Best Tent Camping near Bigelow, MN

We didn’t stay long due to some severe storms that came through the area, but we had a beautiful tent campsite in the woods very close to some trails and the river. Just be prepared for a short walk from parking to some of the tent sites. The cabins and RV sites looked nice, too. If we’re in the area again we wouldn’t hesitate to stay here.

We stayed there for only 1 night in a tent. It was very nice, a lot of people. We stayed there towards the end of October so they had heaters in the bathrooms. Nice, clean and big showers. The staff was very helpful and friendly. You can hear the train yes, but its not too bed. Would stay there again. For tent site 10 is really nice and big.

We had a great view of the lake from our tent site. Sites were very large for a state park. We had many lovely walks on the trails around the campground. Loon Island was a cool walk on a hot day. Lake Shetek had a fish kill over the winter, so our boat only got one trip out on the lake. I would definitely recommend.

Palisades is a great state park! Everyone there was so friendly and informative-- you can tell they really enjoy where they work. The park itself is beautiful! The only downside was how close the tent campsites were to each other. I would have liked a little more privacy and better views, but the sites were well kept!

We enjoyed our stay in site 10. It was a large site, though on a busy weekend the proximity of 7, 8 and 9 would be bothersome. They have RV/Camper sites, tent only and adorable camper cabins. We were very happy to stay somewhere without a fire ban. The park is also close to Split Rock Park and Devils Gulch. There is plenty of hiking and it is only about 30 min from Sioux Falls. Overall, after looking around, I think 20 would have been the best tent site.

This campsite was great! We had a tent site, number 24, and it was tucked into the woods but still close to the parking lot!

The neighboring sites are far enough away where you still have privacy but if you had two next to each other with a large group it could still function as one. Beautiful hiking trails, play grounds, disc golf, volleyball net, and so much more. Also, the lady at the front was cute as a button!

Highly recommend!

We happened upon this park during the 50th anniversary of the park so there were lots of park events happening. This is a very clean and well maintained park. We tent camp so much of my observations are geared for the tent camper. We stayed at site 34E, a long but narrow and slanted site. We were lucky to find some awkward somewhat flat place for our two tents. This site would be just fine for RV camping but I’d steer clear for tent camping. I’d estimate that 50% of the sites are flat and suitable for tents.
Here are some key take aways from our 3 night stay in late July 2022. -clean and well maintained park

• fair wireless service for Verizon
• well placed and clean shower / restroom houses
• nice playgrounds
• great options on the park for paddle boarding, kayaking, water play as well as additional options at near by Devil’s Gultch and Split Rock parks.
• Very well shaded park
• Grocery store less than 10 min away.
• Mosquitos weren’t a problem during out stay with a little bug spray prevention.
• Nice aluminum picnic tables at all sites. Standard fire pits with grilling attachments.
• employees will enforce local approved fire wood use Negatives:
• lots of biting flies
• if you like private sites this isn’t for you The interesting:
• this is easily the most heavily staffed state park I’ve ever stayed at. If you like a constant park employee presence you’ll like it. I found it to be excessive however. During a 30 min time period we counted 8 employee vehicles to two park visitors driving by. It seemed to create unnecessary road traffic and noise at times. Park employees walk the park on foot in the dark at the 11pm to enforce quite time. There aren’t going to be any site reservation mix ups there either. Park employees constantly check sites and make sure reservations are correct. The camp host was very nice and makes the round frequently.

This park is a CCC built park. Lots of twists and turns for an RV to get to their spot. We have a longer TT, and it was tight and nerve wracking to navigate. We had reserved a spot that was supposed to be long enough for our trailer, but was not. They were luckily not full but the spot we found was on a slope and uneven. I thought about driving 4 hours back home rather than continue to try to get the RV level. Someone across the way took pitty and helped us. I think the best RV spots are up the hill by the bath house.

On Lake Okoboji but heavily wooded no view, acorns dropped on our roof every 10 minutes, I was afraid it would bust the skylight. Marshy area by the tent sites tons of mosquitoes. If you can get a spit at Emerson down the road, do that. Bath house and playground ok. No one answered the phone, no one at the ranger station. Rode our bikes down the road to get the bike trail.

We camped here over the weekend with our dogs. The campground is within 10 miles off of I90.

The park is not very big so there are not many campsites. Some have electric hook up, others are just for tent camping. All of them provide a picnic table and a fire pit. They also have little log cabins. We stayed at campsite 6 which was a very good spot. Some of the other sites seemed very close together without much privacy or shade.

The park staff (rangers, camp host and volunteers) was extremely friendly. They always made sure that we had everything we needed. The rangers also offer different programs on the weekend like learning about geocaching or how to make campfire desserts.

There is one bathhouse for the entire campground. It seemed a little old but got cleaned daily. There are also several vault toilets around the area. From the campground you have access to the water. There are also several short hiking trails from where you can see the rock formations.

It was just a very short ride to the Devils Gulch (Jesse James historical site) or Split Rock Park. There is also a Dollar General close by. We would definitely recommend the campground.

6/12/20-6/14/20 cart in 3

Lake Shetek State Park is located in the SW corner is Minnesota and on Lake Shetek. They have 4 campgrounds. We always up for the more private sites and stayed in the cart-in campground. There are carts available to haul your gear if you choose. The cart in sits sit up on a ridge and had some views of Lake Shetek. Our campsite (3) was spacious with a tent pad large enough to hold 2 tents and had a spot for a hammock. It had a fire ring and picnic table. The vault toilet was right across from our campsite, so we had a lot of foot traffic. It was not the most private site of the bunch, we liked 5 and 7 better.

Lake Shetek allows motor boats and there was a lot of boat traffic. There are other resorts on this lake so it’s very active. We brought our kayaks and enjoyed kayaking the lake, though there was always a pretty big wake and we stayed near the shoreline. We kayaked (a short Portage) to 2 smaller lakes that had no one on them. We were able to tie our boats to a tree below our campsite and scaled up the embankment, there was a path already there. There are a few hiking trails in the state park (roughly 4 miles of hiking tidal) but I wouldn’t say it’s known for its hiking. We enjoyed the causeway that led to the 1-mile Loon Island Trail. We saw turtles, deer, waterfowl and eagles during our stay. There is a “beach” locates near the Oak Wood campground however it was underwater, people still enjoyed swimming as it was shallow and warm in June. We did find another beach within the state park that was a longer walk to reach, but MANY boats were docked and “partying” here. There is a nice fishing pier and a dock within the park.

Due to all the boat traffic, I would say this is a much less private and serene state park.

Found this site by luck just searching on the Minnesota DNR site! Lots of RV sites but there are 4 walk in sites down a small trail, very private and away from everyone else. We chose site 4 and we definitely made the right decision!! Great hiking with beautiful sights. We will definitely be back and are already planning our next visit!

We passed through Palisades State Park earlier this year and spent some time in the day-use area so we knew it was a good place to camp as we passed through South Dakota on another trip. One main (clean) bathhouse with two showers plus two pit toilets for those camping farther away on the loop. A mix of cabins, tent, and electric sites. Lots of trees. LONG driveways and some sites (such as 34E) are very large. The website allows you to view sites, so you know in advance what to expect. Nice walking trails and picnic areas.

Stayed here for an overnight on a cross country trip. It's a beautiful park that was only about half full. We had a big campsite and the entire tent area mostly to ourselves. They was one other party six sites up from us.

Our site wasn't the most level but it worked. I would probably pick a slightly higher number or one with electric even if we didn't need it because they're more level.

Being from out of the region, we were surprised by the number of earwigs, but that's nature, right?

We definitely want to make our way back here for a longer stay.