Ihlen, MN is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Ihlen. Find the best campgrounds near Ihlen, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.
$20 - $35 / night
"The bathroom facility at the drive-in campground is much nicer than the one for the tipis and cart-in sites."
"Amazing remnant of Minnesota prairie set among the farm country."
"Some have electric hook up, others are just for tent camping. All of them provide a picnic table and a fire pit. They also have little log cabins. We stayed at campsite 6 which was a very good spot."
"The campsite was easy to find and close to the town of Garretson. There was a small grocery store there."
"They sell campfire wood for 6$ a bundle on site so we had some great campfires going. They have nice long paved trails for walking and biking."
"Easy access from 90W, not much road noise and close to the town of Brandon for supplies. "
"There’s a fair size staff working; you could see 3-5 people at any given time. Good selection in store open 8am to 9pm in July. Nice size pool and laundry room."
"Easily accessible from the highway. Felt clean and secure. Staff was friendly.
We arrived on a Saturday, and there was a food truck at one of the sites!"
"I did notice that the power boxes are set up is only few spots with multiple power boxes on the post. So you could need a power cord extention. If all spots by the power boxes are taken up."
"The electrical and water are a little spaced out. We took the end spot and count quite reach our two water hoses. There two long-term campers who were hooked up to the water spigot closest to us."
$15 - $55 / night
"Bathrooms well tended. Lake area is busy. Campsite I initially reserved was not suitable for a tent…the only flat area was right on top of the neighbor’s fire pit."
"There are only 4 strictly dedicated tent sites. you park across the street and walk a very short distance, maybe 200 feet to the site. The bathroom is in the parking lot along with a water source."
"Clean showers and laundry room. We stayed on the west side. It’s literally in town but very easy on and off interstate. The airport is close by which made it neat to watch."
"This campground is a great location when passing through Sioux Falls. It is right off I29, and there a quick in and out sites up front."
$23 - $33 / night
"We spent three nights at the Oak Woods campground at Lake Shetek State Park in May 2022."
"Tons of walking trails and pet friendly!! You’ll see lots of birds and deer... Second time here and love it!!"
"Electric and water hookups. Spots are very close together. Luckily several people cancelled for the weekend and we were allowed to pick any spot. Shower houses are nice."
GuideLots of noise since it’s off the highway. Has running water and bathrooms at least.
GuideI spent the night here and had to pay the entrance fee to the park as well as the camping fee for my tentsite. They had only a few tentsites available amid all the RV sites, but they were right on the edge of the playground, so the families had to walk right through my campsite to get to the play area. Not too big a deal as no one wanted to use the play area at night while I was sleeping, but still. I also looked over at the power lines. There was a flush toilet facility close by but there was a very bright light on all night. Good for families needing to navigate in the dark but not wonderful if you like sleeping in darkness. And though I was told that quiet hours began at 10PM, the site next to me was quite loud through the trees until at least midnight so the quiet hours are not enforced. Meh. I don't think I'll be going back.
TravelerElectric and water hookups. Spots are very close together. Luckily several people cancelled for the weekend and we were allowed to pick any spot. Shower houses are nice. I'd stay again, although a lady in town said the hole in the mound county park nearby is much quieter. The ice cream man made a loop through the grounds.
LegendWe camped here over the weekend with our dogs. The campground is within 10 miles off of I90.
The park is not very big so there are not many campsites. Some have electric hook up, others are just for tent camping. All of them provide a picnic table and a fire pit. They also have little log cabins. We stayed at campsite 6 which was a very good spot. Some of the other sites seemed very close together without much privacy or shade.
The park staff (rangers, camp host and volunteers) was extremely friendly. They always made sure that we had everything we needed. The rangers also offer different programs on the weekend like learning about geocaching or how to make campfire desserts.
There is one bathhouse for the entire campground. It seemed a little old but got cleaned daily. There are also several vault toilets around the area. From the campground you have access to the water. There are also several short hiking trails from where you can see the rock formations.
It was just a very short ride to the Devils Gulch (Jesse James historical site) or Split Rock Park. There is also a Dollar General close by. We would definitely recommend the campground.
ScoutVery friendly and accommodating staff. This park is open year round and well set up for cold weather, the water spigot is heated so if you invest in a heated water line and have an insulated camper you should be good for the cold. Many units were tucked in for winter with skirting and large external propane tanks. The negatives are noise and lights. Highway noise was very very loud. Easy to see outside but not a lot of camp feel. Bright light through skylites while sleeping. Didn’t use bathrooms or showers so no comment on facilities.
TravelerThis campground is still charging $17 for a camp site, $7 transaction fee and $7/day entrance fee despite the fact they have no running water. The toilets still flush. In the morning our car filled up with flies that bit us for hours before we were able to eliminate all of them. It is a 5 mile drive back to Luverne if you need supplies, and I was unable to locate a grocery store.
Two good things; they have a Free Little Library and at night the lawn was covered with fireflies
The campground was so miserable that the campground host had abandoned their trailer and was never present. We did have several locals drive through the campground to spy on us, presumably to see who was stupid enough to camp there. You are entirely responsible for knowing what site you reserved because there was no attempt to label reserves sites.
