Monson Lake State Park

Campsites are well spaced with brush/trees between sites.

We were here in late September for a Friday night. The campground did fill up. It was nice and quiet. Water was still on - nice bath house with showers available.

Intermittent cell signal, depending where you were in the park.

We were in site four. If we were to return, we would reserve site 13. You can get down to the lake from that site and it appears that people leave their kayaks/canoes in that area - not just at the boat landing. We wish we had brought our kayaks.

This is a small state campground with only 20 sites with only 5 electric sites. The sites are nice and big and spaced apart which you don't find often anymore. There is about a mile of trails which isn't much. There is also a boat launch on the campground if you want to bring your boat and do some fishing. The rangers are from the nearby Sibley State Park so they aren't here very often at all. When we arrived on Friday afternoon they were just leaving and we didn't see a ranger all weekend. If you enjoy a nice peaceful, relaxing camping experience this is the place to go. We stayed the second weekend of October and the water was already shut off. There is no dump station here at all either. You have to go to nearby Sibley State Park.

We spent two nights at Monson Lake State Park in early August and really enjoyed it. It's one of the smaller parks in the Minnesota State Park system, but the sites are generous in size and well spaced. There are not a lot of trails and the recreational activities are somewhat limited, so if you're looking for that, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you're looking for a quiet weekend in a cute little park located a bit off the beaten path, this might be for you. We'll definitely be heading back for another visit.