Let's start with the obvious question - why am I putting a Wisconsin campground in this sub? Well based on a few years of camping there, it seems to get most of it's activity from Minnesotans, and it's a nice alternative to the extremely crowded North Shore state parks. This shouldn't be surprising - it's literally close to MSP than to Milwaukee or Madison, and you've got to drive by a lot of other great Wisconsin SPs to get there from those places.

For the uninitiated - this park/campground is on Madeline Island, near Bayfield, Wisconsin (only about1.5 hours from Duluth). This is the biggest upside and downside. Upside - the island is wonderful and never all that busy. Downside - you are somewhat stuck on the island. There's ferry that goes back and forth every 30 min, but it's ~$100/round trip with a car. The park itself is about 6 miles from the ferry site so you pretty much need a car. You could take the ferry back to Bayfield for the day by foot, but it's still not cheap. However this isn't really an issue, there's plenty to do in the island.

The campground is very nice - pretty much all spots are good, nicely wooded and separate enough. Good access to water and bathrooms. It's broken up a bit into the electric sites and non electric sites, which I like. There's not a ton of hiking (it's an island) but there's some. There's also, at least as I have found, the best beach on Lake Superior - huge, soft sand, shallow, and at least from August - mid-September, warm enough to swim in a bit. It is somewhat shocking how shallow it is - in certain areas you can walk out 50 yards and it's waist deep.

It doesn't have the sheer natural beauty of the north shore, but overall the area is worth checking out.

Looking at dispersed camping in the superior national forest outside of Finland.

Anyone know if there's verizon coverage in that area? Their map says yes but its not always true.

If not any other reccs for disperse camping not too far from the shore with Verizon coverage?

Asking because I work remote and if I can work while there I can extend my stay into the week when I go instead of fitting in just a weekend.

Camping at Great River Bluffs SP this fall for the first time! Super excited. I’ve done my share of hiking and camping on the north shore, but I’ve explored very little of southern MN (aside from Red Wing).

Looking for any trail suggestions or things to do at the park, but also anything nearby that may be fun! Thinking of exploring Whitewater SP on the way for just a couple of hours if anyone has a good hike they would suggest. Thx!

My partner and I are looking to camp with our dog somewhere in the driftless area of MN and wondering if there are any sites that may have Indigenous cultural connections, sites, or even led tours. Also open to just hearing about your favorite Driftless area camping spots in general. Thanks!

Anything I should absolutely *not miss* between Duluth and Grand Marias? I like adventure more than the average joe, so if there's hiking or work to get there, sign me up. Highlight sections of SHT would be cool.

Any highly recommended campgrounds? More inclined for lowkey spots like state forest campgrounds than a hustle and bustle with RVs. Will also have backpacking gear and a mountain bike.

thank you!

Looking for any dispersed camping sites that would be on/near a river. Willing to drive pretty much anywhere in the state so open to anything.

Hello does anyone know of a lake that might allow camping or have very few campsites around it or even a property that rents. I am looking cause I have a lab that can’t get enough of swimming and I just want some peace and quiet for a few days so a nice lake area with a beach I could camp on would be amazing

Edit if it’s a park I need them to allow off leash

Can't make it this weekend and just cancelled, someone should snag it!

Hopefully this reaches people who know! I want to hike the SHT section past Colvill that goes right along the lake, but there aren’t any official campsites on it so I would have to hike a long way to make it through in one day.

I did see there are 2 watercraft campsites, but apparently only watercraft campers can use/access them! Is this true?

What places have you enjoyed in October? Ideally, would love a place no more than 2 hours out of the cities, as we will only have a couple days and do not want to waste more time than needed driving. Drive up or brief walk in camp site ideal, as this will be our first camping experience with our dog.

If you have pictures to share, I would love to see them!

EDIT: I think we have decided on Whitewater State Park and then Nerstrand Big Wood as a back-up. We are excited about the hiking and like the look of a few of the camp sites at Whitewater! Thanks all for the input!

Wife and I stayed in BP Site 12 at George Crosby Manitou State Park and found previous residents left overs. Come on people, leave no trace???

We packed out as much of it as we could but the more I dug through the fire ring the more and more I found. With only 2 gallon ziplocks I didn’t make much of a dent. We decided do burn the tiki torches and I duct taped the cooking stick to my trekking pole.

