We all love roasting marshmallows over a campfire—and you can often still do that while cabin camping in Nerstrand. Find the best information on cabins near Nerstrand, including photos, reviews, and tips. The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect cabin rental near Nerstrand.
Located on the St. Croix River, just 20 miles east of Saint Paul, Afton State Park is great for those looking for camping near Minneapolis and is 1600 acres of rolling prairies, oak woodlands, and limestone river canyons amid an ancient glacial landscape. The land for the park was acquired in 1967, but it took almost 15 years of planning revisions and compromises with local residents before the park finally opened in 1982. Little development has gone into Afton State Park in an effort to maintain its natural characteristics, and former farmland atop the bluffs are continuously being restored to their original state. This makes Afton an ideal destination for campers looking to experience the outdoors in a wilder setting.
Load up your backpack with all you’ll need for your stay, as camping at Afton State Park requires a hearty, 0.75-mile hike in from the parking area. The year-round campground offers 27 rustic sites with picnic tables and fire pits, with options for pitching your tent in either open or wooded areas. There is drinking water, a vault toilet and firewood is supplied within the camp area. There is also three boat-in campsites, and two group campsites that can accommodate up to 60 people each. If you’d rather not rough it, the park also offers four camping cabins and two yurts, some of which are wheelchair accessible. There are also several picnic areas and restrooms within the park. Campsite rates range from $15–$23/night; cabins range from $55–$70/night, and yurts $50–$65/night.
When you’re ready to explore, start at the park’s Nature Store where you can pick up information about the park’s flora and fauna, or join a nature walk. Then choose from more than 20 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails, as well as a short barrier-free path. If you’re visiting in winter, many of these trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Bring your GPS and go on a geocaching treasure hunt, or bring your binoculars and go on safari for a variety of migratory birds, waterfowl, and wildlife, including deer, foxes and badgers. And little ones will love becoming Junior Park Naturalists and learning about bugs, birds, plants and other critters. If you’re looking for a real outdoor adventure, Afton State Park has what you’re looking for.
Meet new friends, relax in the heated pool, take a walk along the river, smell the scent of a friendly campfire or have your next family reunion here! River View Campground is located a mile south of Owatonna, MN, in a beautiful country setting, nestled among giant oak trees and bordered by the Straight River.
$25 - $30 / night
$85 / night
This park has something for everyone. The trails take visitors around wet lowlands, oak savanna, and grasslands. Albert Lea Lake and park marshes draw hundreds of waterfowl during migration. Oak savanna and prairie landscape, including wetlands, dominate most of the park. One of the more unique aspects of the park is the 116-acre Big Island, covered with maple/basswood forest. Another is the glacial esker located in the northeast section of the park.
Legend
Super simple camping cabins. They each have 4 spots and have contactless entry as you get sent a code to use. There is no cooking inside the cabin so you have to use the fire ring outside. Shower facilities are really nice and match the cabins. Plan ahead as these are hard to come by.
Scout
This is one of my favorite campgrounds in Southern Minnesota! It is only 1 1/2 hours away from the TwinCities which makes it an ideal getaway. The campsites are wooded and have enough distance between them that noise is minimal. I especially love the view of Lake Pepin and the nice little swimming beach. On our last stay, we were able to watch eagles from our campsite, which was amazing. They have recently added 3 small cabins to rent which would be a nice alternative to tent camping. If you do plan a camping trip to Hok-Si-La and you're driving in from the Twin Cities, be sure to take Wisconsin Highway 35 through Maiden Rock, Stockholm, Pepin, and other small towns. You can loop back into Minnesota through Wabasha. This adds about an extra half hour to your drive but it is definitely worth it!
GuideEach cabin has four sleeping spots: 2 bunk beds, and the 2 couches convert to beds. There's a heater inside, but no AC, which makes these the most suitable during the spring and fall.
There is a fire ring outside of each cabin, along with a table. No cooking is allowed inside the cabins, which can make things rough if the weather isn't cooperating.
We enjoy hiking around the trails, but we primarily go to decompress, lounge around, and play games, read, etc. There's WiFi available, but depending on which cabin you reserve signal will be took weak for real usage. Same for mobile data -- don't plan on cell service here.
