Best Tent Camping near Cotton, MN

Recent Tent Reviews in Cotton

454 Reviews of 13 Cotton Campgrounds

• 

  Tori K.

  Legend

  

  Jan. 28, 2025

  Jay Cooke State Park Campground

  Lost Lake Backpack Site

  such a fun backpack site! The hike in was muddy and buggy as there was quite a bit of rain in the weeks prior to our camping trip. Picnic table, fire ring, and bear locker provided. Site offers great vies of a little beaver pond where you may get to see some wildlife! Site was able to fit 4 backpacking tents, most of which were 2 person size tents, so it is good for a small group. Private latrine a short walk into the woods.

• 

  Tori K.

  Legend

  

  Jan. 28, 2025

  Gooseberry Falls State Park Campground

  North Shore Gem

  Amazing state park; one of my favorites! I try to come here every year, but it is hard to snag a spot. Love the hiking trails and how accessible the waterfall is. Campground has bathrooms and showers as well as potable water. Firewood is available at the state park office as well as any items you may have forgotten to bring such as miscellaneous toiletries and some food items. Highly recommend this park.

• B

  Brooklyn S.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 3, 2025

  Knife Island Campground

  Couple travel

  My boyfriend and I went camping here in October. it was very peaceful the first night, got rained on the second night. We set up at night but our neighbors campers we supper friendly and helped us set up camp. Owners take very great care of the place and stay on site!

• 

  Tori K.

  Legend

  

  Jan. 1, 2025

  Knife Island Campground

  Unique!!

  very unique campground. Be mindful of your rig size and the site you pick. Some sites are going to be difficult for bigger rigs to get into so it may be worth calling ahead for site recommendations from the owner. The campground has an island you can take a wooden bridge over too that offers some fishing spots and a nice little walking trail. Fire ring and picnic table provided.

• 

  Connor M.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 30, 2024

  Gooseberry Falls State Park Campground

  Great waterfall, rivers, sights and hiking trails

  What can I say? It's gooseberry falls. Hiking trails, waterfalls, river's and sight seeing. Close to the North shore beach, close to Duluth, close to adventure. We have come here many times in the past and will continue to come here. My 5 year old thoroughly enjoyed the waterfall and relaxing on the north shore beach. 

  We stayed here on May 25th in site #58 and it was close to the other 2 sites but also was separated by some trees. The facilities were clean and so was the rest of the campground. It's extremely well maintained and we will always keep this as an option for a weekend get away. Weather was great and we look forward to coming back.

• M

  Malte W.

  Traveler

  

  Dec. 28, 2024

  Savanna Portage State Park Campground

  Nice campground - a lot of bugs in the summer

  Savanna Portage State Park is a beautiful and peaceful spot for camping, especially if you enjoy tent camping. The campsites are well-spaced, private, and perfect for tents, offering a great connection to nature.

  The park features a lovely lake that’s ideal for kayaking, fishing, or just relaxing by the water. There are also several great hiking trails, ranging from easy walks to more challenging routes, giving you plenty of opportunities to explore the scenic forest and wetlands.

  One thing to note—there are a lot of bugs in the summer, so make sure to pack plenty of bug spray! Overall, it’s a fantastic place for outdoor lovers looking for a quiet and rustic getaway.

• 

  David T.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 25, 2024

  Trout Lake RV Park and Campground

  Very flexible proprietor

  I came in late October. As are most of the campsites in upper Minnesota this time of year, the owner told me they were closed. But he was happy to let me stay overnight for a reduced off-season fee. There were no hookups at this time of the year. It's a very pleasant lake. A lot of permanent RVs parked here. It's very quiet, although there is a highway that runs right next to the property. For my very small off-season fee, I got a shower included!

• T

  THERESE

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 13, 2024

  Whispering Pines Campground

  The website for this RV park is broken

  The website for this RV park is broken

• 

  Briana H.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 6, 2024

  Buffalo Valley Camping

  Clean, amazing staff, great bar & grill!

  We loved this campground! We didn’t have a long enough hose for the water hookup, so Darrel (the manager) brought one out immediately and we could keep it all night. All the staff was so nice and welcoming. Campground was so clean and nice trails to walk around. The bar & grill had great food and service. 10/10!

