Escape into nature and disconnect from daily life with glamping near Nerstrand. Glamping near Nerstrand is especially popular among campers who enjoy beds and electricity. You're sure to find glamping for your Minnesota camping excursion.
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.
Cleary Lake Regional Park has 20 sites for tents only and 2 RV sites with full hookups.
$16 - $50 / night
$85 / night
$15 - $18 / night
Guide
Minnesota 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.
ScoutI have stayed multiple times in the hike in camp sites and also in the yurt! The hike in sites were beautiful with a view looking over the St. Croix River. It was a shaded site perfect for our hammocks, it was quiet and very secluded. The Yurt was very cool! Very comfortable beds and plenty of space for the 6 of us to stay and sleep. The fire pit and picnic table wasn't far from the yurt which made it nice to not have to walk too far since we camped in the winter. I highly suggest the expeeience of the yurt!
ScoutAfton is a gorgeous park. There's beautiful trails that take you through dense woods and prairie, and then you take a pretty decline to get to the St Croix River. It was foggy when we were there but still gorgeous. We also managed to get a yurt and it was so much fun. Comfy beds, room for 7 and it was clean and well built. This is a great park!
Scout
Everything was beautiful. We camped for a week in southern Minnesota state parks, but this one is our favourite.
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.
Guide
We really liked this campground. The paved trail around the area is really nice for walking the pups. Very clean and well kept campground.
The campground gets booked up fast, so book early!
The sites on and close to the water are long, but not very wide. The sites further back have alot more room at each site.
ScoutI have organized car camping weekends with friends for years at this site. The staff is great, the grounds are well kept.
ScoutThe campgrounds were beautiful and well kept. The bathrooms were immaculate. I love it!!!! I will be back!!!!!
GuideThis is such a nice park. All spots have a lake view and the beach is within walking distance. We love it here. It’s not to easy to get spots on the holiday weekends, but somehow we managed it
GuideThis is a great family campground! Camping spots are rather close, but we have two little ones so they made friends quick with other children. We didn’t get to swim at the lake because it was shut down due to a chemical spill at the time, but we did walk over and check it out. The views are great! We stayed in a RV spot next to the lake which had water and electric hookups. The playground is a short walk to the tent area, which was a big hit with our kids. Our girls didn’t want to leave! We stayed for two nights during the 4th of July. We were able to see fireworks all around. Our site was also right next to the office which was also the location for bathrooms and showers. The girls loved going inside for ice cream treats when the weather was a little too hot to handle. We had fun going on a short hike and finding wild blackberries to eat. We had a great time and hope to be back soon!
TravelerIt’s a nice park, sometimes hard to get into on weekends. The lake is right next to the campground with RV sites right on the water. The only thing disappointing is the lake becomes green with algae as the summer goes on.
TravelerVery nice county park. Water and electric hookups. The lake is nice for fishing, boating or swimming. Has a small store.
ScoutThis campground is clean and well maintained. It has a boat landing; indoor and outdoor bathroom facilities; playground and large tent sites.
GuideVery nice water front sites, clean, clean restrooms and showers, dump station. Plan on coming back. They’re adding a bunch new sites. Should be ready for next season.
GuideNice showers and restrooms. Paved RV pads. Near lake and excellent bike path. Great brewery and winery close by.
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.
Ranger
We checked in at the visitor center and the ranger told us the site we had chosen on-line was not suitable for our small RV. She found us a site in the electric campground that someone else had just canceled on. It was a good site with some privacy due to thick woods on two sides of our site. It was a weekend so the place was full.
We heard Barred Owls and Sandhill Cranes. The cranes flew over making strange LOUD calls. Cool.
TravelerThe campground is very nice and well kept. Clean thru out the park. Some very nice shaded sites. Not the greatest for big RV's. OK lake access, good for padding and small boats. Overall it was close to home and a nice time to just get away for a weekend.
RangerCool campsites some better than others fairly wooded spots seem a bit bigger more open for bigger campers. Nice campground overall. Bathrooms were closed when we visited.
ScoutAll RV and ridiculously expensive for tent camping
ScoutOnly hiking trails and dock of lake.
GuideAwesome campground with friendly knowledgeable staff. Fun hiking trails and good lake.
GuideMy wife and I camped at cart in site 4. And went for a walk around the park. We saw a bull frog and a few leopard frogs at the boat launch. And continued on our hike. We saw a few cool birds, lots of berries and a few interesting bugs. We sat and watched the sun set and join in on the star gazing event that was going on in the park. We got to look at the moon and Saturn through a few big telescopes.
GuideA nice small park but nothing special. Sites are good sized and nicely spaced. Facilities are primitive. Nice walking trail around the property about 2.5 miles. The trail does cross some of the tent sites. Maybe once the lockdown is over things will be better there.
GuideIt’s a nice park but no swimming beach we could find. Sites are nice sized and it’s quiet $6 for firewood. Will come back for a weekend the staff we have seen seem very nice. As of now NO showers.
TravelerThis campground is very well kept and managed with great customer service in the office. My only complaint was how close together the walk-in sites were. There was a convenient parking area for the sites but it was TOO convenient for someone looking for more space and privacy, wanting to hike into something more secluded. It was unfortunate but the grounds were gorgeous and lush, and the lake was quiet and surrounded in cattails. Great weekend getaway.
TravelerMy partner and I stayed at cart-in site #1 which had a pretty view of the lake. However, the site is right on the hiking trail, and positioned where 3 paths meet- so although it was very quiet and only a few hikers passed by, I can imagine it could get annoying if it was busy. There is also no place to swim at this lake which is a bit disappointing, but it is a very beautiful lake with lots of wildlife!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Nerstrand, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Nerstrand, MN is Sakatah Lake State Park Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 23 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 17 glamping camping locations near Nerstrand, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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