Fantastic park with great parking spaces and great restrooms and wonderful playground equipment for kids. Beach access and boat launch are busy. Many people fishing . Another camping trip this past weekend was again Great! Appears bathrooms showers revamped and better. Had Huge campsite! Great playground and trails the kids loved. Playground: Great! Safe falling surfaces... Restrooms: Clean with hot water Picnic area: Spacious with pavalions
Very nice park for camping off the beaten path. Nice, quiet stay that really got us back in touch with nature. Perfect temperatures the end of July. They have campfire rings at each site, which we used several times. We brought our travel trailer and they provided electric. We did have to use their bathhouse because they didn’t have water on site. Also no cell signal but I took that as a positive! Overall a nice time.
The camp is nice enough. It’s fairly pretty and the birds sound nice. I have a couple of grievances. You have to pay to park in addition to your camping fee. There is a cost for each vehicle. And it’s seven dollars a day or $30 a year. We stayed one night, which, for them, was calculated as two days, which meant I had to pay $14 to park my car in my tent camp space. That is ridiculous. I was also not informed of this when I called and made my reservation over the phone. Bathrooms are not that close or accessible and are shared by everyone at the camp one bath house . This is a nice camp, don’t get me wrong, but for a state park this should cost me $25, not $50. And as of our stay on July 2023, the trail along the waterfront was not open, it is still under development, which could also be a disappointment for you.
Nice park with wide grassy trails. Campground, 2 playgrounds, shelters and picnic area here. Not busy on a nice November day. Free entrance on the day after Thanksgiving.
Small beach located adjacent to grounds, would recommend driving, the hike with beach gear isn't easy due to the steep stairs going up after a nice day in the heat, just isn't ideal with essentials and kids but the hiking trails are great and abundant. The beach is well worth the trip either way. The grounds and facilities are immaculant. Water on the modern cMpground is not at each site so if tenting prepare to accommodate with containers ect...
Absolutely not worth the $7 day fee. Beach is fairly small and rocky, the turf trails are unmaintained, very few paved trails, no trails along the river or on the bluffs as the name would imply. And very few amenities.
This is an absolutely wonderful place for camping and recreation. Great amenities and helpful staff. The camping spots afre clean and safe. They really care and take care of the property. No wonder why it's so busy! Make sure to call ahead and see if there's availability! The boat launch is kinda steep but clean and efficient.
Relatively easy to get to from Hwys 10, 61, 95 and St Croix Trail. It's a Washington County Park, so make sure you have either a day pass or annual County Park pass on your vehicle. We camped at site #33. Abundant cover from overhanging oak trees; lots of atypical space behind campsite since there is a trail entrance and a frisbee-golf target behind it; playground and tot lot across the road. Good for tenting and pop-up camping. Quiet for the most part. Note that electrical at this site is 20A-120V service only. 1/4 mile walk to main bathrooms and showers; pit toilet close by but not too close. Park has access to a beach on the river near the boat ramp. Water is relatively shallow for the little ones but deep enough for a good swim in the river. Lots of boats on the river over holiday weekends. Speaking of boat ramp: It's huge. Lots of parking. It can serve 3 boats at a time. Protected by harbor and backwater area. Hmmm...what else? Nice trails in the areas that go through the upland prairie. Firewood sold for $6 a bundle. Lots of day use activity areas including softball diamond, volleyball courts and playgrounds. Overall clean, well-maintained and safe. We would come back!
Only 20 minutes from downtown St. Paul and I felt like I was 1,000,000 miles away. It’s a gorgeous park with a lovely beach, boat ramp and camping sites. The bathrooms are probably the nicest ones I’ve ever seen in a campground. Big negative: no pets. I have no idea why dogs are not allowed but it was very disappointing.
Pros: The campsites were huge and varied, some were in the woods and some out in the open so there were plenty of choices. It also had availability of a number of sites with only a few weeks notice. There were multiple playgrounds that were very nice and within view of many of the sites. The kids loved playing in the river as well, although we only let them wade in rather than actually swim. The beach was nice. This campground was a favorite for many of the people in our party. There is a pass required in addition to the site fees, but we had a yearly Carver County one and they are reciprocal. Still probably cheaper than a private campground even with the extra cost. Cons: I love bike paths when camping and we had to drive to get to one, which is a definite con for me. We also like visiting a brewery or winery and those were also a good drive. Obviously not something everyone cares about though.
