Minnesota Road Trip: Camping in Itasca State Park

Minnesota Road Trip: Camping in Itasca State Park

Minnesota Road Trip: Camping in Itasca State Park
Did you know Paul Bunyan had a family? I didn’t.

The adventure that is camping

I went tent camping in Itasca State Park. This may not surprise you, dear reader. Adventuring Woman is the name of this blog, after all. But people who actually know me? Their eyes popped out a little bit. I am not much of a camper, more of a woman adventuring into hotels, hostels, or perhaps a nice little cabin. I like to sleep in a bed, you see. I’m also fond of those modern inventions, the flush toilet and the hot shower.

So what could ever persuade me to go camping? All for love, people, all for love. I went on a camping trip with my sweetie, who is one of those outdoorsy types, and 3 other delightful and outdoorsy couples. We shared 2 campsites, camp cooking duties, and the fun of trekking to the nearest primitive toilet.

That’s actually what they call them in the Minnesota State Park system: primitive toilets. I’m talking wood outhouses, with those corrugated roofs of clear plastic so you can get some light in there. Or you could, before the plastic became covered with leaves, debris, and good old dirt. I don’t know if other people hold their breath the entire time they’re in there, but I do.

This sign is at Treasure City, but also applies to me going camping. The “see it to believe it” part.

My aversion, explained

If I can explain a little about my aversion to camping. First of all, I am very, very lazy. Second. My dear father, aside from being a devoted fan of the DQ, vintage planes, daylilies, and sarcasm, was an outdoorsman with a capital O. I spent so much time camping as a child, I really had enough camping for anyone’s entire life.

We camped for years in a huge old canvas tent that I think was from the army or something. It was that camo green color. No plastic like these newfangled ones, and when it rained, you woke up lying in a pool of water. Kind of like a tadpole. Later on, my dad converted a vintage Ford moving truck into a camper. He put a couple of bunk beds in there, a table that folded down against the wall, stuff like that. Pretty posh.

I had a tendency to fall out of the top bunk while sleeping. Fortunately I was an extremely heavy sleeper, and sometimes this didn’t even wake me up. I don’t sleep that heavily now. That’s all.

Road trip to Itasca

But before we get into the exciting camping story, there was the road trip! A 4- to 4.5-hour drive (about 225 miles) from the metro, mostly on state and county highways. We were back on Minnesota State Highway 10, a favorite of mine from our road trip to Roseau. Only THIS time, Treasure City was open! Yesss!

Ahoy, matey! A big old pirate guards Treasure City, and he’s got his foot in the cash.

Treasure City

Treasure City is…it’s a store, I guess, but more of a roadside attraction, in Royalton, Minnesota on Highway 10. I really, really wanted to stop on a previous road trip. Closed! This time it was open, and I was in raptures.

First of all, there’s the outside. I mean, look. There’s a lot of things you can stick your head into and take pictures. And there’s a place to have a picnic. They also have a separate building where they sell fireworks year round.

Fireworks are available year-round at Treasure City. Memories–remember how much wild rice was at Call O’ the Wild?

Fake animals

Then there’s the “animal park” and the “petting zoo.” I found these a bit creepy. Why, for instance, does the Moose have his butt facing the viewer (and his man parts thus evident)? And why is the sheep apparently in a state of terror, his teeth bared and his eyes rolling back in his head? There is perhaps a macabre sense of humor at work here. Just saying.

So there’s a lot to look at outdoors. Then you go inside. Oh. my. Lined up on tightly packed shelves with narrow aisles in between is a vast amount of STUFF, hanging from the ceiling, draped on nets hanging from the ceiling, and generally dangling from the ceiling. I was awed. And overwhelmed.

And what manner of stuff! There seems to be a bit of everything, though it sticks to the fanciful, and not the utilitarian. Unless you call rocks, alligator heads, fake snakes, toy buses, figurines of fairies, or license plates with people’s names on them utilitarian. Wait: something IS utilitarian, and that is the ice. You get 3 scoops of free ice. Yes, you heard me: 3 SCOOPS of free ICE! Whee!

One of the jam-packed aisles in Treasure City

Pirates

A pirate theme is evident, but this does not overwhelm the selection. In a large area, you will find board games and card games. A transportation area features toy trucks, buses, cars, planes, etc. There’s a lot of, reptiles. Some a bit ewww. Like snake skins and alligator heads. Hopefully not real ones.

You too can be a pirate at Treasure City

I was most taken by some magnets. I really wanted the treasure chest one, with its sparkling gems, but now perusing this picture I may be even more enamored of the skeleton pirate and his rhinestone eyeball. The chest cost $8.99, so I didn’t buy it, this seeming rather expensive for a refrigerator magnet. However, considering all the free entertainment and the free ice…what in the world was I thinking?!? Do you suppose they have mail order?

Lake George and the Wigwam

Our next real stop was in Lake George, which is the last town before the park. We bought some firewood and some half-n-half. (Fortunately, my sweetie makes French press coffee when camping. Otherwise, I could not have been persuaded to go, nohow.)

