The rugged land formations of Jay Cooke State Park enhance the beauty of the hardwood forests and make for great camping near Minneapolis. The water-eroded gorge, steep valleys, and massive rock formations are seen throughout the park. In some seasons, the water of the St. Louis River thunders over slabs of ancient, exposed rock. At other times, it slows to a gentle trickle. Visitors enjoy the scenic splendor of Jay Cooke State Park during all seasons.

 Drive-in Sites 79 Sites:
 Most are wooded sites. In winter, 12 sites are kept available for winter camping. Of these, five are electric sites.

 Pull-Through Sites: One Site

 Electric Sites: 21 Sites
 Majority of sites are 20 and 30 amps, some 50 amp.

 RV Length Limit: Variable by site up to 60 Feet
 Length is measured from front of tow vehicle to rear of vehicle being towed.

 Wheelchair Accessible Sites: 3 Sites
 Located near drinking water. Two sites are electric, one is non-electric.

 Backpack Sites: 4 Sites
 Sites are located from 1 to 4 miles from parking area. Each site has picnic table, fire ring and latrine. Campers must haul water or treat water on site. Trail access to these sites has been restored after a 2012 flood, but a few nearby trails remain closed. Please register at the park office for details on how to get to these sites.

 Walk-in Sites: 4 Sites
 Sites are located 50 to 150 feet from parking area.

 Group Camp: 2 Sites - Each accommodates up to 25 people
 Remote, wooded camp with walk-in sites approximately 150' from parking area (limited parking). Carts are provided to carry in camping gear. Water spigot and vault toilets available. Tents only.
 Lodging

 Camper Cabins: 5 Cabins
 All cabins have a screened porch. Electricity and heat are available year-round. Agate and Basalt cabins are ADA accessible and sleep 5. Slate, Gabbro, and Shale Cabins sleep 6 people. Pets not allowed in cabins. More information on camper cabins.

Jay Cooke State Park Campground

This is a beautiful park with tons of great hiking trails and amazing waterfalls. The campground is also really nice, and very popular. It was sold out the day I was there. I was surprised it was sold out considering there was no water, no showers, and no toilets due to major construction to fix the plumbing of the entire campground and to build new bathrooms. The campground is set up with a series of loops in a wooded area, so most campsites have nice privacy. You need to check in at the ranger station to get your campsite and learn about the water problems/solutions, as well as pay for your site and pay for the day use permit. I was kind of glad it was sold out as I found it to be very pricy for a campground that had no water or toilets (they did have porta potties). But, the hiking trails and waterfalls were definitely worth the visit.

Working on being spectacular

This is an average campground.  The campsites have good space and trees.  The weekend I went there were no vacancies, so it must be a pretty popular place.  There is a cool river with a lot of rapids and white water.

What I noticed most was all of the young people hiking the trails.  There were a lot of hikers.

There are a lot of hikers at Jay Cooke State Park

Located just a short drive from Duluth, MN, this state park has something to offer anyone: hiking, camping, cycling, and gnarly whitewater kayaking. The campground is nestled tightly into the woods, a little crowded, but the sites feel spacious and nearly private.  The campsites offer the usual amenities, picnic table, campfire ring, but they really excel in their full-scale recycling program and self-service bike tune up stations.  

The bathrooms and showers were very clean -- I even found a park ranger cleaning and working on the toilet at 10 pm!  After a week-long paddle in Voyageurs National Park, we pulled into this campground late in the evening simply in search of a hot shower and place to stay for the night...and found a whole lot more when we awoke in the morning!

The visitors center, just a short walk away, offers interpretive programs, miles of hiking trails, and a swinging bridge over the beautiful St. Louis River gorge. 

Reservations are required year round, and the website is easy to use [https://reservations1.usedirect.com/MinnesotaWebHome/](https://reservations1.usedirect.com/MinnesotaWebHome/). Campground was amazingly busy in early May, so I would recommend reservations for the high season.

