Looking for the perfect glamping experience near Bloomington? Camping has always been a favorite form of travel for many, but Bloomington, MN glamping is a new and unique way to do it. Glamping offers quick access to one or more of Bloomington's most popular destinations.
Located on the St. Croix River, just 20 miles east of Saint Paul, Afton State Park is great for those looking for camping near Minneapolis and is 1600 acres of rolling prairies, oak woodlands, and limestone river canyons amid an ancient glacial landscape. The land for the park was acquired in 1967, but it took almost 15 years of planning revisions and compromises with local residents before the park finally opened in 1982. Little development has gone into Afton State Park in an effort to maintain its natural characteristics, and former farmland atop the bluffs are continuously being restored to their original state. This makes Afton an ideal destination for campers looking to experience the outdoors in a wilder setting.
Load up your backpack with all you’ll need for your stay, as camping at Afton State Park requires a hearty, 0.75-mile hike in from the parking area. The year-round campground offers 27 rustic sites with picnic tables and fire pits, with options for pitching your tent in either open or wooded areas. There is drinking water, a vault toilet and firewood is supplied within the camp area. There is also three boat-in campsites, and two group campsites that can accommodate up to 60 people each. If you’d rather not rough it, the park also offers four camping cabins and two yurts, some of which are wheelchair accessible. There are also several picnic areas and restrooms within the park. Campsite rates range from $15–$23/night; cabins range from $55–$70/night, and yurts $50–$65/night.
When you’re ready to explore, start at the park’s Nature Store where you can pick up information about the park’s flora and fauna, or join a nature walk. Then choose from more than 20 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails, as well as a short barrier-free path. If you’re visiting in winter, many of these trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Bring your GPS and go on a geocaching treasure hunt, or bring your binoculars and go on safari for a variety of migratory birds, waterfowl, and wildlife, including deer, foxes and badgers. And little ones will love becoming Junior Park Naturalists and learning about bugs, birds, plants and other critters. If you’re looking for a real outdoor adventure, Afton State Park has what you’re looking for.
$20 - $75 / night
$15 - $18 / night
$20 - $32 / night
Cleary Lake Regional Park has 20 sites for tents only and 2 RV sites with full hookups.
$16 - $50 / night
$85 / night
Backpack sites, located on remote lakes and ponds throughout the park, are one to two miles from the trailhead parking. New log camper cabins, located near lakes and ponds, provide bunk beds for six people and a table and benches for campers who want more of the creature comforts.
Guide
Minnesota State Parks have just started to build Yurts for 3 campgrounds around the state; Afton, Cuyuna and Glendalough State Parks. These have some great amenities and are perfect for family camping, especially in Fall, Winter and Spring.
ScoutI have stayed multiple times in the hike in camp sites and also in the yurt! The hike in sites were beautiful with a view looking over the St. Croix River. It was a shaded site perfect for our hammocks, it was quiet and very secluded. The Yurt was very cool! Very comfortable beds and plenty of space for the 6 of us to stay and sleep. The fire pit and picnic table wasn't far from the yurt which made it nice to not have to walk too far since we camped in the winter. I highly suggest the expeeience of the yurt!
ScoutAfton is a gorgeous park. There's beautiful trails that take you through dense woods and prairie, and then you take a pretty decline to get to the St Croix River. It was foggy when we were there but still gorgeous. We also managed to get a yurt and it was so much fun. Comfy beds, room for 7 and it was clean and well built. This is a great park!
Scout
Everything was beautiful. We camped for a week in southern Minnesota state parks, but this one is our favourite.
Ranger
Interesting place, you can read about it here
GuideBeautiful, small state park less than an hour south of Twin Cities. Sites are wooded and shady but some are close to neighboring sites. Not too many mosquitos or flies for August in Minnesota! Sakatah Singing Hills paved trail runs through the park. It was pouring on Saturday so most of the other campers checked out and we had the campground mostly to ourselves. Super friendly and helpful staff, clean restrooms. Faribault is 15 minutes away so we went antique shopping at Keeper's Antiques downtown and had cocktails at 10,000 Drops Distillery for rainy day activities.
Guide
My partner and I scheduled a 3 day / 2 night stay in a new Vintage Cruiser RV for $39.99, in exchange for attending a presentation on private membership.
