Way to Camp | #6 backpack camping in Minnesota State Parks
I Explored Every Minnesota State Park
(10 Years Ago)
This Is What I Remember...
Cart-In | T
This region was never scoured by glaciers. Sandstone bluffs, creek valleys, karst caves and spring-fed trout streams endure.
FRONTENAC | Core/Gateway
-
cart-in campsites
-
Some open, some wooded but much more dispersed and secluded.
-
glendalough | Core/Classic
-
22 cart-in campsites (14 with electricity)
-
Requires carting in, but nicely spaced out. Some close to lakeshore.
-
Great River Bluffs | Core/Classic
-
-
4 cart-in campsites
Itasca | Destination
Lakeview Loop nicely spaced out, close to water but not on it.
11 are cart-in campsites
Lac qui parle | Core/Classic
-
3 cart-in campsites
lake shetek | Core/Classic
-
Parker: 6 cart-in campsites
-
Wooded, shady and a bit more private but no great lakeshore access.
-
RICE Lake | Core/Classic
4 cart-in campsites, on the shoreline
SPLIT ROCK Lighthouse | Destination
-
20 cart-in campsites
-
Require hauling in camping gear in carts but several have nice lake views and all share an access to Lake Superior shoreline.
-
TEMPERANCE RIVER | Core/Adventure
-
6 cart-in campsites
Tettegouche | Destination
-
14 cart-in campsites
-
Very close to lake. Several have views, and there is one pebble beach access.
-
Walk-In | The St. Croix River
Exploring the shorelines of one of America's first National Scenic Rivers. A billion year old continental rift with a legacy of ice, fire and pine.
big bog |State Recreation Area/Core/Classic
-
walk in
Beaver Creek Valley | Rustic
-
7 walk-in campsites
Blue mounds | Core/Adventure
-
14 walk-in campsites
-
These walk or cart in sites are right next to the bison range observation platform and big sky views. Themselves, they are in shaded woods alongside a creek. A couple of tipis can even be rented.
-
CHARLES A. LINDBERGH | Rustic
-
walk ins
flandrau | Core/Gateway
-
3 walk-in campsites
Fort Ridgely | Core/Classic
-
3 walk-in campsites
franz jevne| Rustic
-
3 walk-in campsites
hayes lake | Core/Classic
-
2 walk-in campsites
JAY COOKE | Destination
walk
kilen woods | Rustic
-
4 walk-in campsites
McCarthy Beach | Core/Classic
-
walk-in
Mille Lacs Kathio | Destination
-
3 walk-in campsites
Minnesota Valley | State Recreation Area/Rustic
-
walk in
MOOSE LAKE| Core/Classic
-
walk in
Nerstrand Big Woods | Core/Gateway
4 walk-in campsites
Red river |State Recreation Area/ Core/Classic
5 walk-in campsites
RICE Lake | Core/Classic
ST. Croix | Destination
4 walk-in campsites
Whitewater| Destination
-
6 walk-in campsites
-
Running water can be heard from walk-in sites.
-
William O. Brien | Destination
-
-
2 walk-in campsites
Backpacking | In the State Parks
The highest concentration of destination state parks along the crags, creeks and cascades of the Great Lake Superior coastline.
Afton | Core/Gateway
-
backpack
Banning | Core/Adventure
-
bp
bear head lake | Destination
-
backpack
CASCADE RIVER | Core/Classic
-
backpack
GEORGE Crosby Manitou | Rustic
-
bp
glacial lakes | Core/Classic
-
backpack
hayes lake | Core/Classic
-
backpack
Itasca | Destination
-
backpack
JAY COOKE | Destination
-
bp
lake Bronson | Core/Classic
-
backpack
LAKE MARIA | Core/Gateway
-
backpacking
maplewood | Core/Gateway
-
backpack
Mille Lacs Kathio | Destination
-
backpack
-
Myre-Big Island | Core/Gateway
-
backpack
ST. Croix | Destination
-
bp
Savanna portage | Core/Classic
-
backpack
Scenic | Core/Classic
-
backpack
SPLIT ROCK Lighthouse | Destination
-
bp
Tettegouche | Destination
-
bp
WILD RIVER | Destination
-
bp
Lake Vermilion | Destination
-
backpack?
Arthur, Anne. Minnesota's State Parks. Adventure Publications, Inc.: Cambridge, MN, 1998. Meyer, Roy W. Everyone's Country Estate: A History of Minnesota's State Parks. Minnesota Historical Society Press: St. Paul, 1991.