An Unexpected Treat

The campground here is nice, but could use some updates (bathrooms/showers). The hiking is beautiful, especially along the river (although some trails are closed due to wash out repair). And of course the kids love the swinging bridge!

Nice Campground, Beautiful Hiking!

Even though it rained almost the entire time, we spent a great couple of days at Jay Cooke State Park in MN last June. We went with friends who also had an 8 year old boy. We both rented camper cabins. Our family was in Gabbro and their family was in Shale. The two cabins were separated by 20 feet of forest connected by a footpath through the trees. The boys had a blast running back and forth between the two cabins. The parents were pretty happy to have the screened in porches for listening to the rain and playing several rounds of Mad Libs.

We did a couple of short hikes during breaks in the rain. The suspension bridge was cool and all the boys had fun climbing on the rocks in the gorge and scaring us moms. There are some great trails that run through the area (Willard Munger and North Country National Scenic trails and Duluth is only 15 miles away via bike trail) and I hope to return on a drier weekend to do more hiking.

Gabbro, Shale and Greywacke are wack at Jay Cooke State Park

The High Landing backpack site is amazing! It's less than a 2 mile hike in unless you take a wrong turn then uh maybe about 4 but I wouldn't know, just guessing... and once you get there you're greeted with a stunning overlook of the St Louis River way below. I loved listening to the constant thunder of the river. We had a nice private trail leading to our spot so no one was ever in eye site or ear shot of us. The pit toilet was pretty far which is great till 2am and the maggots on the open air throne threw me off a bit but hey better than nothing! Late fall left us with a spattering of color and a frosted tent in the morning but hiking was perfect and plentiful in this gorgeous park. The river is a highlight of geologic wonder and the famous swinging bridge does not disappoint.

Worth the hike

The main reason we wanted to come to this park was to hike the trails and experience the famous swinging bridge that takes you over the St. Louis River and the rushing rapids below and rocky gorge below. The park dates back to the early 1900’s and its historic character comes from the influence of the Civilian Conservation Corps who made improvements to the park in the 1930’s and 40’s. The park has an 82-site campground and LOTS of activities to keep adults and kids busy.

The campground is what you would expect in a state park with tall trees, shady sites, lots of activities, and popular with families. Roads and sites are gravel and each site has a picnic table and fire pit. Some campsites are long and suited for large RV’s while others are more rustic tent sites and there are 5 cabins for rent. Twenty-one sites have electric hook-ups. If you are looking for more rustic, remote tent sites there are some hike-in sites. Four sites are located 1 to 4 miles from parking area where each site has picnic table, fire ring and latrine but water must be hauled in.  About half of the sites are reservable online with the others being first come, first served. What we liked was that this park was very well cared as sites and facilities were very clean. Tall trees provided nice shade and campsites were well-spaced so you didn’t feel like you were on top of your neighbor. 

There is lots to do in this park and we were sorry we didn’t have more time to spend. Activities include hiking (over 50 miles of trails including a stretch of the North Country National Scenic Trail), 8 miles of biking trails, 30+ miles of cross-country ski trails, kayaking and fishing. The park offers hundreds of naturalist programs including nature walks, evening campfire talks, fishing programs, and geocaching.  Just a short drive north of the state park is Gordy’s High Hat which is a famous hamburger joint that has been around for years and still draws a massive crowd. There is a big enough parking lot to pull your RV into if you need to. Food was great and cheap!

Even if you don’t camp in this park, I think it is well worth the $7/daily admission fee to spend a day enjoying all this place has to offer.

Swinging Bridge and Lots of Hiking

I camped overnight here on a 4 day geocache run from Owatonna, MN to Savannah Portage. I arrived just as dusk was falling. I walked across the bridge and shot a few pictures then decided I had better get a camping spot before it got to dark. Found a site and was able to make the reservation online. I was happy to be set for the night even though cell reception was limited where I camped. I was looking forward to seeing all the great things in the area the next morning. It rained overnight and in the morning I found a beautiful foggy world before me. It made for some very interesting photography. I went back to the bridge and shot more pics, checked out the Pioneer cemetery and continued my dash for the cache!

