Trailer Life Cream of the Crop Campsites: Beaver Trails Campground— Austin, Minnesota
This small town in southern Minnesota along the Iowa border, almost 2 hours south of the Twin Cities, is home to Hormel Foods (maker of SPAM and other ubiquitous meat products). Its rural setting provides ample opportunity to get away from the harried pace of city life and enjoy nature’s beauty. While you’re traveling through the area visiting the numerous state parks, stay a night or two in Austin at this Good Sam Park.
Beaver Trails Campground is a large, family-oriented RV park in Austin owned and operated by the Tolner family as part of the Jellystone Park Camp Resort network. The park has 200 grass sites, with pull-thrus measuring 30x 85 ft. and back-ins measuring 33x 65 ft. Handicap accessible and big rig sites are also available.
The park provides a dump station, security, and public phone (with free local calls to Austin or Dexter). It also offers LP gas, an ATM, a store with groceries and RV supplies, and laundry facilities with soft water.
The park offers free WiFi Internet at most sites and free showers. They also have scenic sites near creeks and ponds. The ponds are stocked with fish, so grab a pole and try catching a free dinner! Picnic tables and fire pits are available, and wood can be purchased by the bundle. You can rent golf carts for your convenience, but they must be driven by a licensed driver. The Picnic Basket Grill is open for breakfast and lunch, with pizza and hot wings for dinner. You can sit outside or inside to eat. Don’t miss the fresh-made donuts every Saturday morning (order in advance to get an extra donut free)!
The park features a great arcade room, waterslides, arts and crafts, family karaoke, free train rides, 9-hole mini golf, a playground, and rec field. During the summer months between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the park also hosts a petting pen and offers free hayrides. With so many options, the kids in your family may have trouble deciding which fun thing to do first! Once they get tired out, they can pick any of 200 videos to rent from the office.
For a full list of park rules, schedules and amenities, download the park brochure PDF.
Rates: Nightly rates for two people on weeknights are $30 for no hookups, $38 for 30 amp with no sewer, $42 for 30 amp with sewer, $41 for 50 amp with no sewer and $45 for 50 with sewer. Rates increase for Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. Weekly and monthly rates are available, as are discounts for groups or clubs. See 2009 park brochure PDF for more information.
Pets: Bring your pets along, but be sure to keep them on a 6-foot leash. Barking dogs are not welcome, and may be asked to leave. As always, please pick up your pet’s waste.
Area Attractions: Don’t miss a visit to the SPAM museum and flagship Hormel factory while you’re in Austin! This is the town where George A. Hormel started it all with his prepared pork back in 1891.
You can also tour Amish country in Harmony, MN or see the Laura Ingalls Wilder Church and Museum in Spring Valley, where Laura and Almanzo Wilder attended from 1890-91. All the shopping you can handle is just 80 miles north at the Mall of America, if you’re willing to go the distance for your retail marathon.
If you’ve visited the area before, be sure to rate your stay at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp Resort at Beaver Trails on the Trailer Life Directory website, or leave a comment below to spread the word about your experience at this quality RV resort!
