Best Equestrian Camping near Cass Lake, MN

I've never been to an equestrian camp before, and this was a surprise! I didn't know it was one until I arrived. But surprise or not...it was a happy accident to find the Shell City Equestrian Camp. What a beautiful little place to drop a tent, even if you didn't have a horse! And even though there was snow on the ground and a serious chill in the air, I still had the gitty up and go to make some Mountain House Beef Stew, but this time, with a twist!

Campground Review:

Shell City Equestrian Camp (and sister Shell City Camp) are run by Itasca State Park, so any info about this campground can be found under the State Park website. When I set out for the day, I anticipated finding a campground on the river, and I did find one there, but I didn't know they had a sister camp for horses. They are both located off the same road, but the equestrian campground had two ways to get in. Both are equally good, but come from different directions. The road is gravel/dirt and not a bad drive, but being unpaved, it's a bit bumpy. Be gentle when you drive. I visited in the winter, so I had snow on top of bumps and ruts and my all wheel drive was appreciated. I don't think I'd want to drive the 1/2 mile on this road in deeper snow.

Near the entrance, there are a few campsites with picnic tables and because the road into the campground is off the beaten path, I doubt there would be much traffic to bother anyone. Just past these sites are hitching posts and more campsites around a large, open area that I assume would be for horse trailers and campers (note there are no hookups here). Around the perimeter are more picnic tables, fire rings and a scattering of horse pens set in the woods. Very quaint! There was even a three stall covered horse stable (three sided). The campground also had a pit toilet and water pump for horses and people. Even if I didn't have a horse (and I don't), this would be a lovely place to drop a tent for the night. There were even horse trails to explore. Even though I didn't stay the night here, it was a great little find in the middle of the woods!

Cost for this spot was $16/night on the honor system at a drop box near the entrance.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally have the opportunity to test amazing products from incredible companies and this time, I had the pleasure of trying out Mountain House Beef Stew, but on top of the product testing, I had a culinary challenge! I was asked to create a new dish from this freeze dried meal, and my tastebuds were rewarded!

This beef stew is a medley of tummy pleasing comfort foods wrapped into a meal that's perfect for a blustery day. Beef, potatoes, carrots and peas with a gentle sprinkle of spices. Seriously yummy by itself as long as you have enough patience to give it the time it needs to absorb the hot water. These meals are fully cooked, but since they are freeze dried, they take time to re-hydrate, so add the water, zip up the special bag that allows you to "cook in the bag" and walk away. Set up your tent. Hang your hammock. Go to the bathroom. Just wait...and stir...and wait. And then YUM! Absolutely worth having a little patience.

But then there's more...

I turned mine into East Indian Couscous Stew.

I was asked to take this meal and turn it into something else to tempt the tastebuds, and I wanted to keep it simple so that it could be done on the trail. What better way to keep the body nourished than to keep the flavors interesting so you actually want to eat it? I found a simple recipe at home to make an East Indian Spice Blend and then added in some plain couscous. Here's how I modified the prepared meal.

Indian Spice Blend: (mix all together and put in a little shaker)

2T Curry powder

2T Cumin powder

2 t Turmeric powder

2 t Coriander

1 t Ginger powder

1/2 t Cardamom powder

1/2 t Cinnamon powder

Recipe: I opened the Beef Stew package and added 1/2 cup of plain couscous and 1 T of spice blend. Then I added about 4 oz of extra water (beyond what the package called for) to compensate for the re-hydration of the couscous. Then, follow the package directions and that's it. Voila! Tummy yummy goodness! I served it with tortillas to bulk up the meal a bit.

note I had a little trouble with the zipper on this bag. I don't know if it ripped, or if the cold outside made the zipper brittle, but I couldn't get it zipped back up for the required "sitting" time. So I kept spilling the water while trying to agitate the bag. No harm, just a little frustrating.

