Best Equestrian Camping near Virginia, MN

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Best Equestrian Sites Near Virginia, MN (4)


Recent Equestrian Reviews in Virginia

15 Reviews of 4 Virginia Campgrounds


  • Christine T.
    Camper-submitted photo from Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park
    Sep. 10, 2022

    Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

    It’s “Loony”!

    Nothing says Minnesota like the call of the Loon and that’s what greeted me upon arrival at my site! This site is lovely—water and easy to access to water sports on either Sturgeon or Side Lake. Some road noise but not too bad. I am imagine it’s much more hectic in the summer with the big beach across the road. Great for kids! Easy trails for walking and dog friendly. Can be buggy but that’s MN. For more rustic, head further up to Beatrice Lake Campground.

  • L
    Camper-submitted photo from Bass Lake
    Jun. 20, 2022

    Bass Lake

    Rustic Bliss

    We love camping here! Definitely not for campers or rvs. Perfect for tents, backpackers, and a couple sites are good for Rooftop tents. Vault toilets are clean. Lots of picnic tables and fire pits.

  • J
    Camper-submitted photo from Button Box Lake Campground and Day-Use Area
    Oct. 31, 2021

    Button Box Lake Campground and Day-Use Area

    A great little place to unplug for awhile …

    First off, and most appealing to me is the fact that there is no cell service. All 12 campsites are first come first serve and you can’t jump a line by going on a website to reserve a spot.  there are no water or electric hook ups but there are hand pumps for pumping water and you could bring a generator or not.
    Located north of Grand Rapids Minnesota about 60 miles or 35 miles from Nashwauk Minnesota which is the closest gas station, grocery store or post office. All the sites are back in no pull through sites, generally level however there’s a few that are on an angle

  • Jen A.
    Camper-submitted photo from Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park
    Aug. 28, 2019

    Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

    Great Campground

    We camped here in the fall and were the only people in the campground.  The office staff was very nice and we really enjoyed the fall colors in the park.  We didn't use the shower/bathroom facilities, but the outhouse worked just fine for our needs.

  • Janet R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Camper-submitted photo from Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park
    Jul. 28, 2018

    Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

    Off the beaten path at McCarthy Beach

    This state park that may be well known to locals for its stellar beach and day-use picnic grounds, but seems to be off the beaten path and a well kept secret as a family camping destination.

    I would give the beach area a five star rating, as the beach is on Sturgeon Lake which is incredibly beautiful (even on a cloudy weekend like when we were there), the beach is amazing with crystal clear water, shallow depths for kids and family swimming, great picnic spots all along the expansive shoreline, new beautiful bath house, and overall terrific accessibility for folks of all kinds, including families with young kids and folks with disabilities as there are great paved walkways and gentle access ramps everywhere. There is a public boat access onto the lake just south of the beach area on Sturgeon Lake, and also in the campground which is actually across the isthmus on adjacent Side Lake. It is worth camping here if you want a relaxing vacation with daily trips to the beach, or time out on the water of either lake for fishing and boating. There are canoe rentals avaialble if you dont have a craft of your own. There are also naturalist programs,and regular outdoor perfromances by local music ensembles too, so overall there is lots to do in a relaxing and fun outdoorsy location.

    I am giving the campground itself just a 4 star rating for a couple reasons. First, there is currently a water issue--testing has found contamination in the campground wells, so there isnt potable water and you have to get drinking water from other locations in the area. The campground also seems a bit cramped, with most sites placed very close together, so you dont get a real quiet secluded experience. An exception are some of the sites at the end of the loop, such as campsite 30, where the neighbors arent so close. Also, the Group campsite, which is located in between the beach and the boat access on Sturgeon Lake, is probably the best camping option in the park, with its own indoor shelter and tent sites for groups up to 40--for your best camping experience here in the park, get a group together and go for the group site!

  • C
    Camper-submitted photo from Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park
    Jun. 28, 2018

    Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

    Beautiful lakes, beach and campsites.

    Located just outside Hibbing and Chisholm, this campground is on Side Lake and Sturgeon Lake. If it is too windy on one lake, just walk across to the other one. Beautiful beach, with modern beach house and nice picnic area. The lake is shallow for quite a ways out so it’s great for water games and younger swimmers, as well as those who just just love floating around. The group campsite is beautiful. We have been Camping there now for over 10 years and it is still one of our favorite spots. Love listening to the loons at night and enjoying a campfire among the tall trees of the campground. This is also the best place that I have seen the northern lights.

  • Rich B.
    Camper-submitted photo from Bass Lake
    Mar. 19, 2018

    Bass Lake

    Not worth it.

    Used to be great about ten yrs ago, now it's changed and not for the better. Brought my family there for what was supposed to be a three day trip, we were there one night. Very loud camp neighbor's! RV campers who are drunk and loud, noisy generator's, camp spots are too tight together. Not worth the money or time!

  • Camp S.
    Camper-submitted photo from Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park
    Sep. 15, 2017

    Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park

    Stupendous camping.

    We really enjoyed this park. Electric loop was tight and some sites had minimal privacy. The non electric sites were much more private. All sites had nice shady trees. It's a very forested park. We really appreciated the new restroom facilities. 

    We had easy water access for our kayak off the campground loop. And it was easy enough to carry the kayak across to the other lake to explore out there. The beach on the big lake was very nice, clean and there were easily accessible "ends" of the beach to have a dog. The sandbar was expansive! 

    This was a great park for campers of all styles; very family friend - it was very busy with lots of kids. Trails can be reached from the campground but the hike to the trails would be a hike in itself for some. Trail heads seemed remote compared to other parks. 

    There were temporary problems with the drinking water on the whole campground - couldn't brush teeth with sink water, and had to go to the dump station to fill up from the one safe water spigot, but it wasn't anything that would keep us from coming back.



Frequently Asked Questions

  • Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Virginia, MN?

    According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Virginia, MN is Side Lake Campground — McCarthy Beach State Park with a 4.5-star rating from 12 reviews.

  • What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Virginia, MN?

    TheDyrt.com has all 4 equestrian camping locations near Virginia, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.