Best Tent Camping near Crystal, MN

Recent Tent Reviews in Crystal

682 Reviews of 29 Crystal Campgrounds

• R

  Ryan P.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 31, 2024

  South of Sand Dunes State Forest

  Nice place. Lots of traffic

  Plenty of spots. Fairly small spots. This road is pretty busy for a dirt forest road and people FLY down it. Almost got hit a few times walking. Even through a Wednesday night cars are flying down the road.

• 

  David T.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 23, 2024

  Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park Campground

  A really excellent stop over, although I didn't need a whole hookup!

  I was traveling Eastward through the upper Midwest and had a really hard time in this area finding a place to camp. I finally came across this place. There was some suggestion that there was some drive in sites that were not reservable, that is. They were first come first serve. But I was unaware or unable to find those. I ended up paying a fair amount of money for a full hookup site. The bathrooms were extremely modern and clean.

  There were some really nice wide trails around the lake. I think those were basically designed for cross-country skiing in the winter. But they made a perfect opportunity for me to let the dog run off. Leash. Probably was not within the rules, but it was very quiet there and the dog didn't bother anybody with her running.

• 

  Katherine T.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 11, 2024

  Wild River State Park Campground

  Solid option with star gazing

  This is a solid state park offering. The sites are decently spaced with good tree cover. Noise seemed to travel between sites, I had some loud neighbors during the day but they settled down before quiet hours. The grass was easy to get tent stakes into. Bathrooms were your basic state park situation. Clean with warm showers so no complaints from me. The star gazing area was great! Intermittently had 1-2 bars of T-Mobile with LTE Internet. Wi-Fi is available at the park entrance.

• 

  Katherine T.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 1, 2024

  Nerstrand Big Woods State Park Campground

  Nice weekend get away

  Nice distance from the twin cities for a weekend away with some nice hiking trails. The tent pads have been upgraded to pea gravel by the friends association (which seems to be quite active based on signage around park improvements). Showers and bathrooms were clean. Wi-Fi near the park entrance and spotty T-Mobile service throughout. The outside of the loop is good for tent camping but could be a little noisy if the campground had been fully booked.

• 

  gary W.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 8, 2024

  Isanti County Fairgrounds

  Fun at the fairgrounds.

  Very nice clean well kept grounds. Always things going at the fairgrounds,we missed the flea market by 1 day. Great places to eat in the area. We were visiting family nearby and they could come visit us for picnics with no problems and no extra cost. Very friendly grounds keepers. Will be back again when in the area. We had a nice view of the little lake.

• 

  Travis A.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 28, 2024

  Oak Leaf Park

  Wonderful city park

  I stayed two nights. The city park has private restrooms. Check in with the park host and he will provide you the code to access the restrooms/showers. The park has 13 rv sites with 30/50amp and water, four tent sites. Fishing pond, two baseball fields, basket ball court, playground, disk golf, and aquatic center/swimming pool. Little town has a lot to offer. Great place to camp

• 

  Travis A.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 28, 2024

  High Island Creek Park

  Free dispersed camping

  I stayed four nights. I would have stayed longer but ran out of water. There isn't any potable water on site. During a hot day, I took my two dogs and we hiked to a nearby river. We cooled off and enjoyed the peace and quite. The only downside is no potable water and lots of mesquites.

• 

  gary W.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 27, 2024

  Country Camping Tent & RV Park on the Rum River

  Gary w

  Nice river nearby canoeing swimming pool fireplaces and little store for treats.

• 

  Stina M.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 26, 2024

  Float-Rite Park

  This park is closed permanently

  This campground is closed permanently

• 

  Maggie W.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 23, 2024

  The Jubilee Homestead

  Lovely place and people!

  We are excited to go back to the Farm! Wonderful atmosphere and if there are any hiccups the hosts are super reasonable and kind, great communication. They gave a warm welcoming and tour right away then left us to our peace. All animals who were out and about were friendly. The grounds were kept very tidy and well put together by any farm standard! I felt very safe letting my 5yr old run around with the other campers and be around the animals.

