Best Tent Camping near Lakefield, MN

Tent Camping Reviews near Lakefield, MN

168 Reviews of 7 Lakefield Campgrounds

• 

  Morgan Y.

  Ranger

  Nov. 6, 2020

  Oak Woods Campground — Lake Shetek State Park

  This is camping?

  I was up in the Oak Woods Campground. This was pretty much an open field with people crammed together. One of my neighbors sat and watched a certain cable news channel on a giant outdoor TV hooked up to their bus from 8am until 10p. I can tell you that a TV host named Tucker was very angry that night. Another "camper" had set up a giant playground, penned in areas for their multiple dogs, and had a bouncy castle set up for their daughter...that was running off of a very loud generator all day. The whole thing was lit up with string lights like it was an airport runway and gave the entire campground a carnival feel. WTF?  Unfortunately for your enjoyment, I deleted the video I took of the scene. Lucky for you, I still have a photograph of it. 

  I had reserved 2 nights. I left at 6am after one pathetic night and went and stayed at a Harvest Host instead. 

  Leave no trace (and set up no carnivals).

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• 

  Tori K.

  Legend

  May. 30, 2025

  Island Park

  Small waterfront campground

  Nice little park to stop at for a night on a trip. Only stayed here for a night on my way out west in 2024. Arrived a bit before dark and decided to sleep in my car rather than my tent just due to the timing and being tucked away by the river by myself. Never did figure out where a bathroom was unfortunately. There was a gas station right down the road for any conveniences you may need. There is a kayak launch right by the campsites that I would've put my inflatable into if I'd had more daylight/time here.

  Not sure how larger campers would set up given the layout and how small the pads look, but there was plenty of room in front and behind the pads.

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• 

  Megan R.

  Scout

  Jul. 30, 2024

  Plum Creek Park Campground

  Hidden Gem

  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.

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• 

  Clint G.

  Guide

  Jul. 20, 2021

  Korte's Checkers Welcome Campground

  Great value as Passport America member

  This is a small private campground that offers a quiet nights stay.  Site size was moderate with some shade, a fire ring, picnic table, on a level gravel pad.  $20 per Passport America members for FHU is sweet.  The grounds were well cared for and was not to far from the interstate but far enough away that there was little noise.

• 

  Evan W.

  Guide

  Jun. 20, 2019

  Watona City Park

  Perfect Stop On a South Dakota RoadTrip

  We pulled into this place at 2:00 AM so we weren't really able to see much of the environment. In the morning though we awoke to a beautiful park with good shade coverage from the trees. Our group only hammock camps so we were glad to see the abundance of trees between each camp slot. The only downside to this place was the gnats. Although not that bad we woke up with tiny bites on us. That being said if we would have brought a bug net or been in a tent we would have had no problem with them. Overall this camp site was a great place to stop while we were driving to the Badlands.

• 

  Matthew H.

  Guide

  Feb. 13, 2024

  Kilen Woods State Park Campground

  Great Campground! Conveniently located!

  Great Campground. The park Ranger on Duty was very helpful. Campsites were generous in space. Well kept. Fire Ring and picnic table on site were kept up well. Trails and scenery through the back hills are well kept and maintained.

• 

  Meg W.

  Guide

  Sep. 17, 2023

  Kilen Woods State Park Campground

  Peaceful Prairie Spot

  Chosen at the last minute for its proximity to the Twin Cities area, the drive was about 2 hrs 45 minutes. Park is quiet, clean and very easy to hike. Entire park can easily be hiked in a day, with prairie, river and oak savanna views. The park rangers were not at the station at any point while we visited, meaning payment for firewood and parking must be done online. Really nice facility with flush toilets and showers sits between the two campground loops. Camped in Walk-In Site #1 and the seclusion from the electric sites was great. The walk-in sites are nestled in the woods and fairly private. From the parking spot to the campsite was an easy ~100’.

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• 

  Joanna B.

  Legend

  Aug. 7, 2020

  Oak Woods Campground — Lake Shetek State Park

  Boater’s paradise

  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.

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• 

  Lord J.

  Guide

  Jun. 26, 2021

  Kilen Woods State Park Campground

  Secluded slice of paradise.

  Stayed in the walk-in section of the campground. Just a short walk from the parking and vault toilet. Beautiful Oaks surround you as does the sumac, raspberries and mosquitos. Even though it rained it was a superb experience 🙏