Best Tent Camping near Esko, MN

As a tent camper the only reason I’m not giving Thais a 5 star is the price and the lack of privacy. The tent sites are all within arms length of each other and in the middle of a path to a trail. The price was 30$ to camp in a tent without electricity... by far the most expensive tent camping I have ever seen. arms length from other people... in the middle of a path.

Wedged between the St Louis River, the highway, and a ceiling tile factory, this campground has four tent sites on the edge of the river with the rest of the campground having full hookup sites for RV’s. It is a popular campground as I got the last tent site- the last site in the entire campground- at 2 in the afternoon. There is a snowmobile trail going over the river and into the woods that is a nice walking/hiking trail in the warmer months. The bridge over the river is too high to fish from, but there seemed to be lots of places along the river that you could toss a line from. Watch out for ATV’s and bicyclists as they also use the bridge to access trails. The camp host will get you the code for the really nice, clean bathhouse that has free showers for campers. If you are tent camping you will need to park either at the bathhouse or in the park lot outside the campground as you cannot park in the tent sites, which are essentially walk in. But it is a short walk. There aren’t any hammock appropriate trees in the tent area which is basically a mowed lawn, but there are a few trees to provide some shade.

Nothing fancy here but a locally run campground that is clean and well kept. Not a lot of privacy but spaces can be big. Being right on the water is a bonus here but watch out for the mosquitos. There are both rv and tent sites available with the tent sites being in the back.

Great campground! Most of the sites are perfect for tent camping or glamping. Clean and each site is well separated and lots of trees. Manitou Falls is a short walk away and is incredible. Bring firewood.

Bent Trout Lake Campground is a beauty. They have tent camping with hookups at times. There is a great, well-maintained lake which in turn makes the beach just as nice as the lake itself. Pristine waters with great piece of property surrounding it. Friendly staff and win-win for family’s and others alike.

5/15/20-5/17/20

This campground is only a year old and offers 31 RV sites with full hookups 30- or 50-Amp Service (greywater dump at each site) and 19 wooded (some semi-private) tent sites. They have a beautiful bath and shower house (the shower takes quarters $1.25 for 10 minutes) and sell wood on site for $5 a bundle. It is just over the MN border and about a mile from the St Croix River. ATV trails are accessible from the campground.

Pardun’s also offers canoe and tube rentals in town and also at St. Croix State Park - which sounds wonderful on hot summer days. It’s not far from town which includes a grocery store and St Croix Casino. St Croix State Park is also about 20 minutes away in MN and a great place to explore with miles of hiking. I found the pricing very reasonable at $30 a night for RVs and $17 for tent sites. $1200 for seasonal. The owner came over to meet us and was very friendly.

We chose site tent site 17. Each site has a large fire ring and picnic table. This site had a few trees and was fairly open but it didn’t matter because there was only 1 other group camping in the tent area. It was very quiet and peaceful, very easy to social distance during the pandemic. If you are looking for a relaxing getaway to enjoy a fire and night under the stars, this is perfect little campground.

Great place to camp. The dedicated tent sites are limited, but lots of rv sites. Electrical at every site and everyone is friendly. There are even showers and plumbed bathrooms. Only reason not a five star is that the bathrooms tent to get pretty bad and could use more than once a day cleaning on holiday weekends.

Nice little RV park right in the town of Cloquet. There are a few tent sites right against the river. On the west end of the property is access to a pedestrian bridge where you may find some fisherman in the summer. You can walk to the Northeastern Bar of the coffee shop. Nice little stopping spot if you are headed to the BWCAW or the Range.

My husband and I camped here over the 4th of July weekend with our entire family. We loved the campsites as the sites where spacious and seemed more secluded with all the trees. We loved how wooded the sites where as it felt more like camping and provided more privacy. The campground was pretty and very well kept. The sites vary in size so I would recommend driving around the loops to check them out to see which one would fit your best camping needs for your RV/Tents. We always do this as we like to know which sites to get the next time we camp here. We got the last two first come first serve non electric sites as it was over the 4th of July so we actually got lucky to get a site at all. We used generators as it was almost 100 out the entire week we camped. The campground asks for generators to be turned off I believe between 10-10:30pm.

We spent most of our time at the beach and in the lake as swimming was a must this week due to it being so hot out. We brought our lily pad to use out on the water which was a big hit for everyone in our group.

