Best Tent Camping near Spring Valley, MN

This is a rustic state park with limited amenities. There are no water or electric hook ups. However clean water is available in the park. The park does have flush toilets and showers. We found these to be in good condition and clean. The showers had warm water. The water stream is on a timer and so are the lights. The shower stalls are Individual stalls. The interior roads are dirt roads with a few potholes they are very narrow. The camping sites are nice sized and relatively private. There is a gravel pad on each site and some have a tent pad. Each site had a picnic table and a fire ring. There are plenty of walking and biking trails and there are walk-in tent camp sites. However, you cannot see the lake from the campground and there is no access to the lake from the campground. We were able to drive through the campground with our 40 foot fifth wheel. But just barely, be careful! 

All RV and ridiculously expensive for tent camping

Stayed here in a tent while on a bicycle camping trip and it was adequate. It is located in a city park within a couple minutes walk of the downtown area. The bike trail crosses the south end of downtown so close to that too. This would not be a good place to camp if you'd like to be out in nature

Biggest gripe is the slope of the tent sites. The majority of the tent sites are on an incline around a pond. There are also a lot of ducks that aren't very afraid of humans. None got into my gear though. There are fire rings at the tent sites. No picnic tables at the individual sites but there are some nearby in the park and there's also a covered picnic shelter. Hammocks would be difficult to impossible as the tent area is a strip of grass between pond and bluff, which has mostly brush or too whimpy of trees to hang from at the base. There are a couple huge oaks but none in pairs.

Quarter showers and clean restrooms are available. $20/night/tent which seemed a bit steep to me considering how slanted the sites were and quarter showers. It is cheaper than the other places within immediate biking distance which were $25/night.

Has very clean showers and toilets. Owl center at office. Tent sites only and not many. Must make reservations but typically not many people here camping.

A lot of electric sites. Tent sites further back in the campground through multiple water crossings (ok for cars). Campsites beautiful wooded sites in the bluffs. Definitely a campground to see!

I was there on a Monday and was the only tent around. Site 15 is the best for tent sites, it’s right at the delta of where two streams meet. It’s a quick bike ride to pulpit rock brewing and other parks.

Decorah is so beautiful. The river is right beside the tent sites. Hiking trails close by. Caves and water falls only a short drive away. Tubing, canoeing, and kayaking services behind camp grounds. Super affordable site rates. Shower house. Picnic tables and fire pits at each site.

A 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.

This is a great little park if you need a place to stop for the night. It was very inexpensive for tents ($10 I think) and the tent camping area was very nice with 3 giant pine trees and some picnic tables and fire rings. As someone who bicycle tours I appreciated fire wood being on site and close to where the tent area is. The bathrooms aren’t the best but they worked. Overall its a safe, clean, welcoming campground for both tents and RV’s.

This is a great campground with lots of shade and spacious tent pads! The large oak trees throughout the campground made for beautiful scenery and nice spots to string a hammock up. My site was right next to the bathroom building which did have a light on all night, but I had an eye mask so that didn’t bother me. $25/night for a tent site

We are new to tent camping and are fortunate to live a short drive away from Whitewater State Park. We have heard from our friends who go camping that this is a highly sought after destination and I can see why. Beautiful lookouts on trails, quiet camp sites (non electric sites are much more peaceful), and very nice amenities. The main shower/restroom area looks brand new and is very nice.

Most sites are for car camping or RV's. Tent site was nice and clean and a good size. Could have set up 2 tents with no problem. Not a ton of privacy from other campers. Showers/bathrooms available. Lots of hiking trails. Camp store was never open when I checked. Swimming beach was available, but there were geese (and their poop) everywhere. This state park is nice because there are NO mosquitoes. But beware, there are bears.

This is a convenient small campground next to a city park. The touristy shops and biking trails are within a few blocks of the campground. The RV campsites have water and electricity. We found the sites to be rather close together. The sites are first come first served (no reservations). There are also numerous tent sites, as this seems to be popular with the bicycling crowd. This really is a beautiful area of southeast MN.

I was disappointed with camping here. We stayed in a tent site, W##. We felt lucky with this because the W sites were more secluded and you didn't feel like you were on top of your camping neighbors. The bathrooms and showers here were very gross though. The hiking here had great views but trails were not labeled well. The Big Spring was also a great natural water feature to relax in after a hot hike!

Its nice to have a place this nice only 35 minutes from Rochester. Beautiful campground with great amenities available. The hike to the site is steep but worth it once you get up there. I stayed at the Talia bell tent site so I didn't have to bring much so it made the hike a lot easier. Short drive to White Water State Park. A lot of great trout fishing spots along the river. Very peaceful campground, great view of the stars on clear nights! Will definitely be back.

We tent camped here and loved it. We were able to do a lot of trail exploring and had a great time on the “scenic” cave tour. The trails were well maintained but difficult to understand in some places as signage was lacking.

There is a primitive loop with pit toilets, a tent loop with no electricity but access to showers and flush toilets, and a trailer loop with all accommodations.

There are great cold water trout streams that are shallow enough to wade in and play in if the weather is warmer. Hiking trails of varying skill levels but all in mostly wooded areas. Forestville townsite is closed during the week but you can wander around the outside of the buildings and site. No gates or posted restrictions.

From someone who typically prefers backpacking and sleeping in remote areas, this campground facility, pretty much in the city, is okay.

The facilities are nice, bathrooms were clean. What I didn't enjoy was how close each RV site is. The sparks from our fire were making their way to our neighbors site.

The campground is situated next to the Trout Run Trail, providing quick and easy access to the 11-mile loop or in to the city center of Decorah.

Overall, decent for a city campground, but very crowded. The tent sites near the river look more spaced out.

We tent camped at Myre-Big Island State Park in Minnesota from September 30 to October 3, 2022. The weather was warmer than usual at this time of year, and the fall color development was a couple weeks behind normal. It was cool but beautiful during the daytime (light jacket/sweater weather). The temperature dropped at night but didn’t require anything more than our sleeping bags to keep us warm. The earlier sunset meant meal cooking and cleanup needed to be a bit earlier, but it also meant longer time for beautiful campfires in the evenings.

The trails were in great shape and beautiful with past-peak grasses and developing colors in the trees. Most of the wildflowers were done for the year, but some were still in bloom. Deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and lots of birds were active near the trails and campgrounds.

We have camped here previously, in early summer. Then the bugs were abundant and aggressive on the Big Island trails. During this fall trip, there were very few.

Walking distance to downtown and easy access to Root River Trail. RV sites were close to each other with little privacy. Many tent sites around the perimeter. Short walk to bathhouse. Showers are not free, 4 quarters for 5 minutes. No laundry available. Campground is first come/first serve and doesn’t take reservations or online payment. Payment is made at adjacent city office.
Sites are gravel, fairly level. Water and electric available at rv sites.
Nice park nearby with stocked fishing pond. There is some noise due to the park being tucked into the city. Garbage and dump station free for campers. They ask for a donation for dumping if not camped there. Tight access at dump station might make it difficult for larger rigs. Strong Verizon signal.