Longville, MN is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Longville is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Longville and user-submitted reviews.
"It was so quiet last night, although the beaked neighbors get pretty chatty early.
There is a large puddle and so many mosquitos.
Is say there's comfortly room for eight campers or a small group."
"This is a free dispersed camping site in the state forest with lake access. Large enough for multiple campers or a small group."
"This is a site on Pine River Water Trail - it's tucked just above Rat Lake, and only accessible by boat/waterfcraft."
"Stayed right next to the lake! Had easy access for kayaking and had a fun girls weekend! Site 7 was a short hike in from the parking lot and the site was large enough for multiple tents."
"There is also another Gulch Lake Campground here, but this one that I reviewed is the GROUP camp. It's right on the trail, but don't let that deter you."
$18 / night
"Sites are primitive. No electric or water. Toilets are vault toilets, no showers. Stayed at a nice waterfront site great for having kayaks and paddle boards."
"This watercraft campsite is right in the water with a rustic access for your canoe or kayak, not far from the actual landing and parking lot
It is tucked a bit back off the trail and sheltered on two"
$7 - $14 / night
"These is a newly developed primitive campground that is only for paddle-in, hike-in, or bike-in tent campers. Wow! It is exquisite."
"There are several sites available along the south side of the island otherwise it is privately owned cabins all around the rest of the island. You do need a boat to get over to it."
LegendGreat views here! Stayed right next to the lake! Had easy access for kayaking and had a fun girls weekend! Site 7 was a short hike in from the parking lot and the site was large enough for multiple tents. We had a 3p and 2p backpacking tent. Picnic table and fire ring provided at the site. There is a self pay station and the rates were pretty cheap! we enjoyed a rainy weekend and were even able to rig up an awning with some dead branches in our site and extra rope we brought to help us keep dry. Great location for water access. we had an inflatable kayak, traditional kayak, and inflatable paddleboard between the three of us!
LegendThis is a State Forest Campground, and for the price of only $14 a night, you can't go wrong. Although you may get some noise from RVs with generators, we visited in late september, and there were enough sites to choose from that we could be away from that noise. Almost every site had a fair amount of space, and some privacy from neighboring sites with brush and foliage. There seemed to be pathways back to little vault toilet houses, and when we visited, they were very clean! They must have been recently cleaned, and there was no smell at all. Perhaps the cooler weather had something to do with that as well.
We had a fire ring that was tall, and deep. With a grate so you could grill. A picnic table, and again, plenty of space for our teardrop trailer. The property had a few small, short trails through the woods, and also boat access.
It's far enough off the main road that you won't hear road noise. You will, however, see and hear deer, and possibly black bear.
There's no electricity, because it's a State Forest campground, but if the price of $14, it's exactly what we wanted for this time of year.
One more bonus is that motorized two-wheel vehicles and off-road vehicles are not allowed past the entrance. That doesn't mean they can't be carried on the back of a truck, but you will not find them riding around this campground. Made things a little bit quieter!
LegendSites are primitive. No electric or water. Toilets are vault toilets, no showers. Stayed at a nice waterfront site great for having kayaks and paddle boards. Enough space for a few small tents and trees for hanging hammocks
LegendWe planned a huge family camping trip this year and the lovely Chippewa Loop campground in the Chippewa National Forest was the camp ground that we had the honor of staying at! We had three sites, 79, 80, and 81 with 17 people total. 9 Adults and 8 kids ranging from ages 7 to 1. The campground is right outside Cass Lake Minnesota that had a nice grocery store, a pretty weird liquor store, a family dollar, and a fishing pier if you didn’t have a boat. It was about a half an hour outside of Bemidji, Mn that has a lot of history from Minnesota and a great fireworks display over the lake on the Fourth of July. The City of Bemidji has a lot a little boutique shops if you are into shopping while on camping trips. It also had a cute little ice cream store that we took all the kids to across from the Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox statue and a nice park for the kids to play at right off of Lake Bemidji. If you’re into craft breweries Bemidji also has a brewery called Bemidji Brewing right in town. There’s also a Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and a dollar tree amongst other stores if you have that “I forgot list”.
