Best Cabin Camping near Lakefield, MN

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 is the definition of a hidden gem. The park is well maintained with friendly staff. There are nice trails around the lake and more in the lower unit. There is disc golf and kayak rentals and a small store where you can buy ice, firewood, souvenirs, and an ice cream treat. 

For extra peace and quiet, get the tent only (non electric) sites across the lake! There are a variety of sites if you want to “rough it” or not. Bathrooms are clean. 

You can tell the workers here care about the park and your experience. I found 0 trash on the trails, and I usually come out with a handful.

It fills up on weekends with “seasonals” but all the sites have trees and nice shade that gives you a sense of privacy. Theres a tent site close to the playground and bathrooms perfect if you have kids.

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.

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.

Beautiful lake setting. LARGE well maintained walking trails, most are flatter so easy to walk.

Easy access to fishing, kayaking and canoeing.

3 different campgrounds in the park. Sunrise campground is newer, electric, water and sewer hookups. Sites are very level, open with newer smaller trees. Sites are spaced apart really nicely. Oakwoods campground is nicely shaded underneath many large oaks.

Bathroom/shower buildings are VERY CLEAN, well maintained and showers work great and have very warm water. The bathroom/showers are in the Oakwood campground.

FLUSHING toilets in the Sunrise campground!

Swimming beach was clean and nice sand.

Park is located at a Historical site, read up about the area before visiting to get a good understanding about the area.

Nice clean RV DUMP station.

Nice little restaurant just outside of the park called Trails Edge. Also have LP tank refill. Located right on the Bike Trail