Best Glamping near North Branch, MN

Glamping Reviews near North Branch, MN

252 Reviews of 21 North Branch Campgrounds

• 

  kristin C.

  Guide

  Aug. 9, 2018

  Ham Lake Resort

  Well Rounded RV Park and Campground

  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!

  Read More
• 

  Katherine T.

  Guide

  Oct. 11, 2024

  Wild River State Park Campground

  Solid option with star gazing

  This is a solid state park offering. The sites are decently spaced with good tree cover. Noise seemed to travel between sites, I had some loud neighbors during the day but they settled down before quiet hours. The grass was easy to get tent stakes into. Bathrooms were your basic state park situation. Clean with warm showers so no complaints from me. The star gazing area was great! Intermittently had 1-2 bars of T-Mobile with LTE Internet. Wi-Fi is available at the park entrance.

• 

  kristin C.

  Guide

  Jun. 13, 2018

  Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park

  convenient get away

  We took a 30 minute drive north of the cities for a quick get away, and were rewarded with a very nice campground!

  The check in staff was friendly, helpful and efficient. She gave us the info we needed for wood and other campgrounds in the area.

  Our site was clear, flat and grassy, and had an established fire pit. Other loops had grills and hook ups for pop-up campers and RVs.

  There is a gorgeous beach area with tables, a pavilion, changing rooms and a well equipped playground.

  We walked a portion of the trails towards the golf course, on a paved path under a green canopy.

  Plenty of bugs, so bring your spray!

  Read More
• T

  Tina H.

  Scout

  Jun. 18, 2018

  Afton State Park Campground

  Hiking and Yurting

  I 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!

• 

  Steph H.

  Legend

  Jul. 18, 2017

  Lake Maria State Park Campground

  Run or be eaten

  To be fair I'd like to preface this review with a word of caution. We went in the middle of Summer. High bug season. Take a look at other reviews as they come in and see what time of year they visited. Maybe they'll have a similar experience, maybe not. The fun thing about this state park is that all the sites are hike in. No drive up camping. It has a couple camper cabins as well. But everyone is spread out along a few trails so it's a little quieter than your typical campground.

  When we pulled up to the parking lot we knew we were in trouble. The black flies were dive bombing the car like a scene from Armageddon. We prepared the kiddos for a quick grab and run and jumped out of the car. Our campsite was about a mile from the car so we started at a quick walk onto the trail. First step onto the grassy trail exploded in a cloud of mosquitos. Walking along the kids all looked like Pig-Pen from Peanuts. Even though we'd sprayed everyone down the bugs must have felt safety in numbers because we were covered in welts in no time flat. That's when the jogging began. Soon we were running and also planning out how to set up camp the quickest. Little tent first, throw the kids in, big tent second and then everyone in there while dinner was being made. Luckily at our actual campsite the bugs weren't quite as horrendous so we were able to get out a bit after applying a few more layers of repellant. Our site was on a short private trail off the main loop and opened up to a decent space. We had a picnic table and fire pit and plenty of space for our two tents and an area to play. We were all entertained by the plethora of mushroom varieties that surrounded the camp. We spent a bit of time outside and then played in the tent the rest of the night. Unfortunately the bugs were bad enough that the next morning we just packed up and headed back to the car. I would like to come back to this park in late fall and try out a camper cabin. There are three of them all on lakes so if you can get past buggy season it has the potential to be a great experience. Have you ever been to Lake Maria? Stayed in one of their camper cabins? Let me know, I'd love to hear how it went!

  Read More
• 

  Janet R.