The package says it contains 2.5 servings, but I don't know any "half" people, so I'll say two servings, and I'll say that's probably two hungry women. Especially since the couscous adds more bulk to the meal. A very hungry man could probably eat this alone, but you'll need to make sure you can divide this up in one sitting, because extra leftovers won't keep well on the trail. But I've never been hiking or camping when I couldn't find a willing guinea pig needing free food!

Great little campground, hot, filling meal on a chilly, snowy day. Perfection!

A free county camp very well maintained grass with nice toilet, clean well water, firepit, benches all well cared for. I was alone all day mid week in summer until a big rig pulled up at 10pm and took half the other spots about a dozen horses. It seemed cool for one night as a tenter but a clicky type of horse owners environment where they may not want folks without horses. A nice creek near by with space and a interesting place for my dogs to soak in all the smells even if its just one night.

Shell City Campground is in the Huntersville State Forest. If you want to camp in the woods, you want to be in the woods. Even if you are in a city. This camp is off the beaten path, without being "out of the way". Making your way there in any season without snow is certainly going to be easier, but even if there is a little snow, you'll be fine as long as you have all wheel drive. And it was really quiet! Such a pretty view!n I didn't get a chance to stay here (it's winter right now), but with only a small amount of snow on the ground, it made it easy to get a really good feel for how it might be.

Only a short distance off the main road, this isn't hard to find as long as you follow the signs. And don't get distracted by the "horse camp" sign like I did. Yes, there is a horse camp there, but if you drive just past the horse camp, you'll find a very clearly marked path to the regular tent camping sites. They are only a hop, skip and a jump apart, though, so they are easy to get to one from another.

This campground is accessible from the road if you are driving and the river if you are canoeing (and I suppose if you happen to be hiking in the area, it's easy to get to as well). If you came off the river, it's a very easy "in" from the water. Two entrances are available. One is a dirt landing that you ease into (boat landing style with a little, tiny lot for a car to pull into) and...you're there! The other comes up to about 6 wooden stairs, but nothing hard about it at all. If by car, the road winds down a tiny path and into the campsites. Easy breezy.

There is room for RVs, the sign says, and they are the same price as tents.

Tents are $14 (or you can put a camper on the site for the same price, but no hookups), or you can rent it as a "group site" for $28 (20 people max). Now I'm not sure what that means, but $28 seems awfully cheap to rent the entire place. It's not a giant campground, but there's plenty of room. All pads are within view of the river and there are plenty of trees (mainly pine) for hammocks. And the wind in the trees is divine! Ever so often you can hear a bit of road noise, but it's incredibly minimal. Especially if the wind is blowing.

There were several pit toilets. Very unusual to have more than one in a camp of this size, but nice, nonetheless! There was also a water pump for drinking water that was very easy to pump. The sites have picnic tables and fire pits too. The view of the river was my absolute favorite because it's at a bend in the river, so you can see both ways. This time of year, the ice was forming, but the water was still moving. It made for very pretty photos!

I can't wait to pitch a tent here in the spring!

I saw the sign for a campground on the road and I thought I check it out. It's a campground by a lake with a hiking trail, pit toilettes, and boat launch. 

People come here off-roading, fishing, boating, and hunting.

I was visiting in September, Labor day weekend, and half of the sites were empty. I got a really nice, large spot on the lake. It's a primitive campground, with no any sort of electricity or even garbage service. First come first serve, there is an envelope stand at the entrance.

Depending on what way you are coming from, you have to drive a few miles on gravel forest roads. It's not bad though.

I did try the trail that goes around the lake, it's about 3.5 miles long. It goes through the forest mainly, not a very exciting trail, very easy. There is a place where you can walk on the bog and sit down on a bench for a nice view. That was the pretty part.

So many mosquitos though, you better spray yourself before going on the hike. I forgot and bugs were chasing me. I couldn't stop at all, I was rushing through the trail.

Overall, a nice National Forest Campground, quiet it's perfect for an outdoorsy weekend.

I had a strong AT&T signal, enough to run Netflix and do online surfing.