Lake Carlos

Shaya Hartwig

Great place for an adventure! If you go for a weekend or even just an afternoon, you will absolutely enjoy this park. There are many trails. Places to grill. Swimming beaches. Cabins to rent. Campsites with or without electricity. Tons of kits at the office that are FREE to check out. Bird kits with binoculars, fishing kits with poles and tackle, hiking clubs. The rangers are all friendly and knowledgeable. Highly recommend checking it out.

Priyanka Kumari

Lake Carlos State Park offered an easy Hiking Club Trail, though the melting ice made the trail quite messy at times. Parking is limited, but given the park’s smaller size, it makes sense. I came across a few camping sites, and surprisingly, there were even some campers in the off-season. While it’s not the most expansive state park, it’s a decent spot for a hike if you’re in the area and looking for some outdoor time.

Vanessa Parker

Lake Carlos Campground has become an annual tradition for us, and for good reason! The views of the lake from the lower campground are absolutely breathtaking, making it the perfect spot to relax and soak in nature. The campground itself is well-maintained, and the sites are spacious. There’s plenty to do in the surrounding area. 22 Northmen Brewing is a must-visit if you’re in the mood for a local craft beer. Whether you're into hiking, water activities, or just unwinding by the fire, Lake Carlos is the perfect getaway!

Sarah Carsello

Beautiful Park with plenty of ways to experience nature! Beach and swim, picnic, boat launch, canoe/kayak, hike, bike, horseback ride, and many more things to do! Upper campground was quiet and peaceful. Clean bathrooms all over the park. We had a flat tire on one of our bikes and got help from a park ranger. We rented kayaks for an afternoon and enjoyed our day. I highly recommend this park for camping or even a day trip to experience the park!

Jerome Liggett

A great visit to a very busy state park. Stayed 3 nights at the northern campground. Compared to the southern which was packed we enjoyed a less busy campground. Camping sites varied from quite open to mostly shaded but the ground at most looked ok. No rain for our visit but I imagine that some sites would get quite wet after heavier rains. Bathroom were typical with 2 toilets and one urinal along with a single stall shower. Shower has locking door and is big enough to bring a child in with you is not crowded. Staff was friendly and gave some great suggestions of thing to do in area. Beach and picnic area were nice with additional bathrooms on site. A fairly decent walk from northern sites to beach area so we drove the few minutes to get there. The southern site was quite lively during our visit so I would agree the northern side is for those looking for a more quiet visit. Certainly understand people saying it is one of the busiest parks but well worth the visit for a day or more if looking for a camping experience.

Sarah Mathre

The state park was very clean and quiet. There were many parking spaces and was not busy when I visited it today. I saw that there were several campgrounds that you can bring your RV to. The lake was pretty big and I heard it is good for fishing. There was a fishing shack next to the lake for cleaning the fish. The nature/hiking trails were nice and I appreciated that they had many stands that supplied doggy bags along with garbage cans. They also had a beach volleyball net and canoes/kayaks for rental. I would come here again in the future.

Kaela B

For winter sports this park can be difficult. Would not recommend snowshoeing here as they have rentals (not all parks do) but don't mark any trails for snowshoeing. Not great for skis either because of the snowshoeing over groomed trail. At least the ski trails are marked on the map. 🤷‍♀️

Rachel Hubbling

Pure serenity! No matter where u go here, lots to take in and just be one with nature at its finest!

Mike Klinker

Beautiful Park on the shores of Lake Carlos !

Amber Zschokke

Love it!