Best Glamping near Lilydale, MN

Recent Glamping Reviews near Lilydale, MN

168 Reviews of 18 Lilydale Campgrounds

• 

  Jason S.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 28, 2015

  Afton State Park Campground

  Yurt Camping

  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.

• T

  Tina H.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 18, 2018

  Afton State Park Campground

  Hiking and Yurting

  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!

• 

  Erik B.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 19, 2017

  Afton State Park Campground

  Beautiful park; yurts are awesome

  Afton is a gorgeous park. There's beautiful trails that take you through dense woods and prairie, and then you take a pretty decline to get to the St Croix River. It was foggy when we were there but still gorgeous. We also managed to get a yurt and it was so much fun. Comfy beds, room for 7 and it was clean and well built. This is a great park!

• 

  Stephanie K.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 1, 2020

  Stone Creek Farm

  Organic farm and campground

  Interesting place, you can read about it here

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

• 

  kristin C.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 9, 2018

  Ham Lake Resort

  Well Rounded RV Park and Campground

  My partner and I scheduled a 3 day / 2 night stay in a new Vintage Cruiser RV for $39.99, in exchange for attending a presentation on private membership.

  We checked in Wednesday evening, and the nicest staff I've ever met helped us acclimate to RV living. We are new to this game. They patiently described how to utilize the grey and black water tanks, as well as encouraged us to check-out the canoes, row boats, bikes, horseshoes, ladder golf and many other entertainment items - for FREE!

  The map provided was accurate which made locating the cruiser a breeze. There were further instructions inside as well. The RV was immaculate. Provided for our use were all linens (a public very clean bath and shower was just across the road), dish soap, dish towels, paper towels, flat wear, plates, bowls, mugs and pans.

  The campground has a couple of ponds, as well as access to Ham Lake where the watercraft is launched. There is a petting arena with goats, ponies, and a llama who gave my partner the stink eye, but fell in love with me rubbing the fence and giving me all googly eyes!

  The clubhouse sells bundled wood, ice, snacks, cold drinks, ice cream and provides 24-hour fresh coffee. There is also a small resupply area, and gift shop.

  There are pull-through sites, back ups, 50 and 30 amp hook ups, and tent sites, covered pavilions, picnic tables and fire pits.

  The campground itself seems remote, secluded and peaceful, however, you are conveniently located to two well-stocked convenience stores, as well as Wal-Mart about 15 minutes away. It's also only about 45 minutes from the Minnesota Twin Cities.

  One note: We visited in August and needed gallons of bug spray.

  We very much enjoyed our get away!

• 

  Do S.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 29, 2019

  Tamarack River Campground

  Nice place

  I will do the best

• 

  Stephanie K.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 31, 2020

  Whitetail Woods Camper Cabins

  Camper cabins

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

• B

  Blair

  Guide

  

  Jun. 7, 2021

  Whitetail Woods Camper Cabins

  Great camper cabins for spring and fall

  Each cabin has four sleeping spots: 2 bunk beds, and the 2 couches convert to beds. There's a heater inside, but no AC, which makes these the most suitable during the spring and fall.

  There is a fire ring outside of each cabin, along with a table. No cooking is allowed inside the cabins, which can make things rough if the weather isn't cooperating. 

  We enjoy hiking around the trails, but we primarily go to decompress, lounge around, and play games, read, etc. There's WiFi available, but depending on which cabin you reserve signal will be took weak for real usage. Same for mobile data -- don't plan on cell service here.

  The bathroom facilities are nice. Outside water is shut off during some parts of the year, so bring your own drinking water if you are camping close to/during winter.

  Cabins are accessible for those who need special assistance, which is nice. The only caveat is I don't recall there being an automatic door opener to the cabins.

  While the cabins are close together, noise is not a factor once you're inside. 

  It's difficult to get reservations, so I recommend trying to start booking 120 days in advance, which is the farthest out you can reserve. For example, as of this review (early June), all weekends are booked for all cabins.

• 

  Krista T.

  Legend

  

  Dec. 21, 2024

  Whitetail Woods Camper Cabins

  Cozy

  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.

• 

  Scott M.

  Legend

  

  Dec. 22, 2022

  Whitetail Woods Camper Cabins

  Great Cold Weather Option

  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.