We checked in Wednesday evening, and the nicest staff I've ever met helped us acclimate to RV living. We are new to this game. They patiently described how to utilize the grey and black water tanks, as well as encouraged us to check-out the canoes, row boats, bikes, horseshoes, ladder golf and many other entertainment items - for FREE!
The map provided was accurate which made locating the cruiser a breeze. There were further instructions inside as well. The RV was immaculate. Provided for our use were all linens (a public very clean bath and shower was just across the road), dish soap, dish towels, paper towels, flat wear, plates, bowls, mugs and pans.
The campground has a couple of ponds, as well as access to Ham Lake where the watercraft is launched. There is a petting arena with goats, ponies, and a llama who gave my partner the stink eye, but fell in love with me rubbing the fence and giving me all googly eyes!
The clubhouse sells bundled wood, ice, snacks, cold drinks, ice cream and provides 24-hour fresh coffee. There is also a small resupply area, and gift shop.
There are pull-through sites, back ups, 50 and 30 amp hook ups, and tent sites, covered pavilions, picnic tables and fire pits.
The campground itself seems remote, secluded and peaceful, however, you are conveniently located to two well-stocked convenience stores, as well as Wal-Mart about 15 minutes away. It's also only about 45 minutes from the Minnesota Twin Cities.
One note: We visited in August and needed gallons of bug spray.
We very much enjoyed our get away!
Traveler
I can't really speak for any of the other sites here, but 13 is the only one right on the water and it's HUGE with lots of trees and absolutely beautiful scenery. I imagine in the middle of summer, it might feel slightly less secluded as there are 3 other sites relatively close by, one of which you have to walk through to get to this one, but in early September, no one else was around and it was PERFECT!
TravelerI went with Boy Scouts
ScoutWe always stay at the Cleary point group camp and we love it. It used to have toilets but last year only had a port-a-potty which was less than ideal for a group of 40 people. We would end up driving to the main building sometimes. The camp is great though, 4 or 5 hookups and a private dock and the whole site is private and on a little point so the lake is surrounding you. Only caught a few catfish and bass there but still a great view fishing.
GuideWe camped here last minute when the rain held off and we could only find this campground with availability. We haven’t done much camping at Regional Parks but this park did not disappoint! Our “hike in” spot was very close to the car but hidden in a forest. Gorgeous spot. We walked around and looked at all the other sites and each was unique and pretty. I would have liked staying at any of the sites. Cleary Lake is a good size and a kayakers delight! The park also has a golf course and is very well kept! We really want to use one of the large group camp sites for a weekend party!
TravelerI really like the hike in sites. Short walk from the car and right by the water yet spaced nicely for privacy.
LegendLots of good trees and space between campgrounds which isn’t always the case at the regional parks. The access to water is really nice and a couple sites were perfect.
The hike in sites are super close to the car so it doesn’t even require much work. Plan to come here again!
Ranger
Super nice area very scenic great bathroom facilities. Cabins are nice and have great woods and trails around them.
GuideEach cabin has four sleeping spots: 2 bunk beds, and the 2 couches convert to beds. There's a heater inside, but no AC, which makes these the most suitable during the spring and fall.
There is a fire ring outside of each cabin, along with a table. No cooking is allowed inside the cabins, which can make things rough if the weather isn't cooperating.
We enjoy hiking around the trails, but we primarily go to decompress, lounge around, and play games, read, etc. There's WiFi available, but depending on which cabin you reserve signal will be took weak for real usage. Same for mobile data -- don't plan on cell service here.
The bathroom facilities are nice. Outside water is shut off during some parts of the year, so bring your own drinking water if you are camping close to/during winter.
Cabins are accessible for those who need special assistance, which is nice. The only caveat is I don't recall there being an automatic door opener to the cabins.
While the cabins are close together, noise is not a factor once you're inside.
It's difficult to get reservations, so I recommend trying to start booking 120 days in advance, which is the farthest out you can reserve. For example, as of this review (early June), all weekends are booked for all cabins.
LegendThe cabins in the woods are great in winter with snow on the pine trees. I would probably prefer the prairie cabins in the summer, especially with mosquitoes. The prairie cabins have significantly less privacy though with trails on either side that have good views into the heavily windowed cabins.
The cabins are well-built and heated. The wooded cabins have what seems like full-sized mattress bunk beds built into the wall. Each bunk has its own reading light. The storage in this place is amazing. Storage under the bed, one counter with ample storage under it, and even the windows are so deep that I was able to store most of my food on the sill.
