Best Tent Camping near Mankato, MN
Tent camping options near Mankato, Minnesota include several established campgrounds within an hour's drive. Nerstrand Big Woods State Park Campground offers tent sites with pea gravel pads in a wooded setting, while Rapidan Dam County Park provides more primitive tent camping along a river. Cannon River Wilderness Area, located northeast of Mankato, features hike-in tent sites that require carrying all gear from the parking area to the campsite.
Most tent sites in the Mankato area include fire rings and picnic tables, though amenities vary significantly between locations. Nerstrand Big Woods provides modern restrooms with showers and drinking water, while Rapidan Dam offers more basic facilities with vault toilets and water pumps. Cannon River Wilderness Area has minimal amenities with just vault toilets and no drinking water on site. The camping season typically runs from April through October, with Nerstrand Big Woods open April 1 to October 23 and Rapidan Dam available from early April to late October.
The tent camping experience varies across these locations, with different levels of privacy and natural settings. Nerstrand Big Woods features both drive-in and walk-in tent sites, with the outer non-electric loop offering more seclusion. A camper noted that "sites are wooded so you don't have neighbor issues" and mentioned the "large pea gravel tent pads" as a positive feature. At Rapidan Dam, tent sites are described as being "along the river" with "numerous sites" separated by trees, creating a more secluded experience. The Cannon River Wilderness Area provides the most remote tent camping experience, with a reviewer mentioning that "we found a site tucked away from people" and that the "hike from parking is not bad at all about a 10 minute walk from parking to the farthest site."