• 

  Timothy S.

  Traveler

  

  Feb. 23, 2021

  Afton State Park Campground

  Right on the river

  Great park with lots of elevation.

• 

  Alison O.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 16, 2021

  Afton State Park Campground

  Camper Cabin camping @ Afton State Park

  Camper Cabin (Eastern Bluebird)🏡🐦

  Perfect little cabin nestled in the southern half of the park! Screened in porch, heated with electricity, and two double bunk beds!

• A

  Adam P.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 21, 2021

  Afton State Park Campground

  Terrific Semi-secluded carry-in sites

  First, terrific park. Lots of trails with a wide variety of landscapes. Prairie, forest, river, it’s got it all.

  My campsite was perfect. The woods made it very secluded. It was close enough to water and bathrooms so it wasn’t bad if you planned. They do have firewood available however it is long slab wood, so you do need to cut it yourself. Hand hacksaws are provided, but we’re not great quality which made cutting the wood difficult.

  These sites do require a hike from parking. Would strongly discourage big coolers or lots of weight.

• 

  Jennifer H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 21, 2020

  Afton State Park Campground

  New groomed backpack trails

  Site 27. This is a river landscape. Spiders and snakes..oh my. The parking lot is paved and has a dumpster. This is also where the nature center is. There are often music festivals and family events here. It is also next to Afton Ski resort. This park has a lot of beautiful prairie landscape with some temperate forest features. Wildflowers, shrubs, fungi, evergreens, and deciduous trees. Backpacking to the top hill sites has gotten easier as the park has curved the new wide groomed and wood chipped trail to spiral around the hill instead of a straight climb. There is a solar panel generated drinking water pump at the top and a honor system fire wood station. There is a bathroom, but not super close to this site. This site has a fire pit with grate and table but no bear box. This site does have a clear view to the trail and the site next to it, but it is set back a little bit. I can hear the joggers along the trail that wraps around the site. The sites are mapped out on a wide open prairie ground with some sites tucked back in the trees along the trail. There is not a water front view, but there is plenty of wildlife. The dear and flowers are beautiful. There is partial tree covering but we did bring a tarp for the rain.

• 

  Alicia A.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 13, 2020

  Afton State Park Campground

  A Nice Secluded Overnight Trip

  Great state park with lots of amenities. This was only my second camping trip, my first being the superior trail with an 8 mile hike in and no amenities. More fun in my opinion to search for your own firewood and really rough it, but it was to have water and wood available close to the site we were at (site 22) because we got in later and lost some daylight. The hike in was shorter and far less strenuous than my first trip, but note that it is uphill. If you’re carrying a heavy pack, expect to sweat a bit. Paved sidewalks into the park, wide dirt and rocky paths into the camp site which was nice given the amount of other day hikers (space to spread out). My boyfriend and I loved that our site was so secluded. There is also a lot of variety to the sites. The sites 1 through about 10 (if my memory doesn’t fail me) are fairly wooded. Our site had a nice balance of wooded area and open terrain/sky. We were lucky to get to see some beautiful fall colors.

  A few notes: the wood provided is THICK. They must haul the logs in with a truck. Saws are provided at the wood site, but be prepared to take some time on it. We had a hand saw so we were able to pack our packs with some large pieces and do some sawing at our campsite as the sawing station was busy with families and other campers. Lots of bark available to get a good fire started. The wood is not covered so if it rains the night before you come in, be ready to deal with some damp wood.

  Water station takes about 30 seconds to start up. There are also two bathrooms within the camp site that are what you expect them to be. Hand sanitizer and TP stocked.

  Never saw a ranger while we were there. We loved the privacy. Lots of spiders. Comes with the terrain.

  The site was perfect for our hammocks. They are super kind if you want to call ahead to get an idea of what your site looks like. It was also great to be able to see what other sites were occupied on the day we decided to make a reservation. There is a grill top on your fire pit (we packed our own grill top, could’ve left it at home).

  Overall it was a great overnight trip. Close to our home so I’m sure we’ll be back for a quick trip next year.

• 

  Justin Q.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 4, 2020

  Afton State Park Campground

  Secluded and Amazing

  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!

