We all love roasting marshmallows over a campfire—and you can often still do that while cabin camping in Spring Valley. Find the best cabin camping near Spring Valley. From secluded to easy-to-reach, these Wisconsin cabin rentals are perfect for any adventurer.
Located on the St. Croix River, just 20 miles east of Saint Paul, Afton State Park is great for those looking for camping near Minneapolis and is 1600 acres of rolling prairies, oak woodlands, and limestone river canyons amid an ancient glacial landscape. The land for the park was acquired in 1967, but it took almost 15 years of planning revisions and compromises with local residents before the park finally opened in 1982. Little development has gone into Afton State Park in an effort to maintain its natural characteristics, and former farmland atop the bluffs are continuously being restored to their original state. This makes Afton an ideal destination for campers looking to experience the outdoors in a wilder setting.
Load up your backpack with all you’ll need for your stay, as camping at Afton State Park requires a hearty, 0.75-mile hike in from the parking area. The year-round campground offers 27 rustic sites with picnic tables and fire pits, with options for pitching your tent in either open or wooded areas. There is drinking water, a vault toilet and firewood is supplied within the camp area. There is also three boat-in campsites, and two group campsites that can accommodate up to 60 people each. If you’d rather not rough it, the park also offers four camping cabins and two yurts, some of which are wheelchair accessible. There are also several picnic areas and restrooms within the park. Campsite rates range from $15–$23/night; cabins range from $55–$70/night, and yurts $50–$65/night.
When you’re ready to explore, start at the park’s Nature Store where you can pick up information about the park’s flora and fauna, or join a nature walk. Then choose from more than 20 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails, as well as a short barrier-free path. If you’re visiting in winter, many of these trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Bring your GPS and go on a geocaching treasure hunt, or bring your binoculars and go on safari for a variety of migratory birds, waterfowl, and wildlife, including deer, foxes and badgers. And little ones will love becoming Junior Park Naturalists and learning about bugs, birds, plants and other critters. If you’re looking for a real outdoor adventure, Afton State Park has what you’re looking for.
$16 - $250 / night
Tent only campground.
$22 - $132 / night
$20 - $75 / night
River's Edge Apple River Campground- in Somerset, Wisconsin- has been the go-to campground, river tubing and event resort since the early 1960's! Whether you're kicking back in nature, cooking smores by the campfire, tubing or tanking down the Apple River, flying down the waterslides, doing cannon balls in the swimming pool, dancing to late night tunes or chillin' at the Drive-In Movies... River's Edge Apple River Campground has it ALL!
Please note that campsites in F Loop are for tents only and campsites in E Loop can accommodate tents or pop up trailers. Trailers must be less that 2500 pounds dry weight and less than 20 ft in travel length.
The campground offers 80 secluded and shaded sites, ranging from rustic to modern with water and electrical hookups. There is one group site that can accommodate up to 60 people, using tents, with water and electricity hook-ups. The campground also offers 2 camper cabins.
Only 25 minutes from Minneapolis / St. Paul. Biking, fishing, boating, golf, and swimming are just a few of the many activities you will find within the park. Nature programs are held regularly at the campground amphitheater and at nearby Wargo Nature Center (one mile north of the campground). You can also get in a quick round of golf at Chomonix Golf Course, located just a mile down the road. (Long term camping is not permitted. Reservations are allowed for up to 7 consecutive nights and cannot exceed 7 reserved nights in a 30 day period.)
$20 - $32 / night
Legend
Super simple camping cabins. They each have 4 spots and have contactless entry as you get sent a code to use. There is no cooking inside the cabin so you have to use the fire ring outside. Shower facilities are really nice and match the cabins. Plan ahead as these are hard to come by.
