Best Glamping near Mendota Heights, 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.

We always stay at the Cleary point group camp and we love it. It used to have toilets but last year only had a port-a-potty which was less than ideal for a group of 40 people. We would end up driving to the main building sometimes. The camp is great though, 4 or 5 hookups and a private dock and the whole site is private and on a little point so the lake is surrounding you. Only caught a few catfish and bass there but still a great view fishing.

I went with Boy Scouts

I really like the hike in sites. Short walk from the car and right by the water yet spaced nicely for privacy.

I can't really speak for any of the other sites here, but 13 is the only one right on the water and it's HUGE with lots of trees and absolutely beautiful scenery. I imagine in the middle of summer, it might feel slightly less secluded as there are 3 other sites relatively close by, one of which you have to walk through to get to this one, but in early September, no one else was around and it was PERFECT!

We camped here last minute when the rain held off and we could only find this campground with availability. We haven’t done much camping at Regional Parks but this park did not disappoint! Our “hike in” spot was very close to the car but hidden in a forest. Gorgeous spot. We walked around and looked at all the other sites and each was unique and pretty. I would have liked staying at any of the sites. Cleary Lake is a good size and a kayakers delight! The park also has a golf course and is very well kept! We really want to use one of the large group camp sites for a weekend party!

Lots of good trees and space between campgrounds which isn’t always the case at the regional parks. The access to water is really nice and a couple sites were perfect.

The hike in sites are super close to the car so it doesn’t even require much work. Plan to come here again!

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.