Looking for the best options for tent camping near Bigelow? Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Bigelow, including sites, reviews, and tips. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Guide
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.
ScoutTent camping spots are large and separate from RV spots .$15 a night for tents. Only problem was the distance to the bathroom. We had a very nice spot on the lake. Large grassy campsite with shade.
Traveler
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.
Guide
This is a pretty little campground next to a river. Tent sites have a loop in the back and rv sites are along the road. This campground is never full so if you need a spot for a night, this would be a good one to check. Lots of green grass and a nice playground. Many people do some fishing here too.
TravelerWe love the tent camping. Large sites. Dog friendly. Trees for the hammock. We have 3 kids 5 and under. They like it too, but there are cliffs and water, so plan accordingly. Also, trains. The kids think it's cool watching the trains to by, but they do go in the middle of the night. So, if that's a deal breaker for you, so be it. If, like me, it's not, then this is definitely worth checking out.
Traveler
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.
Guide
Decent size spots with lakefront views at just about all of them. There is a swimming hole with a little beach and walking/bike trail. They have tent sites that you have to walk to but they are right on the water away from all of the RV sites. The town of Rock Valley is small but very quaint. I'd reccomend the coffee shop Rooted. Will definitely be coming back here.
GuidePalisades 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!
TravelerWe 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.
ScoutThis 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!
LegendWe 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
Scout
This is the definition of a hidden gem. The park is well maintained with friendly staff. There are nice trails around the lake and more in the lower unit. There is disc golf and kayak rentals and a small store where you can buy ice, firewood, souvenirs, and an ice cream treat.
For extra peace and quiet, get the tent only (non electric) sites across the lake! There are a variety of sites if you want to “rough it” or not. Bathrooms are clean.
You can tell the workers here care about the park and your experience. I found 0 trash on the trails, and I usually come out with a handful.
It fills up on weekends with “seasonals” but all the sites have trees and nice shade that gives you a sense of privacy. Theres a tent site close to the playground and bathrooms perfect if you have kids.
Scout
I camped here for a couple months 2 summers ago. I was having remediation at my place. A small tornado came thru while there. Tent sites cramped and directly below RV dump and it washes down to tent area with heavy rain I'm sure. Upper restroom clean lower is yuck. They cater to people that have more cash & the owner/ older man is openly hostile to certain patrons. He is u friendly and impersonal & constantly roves park. Our tent got destroyed so just until morning we sheltered under pavilion there were few people there and we were alone in tent area but he decided we couldn't stay the last week we we needed to. He gave no reason and the prior week asked if we stole fire wood and a camp chair which we did not. The chair turned up the wood anyones guess. Probably the yuppy drunks unsupervised kiddos that gathered every weekend to drink and allow kids to run feral and prove lord of the flies mentality lol. I kept my campsite spotless never had a problem with another camper and even picked up garbage above mentioned kiddos flung everywhere. So if your of a certain class and caucasian you'll be welcomed otherwise......... Hrmmmm I nicknamed it yogi nazi arien camp.
Guide
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.
LegendWe 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.
Legend
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.
ScoutThere are 8 spots at this campground for RVs to tents.
Guide
Very cheap , 15$ a night for rv with electric and water, 5$ for tents. Huge swimming area with slides for kids, and river with a lot of fish!!! Brand New shower houses .
TravelerFound a site with no problem but clearly this is an RV focused campground. I did find a nice grassy area for my tent but my neighbors aren’t far. The river is nice and the walking trails are ok.
Scout
Camp sites for tents are super tiny and irregular shaped. Lots of sloping on sites. Generally tight quarters to other campers and plenty of road noise until about 10 PM. A few good options for fishing, boating and hiking near by.
LegendHad such a great time here! It was pretty windy for a tent. But the pool was very nice. The kids loved meeting Yogi Bear!!!
GuideBeautiful lil place with lots of scenery to look at, only a few rv spots, but a lot of nice tent spots. Might not be the greatest for kids under 5 , due to all the cliffs, but other than that we loved it!!
Guide
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!
LegendThis campground is right on spirit lake and a really wonderful peaceful place to spend a night. There is not really any hiking but we stayed here on a drive through Minnesota and found it to be perfect. It was not crowded and the sites were fairly private. There are several central water and bathroom areas and you can walk down to the lake from the sites. We ended up watching both sunset and sunrise from the lake. Each site has its own picnic bench and firepit and you drive your car right up to the site.
TravelerCampground was nearly full of local campers but the kids played great together. Decent pool & showers, fun activities like bags tournaments and a potluck. We had a pull thru spot, leveling was tricky. They let us put up a tent for no additional cost. I think it was around $25 night for full hookup. Was a fun campground & the national pipestone monument area is right across the road. Really neat interactive place to visit.
LegendWe 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.
GuideStayed 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.
Tent camping near Bigelow, Minnesota offers a chance to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the great outdoors. With several campgrounds in the area, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Bigelow, MN is Cenla Campgrounds with a 0-star rating from 0 reviews.
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