Best Tent Camping near Roseau, MN

Nice, simple campground for a stopping point to do some fishing in and around Lake of the Woods. Tent camping and the park was pretty empty but there were lots of day users on the water. Lots of fishing and a jumping point to go to Garden Island.

I’d highly recommend this location. It’s part of The state park. Everything was clean but didn’t have water turned on. No showers just vault toilets. I’d avoid mosquito season as it could get nasty but June was not too bad. Stayed in a pretty simple site...had some nice tree coverage for part of the day but also helped avoid getting dumped on when it stormed. Did a hike but came back covered in ticks. According to the DNR the ticks are just super bad this year so heads up.

All and all this was a great stop over for me just bc of the simplicity of it.

Compared to other Minnesota State Parks, Zippel Bay is a bit more rustic. There are no electrical hookups, and showers are a significant drive from campground. The bathrooms are outhouse style with no running water. The campsites were not quite as secluded as we typically like, but it was quiet, and the views along the lake-shore are well worth the trip.

Campground Review

This was the first time our family stayed at Angler's Campground in Zippel Bay State Park on Lake of the Woods. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00284#homepage The Zipple Bay State Park is home to 5 separate campgrounds. We made the decision to camp at Anglers Campground for the reasons of the campground is the closest to the marinia, and it has bigger site sizes to accommodate our larger RV/Boat size, although the campground had mostly tents in it the week we stayed. We took a hike to the other campgrounds (about 1/2 mile between them) and observed that Ridge and Birch Campgrounds can accommodate both tents and smaller pop up style campers, Lady Slipper Campground has more primitive and smaller sites that would accommodate a small to medium size tent, and The Group Camp (there is only one) has plenty of room for many tents and campers with room to spare. Anglers Campground has the largest sites with plenty of room for an RV, Screen tent, Boat trailer, with room to spare. All sites in all campgrounds do not have electric/water/dumps. There are fresh water pumps in all campgrounds and mowed trails to the vault toilets that are clean, there are also metal garbage cans and recycling bins for plastic and glass. There is a dump station and 2 enclosed showers in the Ridge/Birch campgrounds loop. There are signs that clearly mark which direction to go.

The marina and boat ramp area was approximately 1 & 1/2 miles from our campsite, and this area also had 2 very clean vault toilets along with a fish cleaning building, and picnic area. There is a marina where you can also moor your boat for the day, and ample parking spots. NOTE: The handicap accessible ramp/dock/fishing pier was closed due to ice damage from the previous winter with no sign of it being fixed at this time. The boat ramp was easy to use, but we noticed it was very crowded early mornings. Lake of the Woods is considered the Walleye Capital of the World, and we had an incredible week of catching our dinners!!

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. We took our Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy for a product review.https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/product/biscuits-gravy.html The website at Mountain House is very easy to navigate, and they have a pop up window discount offer when you enter their site. When I received the package I was surprised at how light weight the product was, and was excited by their description of Buttermilk Biscuits and Gravy with Pork Patty Crumbles. We are a big breakfast family, and I was curious to see if this was a good fit for us.

I gave the task of preparing the Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy to my 14 year old son Hunter. We read the easy to follow directions on the back of the package, and followed them to the letter. (We did not use less water to make thicker gravy) Hunter measured the boiling water into the package, stirred the mixture well, and sealed it up with no problems at all, and then all we had to do was wait 9 minutes. We opened the package (it was hot, but nothing we had to use a hot pad or glove for) and noted that it smelled like the biscuits just came out of a hot oven. We did note the mixture needed to be stirred again, and there was no need to add additional water (the gravy was perfect consistency not to thick or thin) and then each served up the recommended serving size and enjoyed the delicious hot breakfast. The flavors were bright with the sausage coming through nicely with no need for additional seasonings at all. We were all full with our serving size, and stayed content after a full day of hiking.

Being we have never tried freeze dried food before this was a wonderful first experience, and for sure won't be our last!! The lightweight package is going to go well for any trip, and the easy prep makes it a breeze to make anywhere. Our family is looking forward to purchasing other meals from Mountain House, and with the extra long expiration date we can stock up. You won't be disappointed using these meals!!

The campground is located on city of Warroad property near the Warroad River and Lake of the Woods. An outdoor city pool with a natural sand bottom is adjacent to the campground for an unique swimming experience or enjoy the sand beach playground by the river/lake. Majority of campground is occupied by campers, many that are parked for the season. There are 3 areas of the campground 1: partial sun and partial trees 2: full sun all grass 3: full tree coverage. You'll find bath houses, electric and water hookups, fish cleaning houses. Public boat landing. Picnic towers overlook the campground, river, and lake. Warroad is a small town and attracts the serious to avid sportsmen to northern Minnesota for good fishing and that "Up North" experience. Nearby bars, grocery store, drug store, coffee, restaurants, and gas stations all located within Warroad city limits. The Seven Clans Casino (no alcohol served or allowed at casino) is directly across the river, however, easily accessible by car within minutes.

