Horse camping is the perfect way to enjoy Darwin. If you're an equestrian lover who prefers nature-based adventure, yet still wants comfort, this is the perfect opportunity for you. It's easy to find Darwin campgrounds for horse camping with The Dyrt. Search nearby equestrian campsites or find top-rated spots from other campers.
Backpack sites, located on remote lakes and ponds throughout the park, are one to two miles from the trailhead parking. New log camper cabins, located near lakes and ponds, provide bunk beds for six people and a table and benches for campers who want more of the creature comforts.
Sites are available in two campgrounds. Sites in the Lakeview Campground are near the lake and well-shaded. Oak Ridge sites include a variety of wooded and open locations.
$15 - $17 / night
$15 / night
Tie lines and water are available. Vault toilets only. For reservations, contact the state park reservation service by phone or online.
$25 / night
Guide
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.
RangerI'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.
ScoutGood 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..
Ranger
This is now my favorite MN State Park. Campground is VERY WELL MAINTAINED. BRAND NEW Bathroom/shower building with large ADA showers.
I was there Tuesday through Saturday and I was THE ONLY CAMPER in the whole park Wednesday through Saturday!
Drinking water is very good and many fountains and hydrants are located all throughout the park, even way out on the trails there are water fountains.
Large stone pavilion for groups picnics.
In JULY The Prairie Trails are stunning with all the wild flowers in full bloom. Many trails and nice overlooks too. I walked and hiked the trail over and over because of the beautiful flowers and trails.
The MN State Historical Society could do a much better job at EDUCATING what really happened at the Fort and why. The signage is in need of repair and restoration. Make sure to read up about the fort before arriving so that you can appreciate the importance of the site you’re camping on.
The horse campground is also very well maintained and has nice shower/bathroom building. No flys and people have been great at cleaning up manure and putting it in the compost pile.
The creek through the campground is beautiful and the sound of water over the rock is great for sleeping. The creek is cool temperature even in July but kids have fun swimming and splashing. There are marked areas for crossing the creek which make great wading areas too.
Scout
Very quiet campground, with large peaceful, rustic sites. We stopped for one night while traveling through Minneapolis area. Found several open sites on Saturday, first weekend in June. The road into the campground was a bit bumpy, take it slow it was only about 0.75 miles.
GuideVery close to other campers, but no one bothered anyone. Dog didn’t go nuts, got a good spot. Would recommend. Tent camping on the way to Alaska and filled all needs. Has a Porta-shitter and trash. Decent spot, windy.
ScoutSo beautiful and spacious
Traveler
If you're looking for a beginner backpack spot, with privacy and not too far from the cities, then this will fit your bill. You can either do a short-hike from the parking lot via the road to B5 or a 1 mile easy hike via the trail. The backpacking sites are very spread out, we could barely tell anyone else was at the park with us ever.
B5 was beautiful, already lots of mosquitos for May (and appeared poison oak/ivy). I'm not sure what this park does differently than most other parks, but our privy was LOADED with spiders. I get it, it's the outdoors. But still, I've used many in-ground toilets and never had dozens of spiders covering the toilet seat/front.
Another reason we chose this park was for birding. The park ranger at check-in was not helpful and then said he's never heard of MN State Parks free birding kits to borrow, though it's clearly listed on several spots on their website. Bummer, but we still enjoyed our time.
RangerAs previously stated, you need to follow up with the sheriif. They just want to know the duration of stay, people in the group, and vehicle information. I'm winter camping during the warm spell here in MN, and it's pretty quiet. The area is muddy with the thaw, but that's to be expected. There's quite a number of spots that all have fire rings. A large 5th wheel might have a struggle with some of the spots depending on availability, but anything else should be fine.
GuideYou’ll drive down what seems like could be a residential road, but the park is at the end of it and has some nice spots with fire pits, a playground for kids, and picnic tables. The sign says to call the sheriff to get permission to camp, but we got in a late and left early and didn’t call and had no trouble. It seemed like someone may have lived there in their camper and there was another family camping, but overall a really nice experience and the sunset was beautiful with the trees!
Scout
Camped in site 81 in the Oak Ridge campground - this site was big enough for three tents, was nicely shaded and had great access to water and a bathroom w/shower. Was perfect for our group of 4. Saw a polite racoon that wandered into our campsite and then promptly left once we got it in our headlamps, we saw no evidence of its return once we turned in for the night.
Bugs at the camp site were minimal, a little heavier on the trail but nothing bug spray couldn't handle. Heard sites were very close at Lakeview so chose Oak Ride, but felt they were still pretty close and had many vehicles traveling on the one way drive from 10p until midnight. If you're a light sleeper or early to bed might be a challenge at this state park.
It was a short walk to the interpretive center and the Mt Tom trail. Beautiful views of the oak savannahs from the Mt Tom overlook and the big blue stem was just starting to fill out in the surrounding prairies. Swimming at Lake Andrew was fantastic and the beach was full of people enjoying the lake.
Overall a great park to spend a weekend at!
GuideWe were able to find a spot for our 26ft Class C. The sites are very large, good for tenting. Nice shady spots. The road is gravel and dirt with wear and tear, which might make it difficult for large motorhomes. We were pleased for our overnight stop.
GuideI was late getting to my site due to being delayed by some bison in South Dakota, so I was racing the dark to set up my tent and start a fire. To my delight, I found that whoever was there before me had set up a nice bed of hay and kindling in the fire pit, which was very helpful! It was very peaceful and quiet...far enough from the highway that there was no noise or light pollution. The sheriff drove through once at night and once in the morning. I felt very safe.
