Camping advice

[Born2Fish]

Okay so me and the little lady just recently decided that we need to take a nice camping trip. We went to a bunch of sites and looked at a bunch of places. We would just like a few recommendations on a few that we found and are interested in. We do have SOME criteria about what we want:

1. Near a lake or river(for fishing purposes)

2. Boat rental(not a need but would like to be able to)

3. Restrooms(the fiance needs her bathroom!)

4. Hiking/walking trails

Here are the few that we found that are interested in:

1) Lake Carlos State Park in Carlos. This place sounds great, and the DNR site shows it being a nice quiet area.

2)Monson Lake State Park in Sunburg. Also looked really nice and quiet.

3)Savanna Portage State Park in McGregor. My fiance seems to like this one second best. It looks like it has very nice hiking trails and it seems to have just about everything that we want for camping.

4)McQuoids on Mille Lacs. I kinda picked this because of the launch service they have and wanting to catch some Mille Lacs walleye!!

5)Sinclair Lewis Campground in Sauk Centre. This one is my fiances first choice. They had a nice HSOforum explaining a lot about the campground. Not really a place for hiking, but fishing and a pool area kinda drew her in. Plus it is not too far from home(Hastings).

6)Woodlawn Resort and Campground in Glenwood. I found this one to be the best in my opinion. Lots of activites to do. Boat rental and just about everything you can imagine. I have not done a ton of research on Minnewaska but figure it to be a decent fishery.

Any opinions, recommendations or comments are greatly appreciated. We are planning for sometime in August or early September. Thanks in advance.

[reinhard1]

bear head state park hands down. we go there 3 weeks a year. i have mentioned this park before. many state parks are great and many will compliment their favorite but this will fit your criteria. located on a lake [bearhead]. 14ft. boats,canoes,life jackets,electric motors, batteries and more. you and yours will like the restromms. there are two larger shower\restrooms with private showers inside complete with sinks and vanities. there are others with flush toilets sinks, and some pit style. there are hiking trails including a three mile beutiful trail to a trout lake with brookies that can be fished from shore{need a trout stamp and no live bait allowed]. there is a large beach there[can catch walleys from shore there toward eve.} there is a large fishing pier. great boat landing. now if you decide to go there shoot me a pm and i will give you my number. sometimes on a new lake it helps you to know some areas you can get into fish faster. in general great walley population, some big largemouth, and panfish with respectful size. oh yeah pike. there are even little docks to tie you boat to. they also have camper cabins and a great guest house for those who dont like to tent. electric and non electric sites some need to be reserved and others are first come first get. ranger stations sells ice and wood. there is a casino[fortune bay] nearby and ely is 17 miles away. could tell you more but i'm feeling like i'm writing a book already. good luck.

[Born2Fish]

Thanks for the quick response. We did look at that place too. Sounds to be basically perfect for all of our needs. If we do decide upon that place I will shoot you a pm. Thanks once again!

[ronhanson]

My State Park order of preference for your list would be

Bearhead Lake SP

Scenic SP

Sibley Lake SP

Svanna Portage SP

[Walleye Rueben]

McCarthy Beach State Park, just north of Chisholm.

- there are 5 lakes on the chain with channels/river between them.

- you can leave your boat on Side lake (small and sheltered) overnight (sandy shoreline with a few docks and many trees to tie to)

- standard state park campsites with nice showers, wood, etc.

- walking distance to store with ice cream treats, groceries, bait.

- other dining options on the chain of lakes

- Sturgeon Lake has the BEST beach in Minnesota - 1/2 mile of soft sand...the water is less than 4 feet deep out 100 yards

- I've never fished here, but the structure on Sturgeon looks great, the water is clear. I bet it would be easy to find panfish somewhere on the chain. Check out the DNR lakefinder: Sturgeon Lake (Little, Middle, West and Big) and Side for fishing info

[steamman]

Lake Carlos State Park is great. Use to get there at least 4 times a year. Lake Amelia has a nice resort on it and they also rent boats. If you look up the lake you will find the resort name and get information off of there. They usually have open spots in the camp ground, plus they have a beach there.

[Born2Fish]

We did a little visiting this past weekend to a few state parks(to get a feel for a couple). First we visited and hiked Frontenac State Park. It was a pretty nice park to go to. The hiking was alright and the place had an overall nice feel to it. Then Sunday we went to Nerstrand Big Woods State Park. I liked that place a lot also. We hiked pretty much all the trails they have there. They have a nice little waterfall not to far away from the campgrounds.