If coming from the Twin Cities, take I35 north to Hwy 70 and follow 70 east into Wisconsin. As soon as you cross the St. Croix River into Wisconsin, go about a mile and take a left, heading north, on Soderbeck Road. In a bit less than a mile, you’ll reach a 4-way intersection. This is Benson. Take a left on Benson, heading west. At the next intersection, a T, take a right onto Tennessee Road and follow the curving road north and west as it curves down to the river. In about a mile, the road terminates in a gravel parking lot. Walk-in campsites are free, first come, first served and dispersed willy nilly at the top of a hill, reached by climbing stairs. Fire rings, tents sites and a solitary pit toilet are the only amenities. There is no potable water here, no checking in, no hosts, and no answering to The Man. The campground is perched atop a 30 ft limestone cliff. The edge is marked by a sign, but do be careful. The campground has tall pines as well as deciduous trees that turn pretty colors in Fall. Avoid coming on weekends in the summer. Free camping brings party people as well as extra ranger presence. This can be a very nice, quiet place to camp, if you know when to go. Also, avoid coming when I’m there. I really like my space, man. So… just don’t harsh my mellow okay? The most desolate time I’ve been here was in February, 2002. It was the coldest night of the year and we couldn’t get a fire going. A blizzard started coming down and after I could no longer feel my feet, I decided to bail. I remember that my Volvo 240 barely made it back up that hill. I gunned it and hoped for the best. I made it, and ended up driving home on a completed deserted I35 going about 15 mph all the way back to St. Paul in a complete whiteout at 2:00 a.m. Another time I organized a writer’s retreat and about ten of us came out and had a good time. A really good time. A really, really good time. Not much writing was done, but I nearly lost a limb to a crazed, machete-wielding doctor. Listen doc, all I ask is that if you take my arm off, you put it back the way you found it. You can do that because you’re a doctor right? And doctors can fix anything, right? Right? I can personally vouch that the walls of the pit toilet are reinforced to withstand even the most vigorous assault from machete-wielding maniacs who have forgotten their Hippocratic oaths. Once said maniacs have expended their energy, star gazing is another fine activity that also happens to be quite safe, requiring no weapons or alcohol of any kind. Okay, full disclosure: I DID make some provocative, button-pushing statements toward the good doctor, but it was all in good fun, and I thought that she was simply looking for instruction on the safe operation and handling of the machete. God, we did do some appalling things that weekend, like eat raw haggis out of a can atop steaks. Yikes. Oh to be young! Well, I guess we weren’t exactly spring chickens then either… But I digress… Sandrock Cliffs is considered part of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and as such it is managed by the National Park Service, and patrolled by federal rangers, so naughty behavior here can get you in some gnarly shit, man. And let me tell you, you think nobody is around for miles, and BAM! There’s a friggin’ ranger standing in your camp with her hands on her hips like a disapproving, silent green ninja. I mean, where the hell did she come from anyway, man? I never heard an engine. Maybe she canoed in and scaled the cliff with a rope and a grappling hook. Instead of throwing stars, she’ll cut you down with throwing clam shells, and then write you a ticket on the back of a leaf… that’s IF you’re lucky. You can get more detailed maps about this and other awesome hidey spots and out of the way places to hike and canoe by making a stop at the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Marshland Visitor Center on the Minnesota side of the St. Croix River off of highway 70, just before crossing the river. Munchie runs can be made by going to Grantsburg, about a 15 minute drive from the campground, depending on how crazy you drive. Grantsburg has a hospital too. I know, because I cut my knee open on a clam in the Clam River, and a doc there sewed me up real nice. Not the machete doctor. A different one. A small trail leads down to the St. Croix river to a canoe launch site. When the river is low, you can cross to a heavily wooded island, dense with prickle bushes and mosquitoes. A flat loop trail parallels the edge of the river, beginning at the far southern edge of the campground and proceeding about a mile or two total, including turn-around.
