Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake is the perfect place for adventurous campers and RVers. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Minnesota camping has to offer. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake camping trip.
The rugged land formations of Jay Cooke State Park enhance the beauty of the hardwood forests and make for great camping near Minneapolis. The water-eroded gorge, steep valleys, and massive rock formations are seen throughout the park. In some seasons, the water of the St. Louis River thunders over slabs of ancient, exposed rock. At other times, it slows to a gentle trickle. Visitors enjoy the scenic splendor of Jay Cooke State Park during all seasons.
Drive-in Sites 79 Sites: Most are wooded sites. In winter, 12 sites are kept available for winter camping. Of these, five are electric sites.
Pull-Through Sites: One Site
Electric Sites: 21 Sites Majority of sites are 20 and 30 amps, some 50 amp.
RV Length Limit: Variable by site up to 60 Feet Length is measured from front of tow vehicle to rear of vehicle being towed.
Wheelchair Accessible Sites: 3 Sites Located near drinking water. Two sites are electric, one is non-electric.
Backpack Sites: 4 Sites Sites are located from 1 to 4 miles from parking area. Each site has picnic table, fire ring and latrine. Campers must haul water or treat water on site. Trail access to these sites has been restored after a 2012 flood, but a few nearby trails remain closed. Please register at the park office for details on how to get to these sites.
Walk-in Sites: 4 Sites Sites are located 50 to 150 feet from parking area.
Group Camp: 2 Sites - Each accommodates up to 25 people Remote, wooded camp with walk-in sites approximately 150' from parking area (limited parking). Carts are provided to carry in camping gear. Water spigot and vault toilets available. Tents only. Lodging
Camper Cabins: 5 Cabins All cabins have a screened porch. Electricity and heat are available year-round. Agate and Basalt cabins are ADA accessible and sleep 5. Slate, Gabbro, and Shale Cabins sleep 6 people. Pets not allowed in cabins. More information on camper cabins.
$39 - $59 / night
In Central Minnesotas popular lakes area, the Crosslake Recreation Area has tremendous appeal for families and friends, with an array of facilities perfect for a day outdoors. Natural Features: Surrounded by tall pines on the eastern banks of Cross Lake, Crosslake Day-Use provides an ideal location to explore and enjoy the near 13 natural lakes, boasting 13,660 acres of water and 119 miles of scenic shoreline. Recreation: Swim, hike, sunbathe, picnic or get out on the lake with the help of the on-site boat ramp for launching canoes to powerboats. Facilities: The area offers two picnic pavilions with electricity, adjoining parking, a playground, extended picnic area and swimming beach. Both pavilions fit 50 guests. Nearby Attractions: Crosslake is just 10 minutes from shopping and a paved bike trail. Its also near the Crow Wing State Park where visitors can view the Mississippi River atop the historic Chippewa Lookout.
$25 - $60 / night
As this was our second time here at Minnesota National, we had no problem finding the course or RV park. The RV navigation in our new Ford 450 was also spot on. When you turn in at the golf course, drive all the way to the club house/lodge parking lot and there’s a road to the right that takes you into the campground (CG). As you check-in online prior to arrival, you simply proceed to your camp site. As you turn down the short road to the CG, there’s a sign to help you identify your site location. We proceeded to back-in site 25 with full hook ups. The utilities are in the back of pad in this CG, so you may need 20+ feet of electric, sewer, or water cord/hose depending on your rig’s configuration. The sewer grade is a bit up hill. We got 3 bars LTE on Verizon and no CG WiFi. There is only a vault toilet/out house in the CG. We came here to golf for two weeks. The 18 hole course is quite challenging where the 9 hole Savannah is shorter and a little bit easier. The golf course restaurant has decent food and a good deal on draft beer during their Sunday to Thursday Happy Hours.There is not much more to do here except golf. McGregor is about 15 minutes away and is where we did laundry and got our groceries.
The campsite was perfectly good: nice and spacious over looking the river. It is well off the main hiking trail and quite private. The view of the river is heavily obstructed and there really is no easy and safe way down the cliff to the river. Still it is nice to hear the river. You need to bring on drinking water, otherwise you need to go about 1/8 of a mile to a small creek to get filterable water.
The hike in is easy, but once you are off the main trail (the first mile) the trail is grass—be prepared for lots of ticks.
