This is our second time camping here, the first time being in June a few years ago. Fall camping is a different ballgame! The colors are beautiful, the campground is quieter (at least during the week) and this particular campground is more like a state park than the other more rustic campgrounds that the Forest Service runs in the area. There are several loops of campsites, totaling 64 sites,  plus two group camp centers, so there are a lot of options. Although many sites are set up for RV's, there are numerous tent-only campites, and they are some of the nicest. While you can reserve some of the sites on line ahea of time, the majority of sites are actually First Come/ First Served, and you have no way of knowing if any are actually available before you get there. We arrived early on a Friday afternoon in September, and there were only a handful of sites left--and withon a half hour, severl more folks came in and all the sites were taken. The campground has a boat access, fishing areas, playground, beach, numerous side trails accessing the lake in quiet places, a campground store, and paved as well as forest trails. A plus is that they have added several new bathroom and showers houses throughout the campground, so there is plenty of access, plus they are beautifully clean. There is just a short drive into Ely for shops and cafes, or out of town to access hiking trails or lakes and rivers at the edge of the Boundary Waters. Highly recommnded!