Best RV Parks & Resorts near Bovey, MN

What a treasure! I was the first person to stay at this campsite and loved it! I am a full-time solo camper in my 5th year. I love off-grid camping. My rig is a GMC Yukon and 17' Casita camper. 

Directions:

Address for house just beyond campsite is 8214 E. Stone Lake Rd. Forbes, MN 

Coordinates are: N47.286675, W092.549313 

Turn on E. Stone Lake Rd. from Highway 7 and where the blacktop turns to gravel drive 2.5 miles then bear right at the fork to remain on E. Stone Lake Rd. Just beyond the fork watch for the red 8217 address marker. The drive into the campsite is directly across the road and before you get to 8214. Park and walk in to get a feel for the site. 

A big rig could back in as far as they want. Smaller rigs will probably pull in and then back into the site on the side with the lovely clearing. The area has some residential housing but the campsite is isolated and very quiet. There is a fern-filled clearing for the campsite which is surrounded by trees. My suitcase solar panels worked reasonably well. I used my generator sparingly. 

I had deer, squirrel, chipmunks and birds including Pileated Woodpeckers, Barred Owls and Common Loons on the lake. I had less than expected mosquitoes. 

The campsite is very close to the north section of Sax-Zim Bog and about 20 minutes from the Visitor's Center. Further down E. Stone Lake Rd. is the Blue Dasher Bog trail. The lake, left fork of the road, has a lovely picnic area with vault toilets, fire rings, picnic tables and boat ramp. 

This was just the kind of hidden gem I love to find.

This is a full service fishing resort with a lodge and cabin rental, but RV and tent camping is also available. The campsites are very nice and wooded, the tenting sites include some very secluded spots back in the woods which is nice for solitude but precludes a view of the lake. There are daily rates as well as weekly rates for camping or cabin stays. This is a top notch place to stay for a fishing vacation, off the beaten path but with full amenities. It can be a destination vacation spot, or can be a great stop-over  for through-paddlers crossing Lake Winnie on the Mississippi River Headwaters Water Trail. Although near the National Forest campground on Tamarack Point, this has many more amenities which is nice when you are so far from the nearest town, especially if you are paddling through and have no vehicle for travel. Amenities include groceries, ice cream shop, full service boat launch and fishing supplies, and more. You might not be into winter camping in a tent, but there are ice houses to rent that you could camp in if you come in winter. More expensive than usual campgrounds, but with more amenities provided and with a stellar location. Pets welcome at no extra charge! Seasonal campsite rental can also be arranged.

While at Leech Lake Recreation Area we stayed in site number 33 which was the electric site with our 30 foot Jayco Eagle travel trailer. There was enough room in the site for a travel trailer truck and probably another tent or screen tent. The other sites were close but not too close. if another travel trailer or RV pulled in it would block our view from their fire ring. The pad was all dirt and you can only set up on the dirt and not on the grass around it. The trees around the site were perfect for hammocks, we hung three of our Kammok brand hammocks. Our only complaint about the site was that the fire pit was dug down into the ground making it kind of unsafe if you had children and the fires didn’t stay lit very well because there was no oxygen going underneath them, so you’re constantly fanning it which was annoying because we cook with cast-iron over the fire for every meal.

We were able to go and take a walk to the lake which is super short walk from pretty much any of the sites but really close from our site. The sunset over the lake were stunning and a loon hung around the dock while we fished.

We took a lot of bike rides around the campground looking at each site and going to the park which was absolutely amazing for the kids. They had basketball courts, a huge playground that was amazing quality, shuffleboard, volleyball, badminton, and a picnic shelter that you could rent out with the cooking area inside the picnic shelter. There are pit toilets and bathrooms close to the playground so that isn’t an issue with little ones. The playground area is a great place to hang out with adults and children.

We took a bike ride to the tent sites as well and found that there are pretty close together and right next to a main road that was kind of noisy. They would probably be good if you got all four at once with a group of people. The dump station for the RVs was right next to the tent sites to which would probably be annoying to see all the RVs on a busy day dumping at the same time.

The federal Dan was a magnificent sight but it was pretty hard to fish around that area without a boat going on the leech lake because of the fast-moving water. They’re also wasn’t an area to swim because it would be unsafe which is kind of a bummer but the playground made up for it.

The park is run by the Army Corps of Engineers volunteers and they were super friendly and kept everything clean and sanitary which was amazing. There was even Washers and dryer’s to do laundry for free and amazing shower facilities that they called comfort stations. Everything was borrow on the loan and bring back which included all of the equipment at the park like basketballs badminton shuffle board stuff and rakes shovels and stuff to clean up your campsite.

All in all this would be a park that we would definitely come back to you and spend a week and possibly have a group of people with kids because it’s a super cool friendly kid park.

The campground is next to a busy road so if you’re looking for peace and quiet you will not get it here. However, we loved that we were able to pull right onto the gravel pad and it was level so we didn’t need to take extra time to level out the camper. The 30 amp electrical and water hookups were nice however they were on the wrong side of the pad which we thought was odd. Everything is on the honor system - even paying for your spot. There is a small box outside the garage that you fill out a form and put the form along with your payment into an envelope and place it in a mail slot. There are 2 sets of primitive bathrooms within the grounds and another standard bathroom with showers underneath the house by the beach area. There is a nice sandy area by the lake to enjoy. The owner was very nice and even pumped out our sewage for us before we left.

First off, and most appealing to me is the fact that there is no cell service. All 12 campsites are first come first serve and you can’t jump a line by going on a website to reserve a spot.  there are no water or electric hook ups but there are hand pumps for pumping water and you could bring a generator or not.
Located north of Grand Rapids Minnesota about 60 miles or 35 miles from Nashwauk Minnesota which is the closest gas station, grocery store or post office. All the sites are back in no pull through sites, generally level however there’s a few that are on an angle

We really enjoyed this park. Electric loop was tight and some sites had minimal privacy. The non electric sites were much more private. All sites had nice shady trees. It's a very forested park. We really appreciated the new restroom facilities. 

We had easy water access for our kayak off the campground loop. And it was easy enough to carry the kayak across to the other lake to explore out there. The beach on the big lake was very nice, clean and there were easily accessible "ends" of the beach to have a dog. The sandbar was expansive! 

This was a great park for campers of all styles; very family friend - it was very busy with lots of kids. Trails can be reached from the campground but the hike to the trails would be a hike in itself for some. Trail heads seemed remote compared to other parks. 

There were temporary problems with the drinking water on the whole campground - couldn't brush teeth with sink water, and had to go to the dump station to fill up from the one safe water spigot, but it wasn't anything that would keep us from coming back.

This is a relatively new (2016?) campground built right next to the Minnesota National Golf Course clubhouse, and in the corner surrounded by Savannah holes 8 and 9. It’s literally inside the golf course.

Gravel pads, some a bit out of level. All 50 amp water and sewer. Some great options in here for group camping as there are several loops you could be placed in the have sites near one another.

Our site (33) was tucked way back in the woods, had a nice bit of privacy.

No bath house.

The golf course is amazing - one of the nicer public courses in the state. I can see a lot of folks choosing this RV park as a golf vacation - we were here because we were spending two weeks with family on Big Sandy Lake, just ten minutes away.

Don’t miss breakfast at the Palisade Cafe and dinner/beers at the Craft House - both are legit culinary experiences, not Sysco reheaters.

With 50+ sites, park was full for the three days around July 4, but was under 50% the rest of the time. An under appreciated gem.