We had a quick stay here for two nights while we were visiting friends who live up by turtle Lake…read more They do have a lot of different types of sites, including seasonal, monthly and tent sites. There are also a selection of sites that only have electric and water. Take a look at their online map so you can determine which area you want your spot in. We were in an area that appears to have all pull through with full service so there were a lot of us coming and going. We were on the end so we had a really nice quiet area for our picnic table and fire pit. This particular row, though the sites are pretty tight. If you do a monthly site, it looks like the sites are almost twice the size. They have a ton of things to do, make sure you sign up for their text program when you check in and they send a morning text with any of the events happening that day. They also have pizza, donuts, all kinds of things in the general store. They have a partnership with Taylor Falls canoe, so the buses parked there, and you can go right to do canoeing from the campground round trip Note that they do not have a laundry room, but there was a nice laundromat a couple miles away in St. Croix. There is also a mini golf course- so make sure to check that out as well. They do have a lot of events - and they have a fenced in area where you can order wine and beer. Nice place and we would stay here again if on the area.

the pads are incredibly narrow . The doors of the campsites face each other so if you want to spend…read moretime outside it is with strangers on a narrow strip of grass. on the other side you could pass the ketchup between the rvs through the windows

Beautiful views any time of the year. A parking permit (yearly or day pass) is needed to park in…read morethe lot or you can try to find free street parking on the Main Street. There are plenty of easy hiking trails and some very cool views! The river walk is a nice walk with a picnic table available too. There are a few park benches available to rest and lots fun shops and cafes/restaurants to eat at on the main strip. Great place to take a day trip!

Oh, what a gorgeous park! Last Saturday, my friends and enjoyed a lovely hike walking the trails…read moreand enjoying the beautiful scenery. We saw rock formations and potholes, eagles, sparrows, unique pretty flowers, along the gorgeous St. Croix river. After the hike, we enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch on the benches surrounded in all the beauty. No, there is no water fall, but who cares...it's gorgeous and just an amazing place to visit.

We stumbled upon Interstate State Park from the Wisconsin side and somehow found our new favorite…read moreplace. Absolutely stunning. The trees, greenery, rock formations, and trails are gorgeous, and everything was incredibly well maintained. The Ice Age Trail was perfect with kids and had just enough adventure without turning into a family survival exercise. We already can't wait to go back. Five stars and a new pair of hiking shoes may now be required.

Only an hour from the metro area, this park offers incredibly beautiful views with a variety of…read moretrails for all hiking levels. I personally prefer visiting parks earlier in the day to avoid foot traffic, but even as we left around noon it didn't feel as crowded despite how many people were there. No matter which side of the park (MN or WI) you find yourself, you will not be disappointed!

This is a beautiful state park in Minnesota. One of the highlights is a 2 mile hike on the Wetland…read moreTrail. The trail is mostly flat and winds you through a wetland, which offers lots of good bird watching opportunities. The trail changes with the seasons, from flowers in the spring and summer to stunning fall foliage in the fall. The trail also offers a view of a beaver lodge. The park is along the St.Croix river, and has an exit point for kayakers if you enter in Taylors Falls. The park is about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities, and is 2 miles north of Marine on the St Croix.

Beautiful day and have the place to myself. Utterly…read morefantastic and lots of Hawks. No water in Lake Alice still.

It's SO beautiful here. You get to see a variety of animals, gopher snakes, deer, friendly…read moreraccoons, eagles, fish, it's just so beautiful. There's a chance of bears being around which gives you that fun adrenaline "on edge" subtly feeling. The camper cabin are nice! They seem a little more durable compared to william o brien. Cabins 1&2 have been our favorite. We had a raccoon jump into the back of pir car 5 mins after we pulled up and we're unloading she came back again at night, so we named her Nosey Nancy. Lots of trails to walk ,this park is huge. You can even bring horses here. The river is right there so you can get a feel for that. It's just awesome. Love this place. Brought my 6 month old son here, and he loved camping.

This park is located along 18 miles of the St. Croix River. It's a quieter option to Interstate SP…read moreand Williams O'Brien SP (in the nearby vicinity). It's about an hour from the Twin Cities. It has opportunities for hiking, bird watching, and kayaking. The paddle down the St. Croix River from the Sunrise river access to the southern park river access is leisurely. Be selective about the hiking trail you choose. Some trails are shared with horseback riders. The trail I I hiked had its fair share of horse manure, which detracted from the experience.

It was ok. A lot cheaper than a hotel. Everyone was very pleasant. The hosts were awesome. They…read moretaught us a lot about the park. I recommend booking a cabin here.

Cue the Deliverance music…read more Get out your harmonica. And, yep, squeal like a pig. Bottom line is our First Annual Smith Family Reunion was a blast. No thanks to the filthy conditions of the many cabins we had paid for in addition to the main lodge. Hair in showers, toilets overflowing with crap (as in feces, shit, poop...well you get the idea). Had it not been for my awesome sister who arrived early AND DID HER BEST TO POWER CLEAN SAID CABINS AND LODGE, we would have been unable to eat, sleep or even keep our eyes & nasal passages open. The staff was and still is unresponsive to our disdain and will certainly never see us again! It's a shame. A real, real shame because it's situated in a absolutely beautiful part of this fine state, loads of trees & a pristine view of Green Lake. "You sho have a purdy mouth." Ugh...

Tranquil hike with moderate trails. Keep in mind though that the paved path down to the falls is…read moreVERY steep and wasn't very accessible. We went on a busy day and even then, the park never felt over-crowded. Park entry is around $16 and you can get a pass online in advance.

