Best Glamping near Lilydale, MN

Minnesota State Parks have just started to build Yurts for 3 campgrounds around the state; Afton, Cuyuna and Glendalough State Parks. These have some great amenities and are perfect for family camping, especially in Fall, Winter and Spring.

I have stayed multiple times in the hike in camp sites and also in the yurt! The hike in sites were beautiful with a view looking over the St. Croix River. It was a shaded site perfect for our hammocks, it was quiet and very secluded. The Yurt was very cool! Very comfortable beds and plenty of space for the 6 of us to stay and sleep. The fire pit and picnic table wasn't far from the yurt which made it nice to not have to walk too far since we camped in the winter. I highly suggest the expeeience of the yurt!

Interesting place, you can read about it here

https://www.hipcamp.com/discover/minnesota/stone-creek-farm

I will do the best

The cabins in the woods are great in winter with snow on the pine trees. I would probably prefer the prairie cabins in the summer, especially with mosquitoes. The prairie cabins have significantly less privacy though with trails on either side that have good views into the heavily windowed cabins.

The cabins are well-built and heated. The wooded cabins have what seems like full-sized mattress bunk beds built into the wall. Each bunk has its own reading light. The storage in this place is amazing. Storage under the bed, one counter with ample storage under it, and even the windows are so deep that I was able to store most of my food on the sill.

The biggest downside is the middle-of-the-night trek to the bathroom. The bathroom is heated and open year round. There are two year round showers as well, but don’t plan on a long shower to unwind unless you like cold water. There was maybe 2 minutes of hot water. Basically enough to wash your body quickly, it was easy enough to avoid getting my hair wet. The shower room is also set to a cool 58 degrees in the winter. I do suspect that the floors are slightly heated though. You will need to dart across to the bathroom to blow dry your hair if you’re washing it in the winter. 

You can use a slow cooker and a coffee pot in the cabin. Otherwise you can cook over the fire as well. They have potable water in the bathroom for washing your dishes in the cabin with.

Close enough to town if you need something, far enough away for peace and quiet.

Super nice area very scenic great bathroom facilities. Cabins are nice and have great woods and trails around them.

Super simple camping cabins. They each have 4 spots and have contactless entry as you get sent a code to use. There is no cooking inside the cabin so you have to use the fire ring outside. Shower facilities are really nice and match the cabins. Plan ahead as these are hard to come by.

Afton state park is a 1700 acre park just outside Woodbury that has excellent river views from the campground. Afton state park has something for everyone from its great but challenging mostly uphill walk to the campground to some great canoe/ boat in sites. They also allow people to boat in as well and pay to camp on their north beach. Afton has two great group camps that can have 50 people.

We had our wedding there and the staff were amazing. Very helpful and knowledgeable about the park.

The park has several blackberry patches spread throughout as well.

Park has a dock you can fish from as well as several miles of equestrian trails. It’s next to Afton alps ski area which has summer mountain biking trails that are easily accessed via park trails.

Beautiful views, awesome trails, however lots of mosquitos

Great park with lots of elevation.

Backpacking up the trail to the campgrounds was strenuous with a 45lb pack and 9 person tent (overkill but that’s what the kiddo wanted, so 🤷🏽‍♂️). Beautiful views on the way up, gorgeous views upon entry. Self-serve firewood was $6 for all you can cut/carry. The saws worked great and made quick work of the wood!

Right next to the self-serve firewood was the solar powered water pump, which had delicious water! We ran into many deer, saw plentiful stars and constellations. On our way out we stopped at the beach to take a breather, get our feet wet, and compose ourselves before the last leg of the trail to the parking lot.

Will definitely be returning to enjoy ourselves again!

This park is close to St. Paul, and has the best hiking trails! Highly recommend.

We went to Afton for a day trip filled with hiking, picnicking and scoping out future camping sites. Then I saw the snake. I literally grabbed my husband to hold him back from stepping on it and then he walks past it like nothing happened. I needed more encouragement. Anyways the hike in sites looked awesome, but a bit of a steep climb to get there. Lots of trails, sites to see, and wildlife to find. We will definitely be back for trail running!

Wonderful views and nice hiking trails! The camping is backpack in sites and it is a steep hill to get to but the view is fantastic.

We stayed in a backpacking site, was very private and a fun hike to our site. It's along the St. Croix river so be sure to bring bug spray! The trails are fun to hike on, although you can tell a lot of people hike on them. We saw a lot of different birds and a couple different kinds of turtles while we were there! We have gone there during the summer, winter and fall and it is beautiful during all three seasons, especially the fall.

Afton State Park! Really enjoyed the hike-in camp site #7! Brought my dog Maya and we hiked up and down the bluffs in the evening and the next morning! Incredible star and moon viewing at night! Beautiful St. Croix River Valley! Tons of nature, forest, prairie, deer everywhere, wild turkeys, rabbits and squirrels! Had a blast! Great solar powered well water! Mid-week is nice n quiet! Awesome! Going back again this week! ****

Lots of hiking. Nice campsites. Beautiful park.

Less than an hour drive from Minneapolis this is a good get away. As expected it has many walk trails. Highlight of this location is beach which is nice for swim and sun bath. But beach isn't motor vehicle accessible so expect 5-10 min walk. Campgrounds are nearby beach and require further walk.

The eagles soar as you swim in the sandy, shallow warm river stream. What more could you want?

This summer we took our 7 year-old here as a trial of backpacking camping with him.

This is a little more than a mile, and so it was super approachable for all of us to hike-in with all of our things. There was a good amount of hiking, some hills up and down and such, but a good length for a little guy.

Back in the campsites, there is A LOT of space. Everyone is super spread out, so we could feel like we had very good privacy. We heard a bit from other campsites, but with the space, we weren't bothered by others' noise nor did we feel like we needed to silence the kiddo to avoid bothering others.