GuideI love checking out the state park walk-in camp sites. These sites are the first I've been at where you behave to hike up a steep hill. Totally worth it if you're staying for multiple nights. We only stayed one night, so lugging all our stuff up was not fun.
The main campground is a bit crowded with not a ton of space between sites. We did think #37 was a good pick: spaced farther away and the river sounds drawn-out anyone else.
GuideGulley that a large creek runs through surrounded by trees and large forested hills. The entire park is surrounded by farms, nearby are some really nice Minnesota small towns like Henderson and the somewhat larger St. Peter (but still small town). I hiked in about 1/2 a mile and camped in the trees but they also have some clearings closer to the entrance, with grills, where you could easily set up. $10 suggested donation. Trash bins located all over which is good , but the wind seems to blow debris around here and there, and irresponsible people leave their beer cans/water bottles strewn about, so pick them up if you find them like I did. Website and signage on location recommends to call the sheriff's office to let them know you're camping there which I did and they were nice enough, but it's probably not the end of the world if you don't. Overall this was a pleasant spot, especially being the only camper there, so hope you all enjoy! Places like this are what I love about The Dyrt, I don't think I would have found this otherwise.
LegendNice beach for swimming. Shower and bathrooms available in the campground. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Firewood is available at the office for about $6 per bundle. There are 2 campgrounds in the park.
GuideWe tent camped at Sibley State Park from August 31 through September 3, 2022, in drive-in campsite #91 of the Oak Ridge campground. It was a last minute trip for us, right before the Labor Day weekend. We had the non-electric loop all to ourselves from Wednesday through midday Friday, and then the campground was a non-stop hub of activity as more campers arrived for the holiday weekend.
The park has two campgrounds. Oak Ridge is mostly wooded with some prairie sites and is more private. Lakeview is very open without privacy between campsites, but it has some mature trees for shade and is close to the beach and picnic area.
The reservation website mostly does not include tent pad dimensions, so we took a chance on a site not knowing whether our 10x14 tent would fit. Luckily, it did. Site #91 was spacious and wooded on three sides. We walked both campgrounds to check for non-electric sites that would accommodate our tent. If you have a large tent, consider these campsites: Oak Ridge 77, 78, 81, 83, 84, 87, 88, 90, 91, 93, and 94; Lakeview 46, 66, and 70.
The park is beautiful. There are lots of trails, a very nice beach and picnic area, and lots of wildflowers. We saw a lot of wildlife, including deer, raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, turkeys, song birds, butterflies, and frogs.
The high point in the park is Mt. Tom, and there is a trail to its peak. If you don’t want to do the hike, you can drive most of the way then walk a short, paved, moderately inclined path to the top. The view is lovely.
The biting bugs weren’t too bad during the day, but they were plentiful and aggressive in the evening. Remember your insect repellent!
GuideNice campground. Bathrooms clean but dated. Beautiful swimming beach short walk from campground. Good hiking trails. Good biking trails nearby.
GuideGreat spot with a clean port-a-potty, a comfortable grove of trees, fire pits, and peace!
TravelerI like the primitive sites the best. Nice lake to hike down to as well. I went in August though and the mosquitos were awful.
TravelerLake Ann Campground, located in the Sand Dunes State Forest north of Big Lake, MN is great for a weekend getaway with the family or a solo walk in trip. There are RV sites, tent sites, handicap accessible, walk in sites and group sites. Camping here is primitive with few amenities you get a fire ring and a picnic table, its great camping too be one with nature. There are several water spickets located around the campground along with outhouse type restrooms. There are no hookups or electric. Camping is on a first come first serve basis and you register at the kiosk located at the front of the campground acrid from the camp host site. There are several trails and Amaya something to do.
GuideIt was November but that's when our anniversary lands and dang it we wanted to go camping so we did. Walk in site# BP6 was a hilly 1/4 mile hike one way but worth the view. We were right on the edge looking out over a small lake with towering trees all around us. Each BP site also has it's own private latrine house slightly apart from your site. Nothing fancy but it was clean and private. There are miles of trails at this park. We didn't get to see any of the endangered Blandings turtles but there were trumpeter swans, this is a huge migratory area for the birds.
TravelerDid a camping weekend with a buddy and had so much fun. We hiked and made yummy campfire grub and hammocked and had a generally relaxing time.
TravelerI like that they have some easy drive in spots as well as some more private hike in spots.
GuideWe decided on a whim to camp here for a few days during a long weekend off - we were excited to do a bit of exploring and spend some quality time together, and didn't want to stray too far from home. This campground is perfect! We backpacked in and even took our dog - she loved it!!! Great tenting spots and even better scenery!
GuideAnn Lake State Forest campground is very nice. The roads getting in our rough and the road within the campground is rougher. A lot of branches and potholes in this wavy road to the campsites. I drove around twice to find a site that I could back into. I have a class a 30 foot motorhome. Once back in though, it was a wonderful and cozy forest wrapped around my campsite. All the sites are hidden from each other quite well except from direct road access. There is one site with full sun if you have solar panels. The rest are heavily wooded.
Traveler
Met a friend for a relaxing weekend in loop c. Quiet, lots of trees, nice fire rings. Bathrooms were close and well kept. There were lots of other campers there but the sites are large and plentiful so it was not crowded.
Horse camping in Minnesota offers a unique opportunity to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of well-reviewed campgrounds equipped with essential amenities, you can create memorable experiences in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Darwin, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Darwin, MN is Lake Maria State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 30 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Darwin, MN?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 equestrian camping locations near Darwin, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
