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Outside in MN
Matt Mikus

New app Yodel will process many Minnesota camping purchases

Whether you're camping at a state park or a state forest, DNR has a new app to use

Sibley State Park
Sibley State Park in Kandiyohi County is part of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources park system, which announced it’s deploying a new mobile purchasing service called Yodel to phase out on-site drop boxes.
Tom Weber | MPR file

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Tent supplies? Check. Bug spray? Check.

Yodel app?

Well, that’s new.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced on March 31 that it’s deploying a new mobile purchasing service called Yodel to phase out on-site drop boxes.

The app will facilitate purchases at locations where park staff aren’t available or locations like state forest campsites that have no personnel on-site. Parks and trails spokesperson Sara Berhow said the app will also allow visitors to purchase day permits in the near future.

“Paying by app is pretty common these days, and it's something that many of our visitors have come to expect,” Berhow said. “So that's why we're moving to Yodel for some of our payment options.”

One-day and year-round vehicle permits can be purchased online at the DNR website.

Yodel won’t be required for every purchase, but it’s designed to replace putting your payments or credit card information in a drop-box when a staff employee isn’t available.

State parks and trails have phased out the payment envelopes and drop-boxes after they saw increases in attempted thefts from the on-site boxes, including a significant increase of them in 2022, through a coordinated attempt at a number of different parks.

“The decision was made to move to electronic payment options that are more secure and less open to vandalism and theft,” Berhow said.

If an app isn’t your kind of camping experience, the parks department will still allow payment by envelop, but you’ll have to mail them to make sure the payment and credit card information remains secure.

You’ll still need to visit the DNR website for purchasing year-round vehicle passes, along with campsite reservations. And many purchases can still be completed if park staff are available at your local park.

And if you’re worried about data connection, Berhow said users can access public WiFi at state park offices, or you can make a purchase while visiting a more populated location with stronger cell phone service.

For more information, you can visit the DNR state park payment options website, or reach out to the DNR Information center via email at info.dnr@state.mn.us, or call (888) 646-6367 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.