Best Equestrian Camping near Circle Pines, MN

First thing you need to know: It's completely in the woods, and sites are FULLY shaded. Sites 28-38 are on a loop with a picnic pavilion in the middle with some openings for sun on the road and in the picnic area. Other than that, the rest of the campground is rather dark all the time; there aren't as many sunlight openings on the road to the other sites. This is not a good place for solar panels, but almost all sites are electric.

Nice price: Cost is $20/$16 for electric/non-electric. This is an Army Corps of Engineers park which means you pay $10/$8 if you have an NPS Lifetime Senior Pass.

Services: There are full services at this campground - flush toilets, sinks, showers, trash receptacles, and drinking water/dump station near the entrance. There is an interpretive center for Saturday evening ranger programs and a playground next to it.

Roomy sites: This campground is small, but almost all sites are large. There are 38 sites plus walk in tent sites A through G and a group site. It looks like sites 28-38 can be rented for a group; the entrance was blocked off when we were there.

Equestrian section may be open to campers without a horse: There is an equestrian campground about a half mile before the main campground entrance. You may camp in the equestrian area (E1-E10) without a horse if the main area is full. We were able to reserve a site in there a couple days ahead of time because the main campground was full. It was just us and one other family on a Saturday night, and neither of us had a horse. We moved to the main area on Sunday morning because lots of sites were open on Sunday.

During these COVID times everyone wants to get out and about more, which means that the main parking lot for the park that used to be mostly designated for horse trailer parking is now overrun with family vehicles. So as a result the Riverbend group equestrian campground is now the parking lot for day visitors through at least August. 

In normal times you can rent this group campsite for$70-$80 a night, which is ridiculously cheap considering that you can fit quite a bit of horse trailers on here. The information for this site states you can put 10 horse trailers on this lot, but I have definitely seen groups camp here with more. The barn stalls are available for use (unlike the Blue Stem horse site), otherwise there are overhead horse hitch lines. 

This campground is nicely maintained and has nice mature trees that a lot of people set up hammocks in. The vault toilet near the barn is nice, there are no showers. Be aware that the road into this group site only is wide enough for one vehicle at a time, so far I’ve been lucky to not encounter another vehicle as I’m entering or leaving.

Well, it snowed … in late March. I stayed in the campground in late March, 2025. This is a big park with a diversity of hiking, equestrian, and canoeing options. Since the park runs along the St. Croix, there are beautiful river-side walks to be had. There are also Oak Savanna trails. Several trails are for horses, but that isn’t my scene. I stayed in the campground for two nights. It was cold, rainy, and that turned into 5” of snow. Like many MN State Park campgrounds, you are close to your neighbors with no real private offerings. I stayed in site 66e. It was a typical site with nothing bad nor special about it. The hike to the former Dam site is the neatest thing about the park. I recommend reading the historical information at the site of the dam. Having been here once, I see no reason to come back.

For a County Park, Lake Elmo has an impressive list of amenities. Before we even get to the campsite let's mention the filtered swimming pond. This man made pond is a sandy bottom and surrounded by a nice sand beach. Large built in umbrellas are available for sun coverage and there is a concession stand and bathrooms with showers. And yes, as I mentioned the water is filtered! No gross goose poop or green algae to deal with! Next to the swim pond is a giant playground with fun for the big and little kids. Other amenities include archery, horse trails, paved and grass trails, camper spots, rustic spots and hike in camping spots. In winter the xc ski trails are lit for evening skiing. Or let's be honest early afternoon. It is Minnesota and the suns down by 4 In the Winter! They also have a newer Nordic center that's open all year round and includes a locker room with showers. The hike in camp spot we chose was on a small lake so it had a nice breeze and made it easy to bring a kayak or paddleboard and hop right in. There is also a boat launch for your larger toys! The trails in the park are quite impressive for its size. We enjoyed a 5 mile loop off the Nordic center and right past the camp spot. A picnic table and fire pit as well as nice flat tent pad were provided. If you're coming in from out of town then you're just a 5 minute drive from Woodbury and all the amenities you'd ever need but the park feels miles away from it all.

This is my all-time favorite park to bring my horse to, and it's her favorite trail too. Seriously, when we head back to our trailer she will stop and refuse to proceed. Do a 180 on the trail and she is happy to trot away from the trailer. Horse camping is available in two locations in the park, even though once when I was there a family was camping in the parking with their horses. Apparently they got the cops called on them by some other park patrons who didn't believe that this was an option. At the time it was marked as a camping location on the map, but that may have changed.

The best place to be bug-free happens to be the sandy prairie trails, the wooded areas are nice but you may want to hustle out of there if you don't have enough bug protection. For non-horse riders some parts of the trail out in the open prairie might be a bit sandy. Also important to note- bikes are NOT allowed on the trails. Absolutely gorgeous in the fall. Pit toilets are available and there is water available at the entrance off of Park drive, not sure about the other locations.

This campground is on a first come, first serve basis. There are no reservations for the regular sites (although I do think they might take reservations for the equestrian and group sites).

I highly recommend the walk-in-sites for the most private tent camping experience. The walk from the car isn’t far, but the sites are off the road and in the pines. If you like to have your car at your site, you’ll find some sites with nice long driveways that can accommodate multiple cars, or even a truck with a boat/trailer. The beach is nice and private, but it’s a bit of a hike from the campsites. I’d recommend just hopping in the car and driving over if you’ve got young kids with you.

There is no store or firewood sold at the campground, so you’ll have to haul your own in from an approved vendor.

Lake Elmo County Park in Washington County Minnesota is a great park for families. There are a bunch of things to do including hiking, horseback riding, swimming in their filtered pond, boating and an insane playground. Our modern site 40 was in a great open location with a shaded edge. We had plenty of room to play, park the camper or set up tents. I can imagine in the heat of summer the lack of shade trees may be a hindrance to avoiding the noon day sun but there's always the amazing filtered swimming pond to go cool off in. Directly behind the site was a hiking trail that led us through woods, fields and prairie. The water source was just a couple campsites down but the bathrooms were a little farther so when coming with just tents you may want to search for a closer campsite. Overall clean and open.