Lake Elmo Park Reserve Campground

While camping at the Lake Elmo Park Reserve Campground, you can get active in the 2,165 acres of protected landscapes that surround the RV park. It’s gradually being returned to its natural state when the land was blanketed in forest and prairie, before the arrival of mid-19th-century settlers. Weasels, red foxes, and white-tailed deer inhabit the park while woodpeckers, cottontail rabbits, and pheasants are also regularly spotted. Boaters can launch their vessels on the waters of Eagle Point Lake and Lake Elmo or head north to Sunfish Lake Park, which encompasses 284 acres of woodland, wetland, and prairie wildlife habitat that’s traversed by hiking and snow skiing trails. A short drive east of the Lake Elmo Park Reserve Campground is the St. Croix Savanna Scientific and Natural Area, which lies on the southern edge of Bayport. It protects one of the best remaining examples of hill prairie along the Lower St Croix National Scenic Riverway, with a bluff that boasts impressive views across the waterway. It’s botanically significant for its documentation of kittentails and James’ Polanisia, which are threatened and endangered (respectively) in Minnesota, as well as featuring a diversity of prairie flowers that ignite during the summer months. If you’re visiting in late autumn, the golden native grasses are quite spectacular, and you may even glimpse swans and eagles migrating down the river. Just across the border in Wisconsin is the Willow River State Park, which centers around Willow Falls that drops 200 feet into a deep gorge. Originally inhabited by the Santee Sioux and Ojibwe tribes, European settlers moved into the area in the early 19th century, establishing logging and wheat farming industries. Today, it’s one of the most visited state parks in Wisconsin, with boating and fishing both popular on the waters of Little Falls Lake. You can stretch your legs along the Hidden Ponds Nature Trail or the longer Burkhardt Trail, which offers impressive views above the falls from its overlooks. Swimming is also permitted on the southern shore of Little Falls Lake, while rock climbers can tackle the bolted sport climbs on the gorge walls.