Aug. 27 – Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2026
81 Days 0 Hours 9 Mins
Applications for general public camping will be available online on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The site will go live at 9 a.m. and will be open for 24 hours. After May 29, 2026 and throughout the summer, you may call the campground office to be added to the waiting list. If you’re a State Fair employee or concessionaire, call the campground office for information about applying for a campsite.
The campground is open for 20 days, beginning six days before the State Fair starts. You may apply for as few as one day or as many as 20 days.
The campground is popular; we receive far more reservation requests than we can fill. We fill sites by a lottery system. Our lottery, will take all the applications received and randomize the order. Once that order has been established, we will take them in that order depending on camper dimensions and requested dates. The more flexible you can be with your dates, the better your chances of getting a reservation. Our most requested days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday of opening weekend; this makes them the hardest to get.
You’ll be asked for your name, contact information, number of people staying and requested dates (and if you’ll accept fewer or alternate days). You will need to identify the type of camper you have and give exact measurements of the length and width in feet and inches. You’ll be asked if you’ll have a pulling vehicle or any extra vehicles. If you’re bringing a tent, you’ll also need the dimensions.
Most campers are sold by interior/living length, however, the Minnesota State Fair campground registration asks for the full exterior length of your unit. In our campground, inches count. We assign campsites trusting you’ve done your homework with a tape measure. Our sites vary in length; the absolute limit for width for a slide-out camper is 14’. Misrepresentation of camper dimensions will result in the loss of campsite. If you have a hitch or spare tire, include them in your length measurement. Forget guessing. Measure. You’ll be happy you did.
We will begin processing applications on May 29. You’ll know by July 17, 2026, if we can fulfill your request.
If we can offer you a campsite, we’ll send a request with instructions to make a $30 nonrefundable deposit to hold your site. You’ll have two weeks to get the payment to the campground office. The balance is paid the day you arrive.
The nightly rates are based off the width of the sleeping unit. This does include tents.
Guests are welcome in the campground; you will meet them at the campground gate so they can get a wristband. Your guests can purchase a parking pass in the campground office to use the North Yellow Lot (formerly Camel Lot).
Unfortunately, our campgrounds are only open during the fair season. With that being said, we have multiple events that rent out the campground. They are in charge of their own reservation systems. We just facilitate the grounds for them.
Many of the horse shows, offer camping down by the barns.
