Campgrounds and RV parks near The Lakes, MN

The Lakes is an unincorporated community in Murray County in southwestern Minnesota, sitting on the shore of Lake Shetek, the largest lake in the region and the headwaters of the Des Moines River. RV travelers use it as a base for state park camping, prairie hiking, and warm-weather water recreation. Lake Shetek State Park anchors the local camping scene with three separate campgrounds. Sunrise Campground offers 32 full-hookup RV sites with water, sewer, and 50-amp electric, Oak Woods holds electric and non-electric sites plus cart-in tent sites and four camper cabins under old oaks, and Prairie Campground provides 12 rustic sites for tents and small trailers. The Park Lake Cart-in sites and Valhalla Island Campground on Lake Shetek round out on-lake options. Within roughly an hour's drive, Camden State Park near Lynd adds wooded, riverside sites along the Redwood River, Olson Park & Campground gives an in-town option near Marshall, and Blue Mounds State Park to the south delivers prairie camping near Luverne.

Sites in Minnesota state parks, including Lake Shetek, Camden, and Blue Mounds, are booked through the Minnesota DNR reservation system at mndnr.gov/reservations or by phone at 866-857-2757. Reservations open 120 days in advance on a rolling window, so summer weekends on Lake Shetek go fast the moment the window opens. A Minnesota state park vehicle permit is required for entry at every state park in the area, sold as a daily or annual permit and separate from the campsite fee. Olson Park & Campground near Marshall is a city-run park and is booked directly through the City of Marshall rather than the state system. For group trips, Lake Shetek's Zuya Group Center and the wilderness group camp on Park Lake, and Camden's riverside group camp, all take advance reservations through the state system.