We wanted a spot that offered outdoor fun with a nearby city for lunch, and this park delivered!…read moreIt's huge.... offering hiking, camping, biking, swimming, and even skiing in the winter. There's always something to do no matter the season. Parking is $8, and on busy days you might wait a few minutes, but it's worth it. At the entrance, you'll get a helpful map (also available online) that shows all the trails and recreation options. We parked near the boat launch and took the 1.5-mile loop to the waterfall, a beautiful, family-friendly walk with no complaints from the kids! The waterfall itself is stunning. We kicked off our shoes, dipped our feet in the cool water, and climbed around the rocks above the falls. There are more challenging hikes if you're feeling adventurous, and it's only about 10 minutes to great Hudson riverfront dining afterward. We left smiling and saying, "That was so fun maybe we should get an annual pass!

If coming from the Twin Cities, take I35 north to Hwy 70 and follow 70 east into Wisconsin. As…read moresoon as you cross the St. Croix River into Wisconsin, go about a mile and take a left, heading north, on Soderbeck Road. In a bit less than a mile, you'll reach a 4-way intersection. This is Benson. Take a left on Benson, heading west. At the next intersection, a T, take a right onto Tennessee Road and follow the curving road north and west as it curves down to the river. In about a mile, the road terminates in a gravel parking lot. Walk-in campsites are free, first come, first served and dispersed willy nilly at the top of a hill, reached by climbing stairs. Fire rings, tents sites and a solitary pit toilet are the only amenities. There is no potable water here, no checking in, no hosts, and no answering to The Man. The campground is perched atop a 30 ft limestone cliff. The edge is marked by a sign, but do be careful. The campground has tall pines as well as deciduous trees that turn pretty colors in Fall. Avoid coming on weekends in the summer. Free camping brings party people as well as extra ranger presence. This can be a very nice, quiet place to camp, if you know when to go. Also, avoid coming when I'm there. I really like my space, man. So...just don't harsh my mellow okay? The most desolate time I've been here was in February, 2002. It was the coldest night of the year and we couldn't get a fire going. A blizzard started coming down and after I could no longer feel my feet, I decided to bail. I remember that my Volvo 240 barely made it back up that hill. I gunned it and hoped for the best. I made it, and ended up driving home on a completed deserted I35 going about 15 mph all the way back to St. Paul in a complete whiteout at 2:00 a.m. Another time I organized a writer's retreat and about ten of us came out and had a good time. A really good time. A really, really good time. Not much writing was done, but I nearly lost a limb to a crazed, machete-wielding doctor. Listen doc, all I ask is that if you take my arm off, you put it back the way you found it. You can do that because you're a doctor right? And doctors can fix anything, right? Right? I can personally vouch that the walls of the pit toilet are reinforced to withstand even the most vigorous assault from machete-wielding maniacs who have forgotten their Hippocratic oaths. Once said maniacs have expended their energy, star gazing is another fine activity that also happens to be quite safe, requiring no weapons or alcohol of any kind. Okay, full disclosure: I DID make some provocative, button-pushing statements toward the good doctor, but it was all in good fun, and I thought that she was simply looking for instruction on the safe operation and handling of the machete. God, we did do some appalling things that weekend, like eat raw haggis out of a can atop steaks. Yikes. Oh to be young! Well, I guess we weren't exactly spring chickens then either... But I digress... Sandrock Cliffs is considered part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and as such it is managed by the National Park Service, and patrolled by federal rangers, so naughty behavior here can get you in some gnarly shit, man. And let me tell you, you think nobody is around for miles, and BAM! There's a friggin' ranger standing in your camp with her hands on her hips like a disapproving, silent green ninja. I mean, where the hell did she come from anyway, man? I never heard an engine. Maybe she canoed in and scaled the cliff with a rope and a grappling hook. Instead of throwing stars, she'll cut you down with throwing clam shells, and then write you a ticket on the back of a leaf...that's IF you're lucky. You can get more detailed maps about this and other awesome hidey spots and out of the way places to hike and canoe by making a stop at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Marshland Visitor Center on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River off of highway 70, just before crossing the river. Munchie runs can be made by going to Grantsburg, about a 15 minute drive from the campground, depending on how crazy you drive. Grantsburg has a hospital too. I know, because I cut my knee open on a clam in the Clam River, and a doc there sewed me up real nice. Not the machete doctor. A different one. A small trail leads down to the St. Croix river to a canoe launch site. When the river is low, you can cross to a heavily wooded island, dense with prickle bushes and mosquitoes. A flat loop trail parallels the edge of the river, beginning at the far southern edge of the campground and proceeding about a mile or two total, including turn-around.

This is Lindstrom's Wilderness & Swedish Heritage Park-all 125 acres! Right now it is…read moreunderdeveloped but has unpaved hiking trails, benches, off-street parking lots and a 1853 historic homestead, but they are making improvements. On our hike we saw 2 new wooden bridges built, as well as 3 rustic camping sites ($15/night) as well as helpful posted maps (see photo) to navigate around the park. The Chicago Lakes Water Trail goes through the park. There is over 10,000 feet of shoreline on 3 lakes in this park. Come out and check it out!

First time here. Wanted to spend about an hour walking the trails. Beautiful no matter which way…read moreyou looked. REALLY appreciated the posted maps at junction points, but we still got a little misplaced. We were out about 75 minutes and did not see the entire park-maybe half? Definitely coming back when I'm in the area. Highly, highly recommend. Many changes in elevation so be prepared for that.So sad I don't have a good picture to post.

The bar is Awesome. Dawn and barb are so fun you will never forget her laugh always free beer…read moretomorrow . Nice boat landing pizza and fillers for your drunk fantasy shot specials and karokee Wow please come see barb