I lived in Minnesota for a year, and absolutely loved it. My family and I determined to canoe on as many of the lakes and rivers as possible, and we definitely hit up many of them! At least as many as I could before the big freeze, when Ice-Fishing season begins
Thinking back, we are bummed that we did not do more camping also during our time there (though we had limited time due to University). So, for others who are in Minnesota for a time, let’s share a bit about camping options in MN! Maybe also mentioning whether it is a simple day-trip of a distance away from the Twin Cities or further away. There’s such a fantastic “outdoors culture” there - let’s promote the camping too!
I’ll get it kicked off. My wife and I, and our 2-year old, spent our anniversary weekend (Oct 3) that year at the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park!
Such a beautiful place! This was “Cart Camping” - you can bring your car up to a certain point, and after this you need to hike in (sometimes not very far at all) - and they provide carts (kinda like a large wheelbarrow or rickshaw) to carry your gear to the campsite!).
We set up camp, found some geocaches, and made dinner over the campfire. Out of every place I have camped, the wood here was the EASIEST to start VERY fast!
That was good, because by morning, there was a light layer of SNOW over everything!! The first snow of the year! But yes, the wood burned hot and fast…the others went to head to the bathroom, and by the time they came back, there was already a roaring fire burning!! We all very happily drank our cocoa that morning! (I can’t find our pics with the snow, but here are a few from the night before at least).
Overall, a GREAT experience, and I would HIGHLY recommend this park for camping - a day trip away from the Twin Cities!
BWCA. It’s a little drive from the cities (4-5 hours) , you’ll have to canoe in (tons of outfitters rent them) and plan a bit ahead (permits, entry location) but its unlike anyplace else I’ve visited.
Most of the time, you’ll only see the people you went with and have 0 cell coverage. For the most part, no motors are allowed - its about as close as you can get to untouched land you can get.
We try to go 1-2 times a year at least and its just as awesome every time.
Wow what great pics, I gotta get up to speed with taking more pics and posting. We spent a week in the Bluffs region in SE Mn. Based at Eagle Cliff Campground near Lanesboro. We try to plan our trips around biking and the bike trails in this area are fantastic. Also lots of canoeing, kayaking and tubing on the Root River. Eagle Cliff is a great campground that borders the Root River.