Itasca State Park

Itasca State Park is beautiful. It’s huge (32,690 acres). It’s got a big lake, old growth forest, and the headwaters of the Mississippi.

Established in 1891, Itasca State Park is the first Minnesota state park and the second oldest state park in the US (after Niagara). Henry Schoolcraft determined that Lake Itasca was the Mississippi’s source in 1832. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

The experience of “roughing it” itself? Perhaps the less said about that, the better, as I may be addressing camping fans. Of whom I still am not among. We had wonderful company and some great meals prepared by our co-campers. We even made salmon in foil and green beans when it was our turn to cook. Impressed?

Our campsite. Notice the bug repellent. We needed it!
Home sweet home

The last night, it rained, hard, and there was an itty bitty leak. I thought about going to the Lake George wigwam, but it has a locked door, for goodness sake. What kind of wigwam has a door at all, I’d like to know.

The Mississippi Headwaters

Our group decided to hike to the Mississippi headwaters from our campsite, but we went the wrong direction and ended up walking along an asphalt road for what felt like several miles. It was SO HOT. Being hot makes me crabby. Then we walked back, got in our cars, and drove to the Mississippi headwaters. Where there were so many people. Eek.

I came to the Mississippi headwaters as a child. Somewhere there is a picture of me walking barefoot across the stones that comprise the headwaters. It’s the thing to do. As I recall, though, this was fairly easy and the water wasn’t very deep. Not so now. Walking across would be rather a feat, and I did not attempt it.

We did take a picture with the headwaters sign. I didn’t want to show you ’cause I look so horrible. (Did I mention being vain?) But, I shall sacrifice my vanity and not even crop off my lower body so you can see the headwater stones in the background. The sign reads: “here 1475 feet above the ocean, the mighty Mississippi begins to flow on its winding way 2552 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.”

I don’t recall there being so darn many people there when I was a kid, either. It was actually a bit of a tourist trap, with people waiting in a queue to take a photo with the sign, and all that. There is even a Mississippi headwaters webcam. You can check it out on the DNR’s website here: real-time webcam.

I just looked at the webcam and there’s not many people there. Probably because it’s not noon on a Saturday. Hmmm.

Lunch at Douglas Lodge

After this adventure, we went to lunch at Douglas Lodge, a very cool place that is actually part of the park. The lodge dates from 1904, and there are other beautiful vintage log buildings. Still being moody, I did not take many photos, but did have to capture the tater tot hot dish one of my compatriots dined upon:

Deemed a classic menu item, I heard the tater tot hotdish was tasty. It had a béchamel sauce. Cream of mushroom soup is traditional. In addition, the hotdish is “finished with parmesan.” Ahem. Unheard of. Unless it’s from that green can.

You can get wild rice hotdish, too. All their wild rice is from Red Lake Nation.

Lake Itasca

On the way out of the park, we stopped at an overlook on Lake Itasca. So lovely! We walked a little ways down the trail and took a few pictures through the trees. I wish we could have stayed and gone hiking, it was beautiful in the (cool, shady) woods and the temperature was reasonable that day. That figures.

Steep steps down to the overlook
A view of Lake Itasca through the pines and birches that surround the lake

Here I learned some things about the geology of Minnesota. The state is located in the approximate center of the continent, midway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The 10,000 lakes of Minnesota cover 5,600 square miles, an average of 1 square mile of water for every 15 square miles of land. This exceeds the water area of any other state. So there.

If you’ve enjoyed this Midwest road trip, you might like to join me on my road trips to the Minnesota North Shore, Madeline Island Wisconsin, Cascade River State Park,  and Roseau! (For camping disaster stories, see Cascade River and Madeline Island. Thank you in advance for your sympathy.)

In the Twin Cities, come visit the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden with me, then have a picnic on the Mississippi River and watch spectacular fireworks from the Stone Arch Bridge. Or join me at the Minnesota State Fair to sample numerous foods on a stick.

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Minnesota Road Trip: Camping in Itasca State Park

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29 Comments

  1. Hi, Cynthia!

    Your post brought back wonderful memories of our road trip to Lake Itasca a couple years ago. Son and I went to the headwaters at dawn and had the whole place to ourselves. Magical. Want to visit again next summer on our way to Isle Royale. We had flush toilets and showers there though when we camped. Totally agree with you on that point! That and the French press coffee!!

    Catch you on #RoadTripChat.

    1. Tricia, thanks so much for stopping by! Dawn would definitely be the time to go to the headwaters 😄 Isle Royale sounds lovely, I haven’t been there since I was a kid. See you on Road trip chat, glad you reminded me!

  2. I hold my breath EVERY SINGLE TIME I head into one of those “primitive toilet” sheds. Drop toilets are my nightmare. All those flies and insects buzzing around. Ick. Hahaha, thank you for reminding me of my aversion to some parts of camping. Luckily, every place I’ve camped in the US so far have had actual flushing toilets. It’s a luxury!