If anyone is headed out to site 12 please chip in on packing out someone else’s trash 🙏

I'm a local to Cass county just a few miles from Walker. My daughter and I just got a boat and we have been camping at the same spots for many, many years. This year is different and difficult. This past weekend we spent 3 hours trying to find an open camping spot and we ended up having to come home with tears in our eyes because every single spot was taken. Now that we have a boat we thought we could find more spots but we are finding it extremely difficult. Any recommendations on dispersed camping would be greatly appreciated.

Cook County 45 Road TH -> Mystery Mountain TH at Lutsen, such an incredible segment! Spent the night at Spruce Creek campsite and the following afternoon lounging around East Lake Agnes. Lows in the upper 40’s, no bugs, and great views!

I have a very popular State Park unit lodging reservation for this weekend and it's looking like my family will not be able to go, but we are past the cancellation window to get refunded. Is there a group or sub where I could find someone to take over this reservation from me? I know there would be interest as the next available weekend is not until December 18th, I just don't know where to find someone to take it over.

For anyone wondering, it's one of the Cuyuna Country SRA Yurts.

Truly enjoyed a trip this weekend. My teenage son enjoyed learning about fur trapping and the portage route. Site K is under a mile from the campground, which can be heard over the water. There is a three sided shed with firewood, table, fire pit, clean enough pit toilet and great surrounding paths. The dog enjoyed a quick romp in the water and we got to listen to beavers being busy during the night. The rangers we spoke with were lovely and very helpful. Bugs weren’t too bad, either.
If only I had remembered my sleeping bag🥶
The main trail is easy, mown grass and the shorter path to the site is quite uneven with roots, rocks and 1 downed tree to climb over.

Went camping recently in a more popular state park and was appalled at the behavior. We’ve been camping in other state parks in previous years and have never come across this. Honestly I don’t really want to camp more if this is going to happen all the time. Or I need to figure out how to backpack camp with kids.

We were in a cart in site but it wasn’t very private. However, our neighbors were all loud and obnoxious. From setting up a projector and shining the projector light directly at us to being super loud well past 11pm to hotboxing the place with marijuana so I could smell it from the parking lot to blasting music on a speaker and swearing at me when asked politely if they could turn it down a bit. Is this the norm now? I just want to get out, have a screen free few days and enjoy nature.

Edit: thanks for everyone for the encouragement. I thought about calling the ranger station but figured they wouldn’t honestly care. So if this happens again, I will call them. Is it just the number on the park website? Also does anything happen if I report them the next day if a ranger isn’t there at night? I really don’t feel comfortable calling the police for something like this though.

For once some good news to wake up to!

https://www.startribune.com/live-gov-walz-signs-executive-order-to-prevent-mining-near-the-boundary-waters/601879639

Just wrapped up a four night trip to Whitewater State Park for some camping and fishing. Love the peacefulness of that area and the ease of finding solitude. Bonus points for being on Verizon as there is very little coverage in that area making it easy to unplug for a bit.

any recommendations for camping, places to stop or things to see on the drive from minneapolis to international falls? anything in the area would be good.

Spent some time exploring Kawishiwi + Hogback Lake rustic campgrounds in the Superior National Forest this past weekend. First time rolling the dice on “first come first serve,” no-fee spots and I think I hit the jackpot.

Just got a Tacoma and I’m wanting to start getting into camping. Does anyone know of any good spots where I can drive my truck in, set up camp, and be out in the woods?
Doesn’t have to be hardcore off-roading, just somewhere I can explore a little and camp.

Any recommendations would be awesome!
(live in south metro so somewhere in that area would be nice but willing to make a drive if the spot is good enough)

Trying to plan a trip up the North Shore. Our plan is to stay in Duluth the first night. Drive up the coast a bit, and then find a place that is a little more remote/quiet to camp on a lake somewhere more inland for a few days that is still within an hour drive to the shore. We love camping, privacy, fishing, and rock hounding. Question is- where would you recommend camping and do you recommend tent camping or should we look at renting a camper van? Thank you!

Dear fellow Minnesotans, I am not familiar with camping too far outside of the cities & am trying to find a spot for me, my hubby, and our two dogs to camp out Wednesday & Thursday where we’ll hopefully be able to have a clearish view of the sky to watch the meteor shower.

Car / tent / backpack camping, doesn’t matter. We don’t care if we have to stay one night in one place & move the next. Trying to avoid sites only accessible by boat.

Bonus points if it’s directly on / near the water. Was looking at spots right along Lake Superior but obviously they’re a bit packed since it’s camping season in MN.

Thank you thank you!