September 5th, 2017 -
Grand Portage State Park is a state park at the northeastern tip of Minnesota near the Canadian border. It contains a 120-foot waterfall, the tallest in the state, on the Pigeon River. The High Falls and other waterfalls and rapids upstream necessitated a historically important portage on a fur trade route between the Great Lakes and inland Canada. This 8.5-mile path plus the site of forts on either end are preserved in nearby Grand Portage National Monument.
The glacial ridges in the park add to a varied terrain which harbors an abundance of wildlife. The channeled bays and river islands below the falls are home to osprey, eagle, otter, beaver, moose, and great-blue heron. Visitors can expect to see white-tail deer and black bear along with other small animals and birds.
Mixed hardwood forest covers most of the park and is dominated by paper birch and quaking aspen, with occasional white spruce, white pine, balsam fir, white cedar, poplar, and black ash. The forested areas provide a beautiful backdrop to the rugged beauty of the falls and the shoreline of the Pigeon River that runs through the park.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center before you hit the road for Grand Portage State Park or any other destination in Minnesota or beyond. Whether you need to shop for a new motorhome to take you to all of your favorite summer vacation spots or have an RV already and need it to be checked out before you embark, PleasureLand RV Center can help.
August 22nd, 2017 -
Great River Bluffs State Park is located in the Blufflands Landscape Region. This landscape features half-dome bluffs with sheer rock cliffs, steep valley walls, and rolling uplands. The park includes a diversity of plant communities including maple-basswood forests, old hickory, pines, goat prairies, and old fields. The King’s Bluff trail offers a breathtaking view of the Mississippi River Valley. Bring your binoculars; the river valley is a major flyway for waterfowl, eagles, and hawks.
You can find ample camping opportunities at the park, both RV and tent, as well as fishing, hiking, and other outdoor activities.
For wildlife lovers, the park attracts more than 35 species of mammals, 17 species of reptiles and amphibians, and well over 100 species of birds. Rabbits, mice, and ground squirrels are common in the patches of prairie in the park. Predators of these mammals include red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, and red foxes. The hardwood forest provides habitat for opossums, skunks, Indigo buntings, ruffed grouse, and wild turkeys. In the winter, visitors report seeing bald eagles. The prairie draws uncommon species of wildlife: a lizard, the six-lined racer; and a prairie bird, the bobolink.
The park is 2,786 acres in size and receives over 80,000 annual visitors.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer before you hit the road for Great River Bluffs State Park or any other destination in Minnesota or beyond. Whether you need to shop for a new motorhome to take you to all of your favorite summer vacation spots or have an RV already and need it to be checked out before you embark, PleasureLand RV Center can help.
August 10th, 2017 -
Visit Lake Shetek State Park in your RV before the summer ends for a long day of rest and relaxation. The park gets its name from the old Ojibwe word for “pelican,” a bird that visits the lake during the summer and fall.
Lake Shetek is also the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota and offers plenty of fishing opportunities. Cast your line and reel in anything from walleye and northern to crappie and bullheads..
There are hiking trails that run throughout the park and offer an array of difficulty levels, ranging from easy to strenuous. Also included in the park are a swimming beach, boat launch, campgrounds, and a scenic six-mile loop bike trail that passes through the adjoining town of Currie. Boat, canoe, and kayak rentals are available as well.
There are also some historic exhibits in the park, such as the Koch Cabin and Monument, which memorializes pioneer settlers and teaches you more about settler history. If you can be at the park by August 19, you can join the park rangers as they offer a guided bus journey back in time to August of 1862 to learn about the lives of the early settlers and Dakota people at the Lake Shetek settlement. They’ll be visiting the significant sites around the lake discussing what took place there on August 20, 1862 that changed the lives of all who lived there forever. The bus tour is $5 per person and leaves the Lake Shetek State Park picnic area parking lot at 9 am and will return approximately 12:30 pm. Reservations are required due to limited seating and can be made by calling the park office at (507) 763-3256.
The park covers over 1,100 acres and receives nearly 115,000 annual visitors. As you walk through the park, you may be able to spot white-tail deer, pelicans, fox, minks, beavers, muskrats, woodchucks, and coyotes, among other wildlife.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer to tour a new or used motorhome or travel trailer. Find one that’s perfect for you and your travel plans this summer. If you’re not on the market for an RV, you can still stop in at PleasureLand RV Center to schedule service, to learn more about RVing, or to shop for parts and accessories.
August 8th, 2017 -
Camden State Park is a great place to end the summer if you’ve got one last short trip before it’s back to school and business as usual.
