Best Campgrounds near Milaca, MN

The camp site was pretty awesome. Like others said, nice and secluded. If you're new to hiking, I suggest doing some research if you're going to attempt stuff like this.

I camped here back in 2020 of November. Overpacked, along with not packing the right gear and didn't have a cart. Buddy and I parked at the southeast parking lot so the hike was about a mile and also hilly. 

BP7 didn't have much dead wood around so we had to reserve the firewood we purchased. Carrying firewood, food, water, gear, on a hilly trail through the woods can become real tough real fast for anyone that isn't physically active. I easily was carrying 100lbs and had to take a couple breaks on the way. I knew nothing about this place so that was my mistake.

Despite all my problems, it was a great experience. Just being out in the woods in November usually meant there wasn't any people around so we were able to enjoy the outdoors.

Don't forget wet wipes!

I was looking to take a solo camping trip for the weekend and paddleboard on the Cuyuna Mine Lakes. I booked the trip pretty late because of a lot of different factors, but Crow Wing State park still had plenty of availability. The park is nothing spectacular, but it was nice, wooded, and the staff were great. It was my first time solo camping in awhile, so I opted to stay at a state park where there would be rangers. I noticed that the rangers stopped and talked to me night one, and remembered me- which made me feel very safe as a solo female camper. The campground was overall pretty quiet, and my site was wooded so that I normally could not see other campers from my site, which was great! It felt decently quiet . If you visit in the summertime, expect hellish mosquitoes and pack accordingly!

You can join the hiking club trail straight from the campground, which was nice- I went on a few beautiful sunset walks to watch the sunset over the river

The bathroom and shower were clean and easily accessible.

The park was a 20-30 minute drive from the Cuyuna Mines area, so I was able to easily drive over Saturday morning and spend the day paddleboarding.

This park is not one of the most spectacular in Minnesota, but I had a great stay and it was very relaxing. It was great for a weekend getaway for a solo female camper looking to do some paddle boarding in the area

Only about a mile from the parking lot. This site was nearly surrounded by a lake which lended to a lot of bugs, but was absolutely gorgeous! We could see one other camper in a different site, but it still felt like you were in the wilderness.

Backpack sites only. Love this park as it offers many backpacking sites with some being very short hikes in and some being longer hikes. Some are lake front and some are more woodsy sites. I really enjoy sites 1, 2, and 3 as they are a little more secluded from other sites, however 1 is fairly close to the county road so you will hear some vehicle noise overnight. Site comes with a fire ring, picnic table, and bear locker. Site 1 is my favorite despite the road noise due to the location of the tent pad and being on almost a peninsula offering lots of lake views.

The people were really nice!! Great lakefront sites. The campground is out of town so fairly quiet but a little bit of road noise. Close to Mora in case you need anything or are looking for something to do.

This is one campground in Minnesota that offers a handful of electric hookups for winter camping. The beauty of this campground, is that while the campsites available are in a row, there's plenty of space between sites and some of them are even pulled through. Making it easy for RVs to pull in and hook up.

The vault toilet is not easy to find from where the electric openings are in the winter. While these spaces are right next door to a shower house with toilets, this is closed in the winter. The vault toilet is several rows over and down, making it hard to find if you don't already know where it is. But it was clean, and it was available.

The campfire rings seemed clean, and each had a picnic table as well. We loved the pull-through site because then we were a little more protected from the road, although it's not busy this time of year at all. So it was very quiet except for our neighbors, and they didn't make much noise at all.

There are trails nearby that are easily accessible on foot from the campground, and you can make loops that come back to the campground as well.

There are two campgrounds at this park, but this is the one that has availability in the winter time. Ironically, they also have a couple of walk-in spots that are also open this time of year. If you're willing to brave the temps without an electric hookup. Not hard to find, not hard to access, but no electric hookups at these sites.

Stayed here kind of last minute on my way home and wanted electric hook ups.

Still open in the winter! Convenient location right off I94 and HWY 23. Close to Waite Park for entertainment and food. Love's is open 24 hours and has most things you would need. There is also a Hardee's if you need dinner!

Plenty of spots. Fairly small spots. This road is pretty busy for a dirt forest road and people FLY down it. Almost got hit a few times walking. Even through a Wednesday night cars are flying down the road.

