Best Equestrian Camping near Waite Park, MN

During these COVID times everyone wants to get out and about more, which means that the main parking lot for the park that used to be mostly designated for horse trailer parking is now overrun with family vehicles. So as a result the Riverbend group equestrian campground is now the parking lot for day visitors through at least August. 

In normal times you can rent this group campsite for$70-$80 a night, which is ridiculously cheap considering that you can fit quite a bit of horse trailers on here. The information for this site states you can put 10 horse trailers on this lot, but I have definitely seen groups camp here with more. The barn stalls are available for use (unlike the Blue Stem horse site), otherwise there are overhead horse hitch lines. 

This campground is nicely maintained and has nice mature trees that a lot of people set up hammocks in. The vault toilet near the barn is nice, there are no showers. Be aware that the road into this group site only is wide enough for one vehicle at a time, so far I’ve been lucky to not encounter another vehicle as I’m entering or leaving.

This state park uniquely showcases an ecologic transition zone between hardwood forest, savannah, and prairie. There are also local history connections. As a bird watcher, I was very excited to see birds here that I dont usually see at home in northern Minnesota, and to learn a bit more about glaciation in this area and about prairie and savannah habitats. The park has self guided hikes, educational nature programs, and learning kits for birding and more that you can check out at the ranger station. The lakeshore is pretty, and the lakeside campground is green and leafy with mature trees but the campsites are very close together, and the beachfront and bath house are currently closed for renovation which puts a damper on waterfront activities. Away from the lake is another campground in the oak savanna section of the park, and this campground seems quieter with more spacious sites, although they are more open. The park’s camper cabins are located here and are in a very pretty setting tucked into a little hill, though a bit of a walk to the bathrooms and showerhouse. At both campgrounds there are nice ADA sites which are level, spacious and accessible, and also close to the bathrooms. I was at a conference in nearby Willmar, and this park is a good alternative for lodging if you need to be in the area. If you are really into learning more about prairies and local glacial geology, the nearby Prairie Environmental Learning Center is fantastic to visit, and lots of prairie pothole WMAs are also closeby for waterfowl watching

This is my all-time favorite park to bring my horse to, and it's her favorite trail too. Seriously, when we head back to our trailer she will stop and refuse to proceed. Do a 180 on the trail and she is happy to trot away from the trailer. Horse camping is available in two locations in the park, even though once when I was there a family was camping in the parking with their horses. Apparently they got the cops called on them by some other park patrons who didn't believe that this was an option. At the time it was marked as a camping location on the map, but that may have changed.

The best place to be bug-free happens to be the sandy prairie trails, the wooded areas are nice but you may want to hustle out of there if you don't have enough bug protection. For non-horse riders some parts of the trail out in the open prairie might be a bit sandy. Also important to note- bikes are NOT allowed on the trails. Absolutely gorgeous in the fall. Pit toilets are available and there is water available at the entrance off of Park drive, not sure about the other locations.

This campground is on a first come, first serve basis. There are no reservations for the regular sites (although I do think they might take reservations for the equestrian and group sites).

I highly recommend the walk-in-sites for the most private tent camping experience. The walk from the car isn’t far, but the sites are off the road and in the pines. If you like to have your car at your site, you’ll find some sites with nice long driveways that can accommodate multiple cars, or even a truck with a boat/trailer. The beach is nice and private, but it’s a bit of a hike from the campsites. I’d recommend just hopping in the car and driving over if you’ve got young kids with you.

There is no store or firewood sold at the campground, so you’ll have to haul your own in from an approved vendor.

The park

Disclaimer: I did not actually camp here. There are two group campsites that are available, but considering that my friends aren’t big campers I wasn’t willing to pay $85 a night for a campsite (and I’m pretty sure these get booked up quickly on the weekends). I’ll talk more about the two group sites later. 

I really liked this park, it felt like there was something available for everyone. When I first pulled in I checked out the single track trail area first and the parking lot was full of mountain bikers. This newly developed trail is 13.25 miles long, so a nice option close to the city for those who are inclined to adventurous biking. Different loops are available for varying skill levels. 