The lake, Brawner Lake, and Redwood River are both suitable for swimming and canoeing. Fishing opportunities abound, and you can expect a chance to catch brown trout, bass, and bluegill There are also plenty of trails for hiking and horseback riding.
Wildlife enthusiasts might be able to spot mink, raccoons, songbirds, hawks, coyotes, and whitetail deer. Though much rarer than they used to be, you may also spot buffalo, elk, or golden eagles if you’re very lucky.
The park is named for the town of Camden, which sprang up in 1874 on the back of the fur trade. It thrived for a time, but ultimately declined due to the railroad skipping it as a stop. By the early 1930s Camden was all but abandoned and is today a ruin. Despite this, the area is still known as Camden and the park took on its name when it was founded in 1935.
The park sprawls over 2,247 acres and has nearly 85,000 annual visitors.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer before you head to Camden State Park or any other destination. If you need an RV for your travels, shop the inventory of PleasureLand RV Center and tour the units you wish to see. If you’ve got a rig and just want to ensure that it’s ready for the trip, visit our service department.
July 27th, 2017 -
If you just bought an RV from PleasureLand RV Center this summer and it’s your first time out in your new RV, you may be daunted by the idea of setting up your RV at the campsite or RV park.
We’ve got you covered – here’s everything you need to know when setting up at your destination.
Getting to Your Assigned Spot and Getting Your Rig Situated
It’s pretty standard to check-in at the campsite or RV park front office just like you would at a hotel. When you get there, you can ask if they’ve got an escort service. This serves to not only guide you to where your site is located, but they’ll be able to help you get your RV setup as well, including getting it parked and leveled.
Once you get there, regardless of an escort, you’ll need to either back your RV up or pull it through. Whether it’s back up or pull through, just make sure that your hookups are roughly aligned with their outlets at the site.
Once you’re satisfied with your positioning, apply the parking brake if you’re in a motorhome.
Now it’s time to level your RV. Not all sites will be perfectly flat, so use blocks and stabilizing jacks to get your RV flattened out. Once that’s done, chock the wheels so that there’s no chance your RV will slide or roll.
Next, go ahead and extend steps, slide-outs, and awnings.
Water and Power
Connect your electric cord to the site’s outlet that matches your RV’s required amperage and don’t forget to switch your fridge from propane to electric or you’ll run out of propane real fast.
Your site ought to have at least a clean water hookup, but many also have sewage. Ask for help if you’re unsure how to connect your RV to these hookups.
Make Yourself Comfortable
Now it’s up to you to make your site feel like home. This part is up to you, but you might want to set out some lawn furniture, mats, decorations, etc.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer to tour a new or used motorhome or travel trailer and to learn more about the RV lifestyle. If you’ve got questions on how to operate your RV, we’ll be happy to help.
July 20th, 2017 -
Minnesota is one of the country’s best states for outdoor fun. With scores of campgrounds, state parks, and wildlife preserves, there’s always a new area to explore. Take Flandrau State Park, for example: it’s got diverse terrain, a sand-bottom swimming pond, the Big Cottonwood River that meanders through the southern portion of the park, and historic stone buildings. Enjoy landscapes of wooded river bottoms, oxbow marshes, and open grasslands.
Cross-country hiking is extremely popular in the park due to the diversity of the terrain. Visitors also enjoy swimming, nature watching, and camping opportunities. Native species include white-tailed deer, raccoons, and dozens of bird species.
The park was founded in the 1940s and named to honor Charles E. Flandrau, who helped to draft the first Minnesota constitution and was a member of the first Minnesota Supreme Court.
RVers will find a number of RV sites to use, making for a comfortable spot to set up camp and stay for a few nights while exploring the area.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Before you head out on any road trip this summer, it’s important to get your RV checked over by a technician to help prevent any mechanical mishaps. Stop by PleasureLand RV Center to schedule some service or to tour some new motorhomes.
July 18th, 2017 -
Minnesota is full of wonderful state parks to explore, and they’re especially lovely in the summer. Sibley State Park has something for just about everyone.
The park, located in west-central Minnesota, is a popular destination, drawing over 300,000 visitors annually. Sitting on over 3,400 acres it’s home to Mount Tom (the highest point in a 50-mile radius), forests, prairie knolls, and lakes. In the summer, visitors can expect to enjoy swimming, boating, and fishing on the largest lake, Lake Andrew. Canoe routes are charted on Henschien Lake and Swan Lake. The park also offers campgrounds, a group center, horseback camps, picnic areas, and interpretive ranger programs year-round.