The bathroom facilities are nice. Outside water is shut off during some parts of the year, so bring your own drinking water if you are camping close to/during winter.
Cabins are accessible for those who need special assistance, which is nice. The only caveat is I don't recall there being an automatic door opener to the cabins.
While the cabins are close together, noise is not a factor once you're inside.
It's difficult to get reservations, so I recommend trying to start booking 120 days in advance, which is the farthest out you can reserve. For example, as of this review (early June), all weekends are booked for all cabins.
LegendThe cabins in the woods are great in winter with snow on the pine trees. I would probably prefer the prairie cabins in the summer, especially with mosquitoes. The prairie cabins have significantly less privacy though with trails on either side that have good views into the heavily windowed cabins.
The cabins are well-built and heated. The wooded cabins have what seems like full-sized mattress bunk beds built into the wall. Each bunk has its own reading light. The storage in this place is amazing. Storage under the bed, one counter with ample storage under it, and even the windows are so deep that I was able to store most of my food on the sill.
The biggest downside is the middle-of-the-night trek to the bathroom. The bathroom is heated and open year round. There are two year round showers as well, but don’t plan on a long shower to unwind unless you like cold water. There was maybe 2 minutes of hot water. Basically enough to wash your body quickly, it was easy enough to avoid getting my hair wet. The shower room is also set to a cool 58 degrees in the winter. I do suspect that the floors are slightly heated though. You will need to dart across to the bathroom to blow dry your hair if you’re washing it in the winter.
You can use a slow cooker and a coffee pot in the cabin. Otherwise you can cook over the fire as well. They have potable water in the bathroom for washing your dishes in the cabin with.
Close enough to town if you need something, far enough away for peace and quiet.
Guide
Camper Cabin (Eastern Bluebird)🏡🐦
Perfect little cabin nestled in the southern half of the park! Screened in porch, heated with electricity, and two double bunk beds!
RangerSuper nice area very scenic great bathroom facilities. Cabins are nice and have great woods and trails around them.
Guide
Nice park for everyone’s type from tents, cabins and all size RV’s. Electric only at the camp sites but have water and dump station on site. Clean bathrooms and showers. Best value I’ve seen for fire wood. Has many walking trails that you can take your dog on and just a couple that you can’t.
Guide
I used to be against KOA’s and swore I would never camp at one but a couple of friends booked it and I went with. It was actually pretty nice. Not mich for trees or privacy which is a typical KOA but it was still nice. Would go back. They even have cute little cabins you can rent. And it’s not far from the huge candy store in Jordan.
Guide
This is a really nice campground. The camper cabins are really nice. They have two rooms, a sleeping room and a front room. The sleeping room has 2 bunk beds (4 beds.) The front room has a mini fridge, coffeemaker, toaster, microwave, and a futon. The firepits are well taken care of. It is usually empty when you arrive. There is no.swim beach. The trails and playgrounds are really nice. The bathrooms are heated. The showers are pay showers.
Traveler
This place is more old school and ma & pop type place!!! Very family friendly, quiet, and plenty to do if you like fishing, kids swimming in the lake, kayaking, paddle boards, bikes you can use for free but must follow his safety rules, also has boat and pontoon to rent. We go a few times a year and love it!!! Not pet friendly unfortunately but nice and clean!! Also has sand volleyball, basketball court/tennis. My kids love the big cleaning the kids get a big baseball game going or kick ball!! Has 7 sites to rent and 3 cabins
Legend
We biked the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail from Faribault, MN to Mankato, MN (39 miles). The whole trail was paved, which was really nice and runs through hardwoods forest. We camped in Sakatah State Park and then explored the City of Mankato. Sakatah Lake is a relatively calm lake and seems like a great place to kayak.
They have 5 bike-in campsites near the trail. Other campsites include drive-in sites, electric sites, group sites, and camper cabins. The campsites are secluded just enough so that one feels like they are camping in the woods by themselves. Unlike a lot of campgrounds, Sakatah State Park has its fire pits above ground. Very nice for keeping warm. Amenities at the campground include showers, flush toilets, vault toilets, dump stations.
GuideSuch a quaint town and park!
