Best Dog-Friendly Camping near St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

This is a state park on the Wisconsin side of the St Croix River, which is mirrored by a comparable but smaller state park in Minnesota on the wrst side of the river, both being part of the wild and scenic St Croix National Waterway. Although the campsites themselves are pretty run of the mill, the setting is spectacular in terms of breathtaking scenery, and myriad outdoor activities from rock climbing in the river gorge, paddling the river, hiking miles of trails, and learning geology at the Ice Age geology visitors center. If you are tenting camping, the south loop is great, and if you pick campsite 65 or 67 you will have direct access to the river which is peaceful and good for paddle opportunities. There are picnic areas with swimming along the river which is nice for group gatherings, and one is designated for folks with pets. Some of the rugged hiking trails along the bluffs and cliffs go right along the edge with minimal guard rails or walls, so keep a close eye on kids and pets because going over the edge is a possibility so utmost caution is advised.

This this is an amazing Campground for the family it's a wonderful County Park with really cheap sites ranging from $15 for just water hookups to $18 for a site with electric and water they have bath houses by the campsites with flushing toilets and hot showers the Rangers are extremely friendly and always willing to deliver wood to your site further down the campground they have a community stage with local bands playing all throughout the summer some events free some a minor charge most of the time you can sit right at your site and listen to the band if you forgot some food take a nice hike through the woods to the grocery store along with easy access for the lake which is beautiful! For swimming watersports and fishing with an amazing Sandy Beach and an ice cream shop just across the highway in walking distance there's no better place to bring the family also pet friendly

We booked our stay at the RV Resort so we wouldn't have to drive two and a half hours back and forth during the two day Grand RockTember Music Festival. *Please note when there's an event, book early!! This RV Resort has 271 RV/Camping full hook up sites that include a picnic table and fire pit. The sites are very close together with little to no privacy, but it did a fine job as we were there for the concert. Guest Services were super friendly when we checked in, and they give you a pass card to enter & exit the Resort. There is 24 hour security, and shuttle bus service to the casino, although we enjoyed the 1/2 mile walk to the amphitheater. All the sites are back in only, and are a tight squeeze for bigger rigs. They enforced the quite hours well, and we got a good nights sleep. There's a heated outdoor pool, and small convince store in the guest services building. They have a pet walking area, and kennels if you want to spend time at the casino. The bathhouse offered private toilet stalls and showers, and we squeaky clean!!! If you like to golf, don't miss the 18 hole Grand National Golf Course next door. We enjoyed our stay, and will be back again.

We had a terrible experience last year trying to camp here, BUT it’s not the campgrounds fault!

Unfortunately we chose the peak of mosquitos season and camping next to slow moving water is a recipe for disaster. It was also a very hot weekend. We showed up and set up camp and within the first hour our dog was clearly stressed by all the bugs. He ended up hiding in the car and soon after his face swelled up and he got very sick. Within 3 hours of showing up we had to pack up and head home to get him safe and comfortable. Do not fret, our boy was okay and thankfully the family across from us (in an RV) has Benadryl for their dog they gave to us. We don’t travel or camp without proper bug spray and meds for our dog now so lessons were learned.

Long story short we would love to come back when the bugs aren’t as bad!

We went for the first time over Labor Day 2021. It was very clean, quite. Exactly what the Dr. Ordered!!!!! The folks next to us were very sweet. And we got curbside wood delivery. We just asked the kids who brought it the front if they would drop it off. Can’t wait to go back. No Tv, internet just peace and quiet and great neighbors! For the 1st time doing a full hook up, it was great!!!! Even the dogs had a great time.

Great trails! Most sites are located along the river. We were at the furthest location called buck hill. About a 2 mile hike from your car. They did give us the option to temporarily park on the hwy to drop our stuff off (yes it's totally cheating but if you were given the option wouldn't you take it?) Then go back and walk it without all of our gear. They allow dogs with us a plus for us. The grounds were all kept very well! Definitely would recommend this location. Only down side is that you are near the hwy and can hear all the cars driving by.

