Best Cabin Camping near Jackson, MN

We stayed in a Camper Cabin in this park in the wintertime.  It was a great experience for our kids and a fun winter camping experience for mom and dad.  The camper cabin was nice and warm and we even cooked our dinner over a fire at night.

Our party consisted of two adults, and three children under 12. The cabin consisted of bunk beds with double beds on bottom and twin bed on top. With our gear for four days we found the cabin had just enough room for our party. Any longer or more kids and the cabin would be too small.

The cabins are close to the lake. In early October the leaves are mostly fallen and you have an unobstructed view of the lake and surrounding hills. During the day take in the great vistas across the lake, at night look up and see stars that can only be seen in the wilderness.

The area has several good hikes of 3 - 7 miles in length. If you are looking for heavy wooded off trail hikes you can forge your own way otherwise we found the trails great for family hikes, and a morning run.

Bathrooms, and showers are clean and better than I have experienced at other state parks.

We spent three nights at the Oak Woods campground at Lake Shetek State Park in May 2022. The six non-electric campsites are along one edge of the campground, across the road from the park’s four camper cabins. All of the campsites are large and open and grassy. They lack privacy but have good spacing, tall trees, and lake views. One of the two bathroom-and-shower buildings is nearby. We were there in early May and were the only tent campers in the park at that time.

The park is lovely. We saw and heard many birds including songbirds, woodpeckers, geese, turkeys, pelicans, turkey vultures, and a nesting swan. We saw deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and a mink. We heard coyotes the first night. There are some nice hiking trails. We especially enjoyed the Loon Island loop, which is accessed by a causeway across the lake. There is an observation deck with a viewing telescope at Eastlick Marsh, which is where we saw the nesting swan and a beaver dam. In season there are recreational rentals (canoes, kayaks, etc.), but we were a little too early for them to be available.

This review is for Oak Woods Campground at Lake Shetek State Park. Drive-in Site 12.

This campground is pretty large and there are neighboring campgrounds that make the camping options plentiful in this state park!

Sites are well marked and they are all in close proximity to one another. There are little to no natural features that divide each site from the next. When this campground is full you have zero privacy, and can probably hear the conversation by the fire at the neighboring site!

Site 12 in directly across from one of the camper cabins - these little cabins are super cute! You are also probably ~1000ft from the lake shore and can clearly see the lake from the site. It’s possible that sight line becomes somewhat obstructed when other sites are occupied. Restrooms and water source are very nearby.

6/12/20-6/14/20 cart in 3

Lake Shetek State Park is located in the SW corner is Minnesota and on Lake Shetek. They have 4 campgrounds. We always up for the more private sites and stayed in the cart-in campground. There are carts available to haul your gear if you choose. The cart in sits sit up on a ridge and had some views of Lake Shetek. Our campsite (3) was spacious with a tent pad large enough to hold 2 tents and had a spot for a hammock. It had a fire ring and picnic table. The vault toilet was right across from our campsite, so we had a lot of foot traffic. It was not the most private site of the bunch, we liked 5 and 7 better.

Lake Shetek allows motor boats and there was a lot of boat traffic. There are other resorts on this lake so it’s very active. We brought our kayaks and enjoyed kayaking the lake, though there was always a pretty big wake and we stayed near the shoreline. We kayaked (a short Portage) to 2 smaller lakes that had no one on them. We were able to tie our boats to a tree below our campsite and scaled up the embankment, there was a path already there. There are a few hiking trails in the state park (roughly 4 miles of hiking tidal) but I wouldn’t say it’s known for its hiking. We enjoyed the causeway that led to the 1-mile Loon Island Trail. We saw turtles, deer, waterfowl and eagles during our stay. There is a “beach” locates near the Oak Wood campground however it was underwater, people still enjoyed swimming as it was shallow and warm in June. We did find another beach within the state park that was a longer walk to reach, but MANY boats were docked and “partying” here. There is a nice fishing pier and a dock within the park.

Due to all the boat traffic, I would say this is a much less private and serene state park.

Enjoyable Stay

We go in early in the afternoon after traveling from Madison WI.  

The KOA seemed alright but I was very disappointed in the long term/ Full time RVs parked there.  Some were alright but a couple of pretty dumping ones.  

They were not full and I can understand the reason.  

The facilities seemed to be well maintained.  The pool and playground were very nice and the sites we stayed around were fine.  It was just those few trailers that gave it that run downed feeling. If they took care of those even made them clean the area around them and wash them it  would go up a star or 2.

The internet was iffy again and I guess we will just have to live with that though I did expect more from a KOA.

That night they did have live entertainment but we did not know about it until they started to play.  It was locals I think that lived there and was like a jam session.

Very quiet and clean, goid WiFi. Gary was very helpful. This campground is just beautiful. There is a lake you can fish,swim,rent kayaks and canoe. Laundry and showers.

Well maintained campground with fishing piers and a swimming beach. A lot of seasonal/permanent sites. Transit spots were a little tight but owners did what they could to space you out. Very accommodating.

We found this place by accident, and were very happy we did. It’s a small family run campground with mostly seasonal campers. Set along the shores of Lake Imogene, which comes out of nowhere surrounded by farm land, and you can’t even see it from the road. Mature shade trees everywhere, Impeccably clean bathrooms, showers, etc. playground, small homemade mini golf course, volleyball, basketball, the works to keep the kids happy and entertained while you relax in a quiet clean setting. We stayed in a bull through site with two other campers, were nice and spaced out and didn’t hear them at all, but we’re told on weekends because of an on-site wedding venue, there are more people and the campsites are full. Mid-week night stats are tops though, and we would absolutely stay here again. The pull through sites have electric, water and sewage at every site.

Everyone we met (owners, staff, other campers) were extremely nice. Good people, great stay.

What a gem! We were there for a one night mid-week stay, and it was so quiet and calm because ~70% of the spots are taken by seasonal guests who are primarily at the campgrounds on the weekends. Right on Lake Imogene, there is a boat dock and a sandy swimming beach (which we had entirely to ourselves!). The grounds are well-maintained and very clean. There are three playgrounds (one at the swimming beach), a mini golf course, and an actual phone booth. The owners live on site and are very kind and accommodating. We got a late checkout for an additional $10, allowing us to really take advantage of this amazing spot. Highly recommended.

Large campground with a play park and other sporting area. Lake to swim in - no lifeguard offered. Large sites with water/electric hook up - some full hook sites and big rig friendly. The site we were put in was not set up well for the connections however it was a large site. Very muddy site but they offered to let us use a rug so we didn’t get ours all Muddy.

What a beautiful, clean campground right on a gorgeous lake!! I really enjoyed my short stay here - the owner met me at the office when I called him. No problem that I didn’t have a reservation- plenty of room! $37 for the night. Showers and bathrooms were big and clean. Campground in general was immaculate. Would definitely stay again if I was passing through this way. Literally right off I-90.