• 

  Ioan P.

  Legend

  

  Sep. 16, 2024

  Red Pine Campground

  Most beautiful !

  This campground is extremely clean and charming ! Has everything ! Private.

• 

  Wayne W.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 2, 2024

  Knife Island Campground

  Tight

  Overall a very nice camp for a 4 day. Roads are tight for 30+ rigs. Very rutted. Having a ground guide for the tight parking is a must. Reviews dont mention the 4am horn blowing train. Great time had here.

• 

  Bjoern C.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 21, 2024

  Spirit Mountain Campground

  Good site to explore duluth

  The camp site was big enough for our car and our 6 person tent. The office had weird opening ours. I would recommend getting ice and wood at the nearby gas station. Overall a quiet campground. Was a pleasant experience

• 

  Carissa J.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 13, 2024

  Castle Danger

  Well hidden dispersed spot

  This area is definitely off the beaten path. Super skinny road with lots of rocks/hills and puddles coming in. I would recommend a car with 4WD for it and would not suggest pulling a camper unless you have experience bringing it over rough terrain. The sites themselves appeared to not be visited often. I went in early August and a lot of the places were over grown with plants! It was nice to be right by the north shore but in a spot that felt very much secluded. There was also no bugs here which was amazing! Great spot to hang out by a campfire without getting swarmed. You’ll be able to find plenty of wood from the nearby trees for a fire as well.

• B

  Bryan P.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 10, 2024

  Jay Cooke State Park Campground

  Hike in site: Highland

  The campsite was perfectly good: nice and spacious over looking the river. It is well off the main hiking trail and quite private. The view of the river is heavily obstructed and there really is no easy and safe way down the cliff to the river. Still it is nice to hear the river. You need to bring on drinking water, otherwise you need to go about 1/8 of a mile to a small creek to get filterable water.

  The hike in is easy, but once you are off the main trail (the first mile) the trail is grass—be prepared for lots of ticks.

• 

  Kathryn B.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 10, 2024

  Gooseberry Falls State Park Campground

  We will be back

  The campsite was clean and well taken care of. My daughter and I tented it. It was so much fun! Just enough privacy to get a “real” camping experience, but not so private that we felt unsafe. It was so nice to not worry about bears!

  We found this amazing picnic and hiking trail super close to the campgrounds in Gooseberry.

  We will be back soon!

• 

  Lindsay T.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 5, 2024

  Savanna Portage State Park Campground

  Savanna Portage Long Weekend

  Lovely sites with plenty of trees so most sites are quite private. Mosquitoes are brutal here, especially on the hiking club trail and to a somewhat lesser degree in the campground. We were thankful to have a screen tent for this visit. No Verizon cell service at the campground. Surprisingly good cell service at the Loon Lake area of the park, which also has a beautiful short hike!

• 

  Michael F.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 23, 2024

  Pattison State Park Campground

  Awesome

  Golden

• F

  Frank G.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 21, 2024

  West Two River

  A hidden gem with everything I needed.

  Toward the last minute in July of 2024, I needed RV spaces near water (that I could kayak) for two travel trailers. I found this campground and booked two of the last three spaces available. Three hours from my house, as the crow flies, I found myself visiting Minnesota's iron range. This campground is next to a reservoir with many islands and no current (unless the mining company is pushing or pulling water from the lake. The sites are of varying sizes and some are pull through. Leveling took me a bit, but I found just the right angle to jack up the front of my RV for leveling. My site was smaller, but still large enough for my 20 trailer, a screen house, the picnic table and fire pit, my Grand Cherokee, and plenty of extra room onto which I could probably have put at least three more screen tents, with room to walk. Electricity is provided on each site. There are no water hookups per site, but there are a few water spigots around the grounds to fill fresh water tanks. Because the grounds are small (45 camping sites) a short walk gets you anywhere on the site; like to the showers, beach, and other recreational facilities. Frisbee golf is on site. There is no tank dump available. The campground is surrounded by forest, so wild animals can and do appear. The lake is large enough for some long and interesting kayaking, and there are multiple kinds of fish (from bullheads to northern pike). The woman in charge works very hard to keep these grounds as perfect as possible. The place is clean and mostly dead quiet after hours. Two free showers per gender, but they have minimal privacy. The free showers have sufficient pressure to do the job, although you cannot control the temperature; which I found to be fine, even if it was not the burning hot showers I like to have. The sites have pretty good privacy, although during the day I had to listen to the typical chatting from my neighboring campers. I very much love this campground and will be back as my time permits.There is no wifi. We had strong service on T-mobile and Verizon, so we used our hotspots for media connectivity.

