take a few days to canoe the whole length of the park, camping along the different sites. Next year! :) 

Secluded, River Front Buck Hill Site 

Very nice

2/8/20-2/9/20. #91

First time to this park. It’s a nice distance from the cities, not too far. We planned on attending their candlelight ski and decided to camp. The campground was fully reserved but was empty, the low was 10 so people must have bowed out.  The campsite was plowed out and had a nice spot for the tent. The sites were far enough apart and it looked like it would be more private when the leaves come in. 

The park is huge and beautiful. We snowshoed and skied. I really enjoyed the snowshoe hike along the St Croix River and watched the full moon rise. The ski trails were groomed and there were miles of trails. The candlelight ski was great and the routes were marked with different colored luminaries - for hiking and skiing. We really enjoyed that. Would like to return to explore more of the park.   



Huge park, so much to see

I usually camp on weekdays bc of the smallest crowds and I had a wonderful relaxing time! Great bike trails, river access, and clean sites.

Excellent getaway!

We stayed in campsite 29 in the drive in campsite over Labor Day weekend. The park was great - lots of hiking options, very clean (including the bathrooms), available water, right along the river. #29 definitely wouldn't be my first pick, but we booked late and it was one of the two left. No pad, which was fine (some of the sites do have pads, though). You could easily fit two tents in the site - it was a nice big area and looked kind of empty with just our one tent! The site isn't particularly private, since it was in the center of the loop, and if anyone ends up in the campsite behind you (#33), you're really pretty close - we lucked out and no one showed up until we were leaving. On the other hand, if people wanted to double camp, those two sites would be great together! It was a busy weekend, but people seemed to be pretty quiet after 10 pm. #30 looked like an awesome site and probably had the most privacy of the B lane. The restrooms were between A and B lanes (walkway between #24 &amp; #26, #26 was pretty exposed to people walking back and forth) and was pretty busy - and not many people following the mask rule for the park. The campsites in general were pretty busy (Labor Day weekend probably contributed to that), there are a lot of sites, and it's close-ish to the cities, so if you're really looking to get away from people this probably isn't the ideal park. Lots of dogs, too. But, the sites were right next to the hiking paths and the park has a ton to see. We had a good time! We hiked past the Spring Creek campsite area and it looked really great, if you want to carry your stuff in.

Campsite 29

I’ll say, one of the best parts of this park is all the interpretative kiosks. Love learning about the forestry and history of state parks!  Also many options for trails which is great. A lot of wildlife here, I heard a ton of coyotes and geese, a woodpecker, and a beaver under the bridge in the evening chomping away at peeling logs... totally scared me at first but he was just doing his job and I tried not to bother him! 

  

I stayed at the backpacking site: SPRING. It’s just a short hike (bout 400 meters)  from the river access where there is a vaulted toilet snd water year-round. The site had a bench overlooking the river and a rugged stair for water access. Also had a little personal rustic toilet just a trail behind the site. Nice and wooded campsite, soft dirt, and fairly spacious! In wet months, I bet it's pretty muddy. The only drawback is that the trail it’s situated on is the hiking club trail and heavily trafficked. I stayed in winter, where you could see through the trees and all that tho. Maybe in summer, it’s more secluded? But still, something to keep in mind. 

  

Took a peek at the campground- some of the most spaced out and wooded sites I’ve seen yet. I like that they made it in separated loops, to avoid through traffic distracting your stay. Love the visitors center, great overlook, and interesting information. By the trail center, which is also very cozy and rents, skis and snowshoes and has a great inside fireplace, there is an interpretative walk about white pines- great for kids to imagine those huge trees! They do a great job aiding the imagination as you walk along the short trail. 

  

Camper cabins here are up on a bluff- didn’t stay there but totes want to! Nicely situated. 

  

Everything that I checked out here was very well managed and they clearly put a lot of time and care into making this park functional, interesting, and accessible. I loved my little backpack site but can’t wait to come back to camp in the summer or rent a cabin! The river is gorgeous, even as it was frozen in winter!

Lots to Explore/Learn

Very secluded RV sites.  Some shallow some very long. Restrooms and showers were very clean

Spacious sites

The camper cabins at Wild River are located just above the St. Croix River. Our cabin seemed to be at a trailhead to the river, which we took advantage of. The camper cabins had electricity and heat, no plumbing. Excellent fire ring for cooking. The park itself has many trails.

Wild River State Park Camper Cabin

Just a wonderful campground, close to the city, with large secluded sites. This is our go-to when we need a quick one or two night getaway. 

One of our faves

Wooded, secluded sites. Fantastic hiking trails nearby. Clean restrooms, showers. Water. Dumpster. Pretty quiet here. T-Mobile 2 bars. Would stay here again. 

Beautiful campground

The layout of Wild River State Park has a lot of potential for great trails and exploration. April is a bit too early to go since the trees are still pretty baron. That said, it does have a surreal “Blair Witch” vibe and the further down the trails you go, the more you realize how separated you are from the rest of the world.

April might have been too early in the season

We stayed at a backpack site where we were greeted with well maintained paths, great hiking options, and good views. The only con I have with the park is the lack of water accessibility for backpack sites located in Highland Loop. We have to either carry in all water for our trip or do the steep, winding hike to the Visitor Center to refill. There wasn’t any area to filter water. Otherwise, everything was great!

Great spring location!

Lots of different camping spots. All with trees surrounding your area for a little bit of privacy but the spots are relatively close to each other. We really liked the far end of the campsite but would've preferred campsite 89 or 91 or any on those sides because they seemed to have the most room and privacy.

  

Toilets were great and they had some bathrooms not too far away that have running water as well.

  

Trails that ran along the river were great!

Great, Large, Classic Park with River Walks

Great campground with plenty of privacy and space between sites.  Excellent hiking trails along the river.  Restroom/shower building and vault toilets well maintained.

Excellent, can't wait to return! 

Secluded Spots. Plenty of hiking trails. Great views. Dump Station and 50 amps. Right on the St. Croix River

Back to Nature

We were at site 93. It's a large site with plenty of room for a huge tent or a few tents. It was very buggy so we got a screen tent. Nicely shaded site as well.  Not far from the water station and pit toilet. For a bathroom with running water it's a long walk and there's not close parking either. The campground is a long drive into the park from the main entrance.  12x10 screen tent fit easily over the 8' picnic table. 

One of the better state park campgrounds we've stayed at 

Stayed for two nights at a drive-in double site here and found it ideal for autumn camping. We didn’t think we would get colors, but they came out a little early, adding a few splashes to the hiking and river view. 

Site was private enough, the woods surrounding dense enough to obscure others while still feeling open. Also open enough to spot three white-tail deer.

Hike to the Nevers Dam lookout was easy enough for a five year old to walk (most of it) — featuring some very cool fallen trees and a wonderful winding staircase — and the adjacent sandy beach was a pleasant and peaceful surprise. 

One complaint is that the nearby vault toilet reeked of amonia and was unusable so we had to walk to the adjacent loop for bathroom. Silver lining is that we discovered the free little library near that bathroom and grabbed a copy of ‘Ramona the Brave’ for the kiddo. We went back and left a copy of ‘Amira’s Picture Day.’

Serene times at Wild River

Great campground. Clean bathrooms, and friendly at office. Beautiful this time of year! Hiking was awesome