There is no privacy between sites. This is just a big lawn with driveways, picnic tables and fire pits. The landscaping is nicely done with blackberries popping out of some hedges and providing eye-level interest at the base of trees.
.
LegendThis was a drive-by site for us and not a destination, so our review is based on only one night. We found the park to be very quiet and only had a few camping neighbors during our stay. It seems like it might be a destination for retired RVers, as everyone seemed to know each other well, which was fun.
Highlights include nice, easy trails through the prairie, lots of wildflowers, and a herd of bison. We only saw the bison from a distance, but apparently, there are tours. We experienced lots of bugs in early July - biting flies and mosquitoes, and there was a constant humming noise from a nearby farm that really detracted from our experience.
Otherwise, the campground was really peaceful and the bathhouse was clean. We arrived around 4:30 pm and the office was closed. We didn't see a single park employee or campground host during our visit.
We checked out the tipis, which looked really fun, but with all the flies, we opted for setting up our tents to keep them out. We'd totally stay here again, but we probably wouldn't go out of the way to visit.
LegendLast August we headed to Blue Mounds to investigate out the SW corner of our state for the first time. We swung through New Ulm on the way there to check out the Schell's brewing company and we also stopped at Laura Ingalls Wilder's Plum Creek to break up the drive from the twin cities. The drive itself got pretty boring on the last half- lots of flat fields and cows. As you get closer to Luverne things start to become more interesting and the town of Luverne itself was an unexpected delight.
Yes, the water currently has e.coli in it. There is a huge alert on the park's page explaining how you can go about accessing water and showers nearby. The $17 rate is the discounted price to reflect the e. coli discount. The main campground is pretty open, some sites have shade, it is a prairie after all. The cart-in campsite offers much more privacy with the grove of trees there. The bathroom facility at the drive-in campground is much nicer than the one for the tipis and cart-in sites.
We spent one night in the tipi (cool experience for $30-$35 a night) and two nights at a cart-in site w-09. Some of the paths to the cart-in sites are not flat and rather long, but ours wasn't bad at all. I would definitely consider staying at that campsite again. I don't think I would necessarily stay in a tipi again unless I could book it on short notice if I knew that the weather was going to be dry and cool. The day before we got there it had rained quit a bit and when we arrived it was HOT. This meant that we got to enjoy our tipi experience with the aroma of hot wet tipi. The tipi floor is a platform made out of manufactured deck boards that keep you off the ground. The tipi itself isn't nearly as critter-proof as a tent. We wound up packing up our belongings and putting them in our car between leaving the tipi and moving into our campsite since we wanted to go check out the local area before we could check into our next site and somehow a garter snake got transported out of the tipi in our belongings and into our car- awesome haha.
The park was flooded a few years back which washed out a quite a bit- the lake that used to be there is now gone and just overgrown with plants. Most of the park is dedicated to the bison, so hiking opportunities are kind of limited. There are a ton of bison, but you either get to see them or you don't unless you go on one of their bison tours. They were present by the fence twice while we were there. There is pretty much a large trail loop with another large loop that swings off of that. Bring a wide-brimmed hat and tons of sun screen, not much tree cover on the trails. The one visitor center located in the southern portion of the park appeared to be permanently closed.
Luverne was cool. There are tons of historic houses and next time I'm out there I'll spend some time driving through neighborhoods to check them out. There is a basic grocery store off of Main Street for anything that you may need to pick up. I kind of wish that we had gone out to eat in town more because of how great the food was. Sterling's was delicious and much more upscale than anything I expected to find out there, the local Buffalo Sweat beer was great enough that I tried to find it at the local liquor store before I left. Showers are available at the Luverne aquatic center for free.
Overall I really enjoyed my experience and I look forward to my next trip out there, whenever that may be. If you are coming from the Twin Cities make sure to hit up Schells and Laura Ingalls Wilder's Plum Creek homestead like I mentioned above. Nearby side trips are Pipestone, Touch the Sky prairie, and Jeffers Petroglyphs
GuideWe are new to the KOA chain and just learned they are on a tiered system. This location is a journey KOA, which means it is right off the highway and more of a place to stop than a nature experience. We were so grateful we choose to stay in a cabin (which had a/c) the tent sites are literally in parking spaces next to each other in the grass surrounding a child’s play area...rude. There are bright lights around the buildings that shine into your sites. The pool has a chain link fence around it. Because we were in a cabin with the air running, the highway noise was significantly muted. However if that’s not your situation, I’d seriously reconsider. The bathrooms were not up to the regular KOA standards I had come to expect. They just didn’t feel/look clean. The bed was not terrible and we were able to get a good night sleep. I don’t plan on staying at journey locations in the future unless absolutely necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Ihlen, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Ihlen, MN is Blue Mounds State Park Campground with a 4.4-star rating from 51 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Ihlen, MN?
TheDyrt.com has all 12 glamping camping locations near Ihlen, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
