Cart-In Campground — Split Rock Lighthouse State Park

We LOVE Split Rock State Park, and try to go at least one a year. This spring we backpacked in a bit to the first backpack site, BP1, just about a mile in from the parking lot. 

The cart in sites are definitely amazing, but the backpack ones are the best! This one is on an overlook with pretty much your own private lagoon right next to the site. Stats for this site: 

- mostly shaded at the site

- wood chips for the tent area

- bear box

-picnic table

- rustic latrine (bring own TP)

- fire pit.

There are trails down to the private beach area and to the public one to the north. You could totally access this via kayak or canoe.

Take the hike back to the main parking lot/camp entrance for use of nice showers and bathrooms. Also a little public bay with great views of an island and the lighthouse. Also has a great public use building with an outside sheltered fire pit and electricity. We hung out a bit there to charge phones and use the tables.

All sites are quite private, even more than most state parks. Various access points to Lake Superior throughout the campground, and the park is close to Two Harbors for supplies, etc.

One of my favorite parks, up on the cliff with amazing views and great trails that wind you through the woods to high bluffs and lookouts. Just awesome.

My friend and I went camping here from October 19th-21st (which happened to be during an unseasonable cold snap- I'm talking 20 degrees at night with a bit of snow, but that's neither here nor there). The first night we lucked out and though it was cold, there was virtually no wind.

We chose one of the campsites nearest to the parking lot since we had a lot of cold weather gear to lug and my friend was new to camping. Even though it was close to the lot and there weren't really leaves on the trees anymore to offer privacy, the park was quiet and we only heard people when they would walk directly past our campsite.

The proximity to Lake Superior and the view was absolutely gorgeous. We gasped when we got to the site because it was so beautiful! In combination with how quiet it was, it really made for a worthwhile stay.

The tent pad was flat and covered with woodchips. Tent pad was elevated, with a wooden bench built in. The site was cart-in, which made loading in and out a breeze. Going uphill to the parking lot was a bit of a pain, but it was a short enough distance that it was just fine. There was a sizeable metal bear box for food. The vault toilet was a short jaunt up the hill and had plenty of toilet paper in stock.

Because it was off-season, the campground building with flush toilets/showers was closed, and there was no running water for the campground. (During the regular season, water is close by at the parking lot.) There was water available on the side of the Trail Center Picnic Shelter.

I am looking forward to returning to camp here in a bit warmer weather!

We stayed in site #7 the first weekend of October - perfect timing for the leaves! The site is private and isn't visible from the main paths and parking lots and you can't see into any other campsites. Occasionally the sound from the parking lot (especially people slamming the lid on the dumpster) would travel into the campsite, but overall it was very quiet. The site is up on a small bluff overlooking the parking lot, but you'd really need to get close to the edge to see the cars. The view was great (first 3 pictures below), and the stars were beautiful at night! The path to the site is definitely uphill and has some rocks, and the carts are heavy, so keep that in mind when you're packing. We also looked at site #8 when it was empty (fourth picture below) and it has a panoramic view and was a really nice site, too. The sites closest to the showers (#5, #11) were pretty exposed to the path. You can hear some of the road traffic on hwy 61, but it'd be hard to avoid in most sites and got much quieter at night. We could still hear the lake at night, which was great! I feel really lucky to have grabbed this site and can't wait to camp here again!

I’ve stayed at Site 1 twice in the winter. We did manage to hike in on a blizzard night in November of 2019, but the park office made sure we were ok. The park office has limited hours so be prepared with firewood ahead of time. They do not plow the campground parking lot in the winter, but they do plow down to the pebble beach lot. You can snowshoe, hike, or toboggan in. The back trail off Of pebble beach parking is groomed and has views of the light house and nature center. There is a dumpster and a bathroom that is open. There is another bathroom off of the campground parking lot that I was able to use, but you will need to have snow shoes. Camping at site 1 in the winter is amazing. Perfect views of the lake and lighthouse. The site is protected from the lake by a large hill that has a bench at the top. The site has a picnic table, bear box, and grate. During the summer, the site would have a lot of noise from the parking lot and hiking traffic. In the winter, there are a lot of photographers. There are coyotes in the winter.

