Fort Ripley is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
$22 / night
"This is a canoe campsite that is part of the Mississippi River Headwaters Water Trail, one stop on the paddle trail which allows canoers and kayakers to paddle from Lake Itasca to to the north, all the"
"We were bike riding the Paul Bunyon Trail and rode into Crow Wing in the dark. I self registered because the office was closed (wrote in canoe site since you can't reserve it online)."
"There is a trail for maintenance workers to drive in (they come by regularly to empty the trash cans!), but I don't know if it's for drive in traffic as well."
"This hidden gem is on the Mississippi water trail around mile 996. It is called "Overlook Park" and owned/maintained by the city of Baxter, but is part of the DNR's state water trail."
$23 - $46 / night
"We camped in the older Ochegie campground (site #1) near the historic native village site and trail. There were few people camping so it was quiet."
"The trails are wonderful. The campsites and campground are great. Except... I camped here in a 2006 Toyota Tacoma and mice essentially had their way with every part of my vehicle in one night!!!"
"All have fire rings. There is a staircase that connects the two. Would love to stay here sometime! We just stopped for a bite to eat before heading down the river further."
"There is no charge but reservations are required.
Canoe campsite: The canoe campsite is accessible from the river."
TravelerEnd of October, Stopped for just one night, probably about a 20ish minute drive from 94. Was able to purchase firewood after closing, and the campsite were easy to find after (7$)entry to the park. Campsites are reserved through an online system. We found the top campsite completely empty and plenty of sites had good tree coverage for privacy/ way no protection. Nice level sites with soft ground. Each site had a fire ring and picnic table. The only bathroom in walking distance to the upper campsites was a vault toilet located amongst the cabins. Seems like a great place to stay any season.
GuideThe thing about State Parks is that they don't always know what they want to be.
Are they here to celebrate nature, and provide a moments breath away from the pace of urban life? Are they here for historical facts? Are they for revenue?
Crow Wing State Park suffers from this dilemma. While the tent sites are nice and spacious, the RV sites are stacked one on top of another, with no illusion of privacy. The weekend we were there, they were pretty full, but noise coming from other campers was acceptable.
There are plenty of water spigots, and toilet/shower facilities. The facilities are clean, but old.
There is an almost constant booming, however, coming from Fort Ripley, just down the river. The Fort serves as training for everything from the national guard, to state police, to the DNR. At one point, we could clearly hear live rounds being fired.
The walks and paths were well maintained, except that some were flooded out due to recent heavy rains. The area dedicated to the Old Crow Wing Village was well done.
What causes me the most confusion though, is that someone made the call to cover the roads with sand, instead of the traditional crushed stone. So, never mind that the sand made it harder to walk up hill to the water and showers, it got everywhere. When we tore down camp, I emptied enough sand from my tent, that I could have added a fresh layer to a cat's litter box.
I am very conflicted about this park. It is very pretty, but when you get right down to it, the little quirks that surround it add up. I'm not sure if we will be back. Not that we won't, it's just that we won't be rushing back.
Legendoffers sites with no hookups and sites with electric (no water, but potable water station is provided to fill up prior to parking) bathrooms and showers in the campground. Fire ring and picnic table provide for each site. Firewood and sewage dump station also provided for free to registered campers. There is a dock, sand swimming beach, horseshoe pits, disc golf, basketball court, and softball field.
LegendI've been to campgrounds in MN and other places that were nicer, but there isn't anything wrong with this campground at all. And at this time of year, the ice on the lake was breaking up, so it made for a beautiful sunset! Since it is still that time of year when it's warm during the day and cool at night, it was the perfect chance to test out the Twilight Thermal Mattress Topper by Alki while staying at Father Hennepin State Park in MN.
CAMPGROUND REVIEW:
We've been to this campground before, but not during this season or time of year. The campground is nice, but not terribly fancy. What it does have going for it is that it's a decent bit off the road, so there isn't much road noise. And although all the sites are fairly close together, there are tons of trees that (if it were summer) offer a buffer between them. It's possible to car camp at these sites or tent camp. They also have RV sites. Unfortunately, the RV sites are pretty close to the others, so if there are parties going on or radios playing, everyone can hear them, but that is to be expected at a campground where sites are close together. It wasn't terribly bothersome, though, and the scenery outweighed the mild disturbance.
They do have showers and flush toilets (during warmer seasons) and vault toilets the rest of the time. There is also a dump station for RVs.
