Minneopa State Park

This is one of the oldest state parks in Minnesota. Not Fancy could use upgrading but we had great weather saw many birds, there is a bison herd in the park where we saw baby bison. The water falls were really flowing since it has been a wet spring. Bathroom facility is old. You have to drive to the waterfalls from the campground. You can access a bike trail from the waterfalls area. The bison are seen via a drive through… stay in your car!

After reading all of the wonderful reviews, I was a little underwhelmed. Perhaps it is because we arrived after a rainy period. Many of the sites in the A Loop were flooded or muddy and there was only one site occupied. B Loop was a bit better and there were a few more people there. Some sites in the A Loop overlook the river valley through trees but they are directly over railroad tracks so you will hear loud trains. No flush toilets but for pits (A Loop has sinks and a shower), reasonably clean. However I would not choose sites closeby because the fans are quite loud. Bison viewing road was cool and leads to the rebuilt granary (all that remains from a mill). Waterfall (across the street and about a mile from campground) is nice. Unless you hike the Minnesota River Bluff trail, you could easily see the bison, granary, and waterfalls in half a day, making this good for just a one night stay.

This state park is worth stopping at, and the campground is pretty okay, but the proximity to the city and two large colleges mean it’s bound to be pretty loud.

I stayed three nights. On Thursday-Friday it was quite pleasant and peaceful, but Friday-Saturday was super loud and super busy. All the trails were packed with people, and as it approached sunset, there were multiple groups of 3-6 guys who appeared to be going down to the river confluence to drink and get high. Lots of yelling and engines roaring at 11pm as they left the park. On top of that, the campground is right next to a train track. Trains honk for a road crossing near the park, and you'll hear it. Inside my RV, I didn't get woken up by them so I don't know how late they run.

The ‘A’ campground has no power hookups and is immediately next to a swamp, which means there are loads and loads of mosquitoes and super loud frogs. The ‘B’ campground has sites with electric hookups. My site and the ones near me did not appear particularly level; everyone had blocks out.

In April 2017, at B10e, 30A electrical worked fine with proper connections, and cell coverage was fine:
VERIZON: 2 bars, 46ms ping, 42mbps down, 3mbps up
T-MOBILE: 2 bars, 55ms ping, 10mbps down, 0.20mbps up
AT&T: 1 bar, 312ms ping, 3mbps down, 3mbps up

The hiking here isn't all that spectacular, but I've been spoiled by other Minnesota State Parks. It's worth doing the short hike down to the water and along the bison fence and back down to the water again, but you can do all that in a day. The bison drive is awesome! The gate is open 9:30am-3:30pm (check latest information) and you MUST be out of the enclosure by 3:30pm because they lock the gates. You will definitely see the bison, but it's hit or miss as to whether they will be right next to you. It seemed each day I was there, all the bison came up near the gate around 2:45pm-3:15pm, and they'll come within feet of your car.

If it sounds like there's not much to do here, that's because it's true. But, there is lots to do in the region, and this is a good place to settle in and explore the Mankato/St. Peter area, which has plenty of other parks, trails, and downtown areas.

There allegedly is a dump station here, I saw a building with restrooms, and there are several spots to get water in the campground, but I didn't use any of them because the water sadly still off for the season despite it being 60°F out.

Minneopa was $25/night when I stayed here, and a Minnesota State Parks daily/annual permit or license plate is required. As with all Minnesota State Parks, reservations can be made online in advance (added reservation fee) or same day (no reservation fee on top of nightly fee), even super late.