Minnesota State Parks Still Have Labor Day Campsites Open

(KNSI) – Minnesotans hunting for a final taste of summer still have open campsites and more than 50 naturalist programs to choose from over Labor Day weekend.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, state parks and recreation areas will be putting on a full press of fun from Friday, September 4th through Monday, September 7th, and the agency is nudging people to lock in plans before the weekend fills up.

The closest program for central Minnesota residents is a Fishing 101 session at Father Hennepin State Park on Mille Lacs Lake, running 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 5th. Most naturalist programs are free, though some require reservations, and a state park vehicle permit is required in all cases.

Campers who have not booked yet are not out of luck. The DNR says 10 parks still had 20 or more drive-in sites open for the holiday weekend, including Lake Bemidji, Sakatah Lake, St. Croix and Zippel Bay.

Closer to home, Lake Maria State Park near Monticello did not make that list, but only because it has no drive-in sites to offer. The park’s 17 backpack campsites, three log camper cabins and two group sites are all reached on foot, most of them about a mile from the trailhead parking. The cabins sleep six and have wood stoves but no electricity or running water. Campers should also know that fires are prohibited at the backcountry sites, even where a fire ring is present.

Reservations are at mndnr.gov/reservations, which also has a “notify me” feature that emails users when a cancellation matches their search.

Vehicle permits cost $7 for a single day or $35 for the year at mndnr.gov/permit. The 2026 fall color maps go live Thursday, September 10th at mndnr.gov/fallcolor.

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