The drive is on a beautiful dirt road off a small town called Finland, MN. The website and parking lot are pretty straight forward. There is a water source and restroom near the parking lot. There is a guide to which trail you should take to hike to your site. The trail maps can be tricky. I recommend a paper map ahead of time. The cell service is non existent. The website even boast river view panoramic photos at certain points on the Manitou River. You can choose from many campsites. Reservations are done online or by phone. They are pack in and out sites only. This hike is difficult. It's like hiking a steep rocky dried creek bed. Down hill and up hill. Large roots, trees, and some man made steps. Large moose prints were seen. Please pack your bear bells and be knowledgable in situations of crossing wildlife. The website states that certain sites are "river front". Campsite 1 is the farthest north and last campsite. It was chosen so we would not see anyone hiking by. They do push back most campsites from the trail. This one is a ways from the trail. Unfortunately after and intense hike in not only were we not river front the hike down to get water was not in the least user friendly. Three times a day for water and back up the steep large hill was not what was expected from a "river front" site. The place is beautiful and does supply a latrine, log bench, and fire pit with metal grill grate. The tall trees limit star gazing. August was a crazy month for the mosquitos. A bug shirt is recommended during hiking and on site. The trails are thick.

Another down fall to Campsite 1 is after hiking north all the way in you are about 1/4 mile from the main road (7) that wraps around north of you. You can hear cars driving by. In fact there is a small trail that leads straight to the dirt road and we hiked it out to the flat dirt road for an easy hike back to the car. It takes less than 10 minutes to the road. Then a 1.5 mile dirt flat road hike back to the car. Whats the point?

We did have an opportunity to follow the map to an awesome overlook and to see other sites. The trails are remote and beautiful. The river has amazing views of the falls. We will be staying at Campsite 4 next time. Its on the river, but unfortunately is also visible from the trail. Site 4 had a close latrine, direct access to clean running river water, pit, and a view to the falls.

There is access to the Superior Hiking Trail from this state park.