Site number 80 was the best to put up a travel trailer, but it was also extremely close to site number 82 and practically joined site number 82. We ended up putting our Jayco Eagle 30 foot travel trailer in site number 81 because with everyone else tent camping and we were the only one with a travel trailer, we felt this site was the best to park our travel trailer in because it was the least level site and only had one small pad for a tent. Site number 79 and 81 were joined together by a path that made it easy for us to all eat in one site. We all pretty much congregated in site number 81. We put most of our tents, three to be exact, in site number 80 because it was the most level and open for tents. The site was capable of having two large cabin tents and a small 4 person tent comfortably. Site had a lot of good pine trees for hanging Hammocks but, like I said before, it was almost right on top of site number 82 so we decided to only put up the 3 tents and congregate across the road in site number 81 as to not disturb the other site occupants. It was pretty frustrating that that was the most level site because it was also the best one to park a travel trailer in and have an awning out and a picnic table but we couldn’t do it because we didnt want to disturb the other site with 17 people.
Site number 79 had a good drive pad but the tent pad was extremely un-level. we put up a single pole tipi in that site because the people in that site had cots and didn’t mind sleeping on an incline. When I say incline, I mean incline, the tent pad was not level at all which is kind of frustrating. Site number 79 was the least friendly for hammocks so we hung all her hammocks in site number 81.
Site number 81 is where we decided to put up the trailer but the trailer pad was super un- level. We ended up making a Walmart run to get two more packs of leveling blocks and we use three packs of leveling blocks to make it level with room to have our awning and out. Right behind the travel trailer was a sloped hill that went down to the fire pit and a tent pad that was also on a slight incline which we were up by eight person tent there but that person had a raised air mattress and didn’t mind sleeping on an incline. Attached to site number 81 was also the path to the showers that was right down the hill. It worked out great because the showers and the bathrooms were so close to our site but we felt like the trees were blocking everything from our site.
We took a lot of bike rides and got to see a lot of the other sites and they had a lot of good tent sites in some of the other loops and it seems like all of the electric sites were not as great as the tent sites. All of the electric sites seem to be un-level and not a great place to pitch a tent as well as having the camper.
The park itself was very beautiful had a lot of nature things like milk weed and monarch butterfly’s everywhere and a beautiful swimming beach that was about waist high (4 feet deep) for about 300 to 400 yards out from shore. The beach was great for swimming and kayaking and you could dock a boat on the sandy beach and eat lunch if you wanted to. We ended up catching 40 crawfish and doing a crawfish boil, which the kids absolutely loved. The picnic shelter was pretty awesome too, very shaded and on a rougher part of the beach. There was a really long bike path that went through all of the loops and the main road was super bike friendly as well.
In the visitor center there was a really cool area for the kids to go to play if it was too hot or rainy, or if you just wanted to be indoors for a little bit. They had a bike decorating event and we brought all the kids bikes and decorated them. There was a little gift shop and they also gave out free stickers which we ended putting on our camper as we do at every park we get a sticker from.
Each camp ground loop also had a campground host that sold firewood, three bundles for $10. The firewood was pretty bad and some of it was wet and it burned really really fast. But like every park in Minnesota you can’t bring your own firewood unless it’s kiln dried lumber or something like that within a certain number of miles of the place you are camping.
A few downsides to this park where there’s no official places to fill water up for your camper and no official place to dump your black and grey water tanks from your camper. You end up having to go to another park and pay to dump your camper. This could be a problem if you are staying for an extended time and use a lot of water. There also wasn’t a whole lot to do aside from biking and hiking and swimming like there was a leech lake recreation area we were at a few days prior to this trip. The restrooms and showers were pretty unkempt and dirty. Everyone but me and my sister had cold showers every time they went to take a shower.
All in all the park is very beautiful and I had some very good attributes like friendly staff, clean campsites and secluded campsites where you didn’t feel like you are right on top of the other site aside from site 80 and 82. It seemed like there were three or 4 sites together in groups and then a little ways away there were a few more clumped together.
I don’t know if we would actually come back to this park because the sites weren’t as big as they seemed in the pictures online and we felt cramped most of the time. There wasn’t a good space in the sites to put up games like corn hole or ladder ball which made it a bit boring at times to just stay at camp. We spent a lot of time at the beach.
GuideStayed at backpack site 10. It’s about 250 ft from main trail and about a 40 min hike in/30 min hike out from parking lot. The main trail is wide and well maintained with ambling hills, but overall pretty flat. It is about 1/3 mile away from nearest campsite.
