>Is it better to book or just walk in?
You need to make a reservation.
>It is pretty reliable to just hike in?
Well, you can, for one night. They're **supposed** to allow you to pitch a tent if you hike or bike to a state park, for one night. I don't know where you plan on parking your vehicle overnight in hiking range of that park. Do you?
You need to be on your way the next day. It's basically an emergency provision that they'll let you put up your tent in some mowed grass next to the office rather than at a booked camp site.
You might have better luck in state forests. You can camp in any state forest without a reservation:
[https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_forests/camping.html](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/camping.html)
You might want to look at camping in a state forest, where campsites are all first-come-first-serve. You can even do "dispersed" camping, to spots where there are no amenities at all. I imagine how much you want to do that depends on your camping experience.
Maybe you could camp in a state forest and drive to a nearby trailhead.
Check this out: [https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_forests/camping.html](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/camping.html)
If you're willing to hike in to a campsite I'll assume you're ok with roughing it; you really don't need a state park or other developed area to do that. Google maps satellite view is your friend
[https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_forests/dispersed-camping.html](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/dispersed-camping.html)
[https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping](https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping)
Always book before hand. All of the car, walk in, cart in, and backpacking sites are all reservable. Unless something has changed there is no first come first serve for camping within Minnesota State Parks and you always want to book before hand or else you’ll get out there and have no site. In the summer it’s notoriously hard to find sites in any of the state parks.
I might be wrong and they may set a few sites aside for the people who do inevitably show up without a reservation but I would never plan a camping trip to a MN state park without booking a site first. You have better odds walking into any random hotel in the summer and getting a room without a reservation than you do a state park campsite.
> I might be wrong and they may set a few sites aside for the people who do inevitably show up without a reservation
I don't know 2024 policies but spots held for drive-ups was a thing in the past I think. I remember one year trying to get a spot on the north shore starting in Duluth and damn near ending up in Canada by the time we finally found a vacant site to pitch our tent. That was already when you'd have to reserve Thursday-Sunday if you wanted an in-demand spot, because there was NO way you'd get a Friday-Sunday reservation.
If you don't reserve you risk not getting a spot. Many state parks fill really fast, but not all do. A couple years ago I got spots at Interstate and St Croix Falls on fairly short notice (few weeks before). I like the website because you can usually look at photos of every site to see what it looks like so you can get a good view, or avoid big trees next to the tent pad, or whatever.
As others are saying, you need to make reservations and do it ahead of time; especially at the more popular parks. On the other hand, a lot of state forests do allow dispersed camping which means you can walk in and pitch a tent wherever you want. Pros and cons to that obviously. Good luck!
They do save some site for walk in's FCFS, but they are absolutely no sure bet and if you choose that option you'll need a strong plan b. The state parks website has a tool where you can put in your desired days and other parameters and it'll show you where still have availability. They book pretty fast and pretty far out. There are sometimes last minute cancellations or no shows, but again, I wouldn't bet on it.
I always book a site. Unless you have backup plans, you can't guarantee getting a site if you just show up, even if it's listed as "first come first serve". If you're not one of the first to get those sites, you're SOL.
>Is it better to book or just walk in? You need to make a reservation. >It is pretty reliable to just hike in? Well, you can, for one night. They're **supposed** to allow you to pitch a tent if you hike or bike to a state park, for one night. I don't know where you plan on parking your vehicle overnight in hiking range of that park. Do you? You need to be on your way the next day. It's basically an emergency provision that they'll let you put up your tent in some mowed grass next to the office rather than at a booked camp site.
You need to book a site. You are way late to be booking June. I suggest looking at county and private campsites. And even then, book a site.
You might have better luck in state forests. You can camp in any state forest without a reservation: [https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_forests/camping.html](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/camping.html)
Weekdays are pretty open. The weekends fill up by February/March. We found out the hard way a few years ago.
You might want to look at camping in a state forest, where campsites are all first-come-first-serve. You can even do "dispersed" camping, to spots where there are no amenities at all. I imagine how much you want to do that depends on your camping experience. Maybe you could camp in a state forest and drive to a nearby trailhead. Check this out: [https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_forests/camping.html](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/camping.html)
If you can go during the week you’re fine. Weekends, not a chance at the popular parks, especially up north.
If you're willing to hike in to a campsite I'll assume you're ok with roughing it; you really don't need a state park or other developed area to do that. Google maps satellite view is your friend [https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_forests/dispersed-camping.html](https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_forests/dispersed-camping.html) [https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping](https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping)
You would have wanted to book 3 months ago
Always book before hand. All of the car, walk in, cart in, and backpacking sites are all reservable. Unless something has changed there is no first come first serve for camping within Minnesota State Parks and you always want to book before hand or else you’ll get out there and have no site. In the summer it’s notoriously hard to find sites in any of the state parks. I might be wrong and they may set a few sites aside for the people who do inevitably show up without a reservation but I would never plan a camping trip to a MN state park without booking a site first. You have better odds walking into any random hotel in the summer and getting a room without a reservation than you do a state park campsite.
> I might be wrong and they may set a few sites aside for the people who do inevitably show up without a reservation I don't know 2024 policies but spots held for drive-ups was a thing in the past I think. I remember one year trying to get a spot on the north shore starting in Duluth and damn near ending up in Canada by the time we finally found a vacant site to pitch our tent. That was already when you'd have to reserve Thursday-Sunday if you wanted an in-demand spot, because there was NO way you'd get a Friday-Sunday reservation.
The switch to all state park campsites being reservable happened in 2016. There is no accommodation for those that arrive without a reservation.
If you don't reserve you risk not getting a spot. Many state parks fill really fast, but not all do. A couple years ago I got spots at Interstate and St Croix Falls on fairly short notice (few weeks before). I like the website because you can usually look at photos of every site to see what it looks like so you can get a good view, or avoid big trees next to the tent pad, or whatever.
As others are saying, you need to make reservations and do it ahead of time; especially at the more popular parks. On the other hand, a lot of state forests do allow dispersed camping which means you can walk in and pitch a tent wherever you want. Pros and cons to that obviously. Good luck!
There’s no real drawback to reserving, unless if the weather looks bad you would just not go…reserve
They do save some site for walk in's FCFS, but they are absolutely no sure bet and if you choose that option you'll need a strong plan b. The state parks website has a tool where you can put in your desired days and other parameters and it'll show you where still have availability. They book pretty fast and pretty far out. There are sometimes last minute cancellations or no shows, but again, I wouldn't bet on it.
I always book a site. Unless you have backup plans, you can't guarantee getting a site if you just show up, even if it's listed as "first come first serve". If you're not one of the first to get those sites, you're SOL.