Best Campgrounds near Fertile, MN

I'm always looking for a campsite late in the afternoon. And this one turned out to be perfect. I pulled into East Grand forks. Got out my phone and started looking, and I said oh, there's a state campground right near here. Here. Right in town in fact. I'm traveling with the dog on this trip so I'm always looking for places that I can run the dog, if possible off leash in the morning. Well, technically you're not supposed to have docs off leash here, there's plenty of space down along the river and trails that go away from the campground where the dog can have a little bit of a free exercise. Because it's October, the place is almost empty. And I got one of the no hookup sites, so it was reasonably priced.

We spent a 3-day weekend here as a shake-down cruise for our new camper. It was nice to have full water, electric, and sewer hookups. The sites are well prepared, mostly level and pull-through. We enjoyed being able to bike the greenway on both sides of the river and downtown is just a couple blocks away.

Nobody here. Anvelops only. $ 40 per night. Truck stop in vicinity, and the smell from diesel fuel ⛽️ is horrible !

We stayed here for 2 nights on the way north to Canada and another night after crossing the border again.  It is a lovely park with large crescent shaped pull thru sites (There are some back-ins as well). Sites are well spaced with plenty of trees and green spaces in between.  Super walking trails, great playground, walking distance to restaurants and downtown.

We would stay here again.

We followed the instructions on the confirmation email across the bridge from Grand Forks to East Grand Forks, MN to check into the campground (CG). After going through the Avenue of Flags and near the Blue Moose Bar& Grill there’s RV parking in front of the little check-in cabin. Check-in was easy and as disabled veterans, we got a free Minnesota State Park Vehicle Pass. We then proceeded to the Sherlock CG, which is the camping area and site 106E. Site 106E is a long pull through with FHUs. Pulling in was super easy and utilities are placed in the middle of the long pad. The utilities worked great with water pressure at about 50 psi. We got two bars on Verizon. There are trees in and around the sites, but we were able to get a clear north shot for Starlink. The sites in our area were well spaced apart, which we really liked. We were on the back row where the cement walking/bike trail is located far enough away that you still have privacy. There are a lot of sites in this CG mostly pull throughs but there are back-ins. They are serious about the vehicle permits and you cannot just lay the pass on your dashboard. It must be adhered to the windshield. We went to the office to clear our ticket, which didn’t cost us anything as we were prompt to respond. The office also has t-shirts, which we purchased. There was not a formal dog park, but plenty of areas to walk. Red River is one of the better CGs we have stayed at in our 5 years of“Most Timing.”

Coldest shower ever other than that nice place quiet

Not going to say anything that everybody else hasn't said in the reviews but I thought it was charming there's space between the campers and well there's no privacy there tends not to be in city campgrounds. Also it's right on the River trails so if you're a biker it's fun to do the loop that goes from both the North Dakota and the Minnesota side. The bike trails also connect you to the larger city and there's several other very charming parks and downtown neighborhoods or downtown houses to see. The walk-in sites near the river are quite nice I wouldn't come here if you wanted to be in a quiet state park but that's not the intent of the park and it's a good use of the green space. I'm fully self-contained so I didn't use the bathrooms I've heard their little bit older but there's water there's sewer there's electric sites their sites with electric only and then their sites for just camping also group sites.

This campground(CG) was easy to find. Because it was a Tuesday during the off-season, the check-in gate was not open, so we proceeded back to site 24, which was electric only(50/30/20 AMP) for our two-night stay. This small state park has many trees, but with the road being wide enough, the trees weren't in the way, and with no ditch this was an easy back-in. The sites here are also nicely spaced. A park ranger came by later and gave us our post and vehicle tags. There was highway and train noise. There are mature trees in the CG, but we were able to get enough north sky for Starlink. On Verizon, we got 3 bars. There is potable water at the dump station, which is at the park entrance. The shower/restroom facility was in good shape and clean. We enjoyed the trails, some interpretative, around this state park. As the nights were cooler, we opened our bedroom windows and noticed that trains ran almost continuously through the night. Overall, we had a good visit and would consider staying here again.