Scout
This is one of my favorite campgrounds in Southern Minnesota! It is only 1 1/2 hours away from the TwinCities which makes it an ideal getaway. The campsites are wooded and have enough distance between them that noise is minimal. I especially love the view of Lake Pepin and the nice little swimming beach. On our last stay, we were able to watch eagles from our campsite, which was amazing. They have recently added 3 small cabins to rent which would be a nice alternative to tent camping. If you do plan a camping trip to Hok-Si-La and you're driving in from the Twin Cities, be sure to take Wisconsin Highway 35 through Maiden Rock, Stockholm, Pepin, and other small towns. You can loop back into Minnesota through Wabasha. This adds about an extra half hour to your drive but it is definitely worth it!
GuideEach cabin has four sleeping spots: 2 bunk beds, and the 2 couches convert to beds. There's a heater inside, but no AC, which makes these the most suitable during the spring and fall.
There is a fire ring outside of each cabin, along with a table. No cooking is allowed inside the cabins, which can make things rough if the weather isn't cooperating.
We enjoy hiking around the trails, but we primarily go to decompress, lounge around, and play games, read, etc. There's WiFi available, but depending on which cabin you reserve signal will be took weak for real usage. Same for mobile data -- don't plan on cell service here.
The bathroom facilities are nice. Outside water is shut off during some parts of the year, so bring your own drinking water if you are camping close to/during winter.
Cabins are accessible for those who need special assistance, which is nice. The only caveat is I don't recall there being an automatic door opener to the cabins.
While the cabins are close together, noise is not a factor once you're inside.
It's difficult to get reservations, so I recommend trying to start booking 120 days in advance, which is the farthest out you can reserve. For example, as of this review (early June), all weekends are booked for all cabins.
Guide
Camper Cabin (Eastern Bluebird)🏡🐦
Perfect little cabin nestled in the southern half of the park! Screened in porch, heated with electricity, and two double bunk beds!
Guide
We camped at William O’Brien State Park November 1-4, 2022. We were taking advantage of some unseasonably warm days, and we are so glad we did. This park is beautiful! The trails are well kept and cover woodlands, grasslands, and wetlands. There is a huge beaver lodge that can be seen from one of the trails, and we saw a smaller one from a different trail. We saw an abundance birds while we were there.
We stayed in a camper cabin (‘Vasa’) and enjoyed it. The cabins are one room plus an enclosed porch. Furnishings are bunk beds and a table with benches. The cabin was heated and had electricity. You cannot cook indoors. There is a fire pit and picnic table outside. There are three cabins on a little cul de sac by the Savanna campground. There are two vault toilets near the cabins. The water source was off for the season, but water was available at the park office.
LegendThe cabins in the woods are great in winter with snow on the pine trees. I would probably prefer the prairie cabins in the summer, especially with mosquitoes. The prairie cabins have significantly less privacy though with trails on either side that have good views into the heavily windowed cabins.
The cabins are well-built and heated. The wooded cabins have what seems like full-sized mattress bunk beds built into the wall. Each bunk has its own reading light. The storage in this place is amazing. Storage under the bed, one counter with ample storage under it, and even the windows are so deep that I was able to store most of my food on the sill.
The biggest downside is the middle-of-the-night trek to the bathroom. The bathroom is heated and open year round. There are two year round showers as well, but don’t plan on a long shower to unwind unless you like cold water. There was maybe 2 minutes of hot water. Basically enough to wash your body quickly, it was easy enough to avoid getting my hair wet. The shower room is also set to a cool 58 degrees in the winter. I do suspect that the floors are slightly heated though. You will need to dart across to the bathroom to blow dry your hair if you’re washing it in the winter.
You can use a slow cooker and a coffee pot in the cabin. Otherwise you can cook over the fire as well. They have potable water in the bathroom for washing your dishes in the cabin with.
Close enough to town if you need something, far enough away for peace and quiet.
RangerSuper nice area very scenic great bathroom facilities. Cabins are nice and have great woods and trails around them.
TravelerI stayed in the Copas cabin and had a great time! campsite was private and lots of hiking trails. River and lake access as well for fishing, boating and kayaking.