• 

  JAcob G.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 18, 2024

  Cadotte Lake

  Very nice family campground

  Very nice campground for the family. Sort of has a mix of rustic and not rustic camping. Has a lovely beach just a few steps away from campsites. The fishing peer is more like a look out as it’s not in the water and even 20’ out from it it’s pretty shallow yet. Other than that it’s a nice camp ground.

• 

  JAcob G.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 18, 2024

  Sullivan Lake Campground

  Sullivan Lake is awesom

  Been a long time user of Sullivan lake campground. Love the rusticity of it and the quietness of it. So quit you can feel the grouse Drumming’s deep within your soul. Highly recommend.

• S

  Shane D.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 8, 2024

  Sandy Lake

  Small clean park with active host and rangers

  Base camp for fishing Big Sandy. Stayed here several times in a tent and a trailer. Nice sites but surrounded by swampy areas so mosquitoes are thick.

  Very clean, pay attention to north or south entrance. Have to drive on either end can’t cross the dam with a vehicle.

  But firewood before hand as well.

• 

  Stacey N.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 7, 2024

  Pattison State Park Campground

  Lovely!

  The only drawback for us is the 6 hour drive! Huge, wonderful pull thru sites. Wooded for privacy. Easy access to bath and shower rooms from most anywhere. Lots of places to fill water bottles, too. Highly recommend and one of the smartest laid out campgrounds we’ve seen.

• S

  Sara A.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 25, 2024

  Jay Cooke State Park Campground

  Peaceful corner

  As a tent camper, i prefer quiet and private sights. The circle this site was part of, was just that. The walk to the updated bathrooms (with showers) is pretty pretty. It was buggy (mosquitoes) but fire and bug spray kept it manageable. The pit toilet next to site 18 had an occasional waft of smell but nothing too lingering or bad.

• 

  Emelia O.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 15, 2024

  Jay Cooke State Park Campground

  Beautiful Hiking

  The site was nice a secluded but still close to water and bathrooms. The downside to this specific site is that it is close to the group camp so it was pretty noisy.

• R

  Ralph K.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 5, 2024

  Carrol Truck Trail

  Arrived after dark

  Easy to access, trails are all obvious, and near a water supply. We decided to go off the cuff, and the only thing we weren’t ready for was the damn mosquitos! Will be bringing repellent next time. BEAUTIFUL SPOT.

• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  

  May. 25, 2024

  Gooseberry Falls State Park Campground

  Good campground in excellent state park

  Camped here on Oct 23-24, 2023. Attempted to camp here 2 years before, in Sept 2021, but the campground was crowded and booked. But there were plenty of sites available during our stay this past October. Camped at site #59 which is very close to the lake and along the Gitchi-Gami State Trail. The campsite was small; included a table and fire ring. Wooded, but close to other sites. Short path in front of the site leads to the lake. Clean vault toilet was a short walk down the campground road. The campground was nice but nothing special. The state park, however, is fantastic. Hiking trails and walking paths lead to great views of the lake and Gooseberry River. There were a few park benches along lake, which provided a great view of the lake during my morning coffee break. Water and restrooms/showers in the campground were shut down for the winter season (flush toilets were available if you drive up to the visitor center). Firewood was not for sale during our visit. I would love to camp here again but during the off-season when it is less crowded.

• S

  Skip H.

  Ranger

  

  Jan. 18, 2024

  Castle Danger

  Great dispersed camping!

  This spot is pretty well hidden in the woods with a tight trail in. There are a few spots you could camp with stone firepits. Didn't look to be visited often, but I came in winter. There are low sites, and if you have 4x4, you can drive up to another plateau of sites. There's plenty of wood, but depending on location, you'll have to walk for it.