This was a one night stop over on the way to Grand Portage and Isle Royale. It is a nicely maintained campground with lots of open space and nicely constructed rustic bath houses. Apparently, the bath houses are under renovation. The loop I was in had one of the new bathrooms and it was impressive….definitely an A rating. The site spacing is good but not a lot of landscaping for privacy. The mosquitoes were voracious! That has been my experience throughout MN. 

We also experienced the most intense and violent thunderstorm of my life. One lightning strike hit within 100 yards of our site. All of the campers were talking about it in the morning. My poor dog was a basket case and could not even eat her dinner. Their reservation system could not find St. Croix without the period.

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.

I booked this campsite last minute for the weekend because my other campsite was booked. The park had great reviews and looked like a nice area of the state to visit. As you drive to the campground area, you pass signs that state Snake Research Area. I have a fear of snakes, but never thought this would impact my visit. I came across two very large snakes (apx. 4ft long and maybe longer) in the road, having to wait for them to slither across the road. Once I got to my campsite, I was walking with my dog along the perimeter of the campsite and came across multiple snakes of this same size right on the edge of my site! I have been camping many times in many different areas, but this was something that I have never experienced before. I think there should be some sort of disclosure on the state parks' website that snakes of this size are around the campgrounds.

This is Minnesota’s largest state park and has over 200 camp sites. But where we were, we were secluded from most people. Not from the mosquitos. You had to defend against them. But clean park. Would go back for sure.

was In the area looking up campgrounds and found the fairgrounds had hookups for $25 a night,, pretty good deal, the campgrounds in Minnesota are HIGH

This campsite is about an hour away from where I live. The listing here on The Dyrt seemed promising, and I hoped that by getting out there early I would find a nice spot. I first went to the National Park Service Scenic Riverway Visitor Center in St. Croix Falls to obtain a permit and learned that I don't need one for Sandrock Cliffs, I was already there so I got one anyway. About 40 minutes later I arrived at Sandrock Cliffs. The campsites all have a fire ring and are decently spaced apart, but most of the sites were full of trash and broken tent poles. There was a large group of kids that arrived by canoe/kayak just after I did. Soon the parking lot was also full of cars of some shady looking people who appeared to be looking for a spot to party. The kids seemed to have deterred these people from staying. I set up my camp and started to read a book. The kids began running through my campsite and upset my dog. After 3 times of them running through my campsite I just packed up and went home. Since this spot is accessible by road I'm assuming that its best not to visit in the summer, it seems to be a place that gets abused by the locals as a party area. I may consider visiting again in the fall when it is hopefully less busy.

We stayed in campsite 29 in the drive in campsite over Labor Day weekend. The park was great - lots of hiking options, very clean (including the bathrooms), available water, right along the river. #29 definitely wouldn't be my first pick, but we booked late and it was one of the two left. No pad, which was fine (some of the sites do have pads, though). You could easily fit two tents in the site - it was a nice big area and looked kind of empty with just our one tent! The site isn't particularly private, since it was in the center of the loop, and if anyone ends up in the campsite behind you (#33), you're really pretty close - we lucked out and no one showed up until we were leaving. On the other hand, if people wanted to double camp, those two sites would be great together! It was a busy weekend, but people seemed to be pretty quiet after 10 pm. #30 looked like an awesome site and probably had the most privacy of the B lane. The restrooms were between A and B lanes (walkway between #24 & #26, #26 was pretty exposed to people walking back and forth) and was pretty busy - and not many people following the mask rule for the park. The campsites in general were pretty busy (Labor Day weekend probably contributed to that), there are a lot of sites, and it's close-ish to the cities, so if you're really looking to get away from people this probably isn't the ideal park. Lots of dogs, too. But, the sites were right next to the hiking paths and the park has a ton to see. We had a good time! We hiked past the Spring Creek campsite area and it looked really great, if you want to carry your stuff in.

The mosquitos were terrible due to all the rain and there was a threat of bears in campsites to eat food while they humans cooking it. Yes this is all part of nature and so are snakes, but do not go here if you fear snakes. This part is a research area for snakes in Minnesota.. which I wasn't aware of and am terrified of snakes. Probably will try camping and visiting in the winter when 2/3 of these will be minimized greatly. That aside, it was a great quiet park on the river.