Tucked away in Glyndon, MN is my new favorite “little” Minnesota State Park, Buffalo River. This park is worth the dive for an idyllic small park camping experience. With 44 campsites, mostly electric, with a fantastic small loop of nonelectric sites perfect for the rustic camper, and a group camp for up to 50, this campground feels small with good reason, it is. But don’t let that steer you away. Some of the best experiences we have had camping were at the little parks. This park offers amazing hiking, great facilities, and a peaceful setting for a weekend away.
Getting there is part of the fun…
Full disclosure time: we had a bit of a rough first night. It was not the drive or the park that caused the problem. A severe storm pouring down buckets and buckets of rain at dusk when we arrived to set up our tent was. We actually really enjoyed the ride, the kids had their tablets and hubby and I listed to music and caught up on all those chats you only have on a road trip. Its a very easy drive up 94 or 10, depending on which style of highway you prefer. We grabbed dinner on the way and planned to get to the site right before sunset, set up the tent and go right to sleep for an early next morning. Then we saw a wall of dark blue clouds on the horizon and realized the rain that was forecasted was no simple shower we could miss by a half hour like we thought. For a rousing tale on how to best plan and prepare for setting up a campsite during a rainstorm, check out this blog post. (Link to come soon.) The good news is we were able to safely set up our tent and get a little sleep before the next morning. The main campground area is set back aways from the main road, so it was a peaceful sleep, other than the tent falling on my head, multiple times.
Easy and Beautiful Hikes
When we started camping as a family, we joined the Hiking Club offered by the Minnesota DNR. This means we have a hike pre-planned for us at each park we visit. By pre-planned I just mean that they have a designated hiking path planned at each park that you can do to get credit towards the club. We always enjoy this as part of our trip and were blown away by the hiking at this park! There were paths in the prairie seen above, but also through the woods, and along the Buffalo River itself. We got to see a lot of really cool habitats and hear lots of different birds. The park has a good number of interpretive signs and are worth a read to learn about the history and area. There are lots of easy short flat hikes for beginner hikers, but if you like something more challenging, you can go for trying to hike all of the paths they have in one trip. I have never done that before but I think it would be a really fun day to try and complete all the hikes at a park in one weekend. You can also hike over to the MSUM Regional Science Center that boarders the park and has it’s own trails as well. I recommend bringing a flower guide book if you are interested in figuring out what plants are along the trail as there are many on show.
The Amenities Available
While many things were not available at this park due to COVID when we visited, we were able to have a look at the outsides of many of them. First up, the bathrooms! A very important feature to many campers, we were unable to use the main bathrooms but each side of the building had a family bathroom open for use. These were fairly new and usually very clean. Each had a shower, sink, toilet, bench, and a good amount of space if you were, in fact, using it as a family bathroom. On one end of the building were individual shower rooms which is a trend we are seeing in newer campground bathrooms. We haven’t had a chance to use them yet, but I personally think they will be a leg up on the old model of waiting and hoping you can get a shower in one of the two showers they threw into the bathroom. Because the rooms are individual and unisex, you maximize the likelihood of a shower being available when you need one! There was also a dish washing station on the end of the building which was an exciting feature for us, we had heard about them at parks, but never seen one. It was really nice and had plenty of space, but I had to clean it of outside elements (read: dead bugs) before I felt comfortable using it. The man-made filtered swimming pond was also closed and drained, but it looked AMAZING. There are paths for wheelchair access to the water, lifeguard stands and a beautiful sandy beach on all sides of the water. The swimming pond is a part of the very large picnic area. There is a full bathroom house, a bookable picnic shelter, plenty of picnic tables and fire rings, and areas to play different games. The best part is that it was a very short and easy walk to this area from the main campground. Definitely doable with all the trappings for lunch and an afternoon at the swimming pond. The camp office is small but that makes sense for the size of the park, hopefully we can go inside on our next visit and shop!
Why We Will Be Back Soon
This was one of our favorite camping trips of that summer. We were really able to enjoy the small park ambiance in this park and spent more time just hanging out at our site than ever before. Check out this post about the Pokémon Camp we recreated at our site! The hiking was amazing and we were really bummed we couldn’t explore the MSUM Regional Science Center as well. (If you’ve been tell me how it was below!) If you need a break from your everyday and just want to hang out in nature for awhile, I highly recommend making the trek to Buffalo River State Park. If you are booking an electric campsite, we liked the sites on the end of each loop for space and privacy, specifically 1, 16, 17, 18, and 34. For non-electric sites, go for the outside sites on the loop. This is also a great park if you are going with a group, as many sites butt up against each other on the inside loops. Be aware that many sites are better suited for RVs in the middle and do not have trees, grass, or bushes separating them as you will see at other campgrounds.
So, will you take the time to visit this hidden gem? Have you been before and have any tips for others? Share your story or plans below!
