Red River State Park

This campground is in the middle of East Grand Forks Minnesota. Sites are large open some more shaded than others and almost all have full hookups. During our 3 day stay it’s obvious this is used primarily by large motor homes 5th wheels and travel trailers. Almost all are full hook up, level and pull through. There were a few tents as well but if you are looking for seclusion and wilderness you might want to pass it by. Being in the city you are walking distance close to restaurants, shops stores and a movie theater. It’s relatively quite, clean and well maintained. There is some road noise but it’s more like white noise in the background, nothing that intruded on our relaxation. It sits along the Greater Grand Forks greenway with miles of paved bike/walking/jogging paths on both sides of the river. Showers are free, don’t skimp on the hot water and seem to last forever on one push of the button. For the kids and young at heart there is an ice cream truck that came through each evening.

Cee Gee's review does it great justice. We were there the night of 10/12/16 visiting grand daughters attending UND across the river in North Dakota. This park is centrally located as an excellent base for the upper Red River area. Full service nightly rate is $33 plus $5 daily permit fee.

The highway and RR traffic is a bit noisy, but not a deal breaker. Might be different in the summer with windows open! Then it would help getting a spot on the south end of the c/g away from the highway.

Only thing else I would add to Cee Gee's notes is bring some blocking for leveling. I looked at five sites and still had to block the street side significantly. For some reason when grading they slant everything to make sure the water runs off quickly. I guess I can't fault their phobia, but the over compensation of grading seems typical of many city and state maintenance departments. They are probably not RVers!

It was too cold and windy when there, but they have what look like great bike and walking trails along the city river course. I was told that many Canadians use the park during their shopping trips into the US. It is convenient to the Winnipeg metroplex.

We ended up staying in this State Park as a result of working the Sugar Beet Harvest. It is a unique place, being placed in downtown East Grand Forks, Minnesota, right on the Red River. When the Red River flooded in 1997, the Sherlock Park neighborhood was wiped out. FEMA bought out the home owners, the dikes were rebuilt, and the area was turned into a State Park. The roadways are the old neighborhood streets. So you are basically camping inside the flood plain/dike system right in downtown East Grand Forks.

The best part of this park is the ability to walk into downtown East Grand Forks, or over the bridge into Grand Forks, North Dakota. There are a multitude of restaurants and a Cabela's just a 5 minute walk away. The 1997 flood also resulted in The Greenway being created along the Red River with miles of paved bike trails on both sides of the Red River and bike only bridges connecting the two sides. If you like easy bike trails, this place is for you.

The campsites within the park are large. The roads are paved, the sites are gravel. There are lots of trees and grass. Sites are both pull through and back in. Some have 50 amp electric and sewer and water. All have picnic tables and fire rings.

You will hear some road noise and train whistles, but nothing too bothersome. There are lots of over-the-air TV stations, with only ABC being a little temperamental. The State Park does have WiFi. We found it to be mostly excellent, but I heard others complain. We have an external WiFi antenna, so that probably contributed to our strong, fast signal.

If we were to come through this area again, I wouldn't hesitate to stay here. It's the best of both worlds.