We needed a hike and didn't have much time to spare, so we drove to the cloest state forest to Plymouth, MN.
Sand Dunes DNR website
The campground is very nice. The sites are well separated and heavily wooded so we didn't see the campers next to us at all.
Our preferred site didn't have a grate on the fire ring, so we had to take second-choice to get the steaks grilled. (We now have a simple over-the-fire grate we can use anywhere there's no grate.)
The campgrounds have ample vault toilets and solar-powered wells for drinking water.
We hiked south of the
Ann Lake campgrounds in the Uncas Dunes Science and Nature Area (SNA). Lots of the trails were horse-trails which makes hiking a little difficult, but we went "off-road" into the SNA on a deer trail and that was FANTASTIC!
The next day, we drove to the Sherburne Wildlife Refuge Area and parked along South Sand Dunes Forest Road and hiked North along a fire road into the Refuge. (We later read a sign saying we can't go into the refuge from April 1 through Sep 1).
We also hiked south of the road around the Larson slough. It was incredible.
You'll need a GPS to get around. The maps are poor and wrong and the "trails" are created by animals, so it's narrow at times.
It was a very nice 1-night stay and we'll certainly be back.