The tent sites where amazing they were full of trees for more of feel of actual roughing it camping. The best part of this campground is the tent site area has their own beach area which was amazing for all the kids in our group. The hosts were very informational and even delivered ice and firewood if you needed more! This was a huge perk as this campground has so many loops and our group camped in RV sites and Tent Sites.

The beach area was very clean and boat launch was nice. Very friendly hosts as each loop has hosts assigned which was convenient.  The lake is huge just had to be careful as this was our first time at this lake and since the water levels where down the sand bars were more noticeable then usual as locals stated.  We plan on coming back to this campground it was very clean and well kept.

I have been going to this campground for 15 years. It’s very secluded and quiet. The owners are the best! There are tent sites, RV, camper cabin (no electric/sewage), and full cabins. It’s on a beautiful lake with a swimming area. You can rent a pontoon or take out a canoe or rowboat for free. Great fishing too! This used to be a women’s only campground but is now open to all. It is also LGBTQ owned, operated, and accepting. If this does not align with your views I would suggest finding a different place to camp.

A last-minute change in our travel plans found us in the Lake Superior area with no camping reservations. We secured a tent site (T-1) here and were quite pleased. The site was private and level, and close to a shower area and laundry, both of which we sorely needed. As an added plus, the restaurant offered an opportunity for a hearty meal and drinks. The pizza here was great, as were the cheese curds, and the hospitality was wonderful. The owner gave us good advice on a drive up the North Shore of Superior.

If we found ourselves in the area again, we'd return here for sure.

This campground is busy but not overcrowded. Their tent sites for the most part are open but large enough to feel like you have some privacy and space. The campground is right on Lake Superior with an easy walk to the beach. Nice playground. The bathrooms are clean though definitely older. The handicap accessible bathroom is still up a slight incline. Also it is only a permanent outhouse-there are no lights, no sinks or even hand sanitizer in it so that was disappointing. Employees were nice-however when calling to make a reservation it went right to voicemail I left a message and never got a call back…we decided to just stop and see if they had vacancies and they did. Overall we would definitely stay there again.

Burlington Bay Campground was clean. The shower house by the playground was clean and new. The playground seemed fairly new and the kids loved playing on it. Walking on the beach lead to a nice City trail. The kids loved climbing all over the rock formations and finding new rocks. 

The sites are close together and small. We tent camped and the ground was super hard. I am glad I had my MSR Groundhog stakes since my other stakes would not have worked. My MSR Groundhog stakes took a beating getting them into the ground. 

The water from the site was good. Firewood at the campground is$6.00 a bundle and it is not well aged so it is a little hard to get going. The shop on site is nice and they stock quality items. 

I would stay there again, but in the off-season so the campground is not full of people.

This campground is adjacent to the Burlington Bay Campground. It has 3 rows of 11 sites meant for full hookup and big rigs. They are terraced so sites 24-34 are on the top while 1-12 are closest to the water and on the bottom of the hill.

This is specifically meant for big rigs. No shade and no privacy unless you are inside. What they do offer is great facilities and an amazing view! There is also a community feel here where everyone most likely talks to each other and knows each other by the end of their stay. At the bottom of the hill is the waterfront. You can do a lot from here.

You can rent for $45.00 per night or $276.00 per week. Sites are packed graves so they are level and easy in and out with your rig. Wouldn’t want to tent camp here. They have a nice shower house and dump stations as would be needed for big rigs. It is newer than the additional campground and still close to Lake Superior.

This is a small, well kept but basic private campground mostly for RVs but it does have some tent sites. The website advertises its location as “minutes from Duluth” but that would be a hood 15 minutes to the outer limits, a good half hour to the harbor. It isnt on a lake or in the woods, doesnt have a view of Lake Superior, isnt near a state park, and is right on a major intersection of two highways. I dont think it is meant as a northwoods vacation destination per se, but it is located adjacent to a rodeo and horse center so I would guess it is best for lodging close to whatever horsey events are happening next door. Since it isnt far from the Duluth airport and the airport has no hotels by it, perhaps this would be a decent place to stay overnight before an early morning departure, if needed. In sum, a well maintained but basic place to camp that might be a good location for select purposes. Daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal rates.