We got to the site and we had low branches asked them to cut them. They said they were at there standards so we had hold it up. Them the site next to us had to have rock concrete us and 4 others called several times nothing
As a tent camper, i prefer quiet and private sights. The circle this site was part of, was just that. The walk to the updated bathrooms (with showers) is pretty pretty. It was buggy (mosquitoes) but fire and bug spray kept it manageable. The pit toilet next to site 18 had an occasional waft of smell but nothing too lingering or bad.
The site was nice a secluded but still close to water and bathrooms. The downside to this specific site is that it is close to the group camp so it was pretty noisy.
We stayed in a cabin for a week of biking. Excellent location with all the trails. It has a great swimming area, though it did get deep fast for little kids. We brought our paddleboard and had a great time on the quiet lake. We did hike up to the top of the camp area and were glad we stayed in the cabins. The shower/bathroom house was nice. Overall, we would stay here again.
Our RV GPs took us to the golf course, but we called the info phone number, which was the golf course clubhouse, to find out exactly how to get to the campground(CG) area. We were told to take the main road into the clubhouse, and right at the clubhouse, there’s a road to the right with a sign that shows the CG and where the sites are situated. We went in that way, where our other travel partner went past the golf course entrance(on the left side of the road) and took the unmarked RV park entrance less than a 1/4 mile past on the left. Either way works fine. We had registered online so we could go straight to the CG and to site 25 with FHUs. We had no issues backing our 40’ Brinkley TH into the site and still had room to put our patio down and park our F-450. The only problem with site 25 is that the entrance to site 24 comes in at a weird angle right next to the entrance of site 25. If our truck was centered on site 25, someone coming into site 24 might clip our truck. The utilities are in the far back of the site. I needed about 20’ of sewer, electric, and water hose to reach my rig. We got our Starlink maneuvered around the trees to get a good north shot of the sky. The loop we were in had quite a few trees along with the first loop as you come into the CG from the clubhouse area. The 44-50 loop more towards the golf course had fewer trees to block satellite. We got 3 bars LTE on Verizon, and there was no CG WiFi. The water pressure is very good at 60+ psi, so suggest a reducer. The sites were gravel with a picnic table and a nice fire pit. There were three 5th wheels in our group, and we parked in adjacent sites and did not need to use levelers; all the sites here are FHUs, and the CG does not have a dump station. There was one outhouse in the CG, along with a dumpster. The clubhouse has a locker room and shower, but there is no CG information or rules we saw at the clubhouse about the CG or whether you can use the showers, and we did not ask. The workers at the pro shop could answer simple questions about the CG. There is no playground or lake to fish, just golf. We had no issues, so did not need any more info or help. Occasionally, a worker drove a golf cart around checking campsites, and when we stayed, there was no CG host. The registration email stated that they charge 10 dollars a day for each dog. During our 7-night stay, along with the four seasonal campers, only one other camper came in for 2 days. The 27-hole golf course was in good shape and fun to play. McGregor is about 15 minutes away and has grocery, gas, hardware store, and restaurants. We plan to come back to this CG sometime in the future.
We spent a long weekend here. The sites seemed to vary a lot. We had picked a specific site but when we got there were told that we were in another spot. It was difficult to see where we should actually park on the site. The water hookup was so far away that I needed to buy another hose to reach it. The bathrooms weren't kept up well but were ok. Banning State Park is really close and is very nice. We also drove up to Duluth on two of the days.
We stopped here on our way to north Minnesota. Originally we planned 2 days but really needed to rest so extended it to 4 days. It was a little hairy getting to, the 2 lane winding road with the raging river on one side did slow us down a bit. The Rangers were friendly and accommodating. The park had taken quite a beating with the winter storm that had been there the previous week, a lot of sites were closed due to trees down and snow. While we were there they were actively cleaning up, but left in the afternoon so we had no disturbances from saws or equipment noise. The water was not turned on yet for the season, so the bathroom/showers and dump station were not available. There was a potable water source at the front of our loop to fill our fresh tank and our water storage cubes. The sites were shaded well, and easy to back into. We had to work a bit to get our camper level but that may have been due to the snow and water that was on the site so we figured it was par for the course. We walked to the Welcome Center and the swinging bridge, there were multiple hiking trails accessible by the camping area. It was relatively busy on the weekend but cleared out during the week. We had lots of wildlife visitors. The park is pet friendly. We found affordable propane and a dump site closer to Duluth.
The park is a little off the beaten path so quiet on the whole. Jay Cooke has many miles of walking trails and the swinging bridge (St. Louis River) is a must see and a must cross. Campsites are fairly secluded and heavily wooded. Spend a few days at Jay Cooke, there is much to see.