Nice quiet wooded campground

This park is right before Duluth and is a perfect getaway spot if you don’t want to travel all the way up the shore! The campground has tent, hook-up, and cabin sites. The facilities, while somewhat dated, have always been in good condition and clean on my visits. This seems more like a family campground and is quiet pretty early. The trails are just across the street and are beautiful in all seasons. The bridge history is pretty cool too; go see it! One thing I would note for this park is that it definitely blends with the nearby city, which isn’t a bad thing as long as you’re aware. The town has some great breakfast spots too!

Before the Shore

Awesome views from the Swingbridge. Make sure you do some climbing on the craggy rocks near the river!

Bushwack

This state park is a real gem in terms of its location (near Dulluth, and first in a series of state parks that go up the North Shore of Lake Superior) as well as its educational and recreational opportunities. It is located in a rocky gorge on the St Louis River, which provides a great destination for anyone who wants to study geology of the region. There are also miles of hiking trails, access to the Oberstar Bike trail, park naturalist programs, and nearby rentals for whitewater kayaking for those who are very adventurous. The campsites are wooded and nicely spaced, and the park camper cabins (where I stayed) are really cozy and nice!

WARNING: One current downfall of the park, which will be a problem for the coming yea, is that the park experienced a massive water main break during a recent storm, and the park currently has no drinking water, showers or bathrooms available. You will need to bring your own jugs of water for drinking and washing up, and be prepared to use outhouses. This applies to campsites as well as camper cabins. Major construction is going on in the west part of the campground, too, as a new line is put in and the bath houses are rebuilt, so be prepared for some construction noise.

Geology and more at Jay Cooke

Love this park! well maintained campground with plenty to do. you can bike, run, hike and camp. 

Love

Such a beautiful park! Great views of the river along with both long and short hiking trails. The swinging bridge was really pretty as well. We ended up going on a 4 mile hike here it was a pretty easy hike, mostly through the woods along with a few openings with river views! Dogs are welcome on a leash! They have a nice gift shop and information building! 

Beautiful

Fantastic! Loved the trails and site was quiet.

This is one of my favorite campgrounds! The sites are gorgeous and well-spaced. There is running water &amp; vault toilets - they are currently renovating their running toilets &amp; shower as of 2018, but that should be back up for the 2019 season. The hiking trails are BEAUTIFUL, including parts of the Superior Hiking Trail! The park staff are courteous and well-informed. You can purchase firewood, ice, and souvenirs at the park headquarters during open hours. The sites are reserve-only, so check online and book before you go. I also love that it's only a 20-30 minute drive to Duluth!

Gorgeous & Convenient!

campsites are nice and spacious and plenty of trees for privacy. Hanging bridge is neat and beautiful rapids along the river, makes for a nice hike

nice campgournd in a beautiful setting

Should you find yourself heading to the north shore, take a break and hit the trails of Jay Cooke. A variety of trails awaits you. If you have more time, then reserve a campsite and explore the many wonders of this area. 

come for a day or stay for a week

I love Jay Cooke year round! The tent camping is great, the park is amazing for hiking and geology study, and there are camper cabins that I have often stayed at as well. This was my first time staying in winter, the camper cabins are cozy and fully heated and really nice. People use them when coming here in winter for the terrific cross country skiing or snowshoeing. The cabins are very simple and have beds, table, heat, and electricity, but no water inside (water punps are nearby, so bring a bucket ir canteen) and no bathroom (but you can use the outhouse nearby, and the campground will have a new bath house by early summer, it is inder construction and almost finished!) . You can use the facilities at the visitor center during the day but they arent open in the evening and are a bit of a trek from the campground. But, it you want to camp in warmth and relative comfort, and want to explire this amazing state park, the camper cabins are a great way to go year round! You can reserve campsites too if you have an RV or dont mind winter camping

Winter cabin camping

Nice hiking trails. Not too difficult. Family friendly

Really nice!

