Looking for an adventure where you can explore Monticello and then fall asleep in your tent? The Dyrt is an easy way to find tent camping spots near Monticello. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
Backpack sites, located on remote lakes and ponds throughout the park, are one to two miles from the trailhead parking. New log camper cabins, located near lakes and ponds, provide bunk beds for six people and a table and benches for campers who want more of the creature comforts.
$15 / night
Ranger
We tent camped here for a night while passing through. It’s a basic KOA with a few amenities. The lots were really big and we had no one near us, so it was nice and private. Most of the lots near the front were occupied but the back was almost empty, which is where the more wooded lots are. Only 1 bath house and it’s not close to most of the tent sites.
Staff was nice and helpful. It has a small pool and game room but not much else for kids. The bugs are aggressive here, especially near the tent sites which are located near a swampy area. Definitely more of a place to stay as you are passing through, not really a destination campground.
Legend
This is a well kept and well run campground tucked in between the Mississippi River and the outlet of the Platte River. The emphasis is on RV camping, and a large percentage of the sites are for full season May to October rentals. However there are nightly and weekly rates with both full and partial hookups, and some basic tent sites in a nice location right on the river. Daily and weekly campsite rentals are a bit expensive, however the campground offers many resort amenities that arent part of usual campgrounds such as a full service lodge, large beautiful pool as well as a beach on the river, mini golf, canoes and kayaks, and their specialty: river tubing. The pluses at this location include nice river setting, great amenties, secure family-friendly grounds, and a variety of on site services. The monthly RV site rental is about $800 a month for a bluff side site which might be a nice retreat for families or retirees. The minuses are primarily that the nightly rental is not cheap, especially if you want to tent camp, but fir some folks the amenities might be worthwhile. Summer is peak season if course, it is quieter and cheaper in the fall and spring.
Guide
Lebanon Hills is a great park and has a lot of trails for hiking and mountain biking. Our family selected this camp ground to test out some gear -- if we had problems or if we forgot something it was a short drive home. Turns out this is a wonderful camp ground and offers a lot of seclusion.
Tent camp sites are far enough from each other that neighbors can't be seen, and we didn't hear them either.
The bathroom facility near the ranger station was very well maintained and cleaned several times a day.
The only criticisms we have are that you can hear road noise -- and depending on your site you'll hear the alarm of one of the access gates for the Minnesota Zoo.
We went here as an experiment, but will definitely be coming back throughout the year. Reserve early online, most weekends were already reserved by mid May.
Traveler
A couple weeks ago we spent some time at the Northwest koa...that one had private tent sites surrounded on 3 sides by trees, quiet spaces etc. Looking at the Southwest koa website they advertise as the tent sites back into the woods. So imagine our surprise when we were shown our site. It did indeed back up into the woods however the woods were 20ish feet behind a rope and we were told all set up had to be done in front of the rope. Our tent was inches from the road and wide out in the open. Other then the tent site itself this koa is wonderful...the staff were very friendly, the pool was clean and heated, the grounds were kept clean etc
RangerThe office was open till 9pm very friendly. A little pricey for tent camping. The sites are private. Great biking and hiking trails. Great amenities. Close to the zoo as well as the city.
RangerDefinitely check this place out great campsites for tent camping right next door to the MN Zoo campsites nicely wooded spread out nicer than some state park campgrounds. Definitely going to check it out again.
Traveler
Love this place.
Close to the Twin Cities, right on the Rum River.
Great tent sites right on the river.
Tubing! They have a bus that takes you into town float back to the campground, love it.
TravelerWe’ve stayed at Country Camping for years! Great variety of things to do for everyone. Group sites, tent sites, covered wagon sites! Floating on the Rum River, swimming pool with splash pad, little camp store, Golf cart rentals! Our grandkids love it too!
Scout
$20 tent sites and have to pay online. There are No showers only toilets at the 2 buildings. If you get here at night you better have spot lights. No maps on their website. I was on North side huge area. No campground host to be found
Traveler
Lake Maria State Park has great hiking trails for the whole family, the camper cabins are spread throughout and are hike in only. Each cabin is pretty secluded and on a body of water. The cabins themselves are very basic, but the setting is awesome.
