Looking for the best Balsam tent camping? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Balsam, including sites, reviews, and tips. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
River access only.
$10 - $30 / night
Legend
such a fun backpack site! The hike in was muddy and buggy as there was quite a bit of rain in the weeks prior to our camping trip. Picnic table, fire ring, and bear locker provided. Site offers great vies of a little beaver pond where you may get to see some wildlife! Site was able to fit 4 backpacking tents, most of which were 2 person size tents, so it is good for a small group. Private latrine a short walk into the woods.
Be sure to check trail conditions as one of the forks that could be taken to the campsite was flooded and closed.
Guide
I came in late October. As are most of the campsites in upper Minnesota this time of year, the owner told me they were closed. But he was happy to let me stay overnight for a reduced off-season fee. There were no hookups at this time of the year. It's a very pleasant lake. A lot of permanent RVs parked here. It's very quiet, although there is a highway that runs right next to the property. For my very small off-season fee, I got a shower included!
TravelerThe website for this RV park is broken
Ranger
Very well laid out campground with large sites. Unbelievable AGATE MUSEUM at the main entrance. Men’s bathroom was very clean and showers worked great. Nice well groomed trails, well maintained campsites and campgrounds. Tall pines trail is beautiful, not real long. Nice picnic area on the trail across the blacktop road.
Scout
We loved this campground! We didn’t have a long enough hose for the water hookup, so Darrel (the manager) brought one out immediately and we could keep it all night. All the staff was so nice and welcoming. Campground was so clean and nice trails to walk around. The bar & grill had great food and service. 10/10!
Legend
This campground is extremely clean and charming ! Has everything ! Private.
Scout
Was here every summer in the late eighties and early nineties as a kid with my family and it’s still as nice and peaceful as it was then. I’ll continue to keep coming back every summer
Guide
The campground was nicely maintained. Had a nice pool and friendly seasonal campers. The management and reservation process was less than desirable. Very difficult to get ahold of management and upon arrival they had given our reserved site away to someone else and moved us. Paid for a water/ electric site and were moved to an electric only site and no cost difference or refund offered.
Scout
Overall a very nice camp for a 4 day. Roads are tight for 30+ rigs. Very rutted. Having a ground guide for the tight parking is a must. Reviews dont mention the 4am horn blowing train. Great time had here.
Legend
As this was our second time here at Minnesota National, we had no problem finding the course or RV park. The RV navigation in our new Ford 450 was also spot on. When you turn in at the golf course, drive all the way to the club house/lodge parking lot and there’s a road to the right that takes you into the campground (CG). As you check-in online prior to arrival, you simply proceed to your camp site. As you turn down the short road to the CG, there’s a sign to help you identify your site location. We proceeded to back-in site 25 with full hook ups. The utilities are in the back of pad in this CG, so you may need 20+ feet of electric, sewer, or water cord/hose depending on your rig’s configuration. The sewer grade is a bit up hill. We got 3 bars LTE on Verizon and no CG WiFi. There is only a vault toilet/out house in the CG. We came here to golf for two weeks. The 18 hole course is quite challenging where the 9 hole Savannah is shorter and a little bit easier. The golf course restaurant has decent food and a good deal on draft beer during their Sunday to Thursday Happy Hours.There is not much more to do here except golf. McGregor is about 15 minutes away and is where we did laundry and got our groceries.
Guide
The camp site was big enough for our car and our 6 person tent. The office had weird opening ours. I would recommend getting ice and wood at the nearby gas station. Overall a quiet campground. Was a pleasant experience
GuideThe campsite was perfectly good: nice and spacious over looking the river. It is well off the main hiking trail and quite private. The view of the river is heavily obstructed and there really is no easy and safe way down the cliff to the river. Still it is nice to hear the river. You need to bring on drinking water, otherwise you need to go about 1/8 of a mile to a small creek to get filterable water.
The hike in is easy, but once you are off the main trail (the first mile) the trail is grass—be prepared for lots of ticks.
Traveler
We got to the site and we had low branches asked them to cut them. They said they were at there standards so we had hold it up. Them the site next to us had to have rock concrete us and 4 others called several times nothing
Guide
Lovely sites with plenty of trees so most sites are quite private. Mosquitoes are brutal here, especially on the hiking club trail and to a somewhat lesser degree in the campground. We were thankful to have a screen tent for this visit. No Verizon cell service at the campground. Surprisingly good cell service at the Loon Lake area of the park, which also has a beautiful short hike!
