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There are six backpack campsites near Hickory Ridge. All sites are about 0.5 miles from the parking lot. Water and pit toilets are near the parking lot. Please note that coordinates listed on CampingInUSA are for the entry to the State Park. Please call to gather detailed instructions on how to access these walk-in sites.
We love Governor Dodge State Park!
Camping is great at both Cox Hollow and Twin Valley Campgrounds. Cox Hollow is limited with electric sites, so there are many more tent camping options, while Twin Valley has an abundance of electric sites. That being said, we've learned to book early (11 months out), or we may not get a spot.
If you're not a camper, the park has many other opportunities to enjoy.
There are two beaches, one (Cox Hollow), offers concessions. If you're feeling like an ice cream cone, stop at Cox Hollow for a very generous scoop of your favorite flavor!
For people with dogs, there is also a dog beach for your furry friend to enjoy.
There is hiking galore.... Make sure to pick up a park map that outlines all the hiking trails and interesting points of interest, including Stephens Falls and horse riding trails.
Incredible State Park. The waterfall is definitely the main attraction here. Given the dry spell this summer the waterfall was not as full as in previous years, but still worth a look.
There are a multitude of trails of varying degrees of milege and landscape types. The "Lost Canyon" trail has to be one of my favorites as you get to walk between some incredible rock formations and then climb to a higher elevation. If you walk one of the trails that horses can use, look out for horse poop.
There are a great variety of horse trails (with plenty of horse trailer parking), beach, campground, and plenty of parking throughout the park.
This park is also dog friendly- I loved getting to say hi to everyone's adorable pooches.
Incredible views of the fall colors as well. Will definitely come back to explore some more trails.
My favorite state park in the area. Not as busy as Devil's Lake but still a lot of activities to do. The Stephens Falls / Lost Canyon loop is great year round and not too bad of a hike for pets or kids.
Great park, very clean and there are a lot of hiking trails. They are shared with horse trails so you'll see a lot of horses if you go hiking. It was mushroom season, and they were everywhere! We were lucky it rained recently so the ground was damp and the sand on the trails were easy to walk through.
We stayed at the twin lakes campground and it is very shady and dog friendly. First camp ground I went to with shared twin sites connected next to each other for bigger parties. Great for both RVs and tents.
Great place to camp in all seasons. The park is pretty empty in the winter. But it's trails are .beautiful