We spent one night here and booked it for our wedding venue as well! The lake view was spectacular and the park manager, Joanne was so humble! Joanne lives on the grounds so it made for easy access to any answers we needed while camping. We were looking for an outdoor space surrounded by tall trees for our 2020 ceremony and this site hit the sweet spot! There are a number of grassy campsites as well as dirt sites. Bunk cabins are available as well! We stayed right on the edge of the lake and absolutely loved it. So serene!🙌🏾May is the perfect time to go if you’re looking for some peace and quiet away from other campers. This campsite also doesn’t allow cars or generators on any of the camping spots, so be sure to keep that in mind!
Can’t wait to go back!
GuideWe stayed on one of the group sites, G6 on the Tour De Pepin weekend. The campground was very full that weekend but the group sites are spacious and well spaced out, (if you can I would recommend G4 or G5 right on the lake for group sites) you definitely don't feel like you are on top of each other or another group. Near the group sites there is also a set of vault toilets.
The campground is very green and luscious, full of beautiful trees, plants and wildlife, we heard bullfrogs, owls, woodpeckers and more (there are also train tracks near by so a couple trains too). This campground is a tent only campground with a couple cabins as well, which adds to it's secluded feel.
There is great lake access for swimming and a shower houses (bring your quarters though, showers cost 50 cents for 3 minutes). The only down side is that you cannot leave any cars near your campsite, you can drive in to drop off or pick up your gear but otherwise vehicles are parked in the main parking lot outside of the gate, which is not a big deal but from the group sites it is a trek to the lot and to the beach.
I would definitely stay here again, the lake is incredible.
LegendGreat place to camp and get away from the cities without a long drive. Firewood is available at the office and a fire ring is at each site as well as picnic table.
TravelerLess than an hour drive from Minneapolis this is a good get away. As expected it has many walk trails. Highlight of this location is beach which is nice for swim and sun bath. But beach isn't motor vehicle accessible so expect 5-10 min walk. Campgrounds are nearby beach and require further walk.
Legend2/22/20-2/23/20. BP11
Less than an hour from the cities, this is a perfect little camping getaway. If you are looking for a nice backpacking experience, Afton has this and more. We pulled a sled and hiked 1.4 miles to our campsite. The hike was very challenging and uphill. The campsites are nicely spaced and diverse. Some are more wooded and others in the open prairie. We selected campsite 11 as it had some nice trees and was down a ridge, very private. There is a vault toilet, solar well water (year-round) and a wood pile available right at the campground (pay later) - these amenities were closest to campsite 10 and 11.
The state park is gorgeous. There are rolling hills throughout and some of the hikes can be deemed as “difficult”. We opted to get off the beaten trail and snowshoed in the woods, following deer tracks. This is one nice thing about winter hikes as you are allowed to leave the trail. We went up and down ravines and got in a beautiful hike and workout. They offer xcountry skiing, snowshoeing and hiking in the winter. We hiked 19 miles in 2 days.
We camped here 2 years ago in the spring and really enjoyed campsite 1 and 2. They are wooded and private. Campsite 2 has a few great hammock spots. We snowshoed around and really enjoyed campsite 18 as well, as it overlooks the river. They also have a beach and swimming in the summer on the St Croix. Afton really has it all. I HIGHLY recommend this state park.
ScoutEverything was beautiful. We camped for a week in southern Minnesota state parks, but this one is our favourite.
GuideMinnesota State Parks have just started to build Yurts for 3 campgrounds around the state; Afton, Cuyuna and Glendalough State Parks. These have some great amenities and are perfect for family camping, especially in Fall, Winter and Spring.
Traveler
Wow! Where do I start! The spots are huge and level, it’s one of the quietest campground we have been to. We love it! Minnesota is beautiful and there is so much to do here. The bathrooms are spotless and everything is new here. The employees checking you in are amazing and the hosts are personable, friendly, and helpful. This place gets a five star rating!!!
GuideBeautiful, small state park less than an hour south of Twin Cities. Sites are wooded and shady but some are close to neighboring sites. Not too many mosquitos or flies for August in Minnesota! Sakatah Singing Hills paved trail runs through the park. It was pouring on Saturday so most of the other campers checked out and we had the campground mostly to ourselves. Super friendly and helpful staff, clean restrooms. Faribault is 15 minutes away so we went antique shopping at Keeper's Antiques downtown and had cocktails at 10,000 Drops Distillery for rainy day activities.
