St. Cloud Campground & RV Park - An Honest Review
Where: St. Cloud Campground & RV Park
When: August 1 to September 6, 2022 (~ five weeks)
Cost: $851.5 for full hook-ups (site 27; back-in)
We decided to book our stay in central Minnesota about a month before our arrival date. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of RV parks in the area that could accomodate our big rig for five weeks on relatively short notice. Many of the RV parks are seasonal too. What did we think of St. Cloud RV Campground & Park? Check out our video above to know more about what to expect.
Camp Store and Office at St. Cloud Campground & RV Park
The RV park located in a country setting on plenty of acreage about five minutes from town with easy access to Highway 10. Some of the adjacent properties are farmland and grassland, but the RV park has some nice pine and shade trees around much of its perimeter and throughout the park itself. Some overhanging trees at our site kept us nice and cool, but also prevented us from putting our awning out during rainstorms so we got used to muddy dog feet during our stay there. Aside from a little tree trimming needed at our site, the RV is probably one of the most well-maintained and amenity-centric RV parks we’ve ever stayed at.
Recreation Area at the St. Cloud RV Campground & RV Park
The owners of the park maintain a sticks-and-bricks residence on RV park property, and there were 3-4 workcamper couples taking care of the property during our time there. Mowing occurred every Tuesday like clockwork (although the property is so big that some mowing/trimming often bled into Wednesday). St. Cloud RV park is tastefully decorated with lots of hanging flower baskets, flower pots, and other outdoor décor (bird feeders, a windmill, etc) – some from the owners and others from the seasonal residents at the park. The park has one of the homiest feels we’ve encountered.
At St. Cloud RV Park, there’s a 6-ft deep heated swimming pool that is promptly covered evering evening or in case of inclement weather. One play area contains a volleyball net, playground equipment, horseshoe pits, ladder toss stands, and a GAGA ball octagonal pit. Another area contains a covered pavilion near a basketball court (there are two hoops) painted with pickleball lines with a movable pickleball net. The south side of the RV park is mowed in the shape of a baseball field and contains a baseball backstop and home plate. We never saw anyone playing ball there, but it was a good grassy area close to our site where we could walk the dogs on rainy/muddy days. An official dog walking area is located on an elevated section in the northwest part of the park. The park does not provide poop bags, but we rarely saw any dog droppings on the ground. Again, the park is very well maintained thanks to the workcampers.
Our site at the St. Cloud Campground & RV Park
St. Cloud RV Park contains around 100 sites, including 45 pull-throughs and 80 full hook-up sites. There are at least two propane tanks located at the campground serviced by Dooley’s Petroleum. Many of the sites have an in-ground firepit and a picnic table. The sites are mostly gravel (with some granite mixed in given that St. Cloud is known as “Granite City”). Many of the sites have concrete pads next to the RV parking area as well.
The park boasts a centrally located shower-house and laundry facilities. The tile and paint in the shower-house is a little dated, but it was functional and cleaned regularly. Laundry was cheap at $1.50/load (for both the washer and dryer).
At the main office, residents can check out some well-used various sports equipment, video games, and board games. We used their pickle ball equipment one time, and then decided to purchase our own. I then proceeded to win EVERY game I played against Kasie! Hear me? EVERY GAME! Oh yeah, baby!
The office also contains a book/magazine exchange area, some DVDs and VHS tapes for use and board games. The office contains a designated mail receipt shelf that was usually stacked with lots of Amazon boxes. A cooler houses a few cold non-alcoholic drinks near a pool table and Super Chexx table hockey game.
Rally Center at the St. Cloud Campground & RV Park
St. Cloud RV Park also is home to a large 2800 square-foot “Rally Center” for meet-ups and other gatherings, although we did not observe any rallies using the building during our stay at St. Cloud RV Park. Two shower stalls / bathrooms located in the Rally Center are open, even when the rest of the gathering space is closed.
Sandhill Cranes at the St. Cloud Campground & RV Park
Bird-watching is a popular activity in the area. During our stay, one of the residents would place some loose corn on a stump located about 20 yards from his site. A pair of red-headed sandhill cranes would stop at the stump for breakfast and then stay a while. That was a treat! There’s also an abundance of bushy-tailed squirrels and chipmunks at the campground.
One area where the St. Cloud RV Park could improve is the internet. The website says there is “ Free In Your Rig Wireless Internet.” We assumed that meant some sort of wifi access at each site. Instead, that meant that each rig needs to provide its own internet access. The wireless internet at the RV park is non-existent.
Power lines at the St. Cloud Campground & RV Park
Another thing that bothered me (at least at first) about the park was this large electrical grid tower located in the RV park. Having said that, after a couple of days, I barely noticed it.
St. Cloud RV Park did prorate our five-week stay using their monthly rate. The RV park is on the pricey side (even with the $730/month rate) compared to what we are accustomed to, but is competitive to other RV park prices we found in the area.
The bottom line is that we would stay here again.
