Reviews

Anna Leverentz

The good: beautiful easy trails, well maintained, nice lake. Nothing was overly crowded and I was there Labor Day weekend. Responsive rangers when needed. A lot of signs and history about the place scattered throughout The bad: Prairie campground has ZERO privacy so you better hope you have good neighors. Also, some sites have no shade. RV sites are on top of each other too. My firewood was wet the first night. Rangers need to do one round at 10pm to ensure bass is turned out, kids go back to their campsite, etc. What you need to know: The basics- they sell ice and firewood and there is very little/no cell phone service. Prairie campground is a mowed acre-ish with 12 campsites so it is like camping on the edges of someone's backyard but if you have kids, they will have a lot of room to run. Also, the wide open area gives an amazing view of the stars. P1 and P9 will give you the most privacy. The openness can be good or bad so I didn't want to include it in those.

Amanda Altman

I have been coming here since I was born! Great for families and people of all ages. Make sure you do the Loon Island hike and look for pelicans!

Larry Hutchinson

Lake Shetek State Park, a wild, green cathedral in Minnesota’s sprawling soul, beckons like a fevered vision of nature’s glory. This ain’t no savage proving ground for lunatic backpackers chasing transcendental ghosts. No, it’s a gentler beast, a haven for those craving a few days of peace, where the trails—sweet lord, those trails!—snake through forests so lush they’d make a cynic drop his pen and weep. Not grueling treks, but easy, scenic loops for a meditative stroll or a family’s ramble under canopies of pine and oak. The lake? A shimmering enigma, rumored to be a Walleye haven, though the fish tales float like whispers on the wind, waiting for some bold angler to confirm the legend. The campsites, trimmed like a gentleman’s lawn, stand as shrines to order, tended by a staff so courteous you’d swear they were raised in a monastery. The whole park pulses with care, a living ode to the heartland’s quiet splendor. Lake Shetek is a refuge, a place to sink into nature’s rhythm and breathe free. Tweak those bathrooms, and it’s as close to Eden as you’ll get without a map.

Matt Anderson

Very beautiful park, lots of places to explore. Very clean as well. Been to a lot of State Parks and this one is on the top of my list. Highly recommended. The sight seeing is endless and not to mention the fishing is also good.

Nicholas Verderame

Such an amazing campground! Accidentally camped in the picnic area the first night—which ended up being the highlight of the trip having such a large area of land to yourself—so we payed for an actual camp spot the second night. Roseanne at the ranger station was very thoughtful giving us campground 33 because it was similar in that it was the most secluded camp spot of them all. I didn’t get out and explore nearly as much as I should have since the weather was so dang nice, and it was the first camping trip of the year so I was honestly just relaxing. Weather way, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this place!

Rob Ristow

A very nice well maintained park. Nice hiking trails and lots of water access.

T W

It was a nice stay at cabin and campground. Beaches are beautiful and walkable to the loon island and early sunrise scenes (my thing). Nice kayak and night views of the starry skies

Virginia VanKeulen

Went for a short visit and hike in mid September. Lake is large and.pretty. Loon Island has a nice trail. Park has both meadow and wooded hiking. The meadow lake and fish retaining ponds were dried up due to lack of rain this year. Saw a few deer. The campground, cabins and facilities seemed nice.

Kyle Ackerman

We loved this park! The trails, great lake views, wilderness, history, and quality of the park makes this one of the best in state. I took three bike rides--one in the evening before sundown, and one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. The sundown ride was great as I saw several deer along my trek. I did an "almost dark" loop around Loon Island. My daytime bike rides included another visit to Loon Island with my wife this time. I love that island as it gives you great views of the entire lake. I also rode the path to Currie (nice train park there) and then back to the Trail's Edge Cafe before returning to the campground. This was a fun ride through cornfields, woods, and along the river. This is a great park for those who want a nice blend of hiking, biking, water, wilderness, wildlife, and history. I'd recommend this to anyone as a don't miss destination.

Craig D

Nice facilities. A great selection of sites. Excellent dump and water station for RV's. The down side? Very little to do at this park. Hiking and bike trails, but if you're not into those...it's boring.

Meng Thao

If your looking a great family time swimming, and camping then it's a great place if you don't mind people everywhere around you. if you are looking for more wild life habitat then probably not the place for it. Fishing isn't the greatest though you can drive to different areas which pretty much makes up for it. White and black crappies, walleyes, bullheads, northern pikes, white catfish, bluegills, sunfish, and if your really lucky a large mouth bass.

Joe Braund

A very nice state park full of history. Ride the Casey Jones Bike Trail Loop to Currie for the railroad museum and more history of the area. A lot of deer to be seen and not too many biting bugs. We were there for Labor Day weekend, and there must've been a party across the lake because the live band was very loud and easy to hear up until midnight.

Deanna

This is a 10/10 beautiful Park. Hiked the Loon Island trail first thing in the morning & it was stunning. Great history markers along the trail. Because of all of the old growth & fallen trees it was very active with lots of wonderful birds. I than drove over to hike the Webster Island Trail ... They weren't kidding when they said it was a little used gem - had the whole place to myself. Because of the drought the Marsh area by the observation tower was pretty dry. But WOW the prairie was a bloom with lots of beautiful flowers. You have to walk down a dirt road to get to the trail but it's along shore/prairie. Seen several deer & babies. Rabbits & chipmunk!!

Karen Chelgren

Pretty park with fun features including a causeway to Loon Island and monuments. Cart in Camping sites were pretty and spacious. Park staff were very helpful and friendly