Lake Superior Cart-in Campground — Tettegouche State Park

Though they had carts, we backpacked in and found ourselves on the ridge of Lake Superior. A bear locker, fire ring and the lake were perfect company for two nights. Serene, dark as dark can be, clear skies over the calm lake, dreaming.

This is one of my favorite MN campsites. We stayed in a cart-in site: the cart worked well, the restroom/shower was clean, the site was beautiful and we were able to get down to a little rock beach by the water, it was also easy to book online. There is plenty to do at this park between hiking and spending time by the water. Again, it is beautiful throughout and I loved being immersed in the environment.

Love this park. Great cart in sites. Convenient rest stop office. You will need to grab wood and with some sites, like G, waterfront is not easily accessible or kid friendly. Site G is an extremely steep climb down. We had to harness the dogs and it took two of us to lower them down. That being said, it has a private beach when you get down. Bring the bucket and the water filter. This site is fully covered. Plenty of tree coverage against the lake and elements. It has a bear box, table, and fire pit. The bathroom is close.

The Superior Cart-In sites at Tettegouche are tough to beat: they feel private and at many of them, you are constantly reminded of the majesty of the North Shore, either with the sound of crashing waves or the site of the big lake itself.

It’s a long walk to some of the sites, but well-worth the effort. And the park provides wheeled carts to make the pack-in a little less arduous.

These sites make a perfect base-camp for exploring other sites along the shore, or for exploring all that Tettegouche offers, or both!

July 2020. Cart ins

We actually camped here twice in July and this is our third camping trip to Tettegouche this year. I can’t say enough about this state park, I think it’s the best in the state. It is centrally located to the 9 state parks on the popular north shore, and has it all!! Lake Superior, overlooks, waterfalls, challenging hikes, swimming and the campgrounds are spacious and wooded. Aside from the popular hikes to Shovel Point, High Falls or Bean and Bear Lake - there are miles and miles of other beautiful hiking trails in this state park!

We stayed in cart-in sites each time. One was on the lake and the other in the main campground. Both of these sites are very popular and usually booked the first day they’re available, I was lucky enough to get them last summer. The cart ins on the water E-J have lake views and several have trails (sometimes tricky) that lead down to the water and you essentially have you own private beach. This cart in campground is about a mile hike in from the parking and they have carts to haul your gear. Any of these sites have something to offer and are VERY private. Our site had many hammock spots and gorgeous lake views. There are several vault toilets located in this campground and each site has a bear locker, picnic table and a fire ring with grate. You can walk to the bridge at the mouth of the Babtism River, which takes you to the trail system along the lake. We enjoyed swimming here and taking in more lake views.

The main campground is off the lake and up a winding road. There is also a trailhead near this campground and you can only access this portion with a MN state park pass. The shower house and bathrooms are located here. There are electric, tent and 6 more cart in sites. This campground is located close to the a trail system that takes you to two popular waterfalls, High Falls and Two Step Falls. The sites are nicely spaced and wooded. You do need to be very guarded with your food however. Use the bear lockers (provided in the cart ins) or keep your food in your car. Bears have been very active in this campground this summer, though we never saw one. Love this state park.

We usually stay here 3 or more times a year. It’s nice to get a shoreline site. Not all have access to the shore. J has a high rock front after the tree break. Easy enough to harvest water from a bucket. At the end of the site entry there is a beach access trail. You might see extra traffic at the end of your trail. It is a long trail, so that helps. There is an outhouse at the end of K and J trail. You have to cart in wood as well. Comes equipped with picnic table, fire pit, and bear box. The main office has wood and it is also a rest station. Small coffee shop and park goods. Very adequate restrooms and a lounge area.

Site H. One of my favorite parks to cart into. The site office is very big and accommodating. There is a small gift shop with coffee and small conveniences. The carts are usually busted. Be prepared for that.  The trails are groomed. You will need to hike in wood and water. Unless you have site J or K, the other sites are not beach level. Site H is visible from the trail. People can see everything and you can see them. It is close to the bathroom. Site H has a concrete slab that the picnic table rests on. There are metal railings that are broken. Do not lean on them. There are a few wood steps that lead closer to the cliff edge. There is some flat surface. I placed my tarp and netting here. There is a beautiful view towards the south west. This is not the tent pad.  There is enough tree coverage for rain and wind. You can still see the stars. The cart out and in is about 20 minutes. Very easy. You can not see between sites, which is nice. I would still stay here again.

We camped in the cart-in area and it was a blast! It was our first time doing the cart-in and was slightly hard, but you have to commit to this if you reserve. The trek into the campground was manageable and the area was very scenic. Going back to camp at the drive-in campground next!

Each site at the cart-in campground was secluded from view from the others. Mine was right along the water with a path down to a small beach and rock outcrop, nice for sitting and watching the water. The one downside was that the road is so close you can hear cars going by at night. Traffic is fairly light in the evening so it's not too bad, but it did detract some from the ambience. This campground did not connect directly to the rest of the trails - it was a 10 minute walk or so to get to the main trails.

Tettegouche is one of my favorite campgrounds. The cart-in campground is right on Lake Superior and has very private sites. The state park has a great trail system with areas to stop and enjoy the scenery and waterfalls.

We stayed at a cart in site. There are tons of hiking trails there! We hiked up the Baptism River to the upper falls and continued on to the scenic overlook of Lake Superior, great view. Unfortunately it rained two out of the three days we were there so we didn't get to hike as much as I would have liked, but the views we did see were amazing

I'm sure that it's better now, that the construction is done (sometimes, construction ends up making things better in the end), but when we were there, things were all crazy. Hard to get around. However, that aside, we had a pleasant site that was remote enough from others (it was a cart in site). The sites are closer to the highway than we would have liked (you could hear the road noise). Not to mention that the campground is relatively close to private property, and while the kids were exploring the rocks and beach, ended up on the property line and the park ranger was called. We did have a great family experience, but not our favorite place to camp.

We stayed in the "cart-in" sites. The sites were close enough that we were able to easily haul all of our gear without the cart, but far enough from the main camping area that it was nice and quiet. The campground is also a delightfully quick hike away from the falls. You can hear them at night, and it is very peaceful. The bear boxes at the site are also convenient so hauling food to the car at night is unnecessary, and the boxes are big enough to stash extra gear or valuables while you're not on site (padlock compatible).

We booked two nights in the "cart-in" campsites. I love the concept and the sites were well kept, close enough to facilities but far enough away and from other campers to get a nice quiet and private camping area. WARNING, book early, we had two book our two night in different "cart-in" sites so we had to move all our stuff into the new site couple hundred yards away, return the cart for our new cart specific for our site and so on. Very tiring process so I would only do "cart-in" again if we get consecutive nights at the same site, duh ik but point taken. I'd recommend "cart-in" sites closest to the shore, better views! But park in general is great with lots of hikes with varying degree of difficulties. Will def return! Oh and sites have bear lockers for food and scented items.

Tettegouche is beautiful right next to Lake Superior. 23 miles of hiking trails, 34 modern campsites (With Flush toilets and showers) and 13 cart-in campsites. Check out some of the picnic areas (1) Baptism River, (2) Nipisquit Lake, and (3) Bean Lake.

This is one of the most popular Minnesota State Parks and fills up fast. Plan ahead so you can stay in this beautiful place.