"Trip on a Tank"

[work sucks]

I just wanted to pick some of your brains...I used to do a lot of camping (before kids), now that my boys are 4 & 6, I would like to find some places to take them fishing and camping that are not too far away from home (South of Lakeville). I know there are plenty of campgrounds south of me, but what options do I have towards the river or maybe north of the metro a ways? Any input appriciated!

[sparcebag]

Check out Renville County,They have great camp grounds on the minnesota river,#1 Skalbaken Park,by Granit Falls #2 is probably your best bet lots of wildlife its Town and Country County Park bout 10 miles south of the town of renville.They have others but I havent used them it was $7.00 a night but I think they increased fees to $9.00 a good deal and nice,the others I mentioned are closer to your home.Go online to Renville County,click Parks.SEMPER FI

[IFallsRon]

Post in the Hutchinson Forum. We drove down 15 to Winthrop and across to Redwood Falls and back up to St. Cloud through Willmar today and passed several campgrounds and camping signs. We've camped at Sibley State Park near New London and had a good time. There's a beach and fishing pier and activities for kids at the interpretive center.

Most state parks within an hour of the metro are pretty hard to get into unless you go during the week.

[toughguy]

Try the Waterville/Waseca area. There are state parks and private camp grounds on the area on lakes.

I would also check out Whitewater state park west of Rochester. That is a very cool area of the state. There are miles of trout streams and rolling hills. I head down that area once a year. You don't need a fly rod to catch the trout. Just a worm on a spinning reel. If you go in mid/late summer there aren't any mosquitoes in the area so that is also a plus. The area is too hilly so there is no standing water for the little guys to breed. I would put whitewater on top of my list.

Another good spot from the south metro is a little camp ground near Welch on the cannon river. It's a great area for canoeing, tubing and shore fishing.

[fishing tech]

I will second Whitewater. How about William O'brien state park just north of Stillwater. Nice beach, fishing pier, or fish and coanoe the St.Criox.

[barnyard]

If you are looking along the Miss in SE Minn, be sure to also look at SW Wis. There are some very cool Wis state parks along the river.

Tom B