Best Campgrounds near Elmwood, WI

I stayed two nights in the campground and hiked many of the trails in this Minnesota State Park along the St. Croix River. The draw here is the potholes, but we will get to that.

My site was #24. It was tiny and my neighbors were right on top of me. Even in April the campground was mostly full. Do not pick a site inside the loop (the electrical hookup sites) if you want privacy. A few of the sites along the river have a real nice view and are slightly more secluded. The best site it #25. If there is a next time, I will shoot for that one.

The park is laid out kinda funky, but that is a product of it being on the river. Campground and Park Office are on the south end and the attraction is a 2.7 mile walk towards Taylor’s Falls along the highway to get to some very cool, unique scenery. You can drive it if so inclined. We did.

The draw here is the world’s largest glacial potholes. When the river ran 200’ higher than it does today, tornados of water eroded smooth round, massive holes in the rock. Some are so big that they still to this day have no idea how deep they go. Very cool to take the quick hike through the maze of small trails that show off these crazy formations.

So, the campground is cramped, it has lots of noise from the highway, sites are the smallest I have seen anywhere, but on balance the coolness of the rock formations and great views of the river still make this a park to consider.

Oh, and the Park Ranger Theresa is the best ranger I have ever met. She is part of a multigenerational heritage of MN Sate Park Rangers, and her family has a year-round residence in the park. She is so friendly, thoughtful, inviting and experienced. Extra star on this review just for Theresa!

We had a reservation on the North Shore, but switched it to Whitewater when we saw the ice and snowstorms in the forecast.

Our site was large and easy to back into, all sites have a picnic table and fire ring. We had no cell service at our site, but 2 bars plus WIFI outside the visitor center. A water spigot was there, too, since the water and bathhouse are off/closed for the winter season. Firewood is available for $8 per bundle, you can pay by QR code if you have enough service. Or you can grab wood and pay in person at the other end of the park - a small shop is there near picnic areas and trailheads.

The wood was small pieces of mill offcuts, but it burned better that we expected, enough to warm up and to cook. It started drizzling, so we didn’t sit out by an evening fire. We think our bundle was oak. In any case, it was good, dry hardwood. It exceeded our first disappointing impression.

We had great weather our first day and saw few other people on the trails. It got colder and rainy and most of the campers left.

Overall, this was a great spot to get away into the fresh air. We’ll be back another time for fishing.

I thought I was getting punked. I had the entire State Park to myself. It was super cool be eerie. Great hikes and the view from the top was worth it. Campsites in the campground are really close together, so when full, I imagine that is a downside. Didn’t matter to me, there were zero other campers.

General: There is a main campground and a bonus sites section; we stayed in the Main campground and this review is based on that. There are approximately 90 sites laid out in typical RV park fashion with the sites close together and no physical privacy between sites. 

Site Quality: Sites tend to be very long and could accommodate even large-size Class A rigs. The “driveways” are a mix of grass and gravel and were not very well defined. Each site has a picnic table on a concrete pad. Our site had water and electric hookups. Our challenge was that we arrived after dark, and the site numbers were posted at the back end of the sites, necessitating a sleuthing operation with my flashlight to find our site. Only a few sites had fire rings that I could see. 

Bathhouse: The women’s area had three “all-in-ones” with a toilet, sink, and shower. They were very clean with hooks, soap, and paper towels. The entire bathhouse appeared to be in a state of remodeling, and it wasn’t clear what was going to happen with the remainder of the space (plumbed but not completed when we were there). Did not use the shower so cannot comment on that. 

We arrived after dark and left the next morning but our stay on a Friday in August was quiet except for the loud trains running along the Mississippi. We heard two around 10 pm and either there were no more until the next morning, or we mercifully slept through them! This RV Park is located in the small town of Nelson and accessed through a residential neighborhood. Although not our preferred camp stay, we chose it since we knew we wanted to eat at Stone Barn Pizza (a must if you are in the area!) which is why we arrived after dark!

I just stayed here one night because I was passing through the area. It worked out really well. I entered the campground late in the day. It was almost dark. They had a QR code that I used to make a reservation on the spot. I had a great night there. There's a hiking trail that completely goes around the campground. So I was able to walk my dog on that. I'm not sure how it would have been to stay as a vacation Target spot. Probably pretty fine. But it certainly was great on the shoulder season for a stopover.

This campground is closed permanently

Lovely trails, the beach is a large area with a nice park and picnic area. The water itself is ok, lots of geese and algae. The falls are wonderful though. The bathrooms are fine. I could not find a garbage bin to save my life, not near the bathrooms or anywhere in campground 200 or by the park ranger post. If there were garbage cans dispersed throughout the campground, I would have given 5 stars. Especially along the trail to the waterfalls because there was garbage all along the trail unfortunately. Not the camps fault, but maybe people would be more responsible if garbage bins were placed along the route.

The east part of the park was all closed for construction. Everything on the east side of the highway was closed so we could not hike a lot of the trails or use the beach which was a challenge with kids. Constructing is scheduled to the end of 2025.

We stayed in a group site but there was no way 35 people could have camped in W3. Vaulted toilets need help and a good cleaning.

The shower house needed a cleaning as well. There is no adjusting the shower temperature. Push the button and you get what you get.

Wood was $8 bundle. This was steep in my opinion. They do not all any gathering of firewood.

If your vehicle permit is not properly displayed, you will receive a notice on your windshield and have to talk with the office.

The dumpster was overflowing the whole time we were there.

Raccoons will visit your site at night. We had everything secured but they still tried and plenty of racket until we chased them away.

Lastly we had a battle with mosquitoes. We went through a lot of bug spray and coils. Deer flies were thick around the water filling station.

Although we did not stay in the main campground the sites are very close in there and were small.

Very no frills camp site. Sites are decently sized, has some good views. It's missing a sculley.

Plenty of sites and hiking to do. Very cool area. The falls are awesome!

Campsites are very closely spaced together. I was thankful no one was placed near our campsite to give us more room. The permanent campsites are practically on top of one another. If you’re bringing the kids there is literally nothing to do there. They do have a play-set but that’s where it ends. I think this campground may be under new ownership and it may be nice to see what they do with it in a year or two. For now the picnic tables are run down. The parking pads are very unlevel. WiFi signal is weak at best. If you have Verizon don’t count on service. Antenna strength is weak. Also oddly spaced power hook up with sewer and water placements. Overall not a horrible experience but not a great one. Mostly like will not return.

Stayed here for our first camping of the season. It's a great park that has hiking, mountain bike trails, water features and good mix of electric and non electric sites.

Good pricing, great trails for all different skill levels and nice staff. Our site was mighty large and for the most part secluded from those near and on the path. $22 for the site, $8 for reservation. $8 for wood (all you can chop) and $7 for the overnight and next day parking pass for one car. Beautiful surroundings and clean bathrooms and grills one mile mostly uphill hike from parking lot but not to difficult and some paved parts. Definitely coming back.