State Campsites in High Demand

Vacationers looking for a Minnesota getaway this Memorial Day weekend should act quickly if they want to camp at a Minnesota state park.

Reservable campsites are filling up fast, according to the Department of Natural Resources, but up to 30 percent of campsites at Minnesota state parks are nonreservable and available to campers on a first-come, first-served basis.

To increase the chance of getting a non-reservable campsite on a holiday weekend, the DNR advises arriving early (possibly as early as Thursday morning) or arriving Sunday afternoon, when some campers begin to head home, freeing up campsites.

Another option, often overlooked, is to reserve a group camp. Groups camps, $30 to $75 per night, have multiple campsites clustered together. Anyone planning to spend the weekend with friends or family may have better luck finding a group camp than multiple sites in a park’s main campground.