I haven’t stayed in the backpack tent sites, but I bet they’re fantastic.
ScoutIn demand park close in to cities. RV portion has full hook ups. No hook up sites for up to 24ft RVs also available. Non hook up sites are wooded and well spaced. RV sites similar to private campgrounds. Must reserve months in advance as usually full. Have secluded tent sites too.
GuideWhat a wonderful park for being surrounded by the cities! We had previously come for walking and kayaking, but this was our first overnight here. The site and restroom/shower are well kept and there are enough trees/plants between the (tent) sites to make it feel private. It's always fun seeing deer, turtles, fish, gardner snakes here.
Guide
I stayed two nights. The city park has private restrooms. Check in with the park host and he will provide you the code to access the restrooms/showers. The park has 13 rv sites with 30/50amp and water, four tent sites. Fishing pond, two baseball fields, basket ball court, playground, disk golf, and aquatic center/swimming pool. Little town has a lot to offer. Great place to camp
TravelerThe hosts at this campground were very nice. We had a tent site with no hook ups. The site was spacious and private-surrounded on 3 sides by trees. The bathrooms were clean. The pool area was clean and without issue. There were no extra walk ways or special features in those regards but the roads had enough of a country feel that they were fun for walking around with my kids and dog
ScoutThis is one of the few places that you can camp in twin cities metro. Both car and RV camping is allowed. Some of the tent sites do have power as well. Bathrooms and Showers are centrally located. Firewood is available for purchase. The camp grounds are located near the Lebanon Hills mountain biking area and miles of day hiking trails. Camping is only permitted in this area and it's not open in the winter.
Scout
Just stayed for the weekend and we had a wonderful time. Shaded lot, much quieter than other sites I’ve been too. Many lots seem to be seasonal owners, but all were very well kept. Would definitely return in the future and even consider a seasonal spot some day. Restrooms and laundry available on site. Although from a sign posted, they wanted the restrooms to be used by those in pop-ups or tent camping only (just an fyi). Gift shop/office had a pool table and lots of games to borrow/use. Pool & mini golf also available.
Traveler
Lake Ann Campground, located in the Sand Dunes State Forest north of Big Lake, MN is great for a weekend getaway with the family or a solo walk in trip. There are RV sites, tent sites, handicap accessible, walk in sites and group sites. Camping here is primitive with few amenities you get a fire ring and a picnic table, its great camping too be one with nature. There are several water spickets located around the campground along with outhouse type restrooms. There are no hookups or electric. Camping is on a first come first serve basis and you register at the kiosk located at the front of the campground acrid from the camp host site. There are several trails and Amaya something to do.
TravelerThis campground is on a first come, first serve basis. There are no reservations for the regular sites (although I do think they might take reservations for the equestrian and group sites).
I highly recommend the walk-in-sites for the most private tent camping experience. The walk from the car isn’t far, but the sites are off the road and in the pines. If you like to have your car at your site, you’ll find some sites with nice long driveways that can accommodate multiple cars, or even a truck with a boat/trailer. The beach is nice and private, but it’s a bit of a hike from the campsites. I’d recommend just hopping in the car and driving over if you’ve got young kids with you.
There is no store or firewood sold at the campground, so you’ll have to haul your own in from an approved vendor.
GuideI love this park and use it frequently for our "test runs". We have a new puppy and a new teardrop, so this was the perfect place for us to have our maiden voyage within 20min of our home. But besides just being close, it's also a really nice campground. It's very wooded and feels private. The RV section has sites that are a bit close together and open, but the tent sites (where we stayed) are much more secluded. The facilities are clean and well-kept.
The park itself is also really nice. There are lots of hiking trails, mountain biking, lake access for kayaking/paddle boarding... In the winter we love coming here for day trips to take advantage of the cross country skiing and snow shoe rentals.