Many of the sites are lakeside, for no additional cost. Benches dot the lakeside, and you get a gorgeous site of the sunset from here. There is also a paved path that runs near the water, so it's a pretty stroll late in the eve. This leads to a floating dock (not floating this time of year, though, because of the ice). Pretty space to chill and take in the breeze.
PRODUCT REVIEW:
As a Ranger for They Dyrt, I have the amazing opportunity to review incredible products in exchange for an honest review. This time, I received a Twilight Thermal Mattress Topper by Alki in a queen size. This is the first time I've ever tried something like this, so when I found it on Kickstarter, I was intrigued. The idea of a thermal layer built into a quilt-like blanket (think about the silver reflective stuff that everyone who camps talks about). But this isn't your typical mylar-type foil sheet. It's quiet. It's soft. It makes absolutely no noise at all. Now, this isn't something you are going to put in a backpack because it's big and it's not going to fit the bill of the ultralight hiker, but that's not what it's meant for. I emailed with the owners of the company and they intended it to be an addition to a car camping excursion or used on a bed as extra insurance from the night air. So I was intrigued. We are getting a teardrop trailer soon and I thought it might be a great way to stay warm without adding a heater to the mix.
The owners, Saul and Carolyn, have created this super soft blanket-type mattress topper that can be used several ways. You can put it on the mattress directly and sleep on top of it. You can use it as a blanket, you could wrap up in it and make a mock sleeping bag. It's a microsuede type of fabric on top and feels amazing, but has a brushed polyester bottom that helps to keep it from slipping off your pad. I'm a cold sleeper, so I really wanted to give it a good test. Normally, I use a sleeping pad with an R Value of 4.4 or better so that I don't chill out in the night. This time, I decided to use a pad with an R Value of 1.9 (thank you to my husband for sacrificing his pad). Normally, I'd be frozen from the backside, even in temps that are in the 40's. So I put down my pad in the van, laid the topper over the pad, and then my bag on top of that. And then I was off to la-la land.
The verdict…a toasty back side. It was truly wonderful to sleep in cooler weather without the typical CBS (cold butt syndrome) that campers talk about. Normally, with a pad that was only 1.9, I'd be frozen from the pad side. And that means tossing and turning all night to figure out how to stay warm. But I didn't have any cold spots from the pad side while sleeping on this topper. I just wish I'd thought to wrap it over my bag as well to insulate from the top as well. Then, I would have had the perfect night of sleep! It reflects back your own body heat to help keep you toasty.
PROS:
There really isn't anything negative to say about this blanket. Now, it does weigh more than a regular thermal blanket (queen is 4.5 pounds, and twin is 3 pounds), but they don't advertise it as ultra light or for backpacking. Carolyn said that it was designed with car camping in mind, as mentioned before. That said, it works beautifully for that purpose! It would be lovely if they'd consider making a skinny version that would fit in a hammock or under a sleeping bag/pad. As a cold sleeper, I'd seriously consider adding it to my cold weather backpack supplies, even if it meant an extra pound of weight.
Bottom line, if you want to enjoy a good night sleep in the chilly night air while car camping with your family or friends, take this topper for a spin. It's perfect under a sleeping bag, over a sleeping bag or to snuggle while watching the autumn sunset.
LegendThis is one campground in Minnesota that offers a handful of electric hookups for winter camping. The beauty of this campground, is that while the campsites available are in a row, there's plenty of space between sites and some of them are even pulled through. Making it easy for RVs to pull in and hook up.
The vault toilet is not easy to find from where the electric openings are in the winter. While these spaces are right next door to a shower house with toilets, this is closed in the winter. The vault toilet is several rows over and down, making it hard to find if you don't already know where it is. But it was clean, and it was available.
The campfire rings seemed clean, and each had a picnic table as well. We loved the pull-through site because then we were a little more protected from the road, although it's not busy this time of year at all. So it was very quiet except for our neighbors, and they didn't make much noise at all.
There are trails nearby that are easily accessible on foot from the campground, and you can make loops that come back to the campground as well.
There are two campgrounds at this park, but this is the one that has availability in the winter time. Ironically, they also have a couple of walk-in spots that are also open this time of year. If you're willing to brave the temps without an electric hookup. Not hard to find, not hard to access, but no electric hookups at these sites.
