Hi

I am camping in the BWCA this summer, paddling in and out. I see the rule that says cans and bottles are prohibited but I would like to bring some beer because nothing tops off a day of paddling like a couple beers. Do any of you have ideas or insight about this rule and how strictly enforced it is? Do any of you have ideas on how to bring beer without bottles or cans?

Also - I will be packing out any cans I bring. I am not an asshole. Thanks!

I grew up camping in MN state parks, and don't recall ever taking any special precautions to keep bears away from camp and never once had issues. However, it's been a couple decades and it sounds like there have been a lot more bear sightings around populated areas in the state so I'm wondering if more precautions are necessary these days? Or maybe I was just young, dumb, and lucky in the past and should have been more cautious all along?

I'll be car camping at MN State Parks with drive up sites, I won't allow any food in the tent(I don't want mice, squirrels, raccoons, or bears in the tent) and plan to put the cooler, and any other food items, in the car at night, as well as not leaving food/dirty dishes out either. Is that sufficient for most car camping sites at the state parks, or do I actually need to be hanging my food at night and cooking further away from the tent?

I'd assume the larger human presence around the car camping sites would keep most of them away, and I'm also aware black bears are highly unlikely to attack humans, but I'd also rather not have my stuff destroyed by a curious bear.

What precautions do MN car campers take at the state parks?

My girlfriend and I will be visiting the north shore for the first time this summer. There's so many points of interest and beautiful parks but I don't have enough time to see them all.

I'm looking for camp grounds (I'll be tenting but would prefer access to electricity/showers/toilets), and sight seeing suggestions in-between Duluth and Thunderbay.

Ill have about a week to travel up/down the coast. Ideally would spend 1 night/day at each campground.

What are the places I have to visit?

Also my girlfriend is obsessed with finding rare rocks/stones bonus points for places to do this at

Thanks for the help!

I'm looking to see if there are any other good options for easy backpack sites, specifically ones that are reservable. I've taken my daughter on a backpacking trip the last 2 years and am just seeing if I am overlooking any good spots. She'll be 5 when we go sometime in September so I want an easy hike of less than 3 miles.

Our last 2 trips have had us stay at the same site for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday), so we'd want a dayhike option or something fun to do during the day Saturday. For reference, the last 2 trips have been Wild River (~ 1 mile) and Split Rock Lighthouse (~1.8 miles)

Savanna Portage or maybe Jay Cooke could work. I've never backpacked at Cascade River. I'd consider returning to Split Rock if we could get a site. The other option would be to hike the SHT, but then we'd need to move sites for Saturday, and I don't think my kid would have as much fun sharing a site with strangers.

Any other good spots we should consider? Parkfinder has an option to list all state parks w/ sites more than 1/2 mile hike.

Looking for some advice on which campground to stay at. We are planning a long weekend trip for Labor Day to the Ely area. We would like to stay at either Lake Vermilion/ Underground Mine State Park or Bear Head Lake State Park Campground. Which one do you like and why?

Electric site is a must for our small travel trailer. We are a family of 4; 12yo boy, 5yo girl and we are all active biking and hiking. We will have our MTB bikes with and would like to explore some trails and maybe even get out the inflatable kayak. Lend us some knowledge and experience from your own trips to the area. TIA

Does the Minnesota DNR or GFP have an app to book campsite reservations through for state / county parks? The only one I could find was the MN DNR app, but it seems to been abandoned. I'm from SD so am familiar with the SW / SCentral areas of MN, but wanted to start exploring a bit more into the northern areas and was hoping they had an app to easily browse, plan, and book sites.

Got carried away digging into what county parks offer camping around the state, made a spreadsheet.

MN County Park Camping

Table based roughly on the state parks tables with a side of insight into the wild variety of reservation approaches around the state.

All information is based on what's available on the county's websites via my data entry which means absolutely nothing in here should be treated as reliable information.

Excited to get out and camping again so I booked a site for gooseberry for May 3-5. Tons of sites still open for that weekend. Any reason why that might be? Every other campground on the north shore is full aside from backpack sites so it just seems strange that gooseberry has such open capacity.

For my college final as a product designer, I have to redesign a first aid kit for camping. I am trying to gather more information on already existing kits and improvements people would like to see. Any insight and feedback are greatly appreciated! It is relatively short, consisting of 16 questions.

https://forms.gle/tSLQdd8wRaXiMxEQ8

What are the best sites at the park?

We just booked BP14 for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and I was just curious how that site was compared to others/what the view was?

Unfortunately booking sites a month out in advance for Memorial Day really limits our options, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about the backpacking here

Had the camping bug, and the weather was too nice not to go for it. Felt good to beat the prime season rush.

Also, I recently got a nice mattress to try out SUV sleeping. It was a little chilly, but I had a good sleeping bag and some toe warmers to stay snuggly. Temps got down to the upper 30s.

Working on booking out the last of our summer plans. For folks who have camped at Tettegouche- pros and cons of walk-in v. cart in sites?

Spouse likes proximity to showers, I like to cozy up to the lake, so we've got one vote each over here at the moment....

Looking to do one of the backpack hike-in sites at Itasca with 5 others. Wondering if any of you had any insight on which of the 11 sites might meet most of the following: Good shore fishing.

Close access to swimming that isn’t just wading thru muck. Probably does not existing at those sites but figured I’d ask.