Ranger
We stayed here with two young kids tent camping. We stayed in site A20 due to the close proximity to the bathrooms. The grounds were very well kept and groomed. The sites were pretty close together with no trees in between, but only around 25% of sites were occupied when we were there so it wasn’t a problem. I would imagine it would be very cozy and not much privacy when full, which could be the only potential drawback. There were a fair amount of RVs- we were one of only a few tents I saw. There were some nice looking cabins on our loop as well. It was a very short walk down a path to the beautiful lake which was deserted when we were there. The bathrooms looked new and were very well kept. There was even one family restroom with a shower which was so awesome for trying yo get two small kids cleaned up. Loved that. Overall this was a great campsite when not full and we had a great time.
Legend
We went on a day trip to the eagle point section of the Lake Elmo park district. This is set in a lush rolling prairie with lots of hiking trails in addition to other attractions like an archery range and swimming pond.
The modern campground is built for non-tent campers, which is kind of a bummer because it is so much nicer than the “rustic” tent campground. Could you set up a tent there? Sure, but most of the site is devoted to a gravel parking pad.
The rustic campground is an offshoot of the horse trailer parking lot. The sites for the most part are not spacious or private. Only portapotties. I think the best camping opportunity I saw was the group campgrounds, which had more modern outhouses. This will continue to be a great day trip location for us.
Traveler
Great campground with all the amenities one might need, including showers, nice bathrooms, a park, a beach, trails. Right next to lakes and a nature preserve. Close enough to town in case you forget some things like we did. A county parking pass is required, they don't like people parking on the grass, and they have staff making rounds to enforce the shortest list of rules I've seen in the last couple of years. My only complaint is that the location of the porta-potties didn't match what the maps showed, so my seemingly perfect plan to be somewhat far from them failed and I ended up right next to one; it was clean and didn't smell, but we heard the door close every time. They have the campsites spaced out better than most other places I've camped and have trees and brush between the sites whenever possible. We tent camped and plan to bring our travel trailer next year. Definitely plan to stay here at least once a season.
GuideLebanon Hills is a great campsite for families, first time campers, or anyone having a "staycation" while keeping hotel costs down. The East loop is perfect for tent camping with large, wooded, private sites close to the amazingly clean bathrooms and showers. (Seriously, the bathrooms were so clean.) There is a well kept playground and many walking trails all around the park. The RV section was not as shaded or private, but there are a few RV spots that could be private if they're open. What we like is that Lebanon and the area has so much to do. If you can hop in the car, there is a free beach 5 minutes away with rental costs for a SUP, canoe, or kayak, lots of paved trails, unpaved trails, a Visitor Center with free programs, and a really well maintained mountain bike park. The MN zoo, Apple Valley Aquatic Center, Cascade Bay, Outlet Mall, and MOA are a quick 5-10 minute drive away. Yes, I prefer to stay outdoors, but if you have a group or someone who "needs" something to do you will not run out of options.
Sites for camping: East 71, 82, 84 and North 61,65
Scout
My husband and I paid for one night at a non electric drive in tent site with the disabled discount it came to $11.50. When you first pull in to the park there we’re an average amount of annoying bugs, especially for an 85 to 90 degree, summer day in a highly vegetative, woodsy park. Staff was not present due to the COVID-19 but we submitted our cash payment and grabbed the site map and park guide and drove to the left to find our camp site. As we slowly whined down a gravel road the trees became more dense, our site seemed perfect for the two of us! Picnic table and fire pit centered and to our left a designated tent landing area, to the right was just enough space to park our Mercury Sable Sedan. They had shower and restroom facilities within a short walking distance from our site, that is when we started noticing the horseflies were making it known that we were “trespassing on their turf”. We entered the shower and restrooms to bugs, bugs, BUGS!! Nasty 🤢. Neither of us showered there. Walked back to set up our tent, horseflies nonstop attacked us. To not get bite we had to run around like chickens with our heads cut off! No joke. So when our tent was finally set up instead of enjoying marshmallows at our fire pit we watched Netflix on our tablet instead our tent. Next day taking the tent down was even worse hot 90 degree day, horseflies and no breeze.. So my husband and officially nicknamed this campground “Horsefly Hell”. And no we don’t recommend this one.