Guide
I had the entire park to myself. Beautiful view of the Mississippi River, not far from the headwaters. Enjoyed the sounds of nature as I relaxed in site #6. I took advantage of the on-site fire wood via the Yodel Portal app. Amazed that I had the place to myself.
Ranger
There were a good amount of spots, and I seemed to be the only person. Was a good and secluded. I did hear some weird noises throughout the night, but all was well. It is your average dispersed site. I made it fine with 2wd, just take it slow.
Guide
Base camp for fishing Big Sandy. Stayed here several times in a tent and a trailer. Nice sites but surrounded by swampy areas so mosquitoes are thick.
Very clean, pay attention to north or south entrance. Have to drive on either end can’t cross the dam with a vehicle.
But firewood before hand as well.
Guide
Small and well maintained park as you would expect for a USACE site. Super clean bathrooms. Level sites and great views of the Mississippi.
Road noise from Hwy 2 is a downside.
GuideAs a tent camper, i prefer quiet and private sights. The circle this site was part of, was just that. The walk to the updated bathrooms (with showers) is pretty pretty. It was buggy (mosquitoes) but fire and bug spray kept it manageable. The pit toilet next to site 18 had an occasional waft of smell but nothing too lingering or bad.
Guide
Nice campground well maintained. The water and subsequently bathrooms were not available but this information was available ahead of time of the state park website. The vault toilets were in great shape
GuideThe site was nice a secluded but still close to water and bathrooms. The downside to this specific site is that it is close to the group camp so it was pretty noisy.
Ranger
Friday afternoon 5:00 finished out my work day here. I've had great wireless I'm getting 5G Verizon believe it or not. We're the only ones here it is pretty rustic coming in so if your camper is very sensitive you need to take your time. But the river is going past it's lazy it's quiet I hope it stays quiet all nice and it's $20. Hi Summer might be hot most of the park spots are in the sun but if you had a tent you can find a shady spot down by the river. Their are mosquitoes this year and I don't think the four wheeler trails are highly used I was hoping there would be hiking trails we'll probably just stay one night because the limited walking and I won't go in the high grass with the ticks in the mosquitoes. But it's beautiful I'll upload some pictures in a video.
Ranger
Smaller campsite with less spaces but right on the waters edge which provides a breeze and keeps the bugs down. Wet spring so Kathoy was terrible but works here. Trails, town which has a grocery store, place to wash cloths and a place to trade out the books I've ready for a new set. Good connectivity so easy to work from with decent bathrooms.
ScoutHiking was great, we saw an albino deer on the hiking club trail! Site was a bit tight for our travel trailer and a tight fit to back up on the pad. Recent rain had the campsites pretty muddy but the paved spaces were well maintained.
Guide
We stayed in a cabin for a week of biking. Excellent location with all the trails. It has a great swimming area, though it did get deep fast for little kids. We brought our paddleboard and had a great time on the quiet lake. We did hike up to the top of the camp area and were glad we stayed in the cabins. The shower/bathroom house was nice. Overall, we would stay here again.
RangerYou'll want to come in on 640th lane. The road does a lot of winding, and sections aren't always in the best shape. I wouldn't recommend any trailers unless you have 4x4 and the trailer is set up for offroad. Ideally, this is a better straight vehicle spot. There are numerous spots off the road to camp. I stayed over at the very dead end, which, on Google, is labeled "deer camp." It's quiet and deep in. Good luck. No amenities.
RangerNice well maintained State Park. Some sites (12e) are hard to back a trailer into because the main road is VERY NARROW and not enough radius to back a 24ft trailer using a full size truck, extended cab, with long bed. Nice sized sites and picnic tables.
BRING DRINKING WATER! The water is VERY RUSTY! We even ran the water through a filter and still couldn’t get it cleared up. Sign says better water is by the park office.
Can hear the interstate highway in the park during the night.
Great trails.
We will try site 34 next time, nice location.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Balsam, MN is Jacobson County Campground with a 4-star rating from 1 review.
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