What to know if you’re still looking to score a campsite in Minnesota for Memorial Day

Excited to camp as another season opens?

With temperatures rising in Minnesota, it’s time to air out tents and de-winterize RVs to spend time outdoors. But you may need to move quickly to secure a spot for the upcoming holidays.

Here are things to know ahead of the 2025 season:

Overnight camping reservations at state parks and recreation areas are nearly 94% full for the three-day Memorial Day weekend, according to a Department of Natural Resources parks and trails division spokesperson. All cabins, guest houses, tipis and yurts are booked. Campers can make reservations up to 120 days in advance.

“If folks are still looking for a [state park] campsite, head north. Way north,” said Sara Joy Berhow, a Department of Natural Resources parks and trails division spokesperson.

Out of more than 5,000 campsites at 74 parks and recreation areas, here is a breakdown of what’s most available by type of camping:

As of Tuesday, parks with 10-plus nonelectric sites still available included Lake Bronson; Zippel Bay in Williams; McCarthy Beach in Side Lake; Hayes Lake in Roseau; and Schoolcraft in Deer River.

There are fewer than 45 electric sites available around the state; Red River State Recreation Area in East Grand Forks, Minn., has the most vacancies.

There also are equestrian and walk-in sites available at various parks.

As for the next major camping holiday (the Fourth of July), the advice is to book now, Berhow said: “They are going fast.”

Campers can set up notification alerts of cancellations based on their search criteria on the campground reservation webpage. Still, Berhow said, the best approach is to check online late morning or early afternoon each day rather than wait for a notification email.

While state parks get high interest, there are numerous options at private and public campgrounds.

Explore Minnesota, the state’s tourism arm, has a long list of private options across the state for RVers and tent-dwellers.

Wildwood RV Park & Campground in Shafer, near the St. Croix River and Taylors Falls, is one of them.

“We get it all,” said owner Amy Frischmon, from young families who like the idea of a swimming pool, bingo nights and a playground to grandparents who winter in the South and come up with big RV rigs to anchor for the summer.

Other private and public campgrounds that rate high with Facebook camping groups include Eagle Cliff Campground in Lanesboro; Ramsey Park Campground in Redwood Falls; Lake Byllesby Campground in Cannon Falls; Lamb’s Resort in Schroeder; and Hok-Si-La Municipal Park and Campground in Lake City.

National and state forests are options, too. The Superior and Chippewa national forests in northern Minnesota have several campgrounds with electric sites. Reservations can be made six months in advance, with rates often less expensive than similar sites at state parks. The seasonal windows vary at campgrounds. Make reservations and get more details ­­at recreation.gov.

More remote options exist, too. Dispersed camping lacks amenities but allows people to camp anywhere in the forest that isn’t a developed site or marked off-limits. Both forests also have dozens of backcountry sites that, like dispersed camping, don’t require reservations or fees. Dispersed camping is allowed in state forests, too.

“We are lucky we have such good places to go in addition to the state park system,” Berhow said.

The Riverway campground and group camp at William O’Brien State Park in Marine on St. Croix opened its redesigned space Friday. Some campsites were redesigned to improve access for visitors with disabilities. One site, for example, now has an elevated tent pad with a ramp. A renovated shower building opens June 1.

A redesigned campground at Sibley State Park in New London reopens May 16, according to the park. Campsites at the Lakeview campground on Lake Andrew were reduced from 71 to 41; 40 sites have electricity. The new layout improves access and increases some site sizes, according to DNR planners.

Coming at the end of summer, Three Rivers Parks District in the metro area is adding more electric sites at its most-visited camping location. Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain will add electric service to nearly 100 campsites after Labor Day, according to a parks district spokesperson. The project will be completed next summer. Between campsites and cabins, Baker had more than 95,000 visitors in 2024.

Three Rivers has three campgrounds in addition to parks that feature camper cabins and group campsites.

The DNR is adding 10 more all-terrain electric track chairs at eight locations this month and in June, opening areas to visitors with limited mobility or those whose devices are difficult to use in the outdoors.

The new chairs will be located at:

Campers can reserve a chair to keep with them overnight. Find more information online about reservations and updates on availability at mndnr.gov/track-chairs. Berhow encouraged visitors to call specific parks, too, which decide where the track chairs can roll. The DNR first put five track chairs in parks in 2022. The added chairs this year will bring the total to 23.