This was a last minute camping trip for us. The camp sites are spaced out enough to have privacy. The hiking trails were fun and not far from camp. It was chilly at night a very nice area to go camping. Absolutely love this place. Would comeback again if we’re ever in Minnesota again. 

Camping 

A buddy and myself camped here for a night at drive-in 62 and it was spacious but with close proximity to other campers. There are new bathrooms and showers being developed at the current moment so there was one Biffy for the whole campsite and made it kind of difficult for. I am sure there were better campsites but from what we saw and experienced it wasn't the best.

Close Proximity 

First time ever at Jay Cooke State Park. Great campground with lots of hiking trails to get beautiful views of the St Louis River.  There were brand new bathrooms and showers which was a nice surprise. We had the only pull thru site #46e and was just across front the new bathroom facilities. It did have a lot of foot and car traffic but the nice wooded sites still gave us privacy.  Crossing the swinging bridge gives you the wonderful views up and down the river and grants access to some nice hiking trails. The soil at Jay Cooke is clay, so wet trails are very slippery as well as the rocky terrain is slick when wet too.  Be sure to see the big stone which is located in one of the campsite loops. 
Saw my first ever - pink lady slipper flower.  My Verizon cell service was pretty much non existent at the campsite. There was WiFi at the front office in the event that you need your phone. Loved Jay Cooke and hope to get back there again. 

Scenic views

Gorgeous!

This was a wonderful campground with great hiking. The swinging bridge and river are a great feature to the park and they are absolutely beautiful. They just finished building new bathrooms and shower facilities. 

Beautiful campground 

Alright, just kidding. There’s so many different trails to be had here. There are beautiful sights to be seen and a wonderful lodge near the bridge that had a fire going as a warming shelter. 

Hike it all

A River Runs Through it(specifically the St. Louis River)- and a train runs through somewhere nearby. We stayed at this campground on our way back from the North Shore, we almost decided to just skip it and head home and I’m so glad that we didn’t! I knew as soon as we pulled into the campground that we made the right decision to stay. We did do a little hiking along the river, but we didn’t do any longer hikes since my brief park research led me to believe that the river is the best feature. It is a very popular campground- we stayed on a Monday night and less than 5 campsites were vacant.

  

Pros

\-Every campsite seems to be well-treed and relatively private, providing a perfect atmosphere to just enjoy nature from your campsite.

\-Tree straps are available to borrow at the ranger station. This was the first time I have ever been asked if I’m hanging anything from trees- even a clothes line. It had never occurred to me that a clothes line would be a problem for trees, but I’m glad that I know that now!

\-The restroom/shower facility is very new and has my favorite layout where there is one main area with toilets and sinks and separate rooms accessible from the outside for private shower rooms. Not only is the shower privacy nice, but it keeps the water contained to that individual room. This was great in comparison to Whitewater State park which had constantly wet floors in the shared shower, toilet, sink space. The pit toilets are also nice(for a pit toilet). The outhouse near my site had a hook for hanging things(nice) and a hand-written note explaining that in order to keep smells to a minimum you need to close the lid AND the door when you leave. So while it wasn’t the newest pit toilet I’ve ever used, I didn’t mind using it at all. 

  

Cons

\-One of the only things that was obnoxious about this park is that there is a frequently used train track nearby- and the trains really lay on whistle. I slept with earplugs in because of this, but I was still woken up around 4 times that night.

\-The layout of most campsites is kind of tight. If you are camping with multiple tents it might be a good idea to get multiple sites OR just do your research to make sure that the tent pad measurements listed on the reservation site are going to be sufficient. Most sites did not have enough space for your car, your tent, the fire ring, and a bug house. Our site would have had enough space for all of them had we chosen to move our picnic table into the car area, but we weren’t planning on a fire so we just left the picnic table by the fire pit and put our bug house over it. We DID see a campsite with their bug house literally 2 feet from an active fire- do not do this.

