Big Island Campground

After a long day of driving (almost 9 hours) we wanted to rest for a couple of nights in a nice state park. We were charged $27 a night for an electric site plus another $5 for the daily state park admittance. Our site was relatively level and nicely spaced.
There's plenty of walking trails and wildlife but no real access to the waterfront which was disappointing. The restrooms were spotless and showers private.
Overall, it's a very nice state park but we felt it was overpriced and decided to move on the next day.

Its a bit pricy to stay here considering theres no water hookups. $5 daily fee, $6 for a bundle of wood, $29 for an electric site and $26 for non electric There is a place to fill up before you get to your site. The bugs are pretty bad here as we are in a wooded area. They have two different camping areas here for you to choose from, near the water or open field area. They have a really nice new visitor center that has all the minor things your need. It was pretty empty even though its the week before Sturgis.

We enjoyed our one night stay at Big Island Campground. The campground is very wooded and sites have good separation and privacy. All of the sites are back-in and are either primitive (no hookups) or have electric only (none have water). The dump station and water fill up is in the adjacent White Fox Campground.

Our site #15 was huge and had a 50amp hookup, but there were muddy ruts on one side and a low hanging branch on the other. We were able to lift the branch out of the way and avoid the mud. Other sites looked in much better condition. We had originally reserved another space, but when we arrived around 1PM it was still occupied. Check out time isn’t until 4PM. We were able to switch our reservation to an open site otherwise we’d have been cooling our heels for 3 hours waiting for our spot to open up. Just something to be aware of since most in campgrounds the check-out/check-in times are much earlier.

There is a nice nature trail around the park, however it is swampy and the mosquitos at dusk made it unbearable if you hadn’t slathered yourself in Deet. We did see deer, wild turkeys and several woodchucks. There is also a 6-mile paved bike trail by the campground entrance – probably a better choice since we could have outrun the mosquitos.  No access to the Albert Lea Lake from Big Island campground.

Our total for one night ended up being $42.50. The electric site fee is $29, but you also have to purchase a $5 daily MN park pass (or buy the annual for $25). We reserved a day ahead and incurred an additional $8.50 reservation fee. If you’re feeling lucky you can do a same day reservation for no fee – had I been aware of that we’d have saved the $8.50. All spaces must be “reserved” before you occupy them, but you can make your reservation when you show up. Interesting system.

We had 2 bars of Verizon 4G unboosted.

Had a wonderful 2 night stay at Myre-Big Island State Park. We stayed at the big island campground, site 3e. We got in around 8pm, so it was great to show up to a level site and we’re able to unhook the trailer and set up quickly. There is a beautiful trail around the island, the dogs loved it!

Our site 18E was wooded and large. Tricky to back into due to all the trees and one large log on the side of the site entrance. Only 30 amp so had to watch what we use. Very wet while we were there. On the plus side they have access to a paved bike trail that leads into Albert Lea.Big plus was the brand new restroom/shower house!
Next time we'll reserve a site in White Fox campground for our big rig.

Our big rig fit into site 26 pretty nicely. The sites are large and spread out. Nice trails, beautiful lake. Of course we couldn’t get any solar so had to do a couple hours of our generator each day which was a bummer. You have to buy a vehicle pass for every day which makes a no hookup site sort of expensive.

Good spaced out sites. Best campground toilets and showers I have seen. Electric only.

Great shower, bathrooms & sink station. Staff was helpful

Booking was easy on the Minnesota DNR website. Check in was relatively easy after that but you must produce your state park sticker confirmation number. Our site was a back-in electric only site. There is water nearby but not for connecting. There are restrooms/showers a short walk away and they are immaculate. The campground is on a peninsula in the largest lake in the Albert Lea area. It is a wooded area with good separation. Every site had a fire ring and picnic table. I imagine mosquitos in the summer but we camped in the spring so no problems. Antenna reception is nonexistent (4 choppy channels). AT&T had 2-3 bars but enough signal to stream with minor resolution issues. The park has numerous trails and lots of lake access. There is a picnic shelter with a fireplace that could hold a big party. There are benches facing the lake presumably for ranger talks. Nearby Albert Lea has limited offerings (pop. 18000) but the number one tourist site is the Myre Big Island State Park. We only stayed one night but it looks like a place that could take a few days to fully explore and enjoy.

Site was electric only, but we knew that. I did not use the wash house, but husband did and he said it wasn't very clean. It was a brief stopover for us, but we managed to do a couple of nice walks around the island. Several trees down on the trail, but paths were well marked.
Friendly check in, and had to pay the additional $7 for a daily SP entry, which we did know about so no surprise.
Sites were close together and the screening had not yet grown up (maybe from winter still?). Lots of big families with 5+ children each, so probably good for families? Although 3E was on the water side, you can't see the water.
Overall all, great quick stay and we'd do it again.