America’s Camping Report Card
Minnesota
#10 of 43 for camping
Better than 79% of graded states · overall grade B+ — campers like it.
Graded on 8,583 written reviews from Minnesota - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- beautiful park92
- beautiful campground84
- beautiful lake61
- beautiful place48
- beautiful scenery44
What campers warned about
- lagoon filled in, less inviting2
- not much shade2
- beach area with boats tied up1
- beach not raked1
- beach not very nice1
- Praised by
- 44.2%
- Warned by
- 1.3%
- Rank
- Better than 33% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.429 (±0.011, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites75
- large sites39
- great campsites35
- nice campsites31
- nice sites28
What campers warned about
- sites close together9
- sites too close together7
- sites very close together5
- little privacy between sites3
- not very private3
- Praised by
- 43.1%
- Warned by
- 7.8%
- Rank
- Better than 86% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.354 (±0.013, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- hiking trails39
- nice trails19
- great fishing18
- good fishing15
- trails15
What campers warned about
- not much to do4
- limited trails3
- fishing from pier2
- fishing pier gone2
- fishing was slow2
- Praised by
- 34.8%
- Warned by
- 2.8%
- Rank
- Better than 86% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.321 (±0.011, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- well maintained136
- clean130
- very clean124
- clean bathrooms66
- clean campground46
What campers warned about
- bathrooms not cleaned6
- dirty bathrooms4
- grass not mowed3
- trail not well maintained3
- bathrooms need more cleaning2
- Praised by
- 33.6%
- Warned by
- 6.3%
- Rank
- Better than 62% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.273 (±0.012, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly staff80
- friendly and helpful staff33
- helpful staff24
- great staff23
- great hosts22
What campers warned about
- no campground host5
- never saw camp host3
- no host present3
- camp hosts overbearing2
- campground host laziness implied2
- Praised by
- 23.1%
- Warned by
- 3.5%
- Rank
- Better than 38% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.196 (±0.010, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bathrooms and showers45
- restrooms and showers29
- bathrooms24
- clean bathrooms21
- great facilities20
What campers warned about
- no dump station10
- firewood unavailable7
- no firewood available7
- bathrooms and showers6
- no showers6
- Praised by
- 26.4%
- Warned by
- 11.2%
- Rank
- Better than 91% of graded states
- Confidence
- Moderate confidence
Net sentiment +0.151 (±0.012, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet171
- quiet campground73
- very quiet63
- quiet atmosphere47
- quiet and peaceful30
What campers warned about
- highway and train noise9
- road noise6
- a little crowded5
- sites too close together5
- sites a little close4
- Praised by
- 13.9%
- Warned by
- 8.3%
- Rank
- Better than 31% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.056 (±0.010, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- family friendly21
- friendly people8
- family friendly atmosphere6
- family oriented6
- dog friendly4
What campers warned about
- felt targeted for race/sexuality2
- bad camping manners1
- discriminatory treatment1
- disrespectful experience1
- excludes pet travelers1
- Praised by
- 2.6%
- Warned by
- 0.3%
- Rank
- Better than 36% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.022 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- close to town19
- easy access18
- close to ely9
- easy to get to7
- easy to find6
What campers warned about
- no cell service3
- 4 miles of washboard gravel road2
- docks not up; hard site access2
- entrance closed2
- hard to drive in/out2
- Praised by
- 8.5%
- Warned by
- 6.6%
- Rank
- Better than 67% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.018 (±0.008, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- reasonably priced8
- great price7
- affordable6
- free4
- reasonable rates4
What campers warned about
- better options elsewhere2
- firewood overpriced2
- no refund given2
- not worth the money2
- wanted refund for first night2
- Praised by
- 2.8%
- Warned by
- 1.9%
- Rank
- Better than 43% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.009 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- felt safe7
- safe4
- safety measures enforced3
- beach barricaded from boaters2
- bear boxes2
What campers warned about
- children got stung2
- stray dogs destroying campsite2
- tree fell at campsite2
- active bear on site1
- afraid of neighbors; loose pit bull1
- Praised by
- 1.2%
- Warned by
- 1.9%
- Rank
- Better than 74% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.007 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- last-minute availability4
- easy check-in3
- easy online reservation3
- easy to reserve3
- easy reservation and check-in2
What campers warned about
- hard to get a reservation5
- hard to get in4
- hard to get reservations4
- book well in advance2
- disconnected service-request number2
- Praised by
- 1.9%
- Warned by
- 3.9%
- Rank
- Better than 41% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.019 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- pet friendly3
- atmosphere of respect2
- clear rules and directions2
- quiet hours respected2
- quiet time enforced2
What campers warned about
- no pets allowed4
- quiet hours ignored4
- quiet time not enforced4
- no dogs allowed3
- quiet hours not enforced3
- Praised by
- 0.6%
- Warned by
- 3.5%
- Rank
- Better than 67% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.029 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- no mosquitoes11
- no bugs9
- few mosquitoes7
- bugs not bad4
- few bugs4
What campers warned about
- mosquitoes22
- lots of mosquitoes14
- lots of bugs10
- mosquitos9
- mosquitoes terrible8
- Praised by
- 1.6%
- Warned by
- 8.6%
- Rank
- Better than 17% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.070 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 8,583 written reviews, 55% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Minnesota and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Minnesota vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.