Camden State Park

The narrow, steep Redwood River Valley is blanketed with dense woods, blessed with free-flowing spring water and provided refuge for Native Americans, settlers and travelers. The powerful prairie winds still blast across the open land and barrel up the river valley and in present-day Camden State Park, visitors come to explore and learn about the history of this place. Camden State Park is located three miles southwest of Lynd in Minnesota’s Lyon County. Read more …

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A woman takes in the view of an awakening forest in the spring from a scenic overlook

A view of flowering bushes in front of trees without leaves in early spring

A woman hikes through a forest in early spring

A closeup of a morel mushroom at Minnesota's Camden State Park

A woman hikes along a creek in a forest in early spring

A closeup of a garter snake at Minnesota's Camden State Park

A light brown medium sized wooden building sits in a clearing on the edge of a woods

Purple Coneflower on the prairie walk at Camden State Park

Metal sign at the entrance to the prairie walk at Camden State Park

A tree in a clearing surrounded by a wildflower meadow

A small waterfall at Minnesota's Camden State Park

A picnic table at a campsite sits in a mowed area surrounded by a wildflower meadow flanked by trees

A closeup of a White Trout Lily at Minnesota's Camden State Park

A woman walks along the edge of a forest through a grassy area

A landscape view of a river running through a lush green valley from up high

Children swim in a shallow river flanked by trees supervised by an adult

Historic Redwood Lodge at Minnesota's Camden State Park

A closeup of a Large Flowered Bellwort at Minnesota's Camden State Park

A small stone building sit in a clearing by a small lake with a beach surrounded by woods

Trails

People visit Camden State Park to go hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. Hikers like to explore about 16 miles of trails ranging from relatively flat walks in the restored open prairie to more challenging and rugged paths in the river valley. The park has about 5 miles of trails available for mountain biking and 10 miles of horse trails and most trails are shared use with each group. There’s also 1.7 miles of self-guided trails at Camden, including a prairie interpretive trail. A paved one-mile trail connects to the 9-mile paved Camden Regional Trail into nearby Marshall. Read about a trip to Marshall and a ride to the park

Camping

Camden’s upper and lower campgrounds are located at opposite ends of the park and offer a total of 80 sites. The upper campground, perched on top of the valley in the prairie is fairly open and the lower campground is near the Redwood River and popular swimming beach in denser woods. The park has a group camp with room for 50 and a horse camp with 12 sites.

History

The park has three historic sites: The first site at Camden is the Sioux Lookout, where Native Americans had a commanding view of the river valley. The second one is the site of an American Fur Company trading post. Fur Trader Joseph LaFramboise, was the first white settler in this area in the 1830s. In 1874 the village of Camden was established and turned into a bustling town with shops and a sawmill. Camden faded away in the 1930s and today the third historic site at Camden State Park marks the location of the Jones Mill.