St. Croix Backpack Campsites Permit

Recommended gear

• Blister kit and spare socks for a ten-to-twelve-mile round trip
• A start time that leaves daylight. Park hours run 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Rules & regulations

1. 01All campsites require a reservation. Minnesota DNR: "All campsites require a reservation. Please make a reservation online or call 866-857-2757."
2. 02Reservations open 120 days before arrival, and same-day bookings are allowed. On the day a date first becomes available, online reservations cannot be made before 8 a.m.
3. 03The reservation fee is $8.00 online and $10.00 by phone, non-refundable. There is no fee for a same-day booking.
4. 04Camping check-in is after 4 p.m. and checkout is by 4 p.m. If you have not checked in by 11 a.m. on the second day of the reservation, DNR may cancel it.
5. 05"A campsite's occupancy is limited to one camping group of six people or less, one camping shelter, and one vehicle." More than that needs the park manager's prior approval.
6. 06Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and generators may not run in those hours.
7. 07Park hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., 365 days a year, and "only campers with a reserved campsite are allowed in the park after 10 p.m."
8. 08Every vehicle entering a Minnesota state park must display a valid year-round or one-day state park vehicle permit.
9. 09Firewood transport is regulated. DNR allows wood bought at this park for use in this park, Minnesota Department of Agriculture certified firewood anywhere on DNR land, and an uncertified bundle only if it is not ash and was harvested in the county where you will burn it: "be sure to keep your receipt and the bundle label to show proof of purchase."
10. 10Firewood from home, pallet wood, and painted, stained or metal-bearing lumber are all prohibited, and "collection of firewood in state parks is not allowed."
11. 11Pets are welcome on a leash six feet or shorter, or in a portable enclosure, and must be personally attended at all times.
12. 12It is illegal to consume or display intoxicating liquors in Minnesota state parks.
13. 13Fireworks and metal detectors are not permitted.
14. 14Hammocks need trees at least 12 inches in diameter and straps at least an inch wide, one hammock per tree, hung over mowed and cleared ground.
15. 15You may pick edible fruits and mushrooms for personal consumption; picking wildflowers or other plants is not allowed.
16. 16Campfires here run on a live burning restriction that moves with fire danger, so a fire ring at the site is not permission to use it. The authority is this park's own Camping & Lodging page, https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/st_croix/camping.html. Read it in the week you travel, not the week you book.
17. 17Read 2026-08-10, that page carried: "Attention visitors - fire danger is very high!" and "Campfires are not allowed in backcountry (hike-in/backpack and boat-in) campsites, even if there is a fire ring." DNR sells this facility as a backpack site, which is the half of that sentence the ban names.
18. 18Two DNR pages disagreed on 2026-08-10, and both are DNR. The statewide burning notice on this park's Camping & Lodging page said "Campfires are not allowed in backcountry (hike-in/backpack and boat-in) campsites, even if there is a fire ring." St. Croix's own alert, on the same page, said "At this time, campfires are allowed in the campfire rings." We are publishing the conflict rather than resolving it: assume no fire at the backpack sites until the park tells you otherwise.
19. 19Bear country. DNR: "Do not store food, trash, clothes worn when cooking, or toiletries in your tent or camping hammock. Store in approved bear-resistant containers, or out of sight in a locked vehicle." It also says to keep a clean camp and "cook downwind and as far from your tent as possible."