This state park is really nicely located for those that wanna get away to the north. Northern Minnesota has a lot to offer for wildlife and fishing. Zipper bay is pretty easy to get too and has a lot do from hikes, canoeing, kayaking, boating and fishing. You can easily get to garden island by boat for a wilderness adventure or you can just stay in the campground. Bugs are too bad till July so it is good to come sooner. Loads of birds to see.

Campgrounds are simple the one closest to the boat dock was pretty full when we checked it out. Very closely packed and generators can be hear almost everywhere. Best to get a site near the back and have it back into the forest as they are a bit bigger. Put toilets are found centrally with water pump and trash bins.

This is a community campground in the city park of a small farming town near the Canadian border. The park is clearly a source of pride for the town, as it is well kept with landscaping, beautiful gardens, great playground, picnic areas, disk golf, and campground with full hookups. It is several hours drive from our home town, and it isnt a place we would go to as a camping destination in and of itself, but we often take long trips up into Canada and if it is late when we are heading home then this is a good stopping point to overnight before going the last few hours drive home. There is also a great Scandanavian restaurant down the block with lots of local ethnic heritage recipes that is a big draw for the region. We have neighbors at home who are originally from this town, and the campground is good for family reunions and other special events. The surrounding area has a lot of moose, so one special event is the annual Moose festival which is worth attending. If you are into birdwatching this is a stop on the Pine to Prairie Birding Trail, just as the nearby Twin Lakes WMA nature preserve is a seasonal stop for migratory birds and waterfowl. The town is also along the “Dancing Waters Scenic Byway” , a scenic road that runs roughly parallel to the Canadian border and is known for views of the northern lights and for great views of the Milky Way in case you are interested in Dark Skies and astronomy.

Disadvantages: the campground is more oriented to RVs than tents; its on first-come first-served basis, which usually isnt a problem but could be on an event weekend; and, unfortunately, a train line with occasional trains does pass by the vicinity which creates some noise.

The campground doesnt seem to have its own website, but here is some info: its $12 a night for campsites, bathrooms available, hookups abailable. Call (218) 436-2178 at the city office if you have more questions. See community website for more info on the town, including the park: http://www.lakesnwoods.com/Karlstad.htm

Nice small open Campground Area very remote. Hand water pump. Covered pit toilet with friendly mouse in the corner. Lots of bugs!

This is a gorgeous park with lots of birds and wildlife. The lake is beautiful and the campsites are all shady and well maintained. The sites vary a lot in size, but most are level and relatively private. There's a shower house and pit toilets that are very nice. The boat launch and beach are awesome.

However. Have you seen the movie 300? Or any other movie where a small force faces an unthinkably massive foe? Well, that's you and the mosquitoes here, and I regret to inform you that you are the Spartans. You are vastly outnumbered and though you may fight bravely, you will not win this battle. Seriously, there were so many mosquitoes that people were walking around in June in full sweatsuits with netted hats. We were here two nights and went through two entire bottles of bug spray. These things laugh at citronella candles and want you and your whole family dead and drained of blood. If you can hold them off, this park is well worth it. But don't come here thinking you'll just be an efficient swatter and get by.

The beach is lovely with a magnificent lake view. There's a light house at one end along with some large rocks that are apart of the Canadian shield.

Vault toilets were not clean and low on TP. Sites were not well maintained Ed- garbage in fire ring. Lots of mosquitoes.

Camped at site #31 in the Ridge Campground on Oct 16, 2023. Nice primitive campground in the state park. Wooded and open sites. Beautiful Fall color on birch trees. Spacing between sites is pretty good with limited privacy. Back-in dirt/gravel sites. Trash service. Clean vault toilet. Hand pump for water. Metal fire ring, table and lantern pole. The state park is beautiful with hiking trails & walks along Lake of the Woods. There is no direct access to hiking and the lake from this campground. Enjoyed camping here; would stay here again.

I'm primarily a hiker, and there were just very few hiking trails. I have a feeling. It's gorgeous in the fall with the turning of the colors, but the weather was poor cold, very windy. You couldn't do the hike on the beach, even because the waves were too high. So in rough weather, once you've done the hiking trails which took about 2 hours. You were kind of done there was nothing else to do. Even boating would have been questionable and probably not any fun at all. Last, I don't see anybody say it, but the signage was really poor coming into the park. You couldn't really tell which way to turn to get to your campsite. And as evidenced by everybody who drove past me trying to find their camp spot even though I was the only one in that campground I have a feeling others struggled as well. I might come back in the fall. I drove through town before I left. And there were a lot of ice fishing Jacksontown, so my guesses it's more of a winter spot. Or a boating spot than anything else. And last we did see a bear, it's remote. There were probably all of ten people camping there, So not surprising to see wildlife, but the just about walked up on the bear.