The site is lakeside. You can easily access the water and there are some great views (at least in early spring before the leaves come in). There is a pit toilet on the other side of the trail and is clearly signed and clearly visible from the trail (best hope no one hiking by walks in on ya).
There is only level ground enough for one tent—maybe two two-person tents if you cram them next to each other.
You can forage for firewood on the forest floor, do bring a saw. I was lucky and there were plenty of downed branches nearby. But I suspect later in the season it’ll be harder.
Also, getting water to filter from the lake was difficult without getting wet—the reeds inhibit easy access.
I read in another review that you are always aware of people around. While I think that is more true of the non-dispersed sites, I could clearly see hikers from this site. More annoying—at about 8 am there was a very loud mechanical noise that radiated over the landscape for about an hour before stopping. No idea what it was.
Unfortunately the people who had this site before me didn’t clean up after themselves—beer cans everywhere (that I ended up packing out) and a dirty diaper thrown in the woods near the tent pad. I did let the park know.
RangerThis watercraft campsite is right in the water with a rustic access for your canoe or kayak, not far from the actual landing and parking lot
It is tucked a bit back off the trail and sheltered on two sides from a small hill.
Has picnic table, fire ring, and sandy tent pad.
Also a hike in site, about .25 mile from the parking lot and outhouse.
About a half mile to the potable water, which is near the actual campground.
Small unmotorized lake makes for a quiet and peaceful stay.
Lots of hiking trails!
ScoutI stayed at BP#5, just on McKay Lake. It was beautiful and peaceful. The site is small. I had trouble finding space for my 4-man tent. There was no space for table and couldn't find a greatly spaced set of trees for a hammock. I was able to pitch very close to the fire pit (almost on top of it), because there was a fire ban in place and I wasn't going to be using it. Even though the space was so limited, it was far enough away from other sites, from the main trails, and from all roads that all you hear is the wind in the trees, the critters in the bush, and your own breathing. Picture perfect sunset. Lake is very cool and swimming is great! Stay away from the mush around the shore as there are leeches.
RangerThis hidden gem is on the Mississippi water trail around mile 996. It is called "Overlook Park" and owned/maintained by the city of Baxter, but is part of the DNR's state water trail. There is even signage for those on the river to inform them about their whereabouts on the trail when they pass this park.
So although this is a little private city park, there is a specific spot RIGHT on the river with a picnic table, fire ring, and nice high ground soft space for a tent. But really you could tent it anywhere in the park, but this space is set aside a bit from the rest, as it is a city park although very little traffic. There is garbage and a vaulted toilet. There are three picnic tables throughout including the tent site, and two fire rings. There is a nice canoe landing area with a few stairs to help give access up and down from the river bank. Very pretty spot on the river! The opposite land bordering this city park is part of Crow Wing State Park, so even though it's close to town, it does feel fairly remote.
Such a well maintained park! Pretty views and some rugged trails along the river for some hiking as well.
GuideI've stayed in both the cabins and the camping area. The cabins are my favorite because of the lake views, proximity to the bathhouse, and heat/AC units. Cabin #5 has the best unobstructed views of the lake. Cabins have WiFi. The campground is nice but only has a primitive toilet adjacent to the campsites. There are no electric or sewer hookups, but there are a couple of tent sites than can accommodate small campers. I camped in site #18 and it either isn't very level or I just did a poor job of setting up my tent because we were slanted all night. Great stargazing at both the cabins and the tent sites.
Check-in information is shared via email (key codes for the bathhouse and the cabin locks). The emails are very informative and the owners have been prompt to reply when I had questions. They even offer up the option to have firewood delivered to your site (either cabin or tent site) before you arrive.
This is my favorite place to stay in Crosby because it's so close to both the Rally Center Trailhead and Crosby. My favorite places in town are Red Raven (great coffee shop with good breakfast and lunch food options), Crosby Pub (wide variety of food - burgers, salads, appetizers), Rafferty's Pizza (pizza and beer plus a couple of arcade games in the back), and Iron Range Eatery (a little fancier than Crosby Pub (but not by much) and offers great food as well). All of these restaurants offer outdoor seating.
Tent camping near Longville, Minnesota offers a chance to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the tranquility of the outdoors. With a variety of campgrounds available, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Longville, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Longville, MN is Mabel Lake State Dispersed with a 4-star rating from 2 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Longville, MN?
TheDyrt.com has all 35 tent camping locations near Longville, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
Keep Exploring