Scout
We have stayed in cabins and in our trailer. The pontoons they offer for rent are beautiful!! The lake is nice. Good luck catching fish though. Bill the manager is a great guy! Definitely ex military veteran!
TravelerWe O'Brian has some of the best groomed trails that I have been on. With many miles of hiking and a few backpack sites, this is a great family location near Scandia Minnesota to bring a family with budding new excited campers. Great amenities, toilets and even camper cabins.
RangerI visited William O'Brien in the middle of February with two college roommates. As you can imagine, this meant snow was everywhere in the heart of winter in Minnesota. We decided to take a night trek through the park. The moon was very bright that night so visibility was excellent. We walked some trail through a frozen marsh landscape and happened upon a railroad that passed above our trail with a beautiful tunnel-overpass. We walked along the tracks after that in the brisk air and had a few run ins with white tail deer further in the brush.
The cabin we stayed in felt very welcoming. Unknown at the time I booked it, the cabin offered Wi-Fi access that ended up not working for us anyway, so that at least allowed for a bit more of a rustic experience in the end. I plan on going back to experience the park with more time on my hands in the future.
Guide
This is a really nice campground. The camper cabins are really nice. They have two rooms, a sleeping room and a front room. The sleeping room has 2 bunk beds (4 beds.) The front room has a mini fridge, coffeemaker, toaster, microwave, and a futon. The firepits are well taken care of. It is usually empty when you arrive. There is no.swim beach. The trails and playgrounds are really nice. The bathrooms are heated. The showers are pay showers.
Travelermust be a vet or sponsored by one. I’ve been going here for years. They have a small bar, small trail, fishing dock, swimming beach, boat dock, boat rental, kayak rental, golf cart rental, game room, parks, showers and bathrooms, pavilion.
GuideSuch a quaint town and park!
We spent one night here and booked it for our wedding venue as well! The lake view was spectacular and the park manager, Joanne was so humble! Joanne lives on the grounds so it made for easy access to any answers we needed while camping. We were looking for an outdoor space surrounded by tall trees for our 2020 ceremony and this site hit the sweet spot! There are a number of grassy campsites as well as dirt sites. Bunk cabins are available as well! We stayed right on the edge of the lake and absolutely loved it. So serene!🙌🏾May is the perfect time to go if you’re looking for some peace and quiet away from other campers. This campsite also doesn’t allow cars or generators on any of the camping spots, so be sure to keep that in mind!
Can’t wait to go back!
GuideWe stayed on one of the group sites, G6 on the Tour De Pepin weekend. The campground was very full that weekend but the group sites are spacious and well spaced out, (if you can I would recommend G4 or G5 right on the lake for group sites) you definitely don't feel like you are on top of each other or another group. Near the group sites there is also a set of vault toilets.
The campground is very green and luscious, full of beautiful trees, plants and wildlife, we heard bullfrogs, owls, woodpeckers and more (there are also train tracks near by so a couple trains too). This campground is a tent only campground with a couple cabins as well, which adds to it's secluded feel.
There is great lake access for swimming and a shower houses (bring your quarters though, showers cost 50 cents for 3 minutes). The only down side is that you cannot leave any cars near your campsite, you can drive in to drop off or pick up your gear but otherwise vehicles are parked in the main parking lot outside of the gate, which is not a big deal but from the group sites it is a trek to the lot and to the beach.
I would definitely stay here again, the lake is incredible.
LegendFor whatever reason I always thought of William O’brien as more of a day trip park, but it actually has really nice campgrounds! There is the Riverway campground, which is more shaded and conveniently located next to the river trail(not paved, but flat and lots of people with strollers). I would avoid booking at this site if it has been a wet season, on a previous day visit the river trail was completely underwater so I’m assuming that several sites were as well.
If you book at the savanna campground you don’t have to worry so much about an overflowing river! This is also where the small rentable cabins are, and staying in one of them is definitely something I am interested in doing. This is also the campground that seemed to have an overwhelming amount of jumbo RVs since the pull-ins are pretty straight- especially the 79-96 loop. So be aware of that if you are a tent camper looking for peace and quiet and not generators. The last two loops are definitely the nicest as far as tent site quality- they are also non-electric so you don’t need to worry about RV noise.