GuideThis is one of the most beautiful campsites we have stayed at in the midwest. The canoe campsite (also accessible through cart-in) is located on a small creek just off of the Mississippi river. There is a fire ring, picnic table, and ample tent space. There is about a 500yd walk to the restrooms, and you have to go another 500yds to the main campground to find the showers. We camped in mid-September, and the water to the main campground had already been turned off for the winter, so no shower review. The bathrooms near the cart-in sites were well maintained and clean, flush toilets. There was drinking water access near the old WPA water tower (but the water came from the city, not the well and water tower). We had some rain, but the sandy soil mean things drained quickly and were nearly dry in the morning. Lots of neat hiking trails within this small park, and a Minnesota Historical Society Site across the road at the Charles A. Lindbergh historic site (his boyhood home).
RangerThis hidden gem is on the Mississippi water trail around mile 996. It is called "Overlook Park" and owned/maintained by the city of Baxter, but is part of the DNR's state water trail. There is even signage for those on the river to inform them about their whereabouts on the trail when they pass this park.
So although this is a little private city park, there is a specific spot RIGHT on the river with a picnic table, fire ring, and nice high ground soft space for a tent. But really you could tent it anywhere in the park, but this space is set aside a bit from the rest, as it is a city park although very little traffic. There is garbage and a vaulted toilet. There are three picnic tables throughout including the tent site, and two fire rings. There is a nice canoe landing area with a few stairs to help give access up and down from the river bank. Very pretty spot on the river! The opposite land bordering this city park is part of Crow Wing State Park, so even though it's close to town, it does feel fairly remote.
Such a well maintained park! Pretty views and some rugged trails along the river for some hiking as well.
GuideI've stayed in both the cabins and the camping area. The cabins are my favorite because of the lake views, proximity to the bathhouse, and heat/AC units. Cabin #5 has the best unobstructed views of the lake. Cabins have WiFi. The campground is nice but only has a primitive toilet adjacent to the campsites. There are no electric or sewer hookups, but there are a couple of tent sites than can accommodate small campers. I camped in site #18 and it either isn't very level or I just did a poor job of setting up my tent because we were slanted all night. Great stargazing at both the cabins and the tent sites.
Check-in information is shared via email (key codes for the bathhouse and the cabin locks). The emails are very informative and the owners have been prompt to reply when I had questions. They even offer up the option to have firewood delivered to your site (either cabin or tent site) before you arrive.
This is my favorite place to stay in Crosby because it's so close to both the Rally Center Trailhead and Crosby. My favorite places in town are Red Raven (great coffee shop with good breakfast and lunch food options), Crosby Pub (wide variety of food - burgers, salads, appetizers), Rafferty's Pizza (pizza and beer plus a couple of arcade games in the back), and Iron Range Eatery (a little fancier than Crosby Pub (but not by much) and offers great food as well). All of these restaurants offer outdoor seating.
LegendLeap Day 2/29/20-3/1/20 Frog Pond
We headed to Lake Carlos for their candlelight ski, this was our first visit to this state park. Tent camping wasn’t available and we were able to reserve a camper cabin - Frog Pond. It was a nice change and a warmer option, the cabin is gorgeous! Frog Pond sleeps 6 with heat and electricity. There are 4 cabins that share 2 vault toilets.
It was a beautiful 38 degree Leap Day and we took advantage of it. They offer a large number of ski trails so we xcountry skied before dark. The trails were icy, but still enjoyable. At dark we headed to the candlelight event. It was very busy and a huge turnout. We hiked 1.2 miles and then snowshoed 2.4 miles. There are ponds and bogs that they create snowshoe trails on, so there are even more trails to explore in the winter. It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed the wooded trails and starry skies. We had a fire and enjoyed a normal outdoor cookout before bed.
We did more skiing on Sunday and checked out the 2 campgrounds as they were on the ski route. One campground is on Lake Carlos and very open. Sites have beautiful lake views. You can apparently drive your boat right into a sandy shore and dock it. They also have a swimming beach. The other campground is a bit more wooded and more suited for tents. This campground is near the camper cabins. The trails are very wooded and pretty. We enjoyed skiing the hiking club trail and ended up hitting almost every trail in our stay. I assume this park would be equally beautiful in the summer. What a beautiful state park!
Explore the beauty of tent camping near Fort Ripley, Minnesota, where lush landscapes and serene waters create the perfect backdrop for outdoor adventures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Fort Ripley, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Fort Ripley, MN is Canoe Landing Campsite — Crow Wing State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 3 reviews.
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