Good state park campground with everything you need. You can make your reservations online once you get there, and it’s nice because there’s no online transaction fee. But watch out that you pay the $7 daily state park entry fee as well as the camping fee, because otherwise you'll get a friendly visit from a ranger! 

 There are two loops, one slightly larger one with 50 and 30 amp power (no water or sewer) for $34, and one smaller one with no power for $24. We stayed in a power site because we couldn’t handle the heat anymore, otherwise the smaller one looked a little nicer and quieter and we would have stayed there. 

Showers were nice and clean and free. Bathrooms were nice. 

Very nice walking trails all around the campground and throughout the park as a whole. Trash dumpsters here as well as an assortment of segregated recycle bins. Good cell reception with Verizon and ATT. Firewood available at office for $8 and ice for $3. 

Group camp is off from the main campground a ways, but connected via a little walking trail. There is a dump station and potable water fill at the campground exit. 

No drinking allowed at any Minnesota State Park campground!

Easy access from freeway. Level sites, though some close together. Beautiful quiet peaceful place. Dump station, electric hookups.

Nice enough campground, but appears to be a bit dated. Has full hookup sites or just electric like my site. Both pull thrus and back ins. What I did like most was the site I was in is well separated from others. Located right in town, so of course there is road noise. But restaurants and bars within a block is nice. There’s a Cabellas a couple of blocks away. The bads are no dumpstation on site, older showers and pit toilets, and appears not enough help here to keep the grounds cut and trimmed.. but was still a nice stay with shopping and banking nearby.

Nice and clean campground with the best bathrooms we have been too...

good trail system with a walk through the prairie and/or by the river..the weather was perfect when we came, 75 and a breeze...

We had an incident with our cat. Cat got loose and everyone worked as a team to get him found. People were walking and looking for him. Posters went up around the grounds. We left our # with two campgrounds and as soon as they saw him 8 hours after he went missing, they called us and kept him contained. We appreciate everyone and their kind acts...

We feel like we scored the best site in the campground by sheer luck. The even number sites along the open field side give you great views to be able to bird watch and wildlife viewing. . The bathhouse was clean. There is a dump station and a couple of places to fill your fresh water tanks if you are in a RV. . I do wish there was better access to the river from the campground. The trails didn’t really take you to the river.

Busy on weekends, near restaurants and other businesses

We stayed here for a weekend to try out our new camper someplace close to home. The park was nice and clean. The campground host came over and introduced himself and let us know he had firewood and could get ice if we needed it. There isn't much to do aside from some hiking and that's mostly grassy field area. If you are looking for a nice place to kick up and relax this is a good one.

$24 for non-electric site + $7 for car permit.

Spacious site (#39)

Very few other campers on May 15, 2023 and we enjoyed the quiet.

Enjoyed hiking the easy trails with our dog.

Black flies just starting. 

Tics found us and dog.

Feels more like an RV park (like a KOA) than a state park. Lots to do as this is located right in town.

Great place for an overnight stop. This is as consistent as a MN state park can be - nice sites, mostly well spaced and accessible, with some hiking trails, dump station and brand new shower/restroom building. The night we were there had races going on at the nearby speedway - made it hard for campfire conversations. Good AT&T coverage.

Few complaints. Shaded/well maintained campsites. Clean bathrooms, nice showers.

Just make sure you have a permit for every vehicle. $7 daily or $35 annual

Our site was very spacious and easy to back into. There is a dump station and a fresh water fill station by the entrance to the campground.

We camped here one night at the end of July as our first stop on a trip to Oregon. It was quiet on a Thursday. The swimming hole is closed this year so that probably kept some folks away.

We stayed in the electric loop as it's nice to charge things up for the next leg of the trip. They have non-electric tent sites as well.

Nice mature trees for shade. There is a large meadow with wild flowers and a trail next to the main campground. There were milkweed in bloom, wild roses and more.

Lots of trails and Buffalo River to explore.