We stayed at this campground for 3 nights while we visited
some friends who live just a couple miles away. It’s about 19 miles North of
I-90 and Worthington, MN. It’s location in southern Minnesota does mean it’s
surrounded by farmland, which really isn’t uncommon for rural campgrounds in
the Midwest. (The same is also true for Lake Pahoja.)
For now, we’re giving it an honorable mention. It’s a work-in-progress,
with a new county employee, who’s in the process of upgrading the facility. Besides
a face lift, he’s also planning to extend its usable seasons. One of the
completed projects includes new power posts. The work was completed by our
friends, who are licensed electricians. The bathrooms aren’t fancy, but are
cleaned and had hot water in October. Future improvements are making the
campsites better defined, and addressing water quality. The campground’s water
has a mineral odor due to some excess iron. For now, we definitely recommend
using an inline water filter, if you fill your fresh water tank there. Besides
smell, you won’t want any sediment making its way into your hot water heater.
Catfish
a jumpin’?
Or
maybe wall-eyed pike?
Kristal’s
camera isn’t set up yet for high-speed photography.
She wasn’t
quite quick enough to catch the fish out of water.
The
ripples they left behind weren’t too difficult, though.
This campground, with its neighbor around the corner, are
on two small lakes. They are natural spring-fed, rather than damned reservoirs.
A joy-killer for us, it rained 2 out of the 3 days we were there. We were
getting tired of cold, wet weather. (The weather wasn’t the campground’s
fault.) Still, Kristal went out with her camera and explored a bit between
storms. There are trees and shrubbery on the shores of most of the lake, which
limits the campground view a bit. She wanted a closer look. While she was down
at the dock/boat launching area, the fish were quite active, jumping at the
surface. The population appears to be healthy and some were decent sized. She
forgot to ask our friends what species live there, but that info is available
from Minnesota’s DNR, along with information for obtaining the necessary
fishing license. If you enjoy fishing, staying here for a few days may be worth
it. We certainly would have enjoyed spending more time down by the lake, had
the weather been more cooperative. The county website below lists the other
activities available here. We had the place to ourselves due to the timing of
our visit. Our friends confirmed it’s a popular destination for locals during
summer weekends and holidays.
Do be aware of coyotes if you’re staying here with small pets
or young children. Just use some common sense, and everyone will be fine. They
probably aren’t as active in the immediate campground areas during the busy
summer months, while more people are around and staying up late. When there are
groups of these critters, they do sing. But you can’t count on absence of
vocalization as a sign they aren’t around. Solitary animals, or while they’re
hunting, aren’t going to make much noise. You need to be observant, or you may
not see them until it’s too late. We caught a few glimpses of a howler or two
sneaking from one soybean field to another, mostly at dusk. They’re also active
at dawn. Encourage your kids to stay in sight and out of neighboring fields or
tall prairie grass. Don’t ignore campground leash rules for pets. You should
take wildlife safety seriously, especially as the weather begins cooling. Small
animals start going to ground, making a meal harder to find. Retractable
leashes are a bad idea, and are often against the rules anyway. A pet kept
close to you is far less likely to become the target of a hungry predator. Staying
in areas where there is decent lighting, when Pookie needs to take a bedtime
“walk”, is also a good idea.
Farm country does attract other wildlife too. Sightings
might include white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and pheasants. And it can be a
great place to get some peace and quiet for a few days. Exceptions would be
during planting or harvest, when a lot of large, noisy equipment is out &
about. Including being on the roads while the farmers are traveling between
their homesteads and fields. For those who have never seen farming in action,
you might find it fascinating. Farm equipment runs the gamut from practically antique
to mega machines equipped with GPS and other tech goodies.
While on your travels, keep an open mind when looking for
places to stay. Occasionally, they may be a diamond-in-the-rough. Then again,
you might just find a true gem.
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