I can’t speak on the bathrooms since the campground has portapotties set up.
Great sites at Riverway: 1, 5, 9, 13, 47, 49, 50, 53, 59
Great sites at Savanna: 82, 108, 114, 117, 118, 123, 125,
TravelerOneils has it all. A great destination place to spend time especially with kids. There is a creek flowing through it to tube , swim and even kayak. Rentals available. Great place areas they have movies in the summer.truly have i t all. Very clean and friendly. Any type of camping is available.
TravelerLess than an hour drive from Minneapolis this is a good get away. As expected it has many walk trails. Highlight of this location is beach which is nice for swim and sun bath. But beach isn't motor vehicle accessible so expect 5-10 min walk. Campgrounds are nearby beach and require further walk.
ScoutWe stayed one with ones day notice after Labor Day. The site was waterfront and one hr prior to arriving experienced a mechanical problem with our tow vehicle. We made it to the campground. They were extremely helpful so much so that we were able to diagnose and resolve the issue on site with tools on hand. The restrooms were spotless. It appears many of the sites are season rentals.
Scout
Being from Alberta my campground standards are high but I also prefer a neat and simple campsite. When Rice Creek Campground opens up again in April I'd highly recommend going there if all you want is a simple camping experience to get away from the city grind. I had my tent, fire and books to read and was the happiest camper in the world. I went there no joke because my driver from tow truck red deer recommended it and I stopped while in the area. So glad I did!
LegendThe tent area in William O'Brien State Park has access to water and bathrooms. Canoe rentals are available for the family or bring your own!
The trail on the lower section of the park follows the river and Lake Alice. Along the way you’ll pass a huge boulder that looks very out of place, it was actually left from the ice age. It is a relatively flat trail that is about 2 miles. If it hot, stay on the lower end of the park as it is mostly shady. The stop section of the park also has many hiking options and is very hilly and sunny.
Guide
We took a 30 minute drive north of the cities for a quick get away, and were rewarded with a very nice campground!
The check in staff was friendly, helpful and efficient. She gave us the info we needed for wood and other campgrounds in the area.
Our site was clear, flat and grassy, and had an established fire pit. Other loops had grills and hook ups for pop-up campers and RVs.
There is a gorgeous beach area with tables, a pavilion, changing rooms and a well equipped playground.
We walked a portion of the trails towards the golf course, on a paved path under a green canopy.
Plenty of bugs, so bring your spray!
GuideOverall we really enjoyed our stay. Hiking club trail was over five miles of various landscapes from marshland to lakes to prairies. Trails were very wide making it perfect for trekking with someone else. Beach on property as well as canoe/kayak rentals. As for the campground, our site was spacious and worked great. My only complaint is that the sites are all very close to one another with very little foliage diving the sites. Our neighbors were extremely loud and were pretty rowdy all evening. Playing music and having guests come and go. Past 10pm they were still not very considerate of those around them. With the sites being so close together and not very private, we could pretty much hear every word they said all night. We camp/hike to relax and enjoy the outdoors so it becomes hard to do that when others are so loud. We would go back given its convenient proximity to the metro but we would hope for a quieter stay!
Legend2/22/20-2/23/20. BP11
Less than an hour from the cities, this is a perfect little camping getaway. If you are looking for a nice backpacking experience, Afton has this and more. We pulled a sled and hiked 1.4 miles to our campsite. The hike was very challenging and uphill. The campsites are nicely spaced and diverse. Some are more wooded and others in the open prairie. We selected campsite 11 as it had some nice trees and was down a ridge, very private. There is a vault toilet, solar well water (year-round) and a wood pile available right at the campground (pay later) - these amenities were closest to campsite 10 and 11.
