Lake Carlos State Park in MN -- Camping

Lake Carlos State Park, established in 1937, sits 10 miles north of Alexandria as a recreational hub in Douglas County. The 2,605-acre lake features 12.83 miles of shoreline and averages 50 feet deep, supporting walleye, northern pike, and largemouth and smallmouth bass. Five rustic WPA-era structures from the New Deal era, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, include a bath house, water tower, sanitation building, mess hall, and crafts building. Wildlife sightings include beavers, deer, common loons, grebes, and herons throughout the landscape surrounding the substantial lake environment.

• Moderately separated here.
• Sits on broad, near-level ground.
• The Lake Carlos shoreline is 0.1 mi off.
• Open country, with nothing named rising within 30 miles.
• Estimated night sky: Bortle 3, a dark rural sky.