Blue Mounds State Park

We were traveling through the area and I was looking for a place to stay…this was a very nice find! Bathrooms are nice and clean, free shower, fairly quiet as we are here right before Memorial Day weekend. I would recommend site 29…it’s right next to a river. Lots of spots have electric. Very enjoyable and highly recommended! I did have to make the reservation online, through the Minnesota park service.

Blue Mounds State Park campground is located on tree-lined paved roads tucked in between a prairie and farmers' fields. It's quite peaceful and relaxing, especially with most sites unoccupied during the week. While the sites don't offer a ton of privacy, they are well-spaced for the most part and some of the loops have foliage behind the sites so you have a bit of a buffer there.

The loop we were in (on site 28) has a relatively new bathroom and shower house that is very nice. The other loop has the older-style bathroom and shower house that looked clean but is showing its age.

Even though you probably could rely on your cell phones here due to good and great signals (Verizon and T-Mobile respectively), the campground also offers wifi that is actually quite good. The transmitter for our loop is on the bathroom building and we have been able to work, including video calls, all week without any issues.

The sites themselves have gravel pads and decent-sized grassy areas to set up screen tents, etc.

The park itself offers several things to do, including watching for the protected bison herd out on the prairie, as well as hiking and biking trails that can lead you to a historic quartzite quarry and some great vistas of the area around you. At night, it's nice and dark so you can see a lot of stars -- if you walk a short way down one of the trails from the campground you can even see the Milky Way.

If we are in this area again, Blue Mounds would certainly be a place where we would check for openings.

We spent 2 nights here and found the spot, even when full, was quiet. Clean bathhouses (although muddy after overnight storms!). Trails around and about. My kids enjoyed the natural play area of pink quartzite. There was no bison prairie tour because of covid but a ranger gave a presentation one evening at the amphitheater that was great for families. A pleasant surprise.

We spent one night here driving from Wall, South Dakota to our home in Indiana. I looked online to find somewhere to stop and saw that this campground only had two spots left, so we changed it and made our way to the office to see if there would be any spots left when we got there. This was a nice stop and a nice break from the wind we have been experiencing on our long drive home. The park office employee was very knowledgeable and knew a lot about the campground and the park itself. There are buffalo, but we didn’t have a lot of time to spend looking at them. We did walk on one of the trails at the end of the campground that cuts through a field and around the lake, but I only wanted to get some good shots of the sunset, which was beautiful. We ran into some deer near the trail and lots of wild birds. This is a nice stop for anyone needing a last minute stop, provided there are campsites left.

Arrived 10-1-2020 with 18’ travel trailer. Gate attendant was pleasant and informative. With map provided the site was easy to find. $30 for site and $7 for parking? Not clear as to why two fees. Sites reasonably separated though neighbors are clearly visible. Site not level but adjustable. Power only. Dump station and potable water available on the way out. Experience was fine but price high for our use. Distinct odor at the site as if someone had released black water previously.