Guide
My partner and I scheduled a 3 day / 2 night stay in a new Vintage Cruiser RV for $39.99, in exchange for attending a presentation on private membership.
We checked in Wednesday evening, and the nicest staff I've ever met helped us acclimate to RV living. We are new to this game. They patiently described how to utilize the grey and black water tanks, as well as encouraged us to check-out the canoes, row boats, bikes, horseshoes, ladder golf and many other entertainment items - for FREE!
The map provided was accurate which made locating the cruiser a breeze. There were further instructions inside as well. The RV was immaculate. Provided for our use were all linens (a public very clean bath and shower was just across the road), dish soap, dish towels, paper towels, flat wear, plates, bowls, mugs and pans.
The campground has a couple of ponds, as well as access to Ham Lake where the watercraft is launched. There is a petting arena with goats, ponies, and a llama who gave my partner the stink eye, but fell in love with me rubbing the fence and giving me all googly eyes!
The clubhouse sells bundled wood, ice, snacks, cold drinks, ice cream and provides 24-hour fresh coffee. There is also a small resupply area, and gift shop.
There are pull-through sites, back ups, 50 and 30 amp hook ups, and tent sites, covered pavilions, picnic tables and fire pits.
The campground itself seems remote, secluded and peaceful, however, you are conveniently located to two well-stocked convenience stores, as well as Wal-Mart about 15 minutes away. It's also only about 45 minutes from the Minnesota Twin Cities.
One note: We visited in August and needed gallons of bug spray.
We very much enjoyed our get away!
TravelerLebanon hills has everything for the family. Schultz Beach for summer fun. Professional built mtn bike trails for adventure. Camping in Minnesota suburbs. Miles of hiking, horseback riding, cross country ski trails. . perfect for my family's weekend Stay-cation
ScoutEvery site is a hike in site, including the three camper cabins. The trails are groomed enough that if you have a cart, you can pack your gear in that way too.
My wife and I stayed at camper cabin 1 on this Mon-Wed trip, and it is secluded and beautiful. You have to take a little bridge to get to it even.
There was a major storm that came through Sun-Mon, and this being a wetlands, things got muddy and buggy quick. The area around the cabin itself was good though as a breeze coming off the lake kept the bugs at bay.
The cabin itself is very cozy. Two bunks with queen on the bottom and twin on the top to sleep six total. A couple of good spots outside you can hang hammocks from too. Bring lighting as the cabin solar light only gives you a couple hours (assuming it could even charge up that day and it didn’t our first day) and it’s so wooded it gets dark very quickly. Everything is sealed up nice and tight too, so no bugs in the cabin unless you tear the screens or leave the door open.
All the necessary items to clean up the cabin were provided, broom, dustpan, spray bottle, cloth, bucket, so that made cleaning up easy.
I rated 4 stars based on three factors.
Park office is only open Friday through Sunday. Makes sense seeing as that if it’s not that busy of a place during this week of July 4th, I can’t imagine other weeks getting busier.
Rain can get things boggy quick, possibly closing the trail to your site even.
State website says fire wood is provided, and two cords were at the cabin when we got there, but nothing said we had to pay for the wood. It’s fine, but I’ll have to run into town as I didn’t bring cash with me to leave in the envelope at the office, since the office is closed during the week, which also means if I needed more than these two cords, I have to run to town... As of this review, cords were $6 at the park and $5.50 at the truck stop up by I-94.
Otherwise the place is great and I can imagine coming back again with friends and trying out the hike in tent sites too.
TLDR version: Great place, quiet on these weekdays during a holiday week, bring firewood, use a cart if you have one to bring things to your site.
Tent camping near Monticello, Minnesota offers a variety of scenic spots where nature lovers can enjoy the great outdoors. With options for hiking, birding, and relaxing by the water, there's something for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Monticello, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Monticello, MN is Lake Maria State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 32 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Monticello, MN?
TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Monticello, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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