The setting and surroundings of Olson Park are absolutely fantastic!…read more I tell ya...for just quickly visiting and hanging out here for a couple of hours, this Olson Park was so well maintained! I'll say it again, lol, very well maintained!! The park is flush with green grass and is situated right by a scenic lake. Too bad I wasn't spending the night here because they offer camping. And...I am a camping enthusiast! I was here at Olson Park back at the end of June 2021 and the conditions were truly pleasant. I honestly felt like taking a blanket out of my car and having a midday nap underneath a tree, lol. I really can't say enough good things about this park. Before I do...I'll just provide some insight and details about where Olson Park is located and some of the worthwhile benefits it offers that make it such a worthwhile destination for enjoying nature and the outdoors. Olson Park is located in the town of Worthington, Minnesota. Worthington sits about 175 miles southwest of Minneapolis and only 10 miles north from the border with Iowa. It's situated about 3 miles outside downtown Worthington. I was traveling down through Minnesota along my 2021 cross country road trip. Eventually I was heading into Sioux Falls, South Dakota and further west towards Badlands National Park and the Mount Rushmore area. Along my driving for half the day, I was just a little fatigued and pulled off Interstate 90 and figured why not take some time to relax at a park and rest up before continuing on my journey. I discovered Olson Park through the wonderful app on my phone called Campendium. Upon arriving here, I was surprised they offered camping. I just figured this place was a quiet town park where you could come play some ball, have a picnic or just simply go fishing by the lake. Well cool...this Olson Park was perfect and ideal for camping! The best part being that you can set up your tent along all the fluffy and lush green grass which definitely make a for comfortable night sleep. Plus...I can't tell you enough how clean this park was! Seriously it was like out of a fresh springtime catalogue for a photo album! Lol, just reflecting back on my pictures invoke warm memories. Too bad...I should have just camped out for the night. But instead, I took it easy for a few hours before returning back to Interstate 90. Also...there wasn't a cloud in the sky during my time here. The sun reflected down on the lake's waters making for a wonderful ambiance. The campsites located next to the lake were efficiently set up. Just taking pictures of the park with the lake in the background was beautiful. For camping... - Campsites 1 - 12 w/ electric hook-up was $33 for the night. - Campsites 13 - 63 w/ electric hook-up was $28 per night. - Campsites 64 - 68 without electric hook-up was only $22 per night. All these sites were very reasonable and fairly priced for camping out at such a well-maintained park! You can book a reservation by calling 507-372-8600 Monday thru Friday. If there isn't a campsite occupied, then it's first come, first served. For spontaneous campers coming here on a whim, once you find an unoccupied site, simply claim it and then drop the fee into the courtesy box on the east side of the office if no attendant is around. And that's it, you're good to go! Here are some other terrific amenities about Olson Park... - They have a shower house with flush toilets, so no vault toilets are always a good thing, lol. - Cell phone reception worked perfectly here. - You can bring swimming apparel to enjoy the waters of the lake. - There were picnic tables situated all around. During my visit here on June 30, the park was empty. It was so quiet for such a picturesque park. And btw, it's always a benefit not having too many campers occupying the grounds. Overall...having tons of green grass, trees situated all around, good shade and a calm setting made this Olson Park to be an absolute winner in my book. I can't remember finding a better campground along my entire 5-month journey across the United States! For those who happen to be driving Interstate 90 and or making their way through the southern portion of Minnesota during their travels, I can't recommend Olson Park enough, so refreshing to discover this hidden gem of a park and campground.

Beautiful park and very nice for camping. Stayed here on our way out to South Dakota. Will…read moredefinitely stay again.

Hosts are excellent. Very friendly and helpful. Campground is clean and well cared for. Great…read morelocation for sightseeing. Would stay again!

This is a great campground, didn't know what to expect but was not disappointed. They also have a…read morereally nice bike path just outside of the park that takes you through some awesome backcountry roads.

Let's start with directions to the campground and really the only reason I can't give them five…read morestars. We were pleased to receive an automated email with everything you'd want to know about our camping reservation however the one thing it did not include was the physical address of the campground. Clicked on the link sent in the reservation and it took us to the middle of a residential neighborhood; the only other info on the website was a GPS coordinate and a mailing address. Luckily, we were able to reach the reservation line and they were able to locate the correct physical address which is 12320 240th Street, Orleans, Iowa. Upon arrival we were greeted by a DNR officer who was very helpful with brochures for local attractions and pointed us directly to our campsite. Beyond that one glitch, the campground is clean, well organized, offers well spaced out campsites, clean bathrooms with showers, and each campsite fitted with a picnic table and fire ring with grill. Campsites next to the lake are heavily treed so you should not expect to get a good view of the lake. We were on location mid week so the campground was probably a little quieter than you might find in the weekend. The campground is directly linked to the bike trail (some portions shared with traffic, but all paved) which will take you around Spirit Lake and as far as downtown Okoboji. Recommend if you're looking for a campsite in the area. Note that there is no ice, firewood, or basic necessities available on site however can be obtained nearby in town

Not a ton of trails. Has some nice hills which provides an overlook of the prairie. Part of the…read moretrail was along the river, which with recent rain, was too waterlogged for us to use. We were able to find a 2-3mile path which took us through the woods and onto the prairie. Not the best of MN State Parks but still nice and well maintained.