• 

  Stephanie S.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 28, 2020

  Afton State Park Campground

  Nice, quiet, close to Msp/St. Paul

  Sites are nice and private, and the campground was quiet the whole time. The firewood available ($6) was dry and burned well, although you do have to cut it yourself. There are saws provided at the pile near the water spigot. The ranger was very friendly too. No doubt about it, it's not the easiest hike in but wasn't too bad. I don't suggest doing it on a 90 degree day like we did, but jumped in the river (1/2 mile or so from campground) right after which felt great! One of the bathrooms (the one near the water and woodpile) smelled SO STRONGLY of ammonia from the vault toilet that you could taste it and feel it when you took a breath inside of the bathroom! I have a very strong stomach and it was tough for me to be in the bathroom long enough to use it. Park was notified. I would stay here again, although I personally think that $27(20/night + 7/reservation fee) for one night of backpack camping is pretty steep. Pics are of the woodpile and site 22. Sites were clean and maintained.

• G

  Guido

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 10, 2021

  Afton State Park Campground

  All time favorite

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

• 

  Steph H.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 17, 2017

  Afton State Park Campground

  Great spot close to but away from the cities

  Love love love this park! We did the backpack site so you hike in almost a mile and you go up on the ridge that's open in the middle but each site is heavily forested and some overlook the river. During the late spring, summer and early fall months you can't really see the river but if you do it after the leaves drop or before they come in then you'll have a great view of the river. Our site is off of the main trail so you have a nice little hike in and it feels very secluded and you have a nice even gravel tent pad that's raised up as well as a fire pit and picnic table. There is not a lot of room to play at your campsite but if you just take your trail up to the main trail then it opens up. Off the main trail you will also find vault toilets and firewood that you just have to saw yourself with the saw that is provided. You are surrounded by excellent hiking trails including some great single track as well as a great beach on the St. Croix River that is also very clean. The raccoons are not messing around so make sure to secure your food inside your tent or in a well fortified cooler otherwise you'll be listening to them ravage your site as you try to sleep at night.

• 

  Stephanie H.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2017

  Afton State Park Campground

  Fun hiking

  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.

• 

  Davison N.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 21, 2017

  Afton State Park Campground

  First Timer

  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! ****

• A

  Andrea B.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 27, 2017

  Afton State Park Campground

  Great place to begin backpacking

  I love Afton. It's a mere 40 minutes or so from Minneapolis-St. Paul and it's a great beginner campground for backpackers. The campground is only a 1-mile hike in, but the last 1/4 mile or so is up a steep hill that has really taught me a lot about pack weight. There is firewood available and a water pump with some of the best tasting well water I have ever drank.

  The first time I stayed, there were loud people awake until the wee hours of morning, but I have camped here 2-3 times since then with no issues. This is my go-to hike-in spot when looking for a place closer to the Twin Cities.

  This park offers a number of hiking trails on mountainous (well, river valley) terrain and is nestled along the St. Croix River. There is a beach, picnic area, interpretive center and trail, cross-country ski trails, and more.

• 

  Amie N.

  Traveler

  

  May. 9, 2018

  Afton State Park Campground

  Great place to start backpacking

  I was pleasantly suprised by this campground. Its a nice 1 mile hike out with a steeper incline at the end. It was a great way to test our pack weight for a longer upcoming backpacking trip at a campsite that was close to Minneapolis. The campsite has a vault toilet, firewood (you have to saw yourself - but it adds to the experience), and clean drinking water available. There are a number of sites but they sit far enough apart you are still able to have privacy and enjoy the peace and quiet.

  The park has good trails, beautiful views and provides a sense of solitude without having to travel too far from the city. Would definetly recommend this park and campsite!

• E

  Elaina

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 20, 2021

  Afton State Park Campground

  Great First Backpacking Trip

  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.

• C

  Chris S.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 13, 2018

  Afton State Park Campground

  Lots of hiking

  Lots of hiking. Nice campsites. Beautiful park.

• A

  Alison

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 14, 2018

  Afton State Park Campground

  Wonderful beach!

  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.

• 

  Cella P.

  Traveler

  

  Nov. 22, 2018

  Afton State Park Campground

  Afton Beauty

  Beautiful views, awesome trails, however lots of mosquitos