\-Our tent pad was really well graveled and made me realize that the standard stakes that came with our tent and bug house need to be upgraded. I was able to get most anchor points secure, but I gave up on one particularly resistant spot.

\-The Hiking Club trail is probably the most used, I considered the CCC hike which is accessible from the loop I was staying in- but I’m tick phobic and the grass trail looked a bit overgrown. The Hiking Club trail wasn’t super well marked and based on the markers I went on the rocky side trail to the river assuming that that was the Hiking Club trail- it wasn’t.

Gorgeous

We began our 2 night trip crossing the Swing bridge and headed to the left for 2.7 miles until we reached Ash Ridge, our backpack site. The hike there was easy and fairly flat. Once you are closer to the site you walk through grass and weeds that are about 4 ft tall, so be sure to check for ticks!

  

The campsite was very spacious and right on the St. Louis River. To get to the river you have to walk down a steep hill right next to the campsite. There are two picnic tables, a fire ring, a bear safe box, and a latrine near by.

  

I did not rate 5 stars due to the fact that we could hear the highway.

Wilderness Camping on the St. Louis River

We were coming back from a camp trip up north and wanted to spend another night out near Duluth. We needed to find somewhere fast before sunset and this was an easy find. Lots of sites to pick from. Very large and clean bathrooms, and private shower stalls. Sites a pretty close together so not much privacy, however. Beautiful trails and river just a couple minute walk away.

Great, easy site.

Great hike-in site and terrific snowshoeing (highly recommend the grand portage trail) 

Winter camping 

The campground offers a lot of choices. We stayed one night in a non-electric site then were able to move over to an electric site. It was a pretty full campground, but they did not have everything open. We had some great neighbors that were tent camping next to our camper. The showerhouse was clean and they had just turned the water on so we were lucky. The reason you come here tho is the hiking and the views. I can tell you that no matter the weather the parking lot will be full but mid afternoon so best to get up early and hike. I was able to have something…wolf/coyote cross the path in front of me on one of the early morning hikes. This was a really great location and a great campground. This would be a great location for families with kids of all ages. Loads to do and experience here.

It was nice, but busy! 

North east Minnesota has some very beautiful country. Highly recommend this spot. ￼

Nice Gem

We found a great walk-in site that was off the beaten path, with plenty of space to spread out. The swinging bridge is a great attraction, although very crowded. The hiking thins out as you venture further away from the bridge. Overall a great park with many updated amenities 

A unique park with lots to do

The campground at Jay Cooke State Park is really nice. The sites are well maintained and private (for the most part. More on that later), and the shower and bathroom facilities are really top notch. Plus, lots of great hikes nearby and only 25min from Duluth.

  

Sites: Most sites are very private. There are lots of trees and foliage in between, so you really can't see your neighbor - at least this was true of the loop I was in (site 18). We didn't walk around all the loops, but the one we noticed had less privacy is the loop with sites 24-37. The center sites (27, 29, 34, 36) are all pretty open and didn't seem like there was much definition between spots. So, good as a group, but maybe less desirable if you're looking for some privacy.

  

My site, 18, was nice. They're all a little tight, so multiple large tents isn't advisable. The only downside to 18 is it is right next to a pit toilet. They're well maintained, but if the wind blows a certain way, you may have a faint scent. I'd probably opt for site 19 or 21 next time.

  

Pros:

\&gt; Really nice facilities. The separate shower rooms are fantastic. Water is hot!

\&gt; Easy access to lots of great hikes

\&gt; Sites are well maintained. There are tent pads at every site that I saw. They're flat and level. 

  

Cons:

\&gt; There are active trains in the nearby town. I was having trouble sleeping one night and heard the horns well into the night (1 and 3am). They're not super loud so I'm not sure if they would have woken me if I was already asleep, but if you're a light sleeper I'd bring earplugs just in case.

