Plum Creek Park in Walnut Grove, Minn., was a great place to camp while we explored the nearby Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and sod house site.
Campground and sites:
It was a good thing that I made reservations before our trip and had received confirmation (by mail) of the site we were assigned to because we never saw anyone at the campground office while we were there. The campground itself is situated in a grove of trees surrounded by farm land. It is a peaceful and beautiful spot.
The sites were very easy to back into as they were all on an angle that allowed for ease of entry and exit. It looks like they are in the process of growing privacy hedges between each site, which will be really nice once those hedges mature.
About half of the sites are seasonal campers, many of which appeared to be full hook-ups. The short-term/temporary sites were a nice size and flat. We noticed that several campers did not keep their dogs on leashes, so they were running around, and some owners neglected to clean up after their dogs.
Bathrooms:
There were two shower houses, both of which were very basic–and a little rough for Kristin’s standards. While they were clean, both required push button showers (a first for Kristin–she was not a fan :)). The bathroom near the playground did not have doors on the toilet stalls, only curtains. The bathroom at the front of the campground did have doors on the toilet stalls, but did not have a mirror in the sink area. The showers in both houses did not have doors, only curtains.
Shower house near playground with a mirror
Amenities:
The park offers several things to do including: a lake with beach area, a nine-hole frisbee golf course, a great playground, shelter houses, and hiking trails. A note on the dump station: It is located right next to the campground’s back shower house. The setup, which you can see in the pictures below, is pretty basic compared to the dump stations we have used at state parks and elsewhere.
Reason for visit:
We visited Walnut Grove, Minn., to explore a historic home site of Laura Ingalls Wilder. The Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum is located in Walnut Grove and it offers interactive displays for the kiddos as well as many artifacts related to life during Wilder’s time. Additionally there is memorabilia from the Little House on the Prairie TV series, including the fireplace and mantel from the set.
On the outskirts of Walnut Grove is a farm where the remains of the Ingalls’ sod house are located. (Wilder wrote about this time of her life in the book On the Banks of Plum Creek.) For $5 per car, you can walk up to the site, hike along prairie trails, or picnic along Plum Creek.
The town also hosts a Wilder Pageant during three weekends in July. You can learn more about that here.
Date of visit- 6-27/28-15
Cost per night- $25
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