  Legend

  Sep. 1, 2020

  Banning RV Park and Campground

  Alternative to Banning State Park

  We discovered this campground while researching the area, it is fairly new and not only not reviewed on the Dyrt but not listed on it yet either. If you are planning to explore the Kettle River and Banning State Park nearby, this is a good alternative to camping within the State Park itself. With easy access to both the Twin Cities metro area and Duluth, with desireable whitewater paddling and rockclimbing both available in the area, Banning State Park campground fills quickly especially in summer and on weekends, and the Banning RV Park is an excellent backup alternative for overflow demand. And, actually, it may be your go-to option even if campsites at Banning are available, because this RV campground is located only½ mile from the Banning State Park entrance, and because it is at a higher elevation further from the river it is remarkably less buggy which Banning State Park can be in springtime or after recent rains. This campground is quite large, geared towards RVs and trailers but also has dozens of tent sites and is currently adding more! There are also several nice new camper cabins available. We stayed in site 297, a very large double tent site with soft grass for tenting, big shady trees, picnic table and fire ring, with possibility for water and electric hookup but we didn’t use it. We had two families with 3 tents and two vehicles, plus bought firewood(which was delivered in generous quantities) and the total price was$48, which would have been the cost of the two campsites we would have needed if camping at the nearby state park. We were located near the campground pavilion, which included picnic tables, family bathrooms with showers, playground, activity center with craft classes etc, and laundry room. Remarkably, in addition to playgrounds for children in different places around the campground, there was a huge dog walking and play area that was grassy and beautifully clean—and, of special interest, included a complete“dog playground” with all the standards elements of a dog agility course! Very cool—and an expense and effort most places wouldn’t go to. The campground itself was very clean and well landscaped and maintained, however the bathrooms do get heavy use and, though nicely cleaned a few times during the day, are in need of attention in the evening. The campers are mostly family oriented so the campground itself is very quiet in the evenings—however, it is not far from nearby Highway 35, so there is a fair amount of road noise despite a barrier of pines planted as a buffer. I was a bit concerned that folks camping there were not too concerned about covid precautions, no one was wearing masks even when participating at close range to others during some of the campgrounds organized group activities, and there was lotion soap but no hand sanitizer in the bathrooms. You may want to bring your own. Overall, nicely maintained, reasonably priced, conveniently located, and less buggy than the nearby state park! We would camp here again if returning to the area.

  Read More
• 

  Alicia A.

  Scout

  Oct. 13, 2020

  Afton State Park Campground

  A Nice Secluded Overnight Trip

  Great state park with lots of amenities. This was only my second camping trip, my first being the superior trail with an 8 mile hike in and no amenities. More fun in my opinion to search for your own firewood and really rough it, but it was to have water and wood available close to the site we were at (site 22) because we got in later and lost some daylight. The hike in was shorter and far less strenuous than my first trip, but note that it is uphill. If you’re carrying a heavy pack, expect to sweat a bit. Paved sidewalks into the park, wide dirt and rocky paths into the camp site which was nice given the amount of other day hikers (space to spread out). My boyfriend and I loved that our site was so secluded. There is also a lot of variety to the sites. The sites 1 through about 10 (if my memory doesn’t fail me) are fairly wooded. Our site had a nice balance of wooded area and open terrain/sky. We were lucky to get to see some beautiful fall colors.

  A few notes: the wood provided is THICK. They must haul the logs in with a truck. Saws are provided at the wood site, but be prepared to take some time on it. We had a hand saw so we were able to pack our packs with some large pieces and do some sawing at our campsite as the sawing station was busy with families and other campers. Lots of bark available to get a good fire started. The wood is not covered so if it rains the night before you come in, be ready to deal with some damp wood.

  Water station takes about 30 seconds to start up. There are also two bathrooms within the camp site that are what you expect them to be. Hand sanitizer and TP stocked.

  Never saw a ranger while we were there. We loved the privacy. Lots of spiders. Comes with the terrain.

  The site was perfect for our hammocks. They are super kind if you want to call ahead to get an idea of what your site looks like. It was also great to be able to see what other sites were occupied on the day we decided to make a reservation. There is a grill top on your fire pit (we packed our own grill top, could’ve left it at home).

  Overall it was a great overnight trip. Close to our home so I’m sure we’ll be back for a quick trip next year.

  Read More
• 

  Ashley J.

  Scout

  Aug. 19, 2017

  Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Regional Park

  Night in the woods

  It was very easy to find, close to the twin cities, and clean. There was good access to kindling for a fire in the nice fire pit that has a grill. There is ample room to park a car and put up a large tent. We were impressed with the upkeep of the park.

• M

  Melissa A.

  Guide

  Aug. 31, 2018

  Baker Campground - Baker Park Reserve

  Nice lake with big beach area

  This campground was nice and the bathrooms were nice and clean. They have nice walking trailers to the lake and beach area. They lake and beach were nice and has a big sanding beach area. You an bring you boat with you. The only down fall was the location of the fire pit. It was located closer to the neighboring campsite and was awkward to use because it was behind the camper and you would think it was the other campsites. The site were very close together and had no privacy. The site had electric but no water.