Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Spicer, MN

We stayed at the campground during the week, it was so relaxing and not a lot of campers out felt like we had the park to ourselves. Had a nice park area with playground, clear lake swimming area. We had a dog with so limited areas that pets can go. It was very enjoyable. Would recommend

We love camping here, reservations are easy, pet friendly, quiet area to relax!

We stayed here for a weekend in May. The campsites are a little bit on top of each other. There aren't many campsites that you're able to reserve. The majority of the campsites are seasonal campsites. There are a lot of mature trees that help with the shade! The beach area is nice, but the only problem is that boaters and kayaks are in the same general area so you have to be careful so you don't get hit. There is a dock for fishing as well. You can also rent boats, kayaks and paddleboards for a small fee. If you want to walk the whole campground having a golf cart would be nice. Also there is NO petting zoo as stated on the website or on the campground maps. There hasn't been one for a few years but they have yet to edit the website or the campground maps. We went there partly because there was a petting zoo for the little kids. Seems lazy to me that they can't update the website or the campground maps.

New owner as of 2022- huge jump in prices! Extra fees added everywhere-more than two children fee, guest fees, pet fees, river view fees, holiday fees. One year difference our bill went from $235 up to $347 for a 3 night stay.  Not worth it! Not family budget friendly for the average family. I could stay in a hotel for cheaper.

It’s a nice little campground to stay at. The paved spots are pretty square so not the easiest to back into. It’s nicely located near the lake with a nice little beach to spend time at. Dog friendly was a huge plus!

The campground was nice, but there were a few things that could be done to make it better. We were in a pull through at the north end of the campground and the site itself was nice and had decent spacing between sites, but I noticed some of the other sites were quite close. It was the worst wifi of about 15 campgrounds we've been to on our trip this year. They warned us it was slow, but we couldn't even connect to it from our site. They also had an unfenced dog walk area, but no dog poop bags around the entire park. Some of the staff drove around in an ATV pretty fast, but the staff working in the office were friendly. The laundry was clean, but the machines were pretty old.

Nice campground with lots of hiking trails that take you along the river and a few falls. Great family place with all of the animals they have to feed including buffalo, goats, elk, geese, and prairie dogs!

This campground has similar amenities to other state forests. We really enjoyed staying in the walk-in camp site. It gave us a lot of privacy for our dogs. The only complaint is it does tend to be a bit wet. There were hiking trails that we ended up turning around on because they got too swampy. The trails we were able to hike were beautiful.

Stayed here with a large group of family and had a site big enough for all of our rigs. We brought our own firepits due to the size of the site we had. I cannot remember if any are provided. There were some walking paths right behind our site, which was great for those of us with dogs! There is a playground, pool, volleyball area, basketball court, and shower/bath house. The owners are onsite and very friendly people. Road through the campground is dirt.

I had a love/hate with this campground. They have a great website with pics & details of each . It was super easy to use & reservations were a breeze. The site looked absolutely nothing like the pics ! They also mention water but this site had none. We found that out AFTER booking. But whatever, we had electricity & a full water tank. No sewer either. Price was reasonable. Well cared for site. Roomy. Clean picnic table. Fire ring, no grill grate. Garbage in the pit though, people suck. Not much for privacy between sites. We had site 28, it wasn’t bad . Much better than most ! We were kind of up on a hill above a very overpopulated part of the campground. We scoped our site 30 & would probably dig that if we were to return. We lucked out & had quiet neighbors next to us. Everyone else was out of control noisy. I won’t judge too harshly based of Labor Day weekend, but the crowd here lacked any common courtesy this time around. It was a bummer. Nice paved paths to Redwood Falls. Not much to see once you get there. Too many people. The river was nice but had murky grey water that had a very odd smell. The dogs couldn’t enjoy it. There was a bridge you cross to get to the paths but nowhere designated for pedestrians so you contend with cars. Cute swing bridge along the way though. There was a “zoo” - enclosures containing birds, bison, prairie dogs, goats etc. Maybe it would’ve been ok had parents not stood idly by whilst their children threw apples, over hand, at the poor animals & laughed. It all seemed far too stressful for these poor creatures. There was no one to be found in regards to any keeper. It was all pretty disturbing. People at the campground set off fireworks all day & night causing the peacocks to scream out. Yes you can hear it at the sites. I get this was a municipal park. And actually it was quite nice when everyone left and we were literally the only ones for 2 days. Camping in southwest MN was a new experience. I’d venture to say it would be nice to camp during a weekday. Be warned- there is NOTHING to do & the flies ( non biting houseflies) were abundant!! We had to buy fly strips!! All in all, we’d go back if we were just looking for a quick, closer getaway.