The state park is gorgeous. There are rolling hills throughout and some of the hikes can be deemed as “difficult”. We opted to get off the beaten trail and snowshoed in the woods, following deer tracks. This is one nice thing about winter hikes as you are allowed to leave the trail. We went up and down ravines and got in a beautiful hike and workout. They offer xcountry skiing, snowshoeing and hiking in the winter. We hiked 19 miles in 2 days.
We camped here 2 years ago in the spring and really enjoyed campsite 1 and 2. They are wooded and private. Campsite 2 has a few great hammock spots. We snowshoed around and really enjoyed campsite 18 as well, as it overlooks the river. They also have a beach and swimming in the summer on the St Croix. Afton really has it all. I HIGHLY recommend this state park.
Scout
Very large, very level sights. Excellent, clean, roomy restroom/shower. Friendly check in. Lots to do in the area. Short drive to Stockholm and Pepin Wisconsin.
Scout
I am writing to you in regards to our recent stay at Big Rock Creek on the weekend of October 4-6 at the Lakeview Family Tent. I am not normally one to write reviews or give feedback, but we were very disappointed with our stay at Big Rock. We spent over$700 for lackluster amenities and customer service. I want to say that your grounds are beautiful and a great idea for a family stay. However, your website is quite deceiving. There was no mention on the website or anywhere in the booking paperwork that the bathroom facilities provided were a porta potty. Paying the amount of money we did- we expected a more permanent, clean bathroom facility with running water. It wasn’t until we arrived that we were informed that it would be a porta potty we would be using all weekend. We made the trek up to the barn to use the bathroom there and to be able to wash out hands only to find the floor to be covered in mud and no paper towels or toilet paper. As far as the firewood, again if we are paying over$700 for a weekend the firewood should be included in the cost of the tent rental. Having to pay extra for pretty much everything on your grounds(including firewood) was ridiculous and we decided to just forgo any extra activities due to the expensive price. We went for a relaxing family weekend, getting to see the Christmas lights everywhere at night was nice- however it was loud and intrusive during the day. The entire evening on Friday and the entire day on Saturday there was a crew of men working right outside our ten with a lift hanging lights. We were parked on the side of the tent and they were right next to our car. Listening to the lift going up and down all day along with the ATVs driving back and forth in front of the tent causing dust to fly up each time was not exactly relaxing. We felt this was quite rude honestly. I am not sure why this work needed to be done during the weekend when you had guests using the tent. We ended up leaving for the last part of the day because of the noise right next to the tent and the constant traffic of workers coming and going. I understand a cleaning charge as you have to wash linens, etc. But to be quite honest, the tent was not exactly clean when we arrived. There were stains all over the couch, leaves and pine needles all over the flooring inside the tent, it appeared it hadn’t been swept or cleaned. The coffee maker had built up grime and grounds left in it. There were no garbage bags to use in the bins. It wasn’t exactly clean and presentable. Overall, our stay was quite disappointing. Up at the Barn, there really wasn’t much to see or do, using a porta potty all weekend was disgusting, and the crew right next to the tent all weekend was noisy and intrusive. This short weekend stay was not worth the money we spent. We really looked forward to our stay there and it was nothing as portrayed on your website.
Guide
A great location along the St. Croix River, easily accessible from the Twin Cities or from West-Central Wisconsin. The sites offer some privacy with most being laid out to benefit RV's and only a few tent-only sites.
This is a great park if you have a boat of any kind as you can launch from within the park in order to enjoy time on the St. Croix River. We spent time both on the river and on the hiking trails within the park.
Many families come here for day trips as well since it was once a corporate retreat and, as such has open (lightly tree-covered grassland) with picnic tables. Once the day-use people leave, it is a pretty quiet campground with most of the campers having younger children. You might encounter some groups who come to spend a day on the water before returning to the campground later at night, but most campers are respectful of others and it's rarely very noisy.
Experience the charm of cabin camping near Spring Valley, Wisconsin, where nature meets comfort in a variety of scenic locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Spring Valley, WI is Afton State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 36 reviews.
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