Backpack site 3 is worth the hike. I have camped here at least 10 times ranging in all times of the year. The lake effects the weather a lot, so be prepared. In the summer there are a lot of bugs, in spring, fall, and winter beware of the winds off the lake. There are many ways to get there. You can take the side road paved trail if you are a beginner but park trails are groomed and the stairs are maintained. The hiking views are beautiful and it is a very moderate hike. The site is off off the trail, but it is also on a private bay. The site entrance drops down to the site. There is a fair amount of tree coverage. There are a few trees between the site and the beach. The beach has large rocks but is relatively flat for water access, but bring a water filter. There is not a supply for a drinking water, but this site does have a partially sheltered latrine. It has a partial picnic table and a fire pit with grate. The tent pad is relatively flat and groomed with wood chips. The views are spectacular. You are right of hwy 61. Anticipate traffic noise though about 10pm. You are allowed to collect dead and down wood from these sites and trails.

3/6/20-3/8/20. Cart-in 4

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is situated on Lake Superior in Two Harbors. It’s a backpacker’s paradise! They are open year-round and have 20 secluded Cart-In campsites within 2000 feet of the parking lot. They have wheeled carts available to move your camping gear to your campsite - or in the winter you could sled-in like we did. Each site has a fire ring, picnic bench and a bear locker for your food or gear. They also have 4 backpack sites with their own vault toilets and are 1/2 mile to 2 mile hike from the parking lot.. The sites are all nicely spaced with some close to the water with gorgeous views of Lake Superior, some of the lighthouse and others wooded. We got to scope out almost every one of them, as only one other person was camping here this weekend. You really can’t go wrong with any site at Split Rock as they were all beautiful and have their own little something to offer. Their showers are not open in the winter but they do have vault toilets throughout

They have 12 miles of hiking trails that run along Lake Superior and double back on the Gitchi-Gami trail. The Gitchi-Gami trail is a paved trail in summer which boasts biking or hiking and unplowed hiking in the winter. In the winter the park has hiking, snowshoeing and xcountry ski trails. .

The big draw is their historic lighthouse in which they charge a separate fee to enter. For all the times I have visited Split Rock, I have honestly never been to the light house. There is also river/stream fishing and access to several rock beaches. We hiked ALL the trails during our stay. They are diverse and beautiful! We particularly enjoyed the Day Hill trail which leads up to an overlook and gives you panoramic views of Lake Superior, the lighthouse and Split Rock Point.

This state park fills up very fast and is reservable, so we opted to visit in the winter. We chose site 4 which is close to the parking lot, next to Lake Superior and has views of the lighthouse. Our site was beautiful nestled among birch and pine (which most are), with waves crashing in the background. There is a short path that leads to a private bench that provides stunning views of the lighthouse and cliff views of the lake. We had clear skies and very little wind in our campsite. Highs in the 40s - low of 15 Friday, 28 Saturday. It was perfect winter camping weather!

I highly recommend a visit to this state park!

Spent a couple of nights here recently and really enjoyed the solitude. Trails are all marked and the proximity to the lighthouse was nice. Weather was cool and varied between clear and partly cloudy with a light rain for about an hour one morning. Site is on a relatively open, low bluff that overlooks Lake Superior to the South and has fire ring with grill grate, half a picnic table, a locker for food / gear, latrine and tent area padded with wood chips. Trees on site were perfect for my hammock. Waves crashing below site were calming and put me to sleep both nights - was much like beach camping in my home state of California! I did not hike the surrounding trails much as this was more of a short reconnaissance trip for future visits. If you plan on swimming be sure to bring water shoes! Pebbles/rocks are tough on bare feet.

While there I also took the opportunity to scout backpack site 1. This site has same amenities though it is more sheltered by trees. There is a short path that leads down to the water’s edge and a little swimming cove that could be cool for shallow rock diving. Large, flat granite formations for sunning yourself as well. Either site is awesome and Split Rock I’ll definitely be back!