Best Campgrounds near Midway, MN

Spent all of an hour outside. It's impossible to enjoy this pretty place . The mosquitos are absolutely ridiculous. Constantly swarm you. We had 2 thermacells out and we were covered in ranger ready repellant. My 2 go tos when it comes to mosquitos. While they worked somewhat, some of these mutants didn't seem bothered in the least. There were some hovering barely 6 inches above the thermacell fog. My husband is dumping the tanks as I write this and they are literally swarming the truck. Were out of here thankfully. Such a shame we couldn't enjoy this pretty park.

Itasca State Park Minnesota

 This park is a gem in Minnesota State Parks! Just beautiful. Although we only had 1 day we managed to pack a lot into it. My advise is to start your day as early as possible. We went to the Mississippi Headwaters at around 8:15 am & had the place to ourselves. The gift shop isn't open yet, but when we went later for ice cream the place was hopping! The Wilderness Drive is a must see as well. There's some short hikes & a lot of wild beauty. They have a fire tower you can climb.

Biking is very popular & there's a dedicated bike path on the Wilderness Drive which is about 10 miles.

There's a lodge & restaurant. 

Two visitor centers.

 There are 2 campgrounds- Pine Ridge& Bear Paw. Electric sites only. I think it was$35 a night. There is a dump.

  We were in Bear Paw site 37E. Frankly, I liked Bear Paw campground better, even though it's smaller. By the lake, but no sites are ON the lake.

Lakeview sites are 63, 67, 68, 69,& 70. There's good access to the bike trail. There's a path down to the lake, so if you have a kayak you can drag it down.

 We were across from the bath house. It's very nice & clean! Showers are push button. Not too hot.

Pine Ridge we did a short drive thru. The campground registration office is there. We were told we didn't have to register if we we had an on line registration. No tags.

 Pine Ridge had several loops, but we just went down the Spruce Loop. The sites looked flat & shaded. I didn't note any particular site. 

We really enjoyed our stay & wished we could have added a couple more nights!

I chose Buffalo River based on the previous reviews and it did not disappoint. This being a quick overnight, I couldn’t hope for anything better!

While I got in late, the registration was all online (open til 10pm) and the reception was strong. There were plenty of spots to choose from with a good amount of space. However, the website on this app is not correct and I ended up waiting until I got here.

Luckily, it all worked out! I was grateful to end up here. Especially for a hot shower in a generally clean/well-maintained facility. It was an added bonus waking up under a green canopy and sunshine.

We camped at Site 171 in the Pine Ridge Maple Loop. While the site was decent in size, it was right along the main road, so there was quite a bit of car and foot traffic—we didn’t feel as secluded as we’d hoped. Site 167 seemed to be the most private in the Maple Loop, though it looked like it might be a little close to the trash area and pit toilet.

Overall, Maple Loop seemed to cater more to RVs, so it wasn’t our favorite for a tent camping experience. The bathroom was about 500 feet from our site and felt like the perfect walking distance—not too far, not too close.

What really stood out at Itasca was everything there was to do: canoe rentals (dog-friendly!), bike and boat rentals, and plenty of other activities to fill your day.

If we return, we’d aim to book Bear Paw #61 or try one of the nearby walk-in sites for more privacy. Poplar Ridge would be our next choice, followed by Maple Loop #167. If going with a group, the Bear Paw sites in the 30s and 60s are great options since some looked to be more connected to make group camping easier.