Wowwww. When I decided to go full-time and thought of all the great places I'd be parking my rig for the night, I couldn't even dream up a place like this. This is the stuff fairy-tales are made of -- an immaculate little garden at each site, country club lawns, green, green, green and not a weed in sight, pure heaven on the feet, a beautiful meadow/hill that filled with lightning bugs that starts just behind the big-rig sites on the southern side, and hold on to your Deet, *no* mosquitos. It's situated on what used to be an old farm, you pass a beautiful old barn on the way down to the sites, in a pretty valley. A small spring-fed river, that you can hike up to the source, just a mile upstream, runs along the north side of the campground. Even the drinking water is yummy. The owners are hands-on, good hearted, friendly and helpful. They keep a close eye on the entrance and no one gets in who doesn't belong here. Maple Springs comes alive with camping families on the weekends, and is always completely quiet at night, with absolutely no road noise. There is a well-stocked store, and thanks to Doris' feeders, the valley is filled with chirping birds, butterflies and hummingbirds. I planned to stay four weeks, but stayed for six. If not for another reservation up north, I would be staying longer. The bluff country of SE Minnesota is a true treasure and Maple Springs is the perfect place to come home to after a day of exploring. Note: with electricity, sites are $23/night. The monthly rate of $400 with electricity is included, is fantastic. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Set in the bluff country of southeast Minnesota with wild flowers, birds and wildlife nature trails. You can also fish for trout along the bordering stream. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We opted for a "shaded" site up on the hill. These sites were absolutely tiny. We could hear every word at the campfires on either side of us. The pool was dirty and totally over run with unsupervised 9-12 year olds. Pay showers only had COLD water and bathrooms were NEVER cleaned the whole weekend. I am shocked that other reviewers liked this CG. It is on a beautiful bike trail in a great part of the state - location, location, location I guess. We will NEVER return. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We liked the CG, the barn has a fascinating history and was well worth preserving. As in most private CG's, the sites are too close together. Most sites have trees for shade and except for the rustic sites, they were level. Nice pool, enclosed for 3-season swimming. Golf course on site. Beautiful part of MN...very rural with rolling hills, Amish and lovely small towns. What we didn't like - no quiet hours enforcement. We had a rowdy party near us going on til midnight. PAY showers, hate those! Confusing office area. It's part of the restuarant and just not set up well at all. Tiny camp store outside in a shack with just basic munchies. You'd think in a very rural area with no large stores nearby that they would have a better camp store. Overall a nice place with some annoyances, but nothing that would stop us from going back once a year or so. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Review Rating
[ 9 / 10 ]
2003
$20
We have visited this campground probably close to twenty or thirty times. Incredible
experience every time. The campground is right on the Root River Trail with access to the trail right from the campground. One of the most amazing things about this campground is the lack of mosquitos due in part to the barn swallows that live in the area. Only reason we did not give this place a ten is the showers and restrooms. They are extremely clean, but feel they could be a bit more non-concrete and brick. Defintely planning on visiting this place with our new fifth wheel in the spring. We camped here in a Tent.
Beautiful setting for this clean, quiet campground adjacent to the Root River Bike Trail. Sites were spacious and the grounds well kept. There is an indoor heated pool, a restaurant and game room, a golf course and putting green, and many other things to do within a 10 mile radius of the campground. Staff were friendly and helpful. We look forward to returning next year. We camped here in a camper.