What a privilege it was to spend a night here! I had been out of town and away from home the previous week, and decided I would stop here on the long drive home in order to break up my trip. It wasnt just goid stopover, but a great retreat to restore body, mind and spirit. This listing for the Creekwood Cabin is a new listing on the“Hipcamp” website, which is like Airbnb for campgrounds, campsites, camper cabins, etc, that are located on private properties like farms and vineyards. The Theisens, Todd and Sarah, are the stewards of a beautiful farm focused on organic, sustainable and restorative land practices on acreage that is a mix of prairie, forest, wetlands, and rolling hills. They have free range cows, pigs and chickens who roam the farm freely and who are pretty happy campers themselves, it seems! The Theisens also have a traditional woodcraft and wood products business using sustainable harvest of hardwoods on their land, turning downed trees into planks for hardwood floors, wall panelling, countertops and other home woodwork for area homes. Currently in production when I was there were several outhouses to be uses at the campsites they are setting up in various wooded groves on their farm, and in the works are the production if several tiny homes that will serve as camper cabins on their farm. Any tree wood not used in their products is chipped and used as woods for the miles of walking trails they are setting up over hill and dale on the property, and for sawdust for their composting toilets for their guest facilities. As of yet, the tent campsites and tiny house camper cabins are still being constructed and are a“work in progress”, but given what I saw will be really wonderful when finished. I had the opportunity to stay in their recently opened Creek Wood Cabin, which is an amazing showcase of both their hospitality and their best woodwork artisanry. This cabin is set in a shady grove of mature trees on a hill overlooking a peaceful pond and marsh. I was serenaded all night by frogs and owls and more. The cabin is constructed with all local materials, including of course woodwork from their own trees. The cabin has a full working kitchen including microwave, stove, fridge and sink, so you can bring all you need for your own meal prep. There is one open bedroom with a comfy double bed on the main floor, and two more double beds in the sunny loft above. The sitting area is complete with two rocking chairs and a library of amazing books related to sustainable living, simplicity, camping, and various topics to restore the spirit. There are large sunny windows on all walls which makes the cabin sunny and cheerful and makes the interior woodwork glow with warmth. There is a wood stove and a well stocked wood box, but there is also electric baseboard heat. There is running water with an on-demand water heater, but the toilet is an efficient low impact composting toilet so be prepared to flush with sawdust instead if water when using the facilities! Next to the cabin is a heavenly sauna that is set up for either dry or steam saunas. I loved having a sauna before bedtime and sleeping soundly til the rooster crowed at sunrise. When I had arrived the night before, Todd took me out in his RTV to tour the whole farm to see all the animals and the farming and woodworking operations, and also showed me all the trails I could go on. So, when the rooster called me forth the next morning I knew just where to go for my morning walk. When I returned, I reD for a while and journaled for a while til Sarah showed up at the cabin door with a basket containing my piping hot breakfast complete with fresh scrambled eggs from their henhouse. After breakfast, I visited the cows and their calves in their peaceful meadow, including one calf who was pals with the Bernese mountain dogs of the farm and preferred to frolick with the dogs rather than the other calves! Then more resting, writing and relaxing in the cozy cabin before continuing in my way. I would have to recommend this cabin stay as one if the loveliest I have experienced, and I know I will be back for more! In summer, guests would enjoy being in the farm itself and learning all the Theisens can share able simple low impact living and sustainable farming and restorative land management. If staying here you could also visit like-minded facilities like the organic gardens or art studios of the nearby College of St Benedict, or the solar farm or Arboretum and restored prairie at nearby St Johns University. St Johns and St Bens also have myriad hiking trails and places for meditation both indoors and out. Guests of the cabin can easily access both campuses just minutes away by car or bike, with additional biking further afield on the nearby Lake Woebegone state bike trail. During the school year there are myriad cultural activities on both campuses that cabin guests could take advantage of, and a winter time stay would also be lovely with the chance for snowshoeing or cross country skiing on the farm itself or in the area, as well as the chance to just rest, read, write and restore in the peace and quiet and coziness if the cabin. It would be the kind of retreat that Thoreau himself would heartily recommend, but Thoreau never had it this good in his own cabin! Come check it out for yourself, or come for the tent camping or tiny house experience as soon as those options are ready!