Memorial Day weekend lands on May 22–25 this year, and if you've ever tried to book a Minnesota campsite the week before, you already know — the good ones are gone. Reservations open 120 days out, and the holiday weekend is the busiest of the camping season.
Here's the four-week plan to pull together a smooth opening-weekend trip without scrambling.
Week 1 (this week): Lock in the trip
The two things that disappear fastest are campsites and rental campers. Get both of these on the calendar now.
- Reserve your campsite. State park reservations are at reserveminnesota.com. For a holiday weekend booking this late, look at parks slightly off the headliner list — Sakatah Lake, Lake Maria, Sibley, and Fort Snelling often still have openings when Itasca and Tettegouche are booked solid.
- Reserve a camper. If you don't own one, our White Lightning Bunkhouse sleeps a family of six, hauls behind most mid-size SUVs and trucks, and is delivery-eligible across the Twin Cities metro. We're already taking Memorial Day bookings — first come, first served.
- Confirm your tow vehicle. If you're towing for the first time, double-check your hitch class, weight rating, and brake controller. We walk every renter through this on pickup, but the time to discover an issue is now, not the morning of the trip.
Week 2: Plan the route and meals
Memorial Day traffic out of the metro on Friday afternoon is brutal. Two ways to beat it:
- Leave Thursday evening if your campsite allows early arrival (many do for an extra night fee).
- Leave Friday at 5:30 a.m. — sounds painful, but you're at the campsite by mid-morning and the kids nap during the drive.
Plan dinners ahead. The cardinal Memorial Day mistake is showing up Friday night with no food prepped, then realizing the nearest Cub Foods is 40 minutes away. Pre-cook two dinners, freeze them, and reheat at the campsite. Day one is foil packets on the fire — easy and a kid-pleaser.
Week 3: The pack list
Print this. Tape it to the fridge. Check it off as you load.
Camper essentials
- Bedding for every berth (rentals vary on what's included — confirm)
- Towels, washcloths, dish cloths
- Camp chairs (4–6)
- Outdoor rug for the awning area
- LED string lights or lantern
- Extension cord (50 ft, RV-rated)
- Sewer hose and freshwater hose if not provided
- Wheel chocks and leveling blocks
Kitchen
- Coffee setup (you will regret skipping this)
- Cooler with ice for backup fridge space
- Reusable plates, cups, utensils
- Cast iron pan or dutch oven for the fire
- Long-handled tongs and a spatula
- Trash bags and Ziplocs
Outdoors
- Bug spray (DEET or picaridin — Minnesota mosquitoes laugh at the natural stuff in May)
- Sunscreen
- Rain gear for everyone
- Layers — Memorial Day weekend in Minnesota can swing from 45°F to 85°F
- Firewood (buy local at the campground; don't transport across counties)
- Marshmallow roasting sticks
Pets
- Long lead and stake
- Food, bowls, bedding
- Vaccination records (some parks ask)
- Poop bags
Week 4 (departure week): Final checks
- Confirm campsite reservation and check-in time
- Top off the tow vehicle's fuel
- Charge phones, headlamps, the camper batteries
- Pull up offline maps for the route — cell service vanishes north of Hinckley
- Check the long-range forecast and pack accordingly
The mistakes we see every Memorial Day
A few things first-timers wish they'd known:
- 1.They booked the camper but forgot the campsite. Check the campsite first, then book the camper to match the dates you can actually secure.
- 2.They underestimated drive time. From Shakopee to the North Shore is 4.5 hours without traffic. On Memorial Day Friday, it can be 7.
- 3.They didn't pre-rinse the camper sewer hose. Trust us on this one.
- 4.They ran out of water. Most state park campsites are non-electric, non-water. Fill the freshwater tank before you arrive.
Where to go this Memorial Day
If you're still picking a destination, our Destinations page has full guides for the North Shore, the top 10 Minnesota state parks, and our favorite lakes for camping.
A few that often have late-availability for holiday weekends:
- Sibley State Park — central Minnesota, kid-friendly beach, fishing dock
- Lake Maria State Park — close to the metro, walk-in sites, quieter than Itasca
- Whitewater State Park — bluff country, trout fishing, dramatic scenery
- Fort Snelling State Park — 20 minutes from downtown Minneapolis, great for first-timers who want a short drive
Ready to roll?
Memorial Day campers go fast. We've got a clean, pet-friendly camper ready to deliver to the metro or hand the keys over in Shakopee.
