Great River Bluffs State Park

This park is beautiful and clean, with nice bathroom and shower facilities. We drove in late and had to leave early so we didn't have time to check out the trails, but the surroundings that we did see were beautiful. You can drive in and get permits after hours at a self check-in station near the entrance.

Stay away from this campground. Horribly un-level sites, lots of mosquitos, dusty gravel road, and limited cell signal. No hookups. Plus, they charge you an additional $7 just to enter the campground - even though you already paid for a campsite.

Beautiful location, hiking/skiing trails all over. Very clean bathrooms, close to the campsites. Somewhat private sites, not very busy. Easy check in at the entrance. Car fee in addition to campsite fee.

Stayed here once several years back. It is located on top of a river bluff, basic dirt and gravel pull out spaces at the end of a twisting road up. I think a person would be OK with a 30' max trailer, but would have to be fully self contained. No services up here.

If the weather is good, this would be a spectacular stop. I will attempt to get photos the summer of 2015.

Access to the road up is off I-90 on the westbound lane without much warning. Road up is gravel and dirt as I recall and I wouldn't try it in anything other than dry conditions. Many switchbacks on one of Minnesota's rare mountains.

This is a small park with only 32 primitive sites. Both the access road and most of the sites are not trimmed well enough for RV access - we had difficulty getting our 12' high rig in. Many of the sites are also small & were clearly designed with tent campers in mind.

The park has some pretty hiking trails - especially the one along the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River.

There is a single bathhouse and a single potable water spigot, but you'll need a long hose to reach it if you're in an RV. There is no dump station.

We camped in a 24 foot trailer. The staff were really nice and helpful. This is a Friday night, so she gave us the only free campsite left, at noon! Leaf peepers! Although, compared to northern Wisconsin, there wasn’t much color. Our campsite was nonelectric. The distance between sites is substantial, so it felt pretty private. Once the leaves are gone, probably not so much. It’s been so cold, the non heated bathrooms were not appealing enough to take showers. The outhouses were clean and no odor at all in cold weather. The tiny bathroom was packed, so did not use it! The trails here are beautiful, with great views. The campground is up on top of a Bluff. No views from the campground. Nice and quiet!

We decided to stay there one night during a road trip precisely because it was supposed to have bathrooms and showers. Well, they were under construction so no access to anything other than one vault toilet. There wasn’t even any potable water available (no water coming out) even though it was supposed to have it. In other parks, they usually disclose when their services are not available.

I had a good experience here. The other campers were quiet and respectful. I didn't have much problem with mosquitos. I had a nice relaxing evening and slept great under the trees.

The hiking trails around the park are great with spectacular views.

Leaves changing here in mid-October. Unbelievable views and very satisfying to scratch the Fall colors itch. Sites are spaced out well and the area is very secluded. Short easy hikes (less than 1 mile each) end in spectacular bluff views. It’s really something else. It’s a place that really must be visited especially in the Fall. Quiet and dark at night. Only drawback is be prepared for a long drive in in a dirt road. Probably a few miles. But that is also why it’s great.

In this video, we take you to Great River Bluffs State Park in Minnesota. At Great River Bluffs State Park, we take you to the North and South Overlooks and show you the best campsites at the park’s campground; video uploaded here on Campendium for your immediate reference. A short hike took us to stunning views of the Mississippi River from atop the bluffs. The RV campground at Great River Bluffs State Park has flush toilets, hot showers, garbage receptacles and offers a dry camping experience. Reservations must be made online to occupy a campsite. It is worth noting that we did not find a dump station in this state park and while their is a water facet without threads located adjacent to the campground shower house, we did not find any fresh water fill. Top off your RV with water before you arrive. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 6.01 Mbps download speed and 0.19 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 24.5 Mbps download speed and 1.17 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 9.04 Mbps download speed and 1.70 Mbps upload speed.