This page contains affiliate links. Read our complete disclosure here.
Camping is a gift that is often times passed down as a tradition from family members. We are both grateful to have been gifted the love of camping from each of our families.
We were fortunate to spend a weekend in early August at Sibley State Park with Sarah’s family, including her 88-year-old grandparents. You may remember our blog post from 2 years ago where we did something similar at Schroder County Park. Two years later, they are still trekking around in that same camper, with the same amount of determination and energy.
After doing a few drive-in sites this summer with family/friends, Andy and I have been reminded why we love backpacking so much. We are forced to only bring what is necessary and leave all the “what if” items behind. Nonetheless, we are so blessed to be able to camp with my grandparents who bring everything you might possibly need while camping. We also love taking those who are new to camping out, so whatever makes our friends and family comfortable, we are happy to adapt to their needs to get them camping.
We reserved a few close campsites at Oak Ridge Campground, which were all in close proximity, and we were easily able to access each other’s campsites. All of the cooking, activity, etc. were done at site #103 where Grandpa and Grandma had their camper parked.
On Friday night it poured rain nearly all night long. We spent the night in Grandpa and Grandma’s camper enjoying dinner and playing cards. A little bit of rain never puts a damper on our camping experience!
Sibley State Park is a popular park in the summertime, and the campsites were nearly fully booked the weekend we were there. The campsites are separated enough by the trees, so unlike some campgrounds, you have privacy between your neighbors.
Some highlights we enjoyed at Sibley State Park include:
- Taking a dip in Lake Andrew. With a sandy beach, Lake Andrew is perfect for taking a dip in. My grandparents reminded me that many years ago they brought us here to swim as kids… and apparently, my brothers, cousins and I ended up with swimmer’s itch. Grandpa was able to point out the exact spot where we got it as kids! No worries this time, there were plenty of people in the water and no swimmer’s itch.
- Taking in one of the many nature programs offered. We went to the program “Become Fluent in Loon.” It was a family friendly program and we were very impressed with the naturalist ability to entertain the adults and children. Some new (and already known) facts about loons we learned include:
- Loon’s feet are on the rear end of their bodies and therefore cannot walk on land. For this reason, loons need 500 feet of water in order to take off for flight. If you see a loon sitting on the road with no water nearby, call the DNR and report the loon! They will relocate the loon safely.
- Loons can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes underwater.
- For more fun facts about loons, see the MN DNR page.
- Hiking Mt. Tom. If you don’t want to hike the whole trail, there is an easy access parking lot towards the top that brings you to a paved path providing a short walk to the lookout tower.
- Enjoying time around the campfire with family, eating lots of good food, and celebrating a birthday! Here are a few photos from our buffet we had all weekend long while celebrating a birthday, too!
Does your family have a tradition of camping? If you answered “no”, why not start one now or book your plans for next summer! There’s no time like now to invest in quality time with your loved ones.
Peace, love, and hike thru life!