Adequate room for 3 two-person tents.

Far away from others who might also be camping (least important).

Any other info is also appreciated. Thanks

My son loves to fish but I have really struggled to find any sites on water to fish besides Wild River, we do have the buck site booked later this summer. He’s just a bit too young for the boundary waters still, not sure how he would do paddling all day. Any other recommendations for sits on water that you can fish from?

Hi!

I'm going camping and hiking with a friend and her doberman in mid may. All of us are experienced campers and hikers but my knowledge of the SHT is limited. We're looking for a nice hike in site to use as a basecamp for day hikes which is ideally secluded for the dog and privacy.

Any help is welcome

I am up at banning tonight and was surprised to see some snow and muddy conditions this given the conditions and in the metro. It is still fine (but messy) for camping. Just an fyi for those who didn't even consider it like me!

The gate on Benson Lake Rd was locked until May 13th last year. Any way to figure out when this will be opened this year?

I'm having the hardest time finding small campgrounds in Northern Minnesota (outside of Duluth. I live in Duluth.) I'd like something that takes reservations because of anxiety and not liking the chance there won't be a site open. It's tent camping, don't necessarily need electric. Can do a short walk in but we have a big tent and 2 dogs. Are there any campgrounds I'm missing that won't pop up on Google? We've previously stayed at Fall Lake and Lodge of Whispering Pines in Ely, some where on the Echo Trail in Orr (can't remember what the campground was called) and all the way up in Munising, MI. I dont like when they pack sites in like sardines. I want space lol looking at a Wednesday-Sunday in July.

We’re looking to practice backpacking for a hopeful thru-hike of SHT at some point, but also for a multi-day trip to Isle Royale.

What would be a good backpacking state park site to go to within 2 to 3 hours from the Twin Cities? We want a decent hike in to the site. We were looking at St. Croix state park, but read here that the ticks and mosquitoes are the worst in the state basically.

Appreciate any advice, thanks!

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I'm thinking about finishing up the superior hiking trail in the beginning of June this year. I know that it's often muddy with a threat of bugs. I'm wondering if the forests will be very green by then? And will there be many wildflowers?

I have a dog that's terrified of fireworks and I live in a neighborhood where they're going off near constantly for the full 4th of July week.

Is there anywhere within a 4 hour drive where we could camp and not be near any booming?

We're experienced backpackers so could go anywhere dogs are allowed.

DNR runs a great intro to camping program called I Can Camp- the only thing you need to provide is a sleeping bag/ bedding, clothes, food, and toiletries- they supply all the gear and teach you how to set it up and use it.

Registration opens April 1

I Can Camp

Hello!

I am looking to take a family vacation with likely two adults and two kids (18 months and 3) in the beginning of July.

Would love to hear recommendations for a place we could get to, preferably south western part of the state as we are coming from eastern Nebraska and do not want to drive a ton with little people. We would like to stay in one spot or two and explore or have some shorter driving day trips, if needed to spots.

We like to spend time outside and some hiking trails that would be good for our age ranges. We would love to be close to some places to take a break from cooking. We like to get a cabin or rent a place to do our cooking and have a fire. I’d prefer staying out of any major cities, but again, a day trip or two to do things could be fun.

Any helpful suggestions?

Thank you!

Hi everyone! For background - my boyfriend is coming to visit me this summer from the east coast and I’d really love to take him camping up north. Though I’m not new to Minnesota camping (I’ve been many times), I’ve only ever really gone in group settings with an adult before. This would be just me and him - both 18 years old, so I’m looking for advice on some entry-level camping sites on (or close to) the north shore. I’m certainly not clueless about camping, but the last thing I’d wanna do is drag us into a trip that gets too stressful or difficult. We’re only looking to only go for a night or two, so I want it to be relatively close to a parking area (and if something does go wrong, I don’t wanna be too far out). And I’m pretty set on wanting to do primitive tent-camping (so no cabins or anything like that). I’ve briefly looked at some of the cart-in sites at Tettegouche, it looks incredible but I’m not sure if that’s throwing us in the deep end too much? If Tettegouche is a possibility, what are some tips on camping there for the first time? Any advice would be so helpful, thank you friends!

So one of my friends in the greater Twin Cities area is trying to find somewhere to park their RV to stay in for a year, apartment-style. What campgrounds do you guys know of that could support that type of thing? Willing to answer any and all questions.

We have ideas to use headlamps in stationary modes such as on a tree or in the tent. We have some questions about your preferences and would greatly appreciate your input.

Answers will be anonymous

Link to the form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfLomgwqiHoQJ_p5nVMXdxXQoQROR1Sj-cxDFAfJV5GwaJKHQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

I'm planning a bike camping trip this summer that will land me at Jay Cooke on a Friday night. Their campsites get snatched up instantly on the reservation system, based on my past experience. I know some parks have campsites/camping areas specifically for people who arrive on foot or a bike. These campsites are generally cheaper and cannot be reserved ahead of time. Does Jay Cooke have a campsite like this? I cannot find anything on their website.

I also know there's a law in MN that state parks cannot turn someone away at a campground if they arrive on foot or a bike. Has anyone tried this at Jay Cooke? Does it work? I suspect that this is not uncommon, since the munger trail is right there.

I booked the buck hill site for early June and hope to book the buck hill site in august or September. I know these are on the river but can you easily access the river to fish or do the sites sit high above?