• 

  ron R.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 14, 2024

  High Island Creek Park

  Virtually noises

  I'm spending three nights here. I'm writing my review after my second day. The campground is kept up very well. It has garbage cans and porta pottys. When I got here it was empty. Nice open spots and a good amount of tree cover.

• A

  Alan V.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 9, 2024

  Cokato Lake RV Resort Cooperative Association

  Great resort with outstanding amenities

  RV resort and some lot rentals, Heated pool, lake with beach, boat launch area just block away, tennis/pickle ball, mini golf, resort store with ice cream, goat park, paved roads and much more)!Contact for sales or rentals: 320-583-9711

• w

  wayne O.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 5, 2024

  Minneapolis Southwest KOA

  Older koa

  We stayed at this koa because it was our only way to watch softball tournament. We stayed 5 days and it was fairly nice. People that were working were very helpful and nice. Lost power a couple hours twice because of branches falling g from trees.

• 

  Molly M.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 4, 2024

  Willow River State Park Campground

  Very nice camping

  Lovely trails, the beach is a large area with a nice park and picnic area. The water itself is ok, lots of geese and algae. The falls are wonderful though. The bathrooms are fine. I could not find a garbage bin to save my life, not near the bathrooms or anywhere in campground 200 or by the park ranger post. If there were garbage cans dispersed throughout the campground, I would have given 5 stars. Especially along the trail to the waterfalls because there was garbage all along the trail unfortunately. Not the camps fault, but maybe people would be more responsible if garbage bins were placed along the route.

• S

  Sherry H.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 2, 2024

  High Island Creek Park

  Magical

  Good vibes it’s a magical place when u go hiking down the hill to the hidden creeks trails and absolute peace being one with nature..

• 

  Leslie P.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 31, 2024

  Lebanon Hills Regional Park

  Jewel near the cit

  Stayed here while visit our son. Picked it because it was close. We were very surprised at the privacy of our site. We were in the east loop with just electric.

• T

  Tim

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2024

  William O'Brien State Park Campground

  OK but not great

  The east part of the park was all closed for construction. Everything on the east side of the highway was closed so we could not hike a lot of the trails or use the beach which was a challenge with kids. Constructing is scheduled to the end of 2025.

  We stayed in a group site but there was no way 35 people could have camped in W3. Vaulted toilets need help and a good cleaning.

  The shower house needed a cleaning as well. There is no adjusting the shower temperature. Push the button and you get what you get.

  Wood was $8 bundle. This was steep in my opinion. They do not all any gathering of firewood.

  If your vehicle permit is not properly displayed, you will receive a notice on your windshield and have to talk with the office.

  The dumpster was overflowing the whole time we were there.

  Raccoons will visit your site at night. We had everything secured but they still tried and plenty of racket until we chased them away.

  Lastly we had a battle with mosquitoes. We went through a lot of bug spray and coils. Deer flies were thick around the water filling station.

  Although we did not stay in the main campground the sites are very close in there and were small.

• 

  Laurie V.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Mississippi Riverwood RV Park

  Buyer Beware!

   If you do NOT stay the entire amount of time you have paid for, you may lose the right to return to your site, even if your lease says the lot is still yours.

  My husband and I camped at MRRV Park from July 5 to August 5th,2023, because my husband had a job in the area. We signed a lease that went through October 15th. We agreed that the lot’s owner could find another renter after we left with the condition that some of our money would be refunded. Shortly after we left, my husband found out he had a second job in the twin cities. We tried to contact the owner many times to see if any other renters were lined up. Only by contacting the park board did we find that the lot had been rented out 2 days after we left. The lot’s owner refuses to return any money for the 9 extra weeks we paid for! My husband had to rent a hotel room☹ 

  The RV Park board refuses to help so we are going to court.