I was traveling Eastward through the upper Midwest and had a really hard time in this area finding a place to camp. I finally came across this place. There was some suggestion that there was some drive in sites that were not reservable, that is. They were first come first serve. But I was unaware or unable to find those. I ended up paying a fair amount of money for a full hookup site. The bathrooms were extremely modern and clean.

There were some really nice wide trails around the lake. I think those were basically designed for cross-country skiing in the winter. But they made a perfect opportunity for me to let the dog run off. Leash. Probably was not within the rules, but it was very quiet there and the dog didn't bother anybody with her running.

This is a solid state park offering. The sites are decently spaced with good tree cover. Noise seemed to travel between sites, I had some loud neighbors during the day but they settled down before quiet hours. The grass was easy to get tent stakes into. Bathrooms were your basic state park situation. Clean with warm showers so no complaints from me. The star gazing area was great! Intermittently had 1-2 bars of T-Mobile with LTE Internet. Wi-Fi is available at the park entrance.

The campground was nicely maintained. Had a nice pool and friendly seasonal campers. The management and reservation process was less than desirable. Very difficult to get ahold of management and upon arrival they had given our reserved site away to someone else and moved us. Paid for a water/ electric site and were moved to an electric only site and no cost difference or refund offered.

Nice river nearby canoeing swimming pool fireplaces and little store for treats.

Came through on an evening in July to meet a buddy canoeing the misssissippi. This was easily the buggiest site we stayed in all summer. Mosquitos so thick we had to wear nets over our faces. Maybe we’re just sensitive about it, but it was hard to get anything done.

I love that it's so close to home. I was able to walk in and find an incredible spot to camp and lay in my hammock.

There are many different sites (most just pull offs) in this area! I did see one that was pull through further down game refuge road. The cell service with Verizon is good enough to stream videos and work on your laptop with ease. There aren't too many people in the area, even on a Sunday in July. The bugs are not great but that's just what you're going to get in an area like this one. Overall I would definitely stay here again.

The campground is nice and clean. Good size spaces. The tubing is a plus. Had one issue with power dropping so we had to pull the surge protector off the. It was fine. Also very hot and humid so everyone was running AC to the max. Pool was small but nice. Splash pad was even nice for adults I recommend this campground. Key thing is the river is very clean and sandy bottom.

This campsite is about an hour away from where I live. The listing here on The Dyrt seemed promising, and I hoped that by getting out there early I would find a nice spot. I first went to the National Park Service Scenic Riverway Visitor Center in St. Croix Falls to obtain a permit and learned that I don't need one for Sandrock Cliffs, I was already there so I got one anyway. About 40 minutes later I arrived at Sandrock Cliffs. The campsites all have a fire ring and are decently spaced apart, but most of the sites were full of trash and broken tent poles. There was a large group of kids that arrived by canoe/kayak just after I did. Soon the parking lot was also full of cars of some shady looking people who appeared to be looking for a spot to party. The kids seemed to have deterred these people from staying. I set up my camp and started to read a book. The kids began running through my campsite and upset my dog. After 3 times of them running through my campsite I just packed up and went home. Since this spot is accessible by road I'm assuming that its best not to visit in the summer, it seems to be a place that gets abused by the locals as a party area. I may consider visiting again in the fall when it is hopefully less busy.

For the proximity to the city and nearby highways, this was a good spot. Didn’t expect to see as many campers as I did, but all seemed to be friendly. I stayed here for one night and roads were totally fine for any vehicle. Most spots are like the pictures shown. There are a few spots that have great views or pull-through areas, and there are limited spots that are big-rig friendly. Saw lots of dogs, and mine had a blast, even had what seemed to be a stray husky quickly roll through camp around dusk. Something to keep on your mind. The road goes for a long ways, I parked near the front and closer to numbers, always like to be safer. Overall there was some shouting and yelling but for the location I was happy.

There’s lots of little spots off the main gravel road. Nothing allowed further into the forest. One pull through area that I found. Couple vehicles pass a day. Stand storks are very protective. Stay away from them. They attack. 🤣

Nice campground. We were dry camping in the RV since there was no water. Still a nice place for a winter getaway. Will go back in the fall!

this is a nice quiet area. Some younger people coming through sporadically playing with their trucks but nothing serious and not often. Be aware if you have an rv though. I had a county sheriff person tell me it's not lawful to park a trailer and they kicked me out. I called the dnr and they said that wasn't right but I decided to leave anyway. County sheriff's not pleasent around here.

I have been coming to Wild River since I was a kid. Nice park, scenic trails, horses on the way in.