Pick up in Mound
| Location | Fairfax, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Nightly rate (listed) | $24–$85/night |
| Maximum RV length | 65 ft (longest listed site) |
| Hookups | electric |
| RV sites | 43 |
| Pets allowed | Yes |
| Showers | Yes |
| Book on | Minnesota State Parks |
From the park's listing on Minnesota State Parks. Confirm details with the park before you book.
More Minnesota RV parks with: Big Rig Sites
Picks are 65 ft or shorter: the longest RV site listed here. Pickup area: Minneapolis (Minneapolis-Saint Paul International (MSP)), about 80 mi straight-line from Fort Ridgely State Park. RV rentals in Minneapolis
Closest stays by type. Distances are straight-line from Fort Ridgely State Park, not driving.
Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights45 sites open for every night
Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights3 sites open for every night
Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights23 sites open for every nightThis weekend · Available Oct 30 – Nov 1 · 2 nights47 sites open for every night · from $24/night
Fort Ridgely State Park is a Minnesota State Parks campground in Fairfax. It lists 37 RV or RV/tent sites and 3 tent sites for rigs up to 65 ft. 19 sites have electric. Pets are allowed per the listing.
Checking 2 nights (your saved dates or this weekend). Tell us what you're staying in to see matching sites and prices.
Availability checked Oct 25 on Minnesota State Parks. Rates are the provider's nightly rates; totals are estimates before taxes & fees.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site H4E.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site H5E.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site H6E.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site H7E.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site H8E.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site 1.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site H1.
Minnesota State Parks has no page per site: this opens the park page, then choose site W1.
You book with the provider. Each row shows that provider's lowest open option for your dates, and which provider our main button uses.
Availability checked Oct 25 on UseDirect. Showing 40 of 48 sites.
| Site | Fr 30 | Sa 31 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 37 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 38 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 1 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 3 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 5 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 15 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 17 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 6 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 7 fort ridgely campground |
This weekend (Fri, Oct 30 – Sun, Nov 1): Book online. Reservations online on Minnesota State Parks — open dates and rates come from the booking site.
Longest RV site listed: 65 ft. Unsure if your rig fits? Check it in the Rig Fit tool
72158 County Road 30
Open in Google Maps ↗
Not listed — check the provider's page for check-in times, fees and rules.
Fort Ridgely State Park sits on the bluffs of the Minnesota River Valley. Named for the frontier military post (1853 to 1872), Fort Ridgely is the fourth oldest state park, established in 1911. This state park has a lot to offer. Summer activities include hiking and horseback trails, fishing in a stocked trout stream, camping with both drive-in and walk-in sites or renting a renovated farmhouse. Winter brings snowshoeing, snowmobiling, or staying overnight at the chalet. For more information on historic Fort Ridgely, visit the Minnesota Historical Society . History For thousands of years the Dakota people and their ancestors have lived along the Minnesota River. The story of Fort Ridgely as a military post and later state park begins much later and is a sliver of time compared to the long and ongoing history of Dakota people in the area. The U.S. Army established Fort Ridgely to keep the peace as settler-colonists pushed into the Dakota homelands. In the spring of 1853, the steamboat West Newton left Fort Snelling for a journey up the Minnesota River carrying soldiers and their families, carpenters and supplies. They built a fort on the plateau above the MN River in present-day Nicollet County, on the edge of the Dakota reservation. They named the fort "Ridgely" to honor three men of the same name who served during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Completed by 1855, Fort Ridgely developed into a self-sufficient community populated by 300 soldiers and civilians. The fort withstood two major attacks during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 and became a training ground for Civil War recruits. Learn more about the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 . Fort Ridgely closed in 1872 as an active military post, and soon after, local farmers and others repurposed the buildings. The first purchase of land for the park occurred in 1896 as a U.S.-Dakota War memorial. An additional 50 acres were purchased in 1911 when the State Legislature designated the site as a state park. By the 1920s, Fort Ridgely State Park had grown to 183 acres along with construction in 1927 of a golf course. The old golf course greens are now being restored to tallgrass prairie. Today the park consists of 537 acres. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Fort Ridgely State Park benefitted from federal work relief projects starting with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). On August 2, 1934, a group of young men started to improve the state park by working on landscaping, road work and construction of numerous buildings. This CCC crew was removed in the fall of 1935 and later replaced by a Veterans Conservation Corps (VCC) crew. Veterans of the Spanish-American War and World War I worked in these VCC camps. Park visitors can still use some of the stone and timber structures they built, including two picnic shelters and a bathroom. The VCC crew also did archeological work at the historic fort site and reconstructed the old commissary, which is now owned and managed by the Minnesota Historical Society. Naturalist The best way to learn more about Fort Ridgely State Park is to stop at the park office for a map and information about the park. Although the park does not have a naturalist on staff, activities are offered occasionally. Wildlife Many different animals make their home in Fort Ridgely State Park or move through depending on the time of the year. White-tailed deer can be seen bounding through tall-grass prairie. Gray foxes sleep in the trees. Beavers build dams along the creek. Red-tailed hawks soar high in the sky. Snapping turtles bury their eggs in the sandy creek banks. The summer singing of Eastern bluebirds forms a chorus with dozens of nesting bird species. These and many other species of wildlife can be found at Fort Ridgley State Park. Landscape The construction of a military fort and European development has affected the landscape for over a century through logging, farming, grazing and other development. One of the areas retaining much of its native habitat is the bluffs of the Minnesota River Valley. These bluffs feature an almost intact display of prairie wildflowers and grasses growing under large bur oaks, making up what is called an Oak Savanna. Deep ravines pushing downward toward the Minnesota River and Fort Ridgely Creek are populated by many different trees (ash, basswood, sugar maple, hackberry, black cherry) and wildflowers (bloodroot, Dutchman's Breeches, nodding trillium, wild ginger, tall bellflower and many more). Fort Ridgely Creek, flowing through the campground area, has seen several major flooding events in recent years, causing streambank erosion and loss of trail sections. Geology Massive sheets of ice slowly advanced and retreated across what is now Minnesota for millions of years as part of four distinct glaciation periods. The last one took place 30,000 to 11,000 years ago, leaving behind immense layers of debris almost 200 feet thick made up of sand, gravel, and rocks. As a relatively young landscape in geologic time, erosion has cut through this glacial till, forming both the Fort Ridgely Creek and Minnesota River valleys. You can see evidence of this in the steep gullies and exposed deposits of kaolin clay along the banks of Fort Ridgely Creek.
| Agency / operator | Not listed |
|---|---|
| Booking | Online via reservemn.usedirect.com (booking listing; window not listed) |
| Max RV / trailer length | Not listed |
| Bear storage |
Pick up in Mound
Pick up in Shakopee| ✓ |
| ✓ |
| $24 |
| 9 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 12 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| W2 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 35 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| W1 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 39 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 13 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| W3 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| H1 equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 8 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 20 fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $24 |
| 30E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 31E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 32E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 34E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 19E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 21E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 26E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 27E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| H9E equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| H10E equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| H6E equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| H11E equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| H12E equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 23E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 24E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 29E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 28E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| 36E fort ridgely campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
| H8E equestrian campground | ✓ | ✓ | $34 |
✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released
| Not listed |
| Season | Not listed |
|---|
| Hookups | Not listed |
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"Not listed" means no source we use states it.
Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the reservemn.usedirect.com listing. Anything we can't source says so.