The landscape is dominated by oak, red cedar, ironwood, green ash, aspen, maple, and basswood. Wildlife includes white-tailed deer, red and gray fox, coyote, raccoon, ruffed grouse, chipmunks, red and gray squirrels, mink striped skunks, badgers, and woodchucks.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer to tour a new or used motorhome or travel trailer. Find one that’s perfect for you and your travel plans this summer. If you’re not on the market for an RV, you can still stop in at PleasureLand RV Center to schedule service, to learn more about RVing, or to shop for parts and accessories.
July 13th, 2017 -
Situated along the beautiful St. Croix River in Minnesota, Interstate State Park is one of the better state parks in the state. The park as tons of activities and plenty of interesting features to explore.
You can climb the cliffs of the St. Croix River Dalles, canoe the flat-water, kayak on the rapids, or just relax on an excursion boat. The geology of the park is fascinating; at least 10 different lava flows are exposed around the park, as well as two distinct glacial deposits, traces of old streams, and plenty of valleys and faults. The lava flows are the result of earthquakes from 1.1 billion years ago that opened rifts in the ground and allowed magma to release. The park was hit by advancing and receding ancient seas up until 70 million years ago, which deposited plenty of fossils along the cliffs.
The park is a great place to hike and explore during the summer since the terrain is varied and provides plenty of surprises. As you hike you can view wildlife that are endemic to the region, such as white-tailed deer, skunks, raccoons, squirrels, and various birds. The park has an abundant population of owls, which you can hear if it’s quiet near evening.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer before you hit the road for Interstate State Park or any other destination in Minnesota or beyond. Whether you need to shop for a new motorhome to take you to all of your favorite summer vacation spots or have an RV already and need it to be checked out before you embark, PleasureLand RV Center can help.
June 29th, 2017 -
As the name would suggest, Temperance River is the centerpiece of this Minnesota state park. The crown jewel, perhaps, is the trail that follows the river, winding along the Temperance River Gorge, where hikers can hear the rushing waterfalls surrounded by pine, spruce, cedar, and birch trees in the forest.
The sprawling park, which covers over 5000 acres of land, gets nearly 300,000 visitors every year. The park’s most popular hobbies and activities include rock climbing, fishing, hiking, camping, nature watching, and sight seeing.
As far as nature observation, there’s plenty of wildlife to be seen in the park and sightings are common. The river itself is full of trout, including brook, brown, and rainbow.
The origin of the name of the river is a bit humorous: in the past, the river flowed so strongly into Lake Superior that there was no buildup of debris, so it had no bar. What kind of river has no “bar?” One that’s temperate, of course!
The park is located at 7620 West Hwy 61, Schroeder, Minnesota. The entrance is one mile north of Schroeder along Hwy 61.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center before you hit the road to make sure that your rig is road worthy. If it’s time to upgrade your RV, or even if you’re shopping for your first, PleasureLand RV Center can help make sure that you get an RV that’s right for you.
June 22nd, 2017 -
Summer at Hayes Lake State Park is quite an experience. Wild orchids, gentians, and blueberries are abundant, over 200 species of birds are summering in or around the park, and the water is cool and refreshing.
The lake is suitable for swimming and canoeing. Fishing opportunities abound, and you can expect a chance to catch crappie, sunfish, and large mouth bass. There are also plenty of trails for hiking and horseback riding.
Wildlife enthusiasts might be able to spot black bears, moose, otters, bobcats, pine martins, lynx, and timber wolves. More common animals to see are deer, fox, raccoons, porcupines, beavers, minks, and skunks.
The lake was formed in 1967 by damming the nearby river. Both the lake and park were named after A.F. Hayes, an early settler of the land now included in the park and an advocate of the creations of the lake.
The park sprawls over 2,966 acres and has nearly 40,000 annual visitors.
Visit PleasureLand RV Center
Stop by PleasureLand RV Center this summer before you head to Hayes Lake State Park or any other destination. If you need an RV for your travels, shop the inventory of PleasureLand RV Center and tour the units you wish to see. If you’ve got a rig and just want to ensure that it’s ready for the trip, visit our service department.
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About Me
Hi, my name is Dan Pearson and I am the Owner of PleasureLand RV Centers based out of St. Cloud, MN. We have three other Minnesota locations to serve all of you RV needs. I look forward to providing you with all your RV information from buying an RV to tips and maintenance. If you would like to contact me, be sure to leave a comment.
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