  

All in all, I really enjoyed Jay Cooke and would be happy to stay here again!

Great start to the waterfall tour of NE MN

Stayed for 2 nights mid-week in October 2021. Wooded sites. New restroom/showerhouse. Clean. WiFi. 3 bars T-Mobile. Popular state park, busy campground. Fantastic hiking trails throughout state park. Helpful staff in park office. Water. Trash. Would stay here again.

Wooded Campground, Great State Park

Jay Cooke has always been one of our favorite places to camp. It has gotten so busy it’s not even that enjoyable anymore. It’s always well maintained and clean!! We booked a walk in site ( 83 ) which was beautiful! The down side was it’s very close to the camper cabins and many families with children running around unattended. They ran into out campsite yelling and screaming with flashlights and banging bat’s against the trees  while the parents did nothing even after my husband asked them nicely.  We had planned to have a quiet getaway from the city and zone out peacefully.  I have not been back since. Busses and busses of kids pulling up the the park and a 25 minute wait to cross the swing bridge.  But it is absolutely gorgeous there despite the hoards of people.

So beautiful and incredibly BUSY!

Jay Cooke is really a must experience state park within easy driving distance to other parks in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  
Positives:
- Amazing hiking and water play
- photogenic
- Some open site options for camping with other families or friends and many private sites
- Very clean and large shower/restroom facilities
- 15 min to small town grocery store
- Standard fire rings that you can grill on too
- lots of bird watching 
Negative:
- MOSQUITOS!!!!  Bring bulk bug spray or extra blood.  

Jay Cooke destination 

This campground has it all: sites for families to reserve by one another, campsites with more privacy, RV specific loops. With newly updated facilities, it can feel like glamping. Good proximity to bridge and nearby hikes. I highly recommend finding the cedar forest near the CCC Trail on the north side of campground.

Campground for everyone

Excellent hiking and camping experiences here. Stayed for a weekend and returned after for many, many day hikes. Plenty of wildlife to see, a newly rebuilt “swing bridge” over the rusty rushing of the Saint Louis River. And the locals are pleasant, heck, it’s Minnesota! Buggy in summer due to all the water, bring excellent hiking shoes for the rocks yer gonna wanna climb around on. Excellent autumn photography options for all occasions. Camping is is a more secluded area where most day-hikers don’t come across ya. 

Waterfalls Et Al

Never fails this campground is perfect. Lots to do and honestly I have grown to really enjoy coming here in the winter. Yes water is shutoff and you don’t get to us le the awesome shower house but there are hardly any people here! Always enjoy this campground and the area surrounding. Lots of good hikes! 

Doesn’t matter the time of the year

The park is a little off the beaten path so quiet on the whole. Jay Cooke has many miles of walking trails and the swinging bridge (St. Louis River) is a must see and a must cross. Campsites are fairly secluded and heavily wooded. Spend a few days at Jay Cooke, there is much to see.

 A True Minnesota Jewel

We stopped here on our way to north Minnesota. Originally we planned 2 days but really needed to rest so extended it to 4 days. It was a little hairy getting to, the 2 lane winding road with the raging river on one side did slow us down a bit.  The Rangers were friendly and accommodating. The park had taken quite a beating with the winter storm that had been there the previous week, a lot of sites were closed due to trees down and snow.  While we were there they were actively cleaning up, but left in the afternoon so we had no disturbances from saws or equipment noise. The water was not turned on yet for the season, so the bathroom/showers and dump station were not available.  There was a potable water source at the front of our loop to fill our fresh tank and our water storage cubes.  The sites were shaded well, and easy to back into.  We had to work a bit to get our camper level but that may have been due to the snow and water that was on the site so we figured it was par for the course.  We walked to the Welcome Center and the swinging bridge, there were multiple hiking trails accessible by the camping area.  It was relatively busy on the weekend but cleared out during the week.  We had lots of wildlife visitors.  The park is pet friendly.  We found affordable propane and a dump site closer to Duluth.