The biggest downside is the middle-of-the-night trek to the bathroom. The bathroom is heated and open year round. There are two year round showers as well, but don’t plan on a long shower to unwind unless you like cold water. There was maybe 2 minutes of hot water. Basically enough to wash your body quickly, it was easy enough to avoid getting my hair wet. The shower room is also set to a cool 58 degrees in the winter. I do suspect that the floors are slightly heated though. You will need to dart across to the bathroom to blow dry your hair if you’re washing it in the winter.
You can use a slow cooker and a coffee pot in the cabin. Otherwise you can cook over the fire as well. They have potable water in the bathroom for washing your dishes in the cabin with.
Close enough to town if you need something, far enough away for peace and quiet.
LegendSuper simple camping cabins. They each have 4 spots and have contactless entry as you get sent a code to use. There is no cooking inside the cabin so you have to use the fire ring outside. Shower facilities are really nice and match the cabins. Plan ahead as these are hard to come by.
Guide
Watch out for stinging nettles! Campsite 100!
GuideLots of space between campsites. They aren’t very private though. Great playground and green space for the kids, beach is very nice. Bathrooms are clean.
TravelerWent camping for the first time, with 2 kids (8 and 4). Bathrooms were clean, there was a beach and playground nearby. Enough shopping nearby also to replenish groceries but feels woodsy. Nice nature area nearby as well.
ScoutWhile some sites are a little uneven and better suited to RVs than to tents, all sites are spacious and clean. Campground management is helpful and friendly, and even has little fire starting bundles if you're having a rough time getting that fire going. The swim area was cool after a hot day and the beach was gently sloping and smooth.
ScoutSuper quiet& relaxed atmosphere!A cute lil beach for swimming! This campground even has 2 walking/hike-in campsites to give your avid campers a real out-in-the-middle-of-nowhere kind if feel, like you drove hundreds if miles to get away from the hustle and bussle if the city to be in an exclusively secluded camping adventure! Only this campground is just minutes from the major city (Minneapolis)! So it great because u feel like ur on a far away vacation when really if you forgot something, you could run back home if you absolutely needed to! :) this campground also has miles connected trails that lead through prairie lands and to a nature center where you and your kids can learn about the natural surrounding habitats. It really is one of my favorite campgrounds! No showers
TravelerLake Auburn’s sites are all along a one way road that loops through the campground. While the park is nice and has mature trees, the sites are very open and offer little privacy between sites. The only separation is the driveway where you park your car. I stayed here during the week though, so there wasn’t another camper anywhere near us. I’m not sure how busy it gets on the weekends.
The playhroubd is nice, the vault toilets have automatic lights at night, which is pretty nice, and the beach has couple large shade umbrellas and a fishing dock. The facilities here are very nice, but I like my camp sites to be more private than what Auburn Lake has to offer.
TravelerThey’re closing soon, but I caught this campground in their last 2 weeks open for the season! Feels lucky.
It’s right off the highway, and very easy to find. The camp is very well-maintained, the beach is gorgeous, and the staff was extremely nice over the phone when I set my reservation.
10/10
RangerNice, well-maintained campground good for drive-in camping and RVs. Close to several towns in case you forgot something.
GuideI can't add much more to the other reviews. The toilets were nice (no water). The sites are a little close together. I had a group in 3 campsites across from me with kids and noisy adults so couldn't find peace in my own campsite. But the Eady walk to the lake, sitting on the dock or the grass and swimming III m the water are a great way to destress. I would recommend it but am not sure you will find silence here unless you can pre-select your site away from others.
RangerLake Auburn Campground part of the Carver Park Reserve was an awesome primitive style campground. We stayed here in late September and into October. There are 57 sites with an unguarded beach, playground, volleyball court and tons of miles of trails to shred on foot or bike. All of the campsites are very clean along with all of the other facilities and amenities they offered. The playground is awesome for all ages as it accommodates something for all ages and size groups from a traditional playground set for the younger ones, volleyball net and concrete bag toss boards(which you would need to bring your own bags, but possibly could rent if the office was open). I think there are more things that you can rent when the office is open as well(only during prime season). We would highly recommend staying at this campground and look forward to checking it out in the summertime!
Check out our blog at www.unnamedadventures.com and follow our journey on Facebook and Instagram or on our YouTube Channel at Unnamed Adventures.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Bloomington, MN is Afton State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 36 reviews.
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