GuideAbout the only nice thing about this place is the lady who answered the phone, Valerie.
She was extremely nice other than that it was gravel. Roads that were poorly maintained trucks were parked sticking out into the road making it difficult to get around. The site was very unlevel and the water Spicket didn’t really work very well.. we paid for two nights and bought a KOA review or rewards program to do it… We refused to stay the second night when we called to see if we could get our money back the gentleman who checked us in as a ground tender was rude and choppy he wasn’t very friendly when he brought us into the place.
The place was packed like sardines… Very difficult to negotiate at night.
Overall, the worst campground we’ve stayed in in the two RV trips we’ve taken from Florida to Minnesota. There are so many beautiful state parks don’t bother with this KOA not even for a one nighter.
We were stuck on a back loop. There were a lot of mosquitoes bugs and mud… It just wasn’t a nice experience.
Traveler
Great tent sites some along river lots of activities for children and adults tubing down the river, man-made lake with blowups, scooters, swimming poolAnd jumping pillow. Mini mart has many items from camping necessities, rain gear as well as groceries and ice cream. Bathrooms with showers are very clean.
Scout
This is my experience at Shades. We were seasonal campers for 4 years. We should've listened to the warnings and read the reviews beforehand. Pros:(before covid) The activities for the kids, Tubbing, The pond. Some of the the fellow campers are amazing and became a sort of family. It has as very beautiful scenery. And it's not too far from the cities. Cons: Owner does not take care of the place like he should. He did not fix anything around the campground besides getting new signs the whole time we were there. The bathrooms are falling apart, there are huge holes in the ceilings, they are often dirty and not well stocked. Many of the port-a-pottys have huge cracks in the walls to where you are seen by everyone on the outside and the doors do not close properly. They are also often times not well cleaned or well stocked. The campground had several campers contract Crypto 2 years ago due to how the campground and facilities are kept. The showers cost$0.25 for 7 minutes. The mini golf course was in terrible condition and falling apart, they said they were fixing it but never did the entire 2020 season. It just sat there in shambles. They Charge and over charge for everything you do. Each activity has a cost. Or you can buy wrist bands for everything. On holiday weekends expect to pay more than$500 on camping and bands for a family of 4. More than half of the staff was very rude and unprofessional.(we did have some positive experience with other staff members) last year a drunk male staff member was inappropriately touching a female weekend camper in front of everyone thinking it was funny. They did NOT comply with covid guidelines.(We stayed at our own site most of the time due to that) The pool and pound were always full of people. Masks were not always worn inside the store. The barn still held dances and Bingo with people NOT required to wear masks. Minors are constantly driving golf carts around. One of them almost hit my 3 year old daughter. The parks were not well taken care of and leaning. My 4year old son was stung by several bee's that had created a nest at one of them. Many campers drive their golf carts recklessly, drunk and speeding through the campground. Two golf carts ended up having an accident and running into each other because of that.(it happened close to our site where we have small kids that played) and Several campsites would constantly blare their music, sing and yell until 2-3am. So please take from this review what you will, but this was not the"Happy Place" we envisioned.
GuideWe started coming last year to shades. We have made ao many friends through there, that we now camp with all the time!! There are so many things to do with the kids and family, like swimming in the pool or the pond with waterpark features, also tubing down the river! We've had a few problems, but have also been resolved very quickly!! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THIS PLACE!!
GuideMy family and I absolutely love this place, and is by far our favorite!!! If there are any problems, they are resolved quickly and fairly!
TravelerOver all, it was a good experience. Kinda over priced in my opinion. Have to book 2 nights for a weekend. Couldnt just book 1. Seems like alot of kids without parents wandering around. Firewood is $6 a bundle. Over all good place.
TravelerSomething for everyone - man-made lake with inflatable obstacles, pool, kids activities, wagon rides
Cabin camping near Nerstrand, Minnesota offers a perfect blend of nature and comfort, allowing you to enjoy the great outdoors without sacrificing the conveniences of home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Nerstrand, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Nerstrand, MN is Sakatah Lake State Park Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 23 reviews.
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