There are two water access points- one for Lake Rebecca and one for the nearby Crow River. There are also boat rentals available, I’ll attach a pic of this season’s current rates.  There are also two fishing docks located not too far from the main beach area. I didn’t get in the water so I have no idea how clean it is, but there were many happy swimmers. Keep in mind that there are no lifeguards on duty.

In addition to the single track unpaved trail there is also a horse trail and a paved trail that looks in good condition- I’m hoping to bring my horse to check out the former and my roller blades to check out the latter. This park has always been relatively nearby to where I have lived, but I have never actually been before my visit this weekend since other horse riders have always had cautionary tales about how bad the bugs are here. I am not sure how they are on the horse trails, but I set up my hammock in a wooded area and I didn’t think that the amount of mosquitos that approached me was anything note-worthy. 

I haven’t been to the group campsites yet to scope them out, someday soon hopefully, but these are the descriptions that I was able to track down online. My one gripe about the Three Rivers park district is that finding information about the campgrounds isn't as straight forward as it should be.

Sarah Creek group campsite can accommodate 80 people and it has a barn and hitching posts. The amount of horses that it can support is unknown. There is a volleyball net, grill, fire ring, water pump and latrines (so I’m guessing rustic).

The South group campsite seems to be geared more towards mountain bikers since it has a garage-esque structure that I’m guessing you would store your bikes in. It can accommodate 50 people, has a grill, water pump latrines, fire ring, and horseshoe pit. 

Weeknights are $70 and weekends/holidays are $85. This seems like a huge steal considering how many people these sites can accommodate!!!

Product Review

As a Dyrt ranger, I received a gift card to REI for participating in a recent campground review contest. I recently became obsessed with hammocks, and thanks to a BOGO from Trek Light I now have two. One of the hammocks I received was part of a bundle and came with ropes already, but the other didn’t. Before I bought a second pair of the same ropes I decided I wanted to see how well they worked before I spent another $20 on just basic ropes that aren’t terribly long. 

I purchased a set of ENO Atlas hammock straps for $29.95 and they are well worth the $10 price difference. The ENO straps are 9 feet long each and together can hold up to 400 pounds. Instead of fiddling with tying knots and retying them to get the perfect adjustment, I can just move the hook on my hammock between the pre-stitched rings as necessary.  The extra length and the quick adjustments are greatly appreciated by someone who is still new to hammocks and isn’t great at eyeballing things. ENO does have a set of longer straps that are each 13.5 feet long, but I figure that if I find myself in a situation where the trees are too far apart for these straps I can just attach my ropes to the Eno straps and take advantage of the double capacity feature of my hammock. So Far I’m really impressed with how easy these are to loop around the trees and adjust the tension of my hammock.

Stayed in Petaga (drive in) spot #52. The spots were pretty private - the surrounding campsites were definitely visible through the trees, but there was plenty of distance so you weren't overhearing everyone's conversations or anything. The site was very roomy! It was a short walk to the bathrooms, water was nearby. The paths to the overlooks on the Rum River were close as well. The inner campsites are RV hookup sites, and the sound definitely carried when someone came later at night to set up their RV. We lucked out with great weather, and bugs were not bad (some mosquitoes but not overwhelming). Campsites have easy access to the trails that connect to the west interpretive center. Some things were closed due to COVID (including the fire tower), but bathrooms were open. No boat rentals right now either, but the river looked like a great, calm spot to kayak.

I've been camping here since I was a little kid. My family used to host large family camping trips here. Lots of close camp sites for larger groups near the entrance. The further back you go on the road, the more spread out sites get. There are a few walk-in sites that I absolutely love. Show up early on weekends if you want one of the better spots. Pluses: The trails are a lot of fun.. lots to see. The outhouses are kept up well and pump water road side. Minuses: People leave their camps a mess a lot of the time. I usually spend the first hour cleaning up. TONS of poison ivy. Sand fleas.

I still get up once a year, early summer.