Office staff and store were clean when we came through in the summer months. It is a mixed bag of tricks here as the sites can be level and some others are not at all. All and all it is a great place. Nice people and super helpful. Great alternative if the state park is full.
Been here a few times throughout the year and it’s typically less crowded. Little bit off the beaten path but a good campground none the less.
Never fails this campground is perfect. Lots to do and honestly I have grown to really enjoy coming here in the winter. Yes water is shutoff and you don’t get to us le the awesome shower house but there are hardly any people here! Always enjoy this campground and the area surrounding. Lots of good hikes!
Excellent hiking and camping experiences here. Stayed for a weekend and returned after for many, many day hikes. Plenty of wildlife to see, a newly rebuilt “swing bridge” over the rusty rushing of the Saint Louis River. And the locals are pleasant, heck, it’s Minnesota! Buggy in summer due to all the water, bring excellent hiking shoes for the rocks yer gonna wanna climb around on. Excellent autumn photography options for all occasions. Camping is is a more secluded area where most day-hikers don’t come across ya.
This campground has it all: sites for families to reserve by one another, campsites with more privacy, RV specific loops. With newly updated facilities, it can feel like glamping. Good proximity to bridge and nearby hikes. I highly recommend finding the cedar forest near the CCC Trail on the north side of campground.
Our site was a fairly level pull through, full hook up site. The office had a camp store inside of it. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. The bathrooms were very clean. The fenced in dog park was a big bonus for our pup. The grounds hosted outdoor games and volleyball/basketball courts. Would stay again.
Pretty tight for big rigs. Bathrooms are so so..No camp store. We were here during busy mayfly hatch…but we were on a waterfront site.
This park is beautiful and right next to a lake. Very green and full of trees. Park is clean. The only reason I gave 4 stars is because the long-term residence aren't very friendly. This location cost $44/night for full hookups.
Jay Cooke is really a must experience state park within easy driving distance to other parks in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Positives:
Negative:
Lovely park on cross lake. Sites are large although not alway easy for bigger rigs to get into due to trees. But trees are part of the beauty. Camp amenities in good shape. A bit strict on leasing your dogs (even when they are in you campsite and behaving!) Coffee shop and gas station across street. Firewood on site for$6 a bundle
Jay Cooke has always been one of our favorite places to camp. It has gotten so busy it’s not even that enjoyable anymore. It’s always well maintained and clean!! We booked a walk in site ( 83 ) which was beautiful! The down side was it’s very close to the camper cabins and many families with children running around unattended. They ran into out campsite yelling and screaming with flashlights and banging bat’s against the trees while the parents did nothing even after my husband asked them nicely. We had planned to have a quiet getaway from the city and zone out peacefully. I have not been back since. Busses and busses of kids pulling up the the park and a 25 minute wait to cross the swing bridge. But it is absolutely gorgeous there despite the hoards of people.
We had a nice site on the corner, very close to the river to drop in our kayaks, clean bathrooms and showers.
$5 bundles of self serve fire wood
We actually never saw the host.
Beautiful place. Non expensive. Not many tent sites but we had one down the hill and it was perfect. Very peaceful and owners are respectful and kind.
I fully recognize that my lack of enthusiasm for this campground may be due to circumstances on the particular weekend we were there. Our site was directly across from the playground and the kids playing at the playground were all pre-teens who screamed non-stop. Our neighbor also had a dog on a line that was long enough to come into our campsite. The dog was perfectly friendly, but he did his business right in the middle of our site and until we pointed it out to the dog's owner, it didn't get cleaned up. The sites were also very small and very close together. We won't be returning to this campground.
We did, however, love the area. We rode the Gitchi Gami trail up along the north shore of Lake Superior, hiked around in Jay Cooke State Park and explored Duluth a bit. We liked the Streetcare Cafe in Carlton (great food), The Cedar Coffee Co and Castle Danger Brewery.
Stayed for 2 nights mid-week in October 2021. Wooded sites. New restroom/showerhouse. Clean. WiFi. 3 bars T-Mobile. Popular state park, busy campground. Fantastic hiking trails throughout state park. Helpful staff in park office. Water. Trash. Would stay here again.
Got exactly what we were looking for, a quiet wooded site.
Camping near Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake, Minnesota, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventure-filled getaway, this area has something for everyone.
Camping near Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake, Minnesota, has its quirks, but with the right preparation, it can be a fantastic experience for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake is Jay Cooke State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 64 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake?
TheDyrt.com has all 13 glamping camping locations near Mississippi River Headwaters - Sandy Lake, with real photos and reviews from campers.
