Best Glamping near Mississippi River Headwaters - Cross Lake, MN

For someone who likes to do it all Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area is the place to be!!!

From Rv Camping and tent camping to amazing secluded Yurts on a trout pond there are more than enough options to camp and stay.

The campground itself isn’t anything to rave about, and is mostly open and pretty close together but the yurts, those are a different story!

The yurts are set on a beautiful only mine pit that is stocked with all kinds of trout. The have a wood burning stove, bunk beds, table, chairs, bear locker, fire ring and picnic table. There is a pergola style shelter with a full roof for outdoor cooking.

The view of the trout pond is absolutely stunning and fishing isn’t bad either if you know how to fish trout. There is a shop in town that will deliver kayaks and pick them up when you are done for a small fee, like 50$ for the day?

The old mine pits around and in the park are pristine and literally crystal clear! You can see hundreds of feet down through crystal clear water making it an amazing place to canoe and kayak.

If you are into mountain biking, this is definitely the park for you! Some of the best mountain biking red dirt trails are located in this recreation area! Shops in town rent bikes too! The views from the trails are breathtaking!

Overall, one of my favorite places to hike, bike, camp and, paddle!

Crow Wing State Park is a good choice if you are looking for something close to the Twin Cities metro area in Minnesota. with this park being just under two hours away from the Twin Cities metro area it’s an easy choice for a nice weekend getaway. If you’re looking to stay for a long extended time it’s also a good choice as it offers electric and water. The electric sites are pretty open and close together so if you like to be secluded and not see other campers from your campsite I wouldn’t use this park. The electric sites are really on top of each other and don't feel like you are camping to me. The non-electric sites are pretty nice and secluded from each other which would make this park a park I would bring my tent to instead of my travel trailer. There is also a group camp That is separate from the main camping area.

The park office offers ice and firewood for sale. Firewood is 6$ a bundle at the park office. The only firewood you can use is the approved firewood in the local area or scrap lumber. See the Minnesota Firewood law.  Canoe rentals are offered at the park office for $15 for a half-day and $25 for a full day. There is also a water fill station and a dump station for your travel trailer or RV. This is a good park for hiking and exploring. 

If you wanna stay close to the Twin Cities metro area this is a good park for you!

This is a relatively new (2016?) campground built right next to the Minnesota National Golf Course clubhouse, and in the corner surrounded by Savannah holes 8 and 9. It’s literally inside the golf course.

Gravel pads, some a bit out of level. All 50 amp water and sewer. Some great options in here for group camping as there are several loops you could be placed in the have sites near one another.

Our site (33) was tucked way back in the woods, had a nice bit of privacy.

No bath house.

The golf course is amazing - one of the nicer public courses in the state. I can see a lot of folks choosing this RV park as a golf vacation - we were here because we were spending two weeks with family on Big Sandy Lake, just ten minutes away.

Don’t miss breakfast at the Palisade Cafe and dinner/beers at the Craft House - both are legit culinary experiences, not Sysco reheaters.

With 50+ sites, park was full for the three days around July 4, but was under 50% the rest of the time. An under appreciated gem.

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

We stopped for one night on our way to a teardrop camper rally. Feels more like a city/county park. No foliage between the many, many sites. Lots of big RVs and boats crowded in a small space. And us ...

Large campground with many campsites.  Some offer electric.  Campers can expect to be cramped end over end like sardines.  The lake is nice and offers a boat ramp.  It is a clean lake but does have zebra mussels.  Nice walk around the campsite.  There is a dam with a nice fishing pier.  Located right in town with amenities if needed.  Nice car camping location.

A great little campground right near the town (easy to bike in for coffee or beer) but it feels like you're deep in the northwoods! Some sites are better than others in terms of privacy. The bathrooms were always clean. Situated right on a quarry with fun fishing and kayaking opportunities. Connects to the mountain bike trails too! They do charge for pets.

Super convenient to excellent restaurants and Cuyuna Brewery in downtown Crosby. Very clean bathrooms/showerhouse. Connected by trail to Cuyuna Rec Area world class mountain bike trails. Owners are very responsive.

Great rustic campground with trail access to Cuyuna MTB trails. Offers hot showers. No water/electric hookups. A couple sites allow for smaller RVs and pop-ups but mainly tent sites.

True North Basecamp is a more recent development in the Cuyuba area. Since I’ve only stayed at the Group campsite I shall reflect on that. When you enter into the camp it is clearly marked. While driving to the group campsite the road is dirt and very rutted. Be mindful if you have a car. We had many people and cars and usually parking would be a nightmare but we all fit, bike racks and all! The bathrooms were clean and well stocked with toilet paper which is always a plus. Sleeping here with our 16 month old was great, she slept through the night since the tents were far away from each other and we heard the loons calling all night. I would recommend this group campsite!

We had a decent time at this campground. The seasonal sites are much nicer than the regular ones. We kept catching smells from the septic throughout the weekend. There is also a pretty decent hill you have to go down to get to your site so if you’re nervous or new to pulling a camper just be aware. Other than that it was a decent time.

Peaceful and serene, at the end of the road. Family camping RV sites have playground right there. Paddle Boats available and swimming beach. Right on the lake so kids spent a lot of time in the lake and on the lake fishing. Shower house has bathroom and washer & dryer.

One of the best campgrounds I’ve ever been to. The only negative for us was the fact that we had to go to a laundromat in town.