Beautiful campground! All areas around the campground were…read morevery well maintained. Restrooms/showers were spacious, clean and plenty of hot water during showers. Campsite spots are Huge! Pretty sure the biggest spots of any campground I've been to and #9 the spot we camped has its own road leading to it so it's completely private from foot/vehicle traffic. Around 5 miles of trails from prairie hills to wooded trails across streams leading to the Des Moines River. Well marked and wide paths make it an enjoyable hike. Can't go wrong with a weekend at this campground

We always enjoy coming to Emerson Bay Campground. Lots of sights with different hookups…read more I do wish people would treat this park better. We pay for this park through our tax dollars, why won't you want to keep it clean. The state doesn't have the staff or money to hire people to pickup after all the campers. When we pulled into site 56 I picked up a grocery sack of garbage and the fire pits had trash in it. Thanks to the De Jong family for not caring enough to clean up the site when you left.

This is a hidden gem located less than an hours drive from Sioux Falls. Lake Herman is located in…read moreMadison close to Lake Madison and Lake Brant. This is a spring fed glacial lake. The park is on the south east corner of the lake. This state park has hiking trails, beaches, canoe rental, boat launch and camping. The park itself is large and features mature shade trees and areas of natural prairie. With all the outdoor things to do and being so close to Sioux Falls, this place is a must visit.

A lovely state park campground! The lots were huge and level, with wide gravel parking pads. The…read moregrass around the sites was well groomed and a fire ring was included. The bathrooms were clean, with large separate shower rooms. The shower was best part, as it had a residential adjustable temperature controller instead of the push-button that many campgrounds do. The water flow was stronger than my house. Its also a dog-friendly park. Inside the campground, leashes are required, but in the rest of the park off-leash is permissible. Tie-outs on your site are also allowed. Canoes were available for rent for $15/3 hours or $30/day. There's also a boat ramp as its a large 1350 acre lake.

If I didn't have somewhere to be tonight, I'd have spent the night here in Sexauer Park. This park…read moreallows camping with 18 paved pads for trailers and RVs, five of which are pull-through and the remainder are back-in. The pads are only $25 plus tax, which is a complete bargain. The campground is operated by the city of Brookings and is the only park in the city that allows camping. They have electrical hook-ups, picnic tables, a playground, restrooms with showers and even a dump station. Very awesome and I enjoyed having a nice walk around today. The only thing missing is a water or sewer hookup, but that's really a minor inconvenience for a self-contained camper van. [Review 17852 overall - 58 in South Dakota - 1373 of 2022.]

This is a brand new campground that has only been open a month. Work is still going on so it isn't…read morefair to judge by the dirt areas and patchy grass. The sites are extremely small with barely 6' of grass between the parking pads. One section has the corners of the parking pads touching or within inches of each other. Bathrooms are large single rooms with sink, toilet, and shower. The shower is a small fiberglass stall and could be bigger but the room is large and very nice. Community Center (store, office, pizza) was also brand new and nice. Both nights, with a night spent elsewhere in between we had a reservation with a site number specified. The first day we were a little early and the other party hadn't left yet. They put us in another comparable spot. That was nice since we were there shortly before check-in - 15 to 20 minutes early. But the second stay, we didn't come in until evening and they had put someone else in the spot we had reserved. I found this odd and wasn't very happy about it. We had selected the spot for a reason. I'm aware campgrounds have the right to do that but with dozens of empty sites why would they? The hosts were very nice people but I don't love being led to my site and someone being there while I'm getting in place. They are work campers so I'm sure they are just doing their job. Seems odd to me. Again, they were very nice, pleasant people. This is also an expensive campground. Right $72 for one night with electricity and water. No sewer but there is a dump site. It's attached to Wild Water West water park. Way over priced and kinda icky. Check out the city parks department pools instead. $6 for adults instead of $28. And much, much nicer. I don't recommend. I see this getting worse, not better.

We arrived late for a two day stay with flamingo Falls campground. The desk person called the check…read moreon us to ensure that we were still arriving. We checked in to a very empty campground with great bathrooms and all of the amenities that we needed. The next day we went to the waterpark, which was great for the kids. We purchased our tickets at the campground. The only thing I would improve is actually opening the gate between the flamingo, Falls campground, and the waterpark so we didn't have to walk all the way around. Otherwise, it was a great day and the staff was very nice.

Pretty park and city run campground. The sites are right next to each other but I'm guessing the…read morecampground doesn't get much use? No one else was here while we were here anyway, but that could just be the time of year. It's right next to the road, so it's noisy during the day. Electrical hookups for only $10 (pay down the street). Oh, and no restrooms on site (again, down the street). Sounds like a bunch of negatives but for a one night layover, it's a nice spot next to a calm pond with ducks. Take a walk to the island and enjoy the peacefulness.