    1. Hey Kat, thanks for reading! Don’t remind me about the flies! Ack! I am going camping again right after Labor Day, but this time hope our campsite will be closer to the real toilets. It should be colder weather, too, which helps with the insect situation. Thank goodness for nature’s beauty to make up for the bad parts 🙂

    1. Fortunately I am usually easy to entertain, but it is a most lovely park. Thank you for stopping by!

  3. I enjoyed reading this, and you are a good sport to go camping, even if you were a little moody. I especially like your description of the gift shop where most everything hangs from the ceiling except for those lovely skulls and magnets. Also, you have to wonder who made the decision to buy plastic farm animals and display them to provoke a reaction. It takes all kinds… #TheWeeklyPostcard

    1. Oh Dorothy, ain’t it the truth? It does take all kinds to make this world go round. I was maybe a LOT moody at one point, but it improved when I got into some air conditioning for awhile. And how can I complain when I get to go to such kooky gift shops? Thanks as always for your kind words and support!

  4. Hahaha, is there anything we won’t do for love? I used to go camping with my husband and our son a lot when we were younger, but it would take a lot more love now to convince me to do it again! This is a beautiful area though and it looks like you had a lot of fun camping. I agree that fake “petting zoo” is in pretty bad taste.

    1. Sounds like you’ve fulfilled your camping duties and now prefer hotels! Someday that will be me, sigh. Actually, it was beautiful, and I really did enjoy (much of) it. Always appreciate the experience. 😉 Thanks much for stopping by, Anda.

  5. I grew up in a non-camping family so it’s still a bit of a novelty to me so I enjoy it. My husband does not, however. So we don’t do much of it. I do love the beautiful outdoors of Minnesota! Bully for you for giving it a go.

  6. Well, we admire you for consenting to the camping and seeing it through! I grew up camping as well – your dad’s Ford sounds much like my dad’s! Ann has been hinting that she’d like to try camping, too. I don’t believe she has a full understanding of what that entails. As in, the luxurious primitive toilets. 😉 Getting to the headwaters of the Mississippi is sort of a Bucket List thing for us, though. Never thought of turning it into a camping trip! We may end up being copycats. Thanks for sharing the fun with us on #TheWeeklyPostcard!

    1. Thanks for the admiration, I surely deserve it, haha. Sounds like my dad and yours should have gotten together to talk Fords. If the headwaters is on your bucket list, and you’re not up for camping, may I suggest staying at the Douglas Lodge, a possibility pointed out to me by my friends at MadHattersNYC. They have rooms in the lodge and they also have cabins. I’ll add a link to it in the post, as soon as their website is operational again. Thanks much for stopping by!

  7. I think I’d skip the camping bit, but I’d love to see fake animals, particularly with their manhood on show like that. I see a Michelin Star in the future for the tater tot hotdish.

    1. You might like Paul Bunyan, too, lol. Definitely a Michelin Star or at least a Michelin man look after eating too much of it 😉

  8. I have heard of this place in Minnesota. Now I’ve seen it through your post and nice photos. I don’t mind camping, just wish it came without mosquitoes! #TheWeeklyPostcard

    1. The mosquitoes do make it difficult. I hate when they get into the tent. Thank goodness for bug spray and campfires! Thanks for reading 🙂

  9. Well, I like camping. But I hate the outhouses, like you, I hold my breath when I go in there. And my girls would have to be really desperate to go. So we try to find campgrounds where they have real toilets. Yes, they do exist. Anyway, I enjoyed your post, thank you for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard

    1. Lol! There was a place with real toilets and showers, that was my requirement! But they were pretty far away from our campsite, the “primitive” toilet was closer for middle-of-the night forays. Thanks much for stopping by 🙂

  10. I’m not a camper either – the things you do for love. I agree the bathrooms are an issue, but its good to get outside your comfort zone right? I am considering trying glamping if I can find a good place at a reasonable price. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.

    1. I have done a little glamping and it’s pretty easy, though not cheap like tent camping. That is the big plus in there. Thanks, Anisa, for pointing this out–it IS good to get outside my comfort zone–but maybe not physical comfort, haha.

      1. I still worry about the bathroom situation glamping. I know it wont be as bad as your camping experience but still

        1. Yes, it might not be in the style to which you’ve become accustomed 😉 Depends on the glamping location, I think, how remote.

  11. I, too, am fond of modern inventions like the flush toilet! I honestly got to the part about the lodge and thought “So you could sleep in a bed and eat tater tots, but you chose to camp and use an outhouse?!” Sigh, love makes us do strange things.

    I think it’s always fun to revisit a childhood haunt as an adult, it puts so many things in perspective. Like how such simple things used to make us happy, or how life was so much better before 24-hour webcams! Still, I’m glad you got to make the trip with your lovely lady, even if there were tents involved 🙂 Fun post!

    1. As you can perhaps tell by my enthusiasm over Treasure City, simple things still make me pretty happy! And some of those things are flush toilets and BEDS! haha. I know you’re an urban gal, but everybody should try camping at least once. Maybe.

      Thanks for stopping by, and good suggestion about the lodge for next time 😉

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