Best Campgrounds near Isle, MN

I was looking to take a solo camping trip for the weekend and paddleboard on the Cuyuna Mine Lakes. I booked the trip pretty late because of a lot of different factors, but Crow Wing State park still had plenty of availability. The park is nothing spectacular, but it was nice, wooded, and the staff were great. It was my first time solo camping in awhile, so I opted to stay at a state park where there would be rangers. I noticed that the rangers stopped and talked to me night one, and remembered me- which made me feel very safe as a solo female camper. The campground was overall pretty quiet, and my site was wooded so that I normally could not see other campers from my site, which was great! It felt decently quiet . If you visit in the summertime, expect hellish mosquitoes and pack accordingly!

You can join the hiking club trail straight from the campground, which was nice- I went on a few beautiful sunset walks to watch the sunset over the river

The bathroom and shower were clean and easily accessible.

The park was a 20-30 minute drive from the Cuyuna Mines area, so I was able to easily drive over Saturday morning and spend the day paddleboarding.

This park is not one of the most spectacular in Minnesota, but I had a great stay and it was very relaxing. It was great for a weekend getaway for a solo female camper looking to do some paddle boarding in the area

The people were really nice!! Great lakefront sites. The campground is out of town so fairly quiet but a little bit of road noise. Close to Mora in case you need anything or are looking for something to do.

My site unfortunately did not have a view of the river, but it was still nice and private!! This is one of my favorite state parks for last minute camping trips due to its proximity to home. I have stayed in each of the campgrounds here multiple times at different sites and don't really have a standout favorite site. Each campground is pretty similar (it's really more like separate loops of the same campground as opposed to actually separate campgrounds... so I wouldn’t worry too much about which one to pick! Multiple restrooms and showers throughout the campgrounds. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table, and wood can be purchased at the office. Cell service is fairly spotty here so come with podcasts or shows downloaded ahead of time! But if you don't, you can always run into Hinckley for some WIFI or cell service to download some things.

Savanna Portage State Park is a beautiful and peaceful spot for camping, especially if you enjoy tent camping. The campsites are well-spaced, private, and perfect for tents, offering a great connection to nature.

The park features a lovely lake that’s ideal for kayaking, fishing, or just relaxing by the water. There are also several great hiking trails, ranging from easy walks to more challenging routes, giving you plenty of opportunities to explore the scenic forest and wetlands.

One thing to note—there are a lot of bugs in the summer, so make sure to pack plenty of bug spray! Overall, it’s a fantastic place for outdoor lovers looking for a quiet and rustic getaway.

This 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.

Felt nice to spend a weekend without cell service about an hour away from home. Forgot to take my usual photos and video of the site all set up but had a few random to share. Nice campground. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. There are flush toilets and showers and the office has a store for any last minute needs.

The website for this RV park is broken

This Campground is closed permanently

The park is VERY LARGE, 33,000 acres! The prairie was beautiful this fall with all the native grasses and plants.

There is a flat, brand new 5 mile paved bicycle path that goes from the campground to the beach. Many hiking trails! The trails along the river are beautiful in October.

The campgrounds, trails, and bathrooms are all well maintained. The men’s bathroom/showers were designed and built well and is very clean. Bath building has a large “family/handicap” bathroom shower room.

MANY BLACK Squirrels in the park!

Very well laid out campground with large sites. Unbelievable AGATE MUSEUM at the main entrance. Men’s bathroom was very clean and showers worked great. Nice well groomed trails, well maintained campsites and campgrounds. Tall pines trail is beautiful, not real long. Nice picnic area on the trail across the blacktop road.

The campground was nicely maintained. Had a nice pool and friendly seasonal campers. The management and reservation process was less than desirable. Very difficult to get ahold of management and upon arrival they had given our reserved site away to someone else and moved us. Paid for a water/ electric site and were moved to an electric only site and no cost difference or refund offered.

Nice river nearby canoeing swimming pool fireplaces and little store for treats.

Came through on an evening in July to meet a buddy canoeing the misssissippi. This was easily the buggiest site we stayed in all summer. Mosquitos so thick we had to wear nets over our faces. Maybe we’re just sensitive about it, but it was hard to get anything done.

Lovely sites with plenty of trees so most sites are quite private. Mosquitoes are brutal here, especially on the hiking club trail and to a somewhat lesser degree in the campground. We were thankful to have a screen tent for this visit. No Verizon cell service at the campground. Surprisingly good cell service at the Loon Lake area of the park, which also has a beautiful short hike!

There are many different sites (most just pull offs) in this area! I did see one that was pull through further down game refuge road. The cell service with Verizon is good enough to stream videos and work on your laptop with ease. There aren't too many people in the area, even on a Sunday in July. The bugs are not great but that's just what you're going to get in an area like this one. Overall I would definitely stay here again.

The 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.

This campsite is about an hour away from where I live. The listing here on The Dyrt seemed promising, and I hoped that by getting out there early I would find a nice spot. I first went to the National Park Service Scenic Riverway Visitor Center in St. Croix Falls to obtain a permit and learned that I don't need one for Sandrock Cliffs, I was already there so I got one anyway. About 40 minutes later I arrived at Sandrock Cliffs. The campsites all have a fire ring and are decently spaced apart, but most of the sites were full of trash and broken tent poles. There was a large group of kids that arrived by canoe/kayak just after I did. Soon the parking lot was also full of cars of some shady looking people who appeared to be looking for a spot to party. The kids seemed to have deterred these people from staying. I set up my camp and started to read a book. The kids began running through my campsite and upset my dog. After 3 times of them running through my campsite I just packed up and went home. Since this spot is accessible by road I'm assuming that its best not to visit in the summer, it seems to be a place that gets abused by the locals as a party area. I may consider visiting again in the fall when it is hopefully less busy.

Nice campground. We were dry camping in the RV since there was no water. Still a nice place for a winter getaway. Will go back in the fall!

Base camp for fishing Big Sandy. Stayed here several times in a tent and a trailer. Nice sites but surrounded by swampy areas so mosquitoes are thick.

Very clean, pay attention to north or south entrance. Have to drive on either end can’t cross the dam with a vehicle.

But firewood before hand as well.

Nice trails along the Mississippi River, easy to walk, good signage on trails, and good information signs with history of each site along the trail.

Very Clean men’s bathroom. One shower needs a new shower head.

Sites 40 to 45 are very nice and secluded. Sites 58 and 59 are prime secluded sites.