Are you an equestrian lover who prefers a more rustic experience when you visit Elk River? Camping with your horse in Elk River just got easier. At The Dyrt, you can find top-rated spots for horse camping, as reviewed by 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.
$15 - $17 / night
$20 - $32 / night
Washington County offers two beautiful campgrounds for a relaxing getaway, one located within Lake Elmo Park Reserve and the other within St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park. Find a campsite that suits your needs, from sites with electric and water hook-ups, to group sites, to rustic hike-in sites. Enjoy all the other amenities the parks have to offer, including hiking, fishing, boating, and more.
Washington County Campgrounds are open for the season. Online, in-person, and phone reservations are now being accepted.
Group Campground Features Three sites available for groups of up to 50 people Wheeled cart available for check-out at park office Group Site #2 includes a small picnic shelter Picnic table and fire ring/grill provided at each site Vault or portable toilets available One-day reservations allowed Pets are not allowed
Hike-In Campground Features Five hike-in tent sites - one tent per site Hiking distance from parking lot is approximately 100 to 300 yards Wheeled cart available for check-out at park office with a refundable deposit Modern bathrooms and water available at the Nordic Center Pets are not allowed
Modern Campground Features Eighty campsites, suited for tents, trailers, or motor homes - most sites are back-in Sites 1-58 have 20/30/50 amp with water. Site 59 is 50 amp only (no water). Sites 60-80 are 20/30 amp Camp Host/Work Camper sites include sewer hookup Picnic table and fire ring/grill provided at each site Modern bathroom facilities with flush toilets and hot showers Trailer/RV dump station Play area Handicap accessible One camping unit per site Pets are not allowed
$23 - $80 / night
The park provides opportunities for semi-modern camping, group camping, equestrian camping, backpack camping, and canoe camping. Visitors who want modern amenities can reserve the guest house which provides a living room, dining room, kitchen, and fireplace. The park also has six camping cabins which include bunkbeds, a table, and benches.
$35 / night
Come and Camp With Us! “Go with the Flow” and enjoy our fun and relaxing family campground near the city of Isanti, in central Minnesota. By day enjoy camping, tubing, canoeing, kayaking or paddle-boarding! Hop in the refreshing swimming pool or take a spin through our fun splash pad.
$40 - $75 / night
$15 / night
Guide
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.
Scout
Nice river nearby canoeing swimming pool fireplaces and little store for treats.
TravelerThe 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.
Scout
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.
GuideI have been coming to Wild River since I was a kid. Nice park, scenic trails, horses on the way in.
Guide
I have stayed at Bunker a few times in site 33 and one of the walk in sites. Site 33 is very large and also very wide open. The walk in sites are a lot more secluded but not totally private. Really enjoy camping here, just wish it wasn't so expensive. It costs more than staying at a state park.
ScoutWent early in the season in the afternoon and had no problems getting a good spot with electric hookups. Better for someone with an RV, and more seemingly a weekend spot for the family.
ScoutI stayed here 3 weeks ago with my wife and 2 young children and it was fantastic great playground and heated pool the spaces were well kept and spaced apart 10-10 would most defiantly go again! A ton for the kids to do!
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.
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.
ScoutGreat campground. Clean bathrooms, and friendly at office. Beautiful this time of year! Hiking was awesome
TravelerStayed for two nights at a drive-in double site here and found it ideal for autumn camping. We didn’t think we would get colors, but they came out a little early, adding a few splashes to the hiking and river view.
Site was private enough, the woods surrounding dense enough to obscure others while still feeling open. Also open enough to spot three white-tail deer.
Hike to the Nevers Dam lookout was easy enough for a five year old to walk (most of it) — featuring some very cool fallen trees and a wonderful winding staircase — and the adjacent sandy beach was a pleasant and peaceful surprise.
One complaint is that the nearby vault toilet reeked of amonia and was unusable so we had to walk to the adjacent loop for bathroom. Silver lining is that we discovered the free little library near that bathroom and grabbed a copy of ‘Ramona the Brave’ for the kiddo. We went back and left a copy of ‘Amira’s Picture Day.’
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.
ScoutIt was our first time ever I have a old pop up but it's .t first it was. Fun and the staff and. The. Host are very helpful. A ND fun
TravelerWe were at site 93. It's a large site with plenty of room for a huge tent or a few tents. It was very buggy so we got a screen tent. Nicely shaded site as well. Not far from the water station and pit toilet. For a bathroom with running water it's a long walk and there's not close parking either. The campground is a long drive into the park from the main entrance. 12x10 screen tent fit easily over the 8' picnic table.
GuideSecluded Spots. Plenty of hiking trails. Great views. Dump Station and 50 amps. Right on the St. Croix River
GuideGreat campground with plenty of privacy and space between sites. Excellent hiking trails along the river. Restroom/shower building and vault toilets well maintained.
LegendWe went on a day trip to the eagle point section of the Lake Elmo park district. This is set in a lush rolling prairie with lots of hiking trails in addition to other attractions like an archery range and swimming pond.
The modern campground is built for non-tent campers, which is kind of a bummer because it is so much nicer than the “rustic” tent campground. Could you set up a tent there? Sure, but most of the site is devoted to a gravel parking pad.
The rustic campground is an offshoot of the horse trailer parking lot. The sites for the most part are not spacious or private. Only portapotties. I think the best camping opportunity I saw was the group campgrounds, which had more modern outhouses. This will continue to be a great day trip location for us.
TravelerLots of different camping spots. All with trees surrounding your area for a little bit of privacy but the spots are relatively close to each other. We really liked the far end of the campsite but would've preferred campsite 89 or 91 or any on those sides because they seemed to have the most room and privacy.
Toilets were great and they had some bathrooms not too far away that have running water as well.
Trails that ran along the river were great!
GuideNice private sites, great bike trails, lakes a little way’s from campground but you can drive or bike to it easily. Clean restrooms and showers. Electric, water and dump station.
TravelerWe stayed at a backpack site where we were greeted with well maintained paths, great hiking options, and good views. The only con I have with the park is the lack of water accessibility for backpack sites located in Highland Loop. We have to either carry in all water for our trip or do the steep, winding hike to the Visitor Center to refill. There wasn’t any area to filter water. Otherwise, everything was great!
GuideWe enjoyed our stay. Large, wooded campsite with electrical service and T-mobile service (1 bar). Good trails and plenty of wildlife (deer, etc).
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Elk River, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Elk River, 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 Elk River, MN?
TheDyrt.com has all 11 equestrian camping locations near Elk River, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