• 

  Joslyn H.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 28, 2024

  South of Sand Dunes State Forest

  Absolutely love it

  I love that it's so close to home. I was able to walk in and find an incredible spot to camp and lay in my hammock.

• 

  David G.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 28, 2024

  Country Camping Tent & RV Park on the Rum River

  Fun place

  The campground is nice and clean. Good size spaces. The tubing is a plus. Had one issue with power dropping so we had to pull the surge protector off the. It was fine. Also very hot and humid so everyone was running AC to the max. Pool was small but nice. Splash pad was even nice for adults I recommend this campground. Key thing is the river is very clean and sandy bottom.

• p

  peter V.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 23, 2024

  Lake Elmo County Park Reserve

  Great camping

  This was a great experience overall. The sites are spacious and far enough away from others to feel like there was enough privacy.

  The one negative thing was that some neighbors watched a movie each night — starting just after quiet hours. We could hear their movie from across a road and through some trees (and tents).

  But overall it was great. Good hiking and geocaching.

  We would go back to this campground.

• 

  samuel C.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 18, 2024

  South of Sand Dunes State Forest

  Good forest road, nothing special

  For the proximity to the city and nearby highways, this was a good spot. Didn’t expect to see as many campers as I did, but all seemed to be friendly. I stayed here for one night and roads were totally fine for any vehicle. Most spots are like the pictures shown. There are a few spots that have great views or pull-through areas, and there are limited spots that are big-rig friendly. Saw lots of dogs, and mine had a blast, even had what seemed to be a stray husky quickly roll through camp around dusk. Something to keep on your mind. The road goes for a long ways, I parked near the front and closer to numbers, always like to be safer. Overall there was some shouting and yelling but for the location I was happy.

• H

  Heather W.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 17, 2024

  South of Sand Dunes State Forest

  Very Quiet

  There’s lots of little spots off the main gravel road. Nothing allowed further into the forest. One pull through area that I found. Couple vehicles pass a day. Stand storks are very protective. Stay away from them. They attack. 🤣

• S

  Sharon

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 16, 2024

  Baker Campground - Baker Park Reserve

  Favorite spot

  This is just the best campground that is close to Minneapolis! Peaceful, quiet, with spacious sites that are situated in a staggered way, so you never feel like you’re on top of each other. The lake was a bit reedy and silty but overall a fantastic and easy option.

• 

  Jarrett G.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 15, 2024

  Willow River State Park Campground

  Awesome park!

  Plenty of sites and hiking to do. Very cool area. The falls are awesome!

• M

  Mia F.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 13, 2024

  Minneapolis Southwest KOA

  Unlevel sites, broken dump station

  About the only nice thing about this place is the lady who answered the phone, Valerie.

  She was extremely nice other than that it was gravel. Roads that were poorly maintained trucks were parked sticking out into the road making it difficult to get around. The site was very unlevel and the water Spicket didn’t really work very well.. we paid for two nights and bought a KOA review or rewards program to do it… We refused to stay the second night when we called to see if we could get our money back the gentleman who checked us in as a ground tender was rude and choppy he wasn’t very friendly when he brought us into the place.

  The place was packed like sardines… Very difficult to negotiate at night.

  Overall, the worst campground we’ve stayed in in the two RV trips we’ve taken from Florida to Minnesota. There are so many beautiful state parks don’t bother with this KOA not even for a one nighter.

  We were stuck on a back loop. There were a lot of mosquitoes bugs and mud… It just wasn’t a nice experience.

• 

  Jason B.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 2, 2024

  South of Sand Dunes State Forest

  Quiet with lots of different bird sounds

  this is a nice quiet area. Some younger people coming through sporadically playing with their trucks but nothing serious and not often. Be aware if you have an rv though. I had a county sheriff person tell me it's not lawful to park a trailer and they kicked me out. I called the dnr and they said that wasn't right but I decided to leave anyway. County sheriff's not pleasent around here.