Summer 2021

Our trip here was a family get away.  We have a large blended family with 11 grandkids.  Not all of them camp or least enjoy tent camping.  I can see their point, as I hated tent camping with very young kids.  I know that many people do enjoy it and would never say don't do it.  Everyone's style of camping is their style.  We picked the Hayward KOA as they have Kamper Cabins, so most of the family was there.  

The campground is nicely maintained.  The sites are very tight for large rigs.  Full hookups.  They had us on a site and the RV used every inch of the space available. The front and rear were less than a foot from the roadway.  Not ideal.  They have a pool, playground and the standard outside play areas.  They did have a water slide, mini golf and bounce pad but they all required an extra fee.  The waterslide was open to the public, not just campers.  

We had a pretty good thunderstorm when we were there and we woke up to about 2 inches of water under and around our camper.  Thankfully we had put things off the ground in anticipation of the weather.  We didn't expect the standing water.  The ground is sandy so it was all gone by noon, but there was enough water to move our pile of firewood about 80 feet from under the RV. 

Close to town, so shopping and resupplying was easy.  We will go back again, but I will be asking more detailed questions on lot size when making a reservation.    KOA Hayward

We have driven past this campground for years and after hearing some good things from people we know that have been there, we made the trip to enjoy the fall colors the North Shore of Minnesota has to offer.  

The owners run the office, very welcoming, and escorted us to our site, assisted in getting backed in and made sure we were happy with the site while giving us the lay of the land.  While they do have seasonal sites but it seemed that most were transitional as there were many open sites.  It was late in the season so some may have been moved to storage.  

This campground is open year round and we saw some rigs that were skirted in for the winter months ahead.   They have a restaurant onsite as well as play areas, horseshoe pits and a pool.  Full hookups and some pull throughs.  If you are planning on spending some time in the Duluth, MN area this is a good base to work from.   

Another campground that we were invited to visit by our camping friends.  Its just across the road from Mille Lacs Lake.  As many campgrounds do, most of the sites here are seasonal.  Their waiting list is over a hundred in length.  We are on their list.  There is a pool, large grassy area for play, fishing pond and a playground for the kids.  The sites are a good size, you don't feel like you are on top of your neighbor.  Everyone there is friendly.  We have spent several weekends over the last two summers there and our first trip of the 2022 season is there to make sure everything is in order after storing the rig for the winter.  Even though you aren't on the lake itself, its so close many fishermen camp here and drive 1/4 mile to the boat ramp for Lake Mille Lacs.  We definitely recommend this site.    Pete's Retreat