Crookston’s Central Park Campground is nearing the end of its season, but it has been a productive year for the campground located on the Red Lake River near the downtown area.
Parks and Recreation Director Scott Butt spoke about the campground during last week’s Ways and Means Committee meeting, as multiple council members asked about the usage of the campground so far in 2026. Butt was pleased to see campers and received positive feedback about the campground throughout the season, especially during Ox Cart Days. Recently, the campground has been at or near capacity due to sugar beet harvesters and other campers traveling in the area. “It’s been good. Obviously with the sugar beet harvest starting, we’ve got Express personnel staying down there, so we’re full. Each day we get a few more campers in, and eventually, I think by the 20th, they’ll have all 19 spots filled, but we’re still able to book up until then. We’re still able to take people that are coming in for the night or two nights, and that’s working out really well.”
Several changes for the campground in 2026 that Butt noticed worked well this year were allowing people to call ahead and reserve camping spots as well as taking credit card payments. He has heard from campers that the ability to reserve a spot in advance makes it easier to plan trips to Crookston for summer activities and events, while adding another payment option would ensure campers have multiple ways to pay for their spots. “Adding reservations and the ability for people to pay with a credit card has really helped build our reputation as a campground. So I think our numbers are going to continue to grow in our campground each year.”
Butt remains pleased with how the campground has been renovated in recent years and believes there could be an opportunity to expand it in future years, but his department is currently focused on the site and on maintaining it for the remainder of the camping season and into 2027.
The Parks and Recreation Department is expected to close public access to the campground later this month, but some Express harvesters working on the sugarbeet harvest will be allowed to stay through the end of the harvest.
