Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Bemidji, MN

All campsites in the Mississippi Headwaters State Forest are managed by the Department of Natural Resources, and many of them are free, including this one. Although the campsites here are considered primative they still come with really nicely built Adirondack shelters. Campsites are first-come, first-serve, but even in the peak summer months there is usually at least one site open. Even if you can find a site, dispersed camping is permitted, so it's a safe bet to come here if you want to make last minute plans to camp.

Amenities include fire pit, picnic table, and shelter. No water faucets, but you can always get water from the river and filter or treat it.

This time we drove here from Bemidji, which is only a 30 minute drive, but you can also canoe to this campsite from Lake Ithaca. That canoe route is about 17 miles and can be completed in a half day.

La Salle Lake is the newest Minnesota state recreation ares, in the process of become a state park in its own right but currently administeted under the umbrella of nearby Itasca State Park.

If you are a tent camper, the main campground is rather open and more stark than you might like, but RV campers will like the full hookups and the exceptionally nice campground restrooms and shower facilities. What is special about camping here is not the campground itself, but the exceptional surroundings. Lake La Salle is a small but pristine lake, the second deepest in Minnesota and surrounded but mature forest in an ancient glacial moraine tunnel valley. The unique geology makes for terrific hiking through varied terrain all around the lake itself, and into the nearby state Scientific Natrual Area at the confluence if LaSalle Creek and the fledgling Mississippi River. While mostly wooded, there is also a natural prairie area with rare wildflowers. There is nice canoeing, kayaking anf fishing, a good boat launch and swimming beach, and a beautiful new accessible boardwalk and picnic area. There are also two very beautiful north woods style cabins for rent. There are a couple of paddle-in or hike-in dispersed campsites being developed on the more secluded side of the lake, and for folks who want a primitive camping experience close to Bemidji this would be it! The park is 15 miles from Itasca State Park and also 15 miles from Bemidji for day trips to either, and a family-friendly bar and grill is 5 minutes away at the Becida crossroads. Well recommended for an easy and quiet family getaway in northern Minnesota

We had electric site and easily fit our 27 foot trailer. Beautiful campground. Lots of biking and hiking trails. Pets allowed.

We stayed at Balsam Beach Resort & RV Park at the height of summer vacation on Lake Plantagenet in Bemidji. The resort was at full capacity, so it was crowded with no privacy that we prefer to have. (one of the reasons for the lower star rating) We brought our RV and boat, and there was room to park our boat trailer by the boat landing. There are many seasonal sites, cabins for rent, and an open field area for camping in a tent, and 4 RV spots. We stayed in RV spot #1, and the spot came with a picnic table and a fire ring which we did not use because the size of the space put our RV to close to the ring. There is a big fire ring down by the lake that anyone can use (please note you can not bring in your own firewood, they have it available for purchase in the lodge for $5.00 for a small bundle) All RV sites are full hook up with 30 amp electric service, and water and dump. If you bring a boat, it will need to be inspected before you launch it into the lake. There is a big dumpster where you can put your trash in, and they also have bins for aluminum cans, and glass and plastic recycling.

Most of our time was spent fishing on the lake, but we were impressed with the other activities they offered to people staying there including a swimming pool, beach toys, paddle boats, canoes, inflatable rafts, a playground, a baseball field, horse shoes, volley ball sand pit, work out room, and laundry facilities (bring your quarters!! A regular wash and dry is $4.00) They also off cable TV hook up, and have a "general store" that sells sweatshirts, tshirts, ice cream, coffee, and has movie rentals for $4.00 per movie/per day. (Yes, we got the sense that everything is an additional fee) They do allow pets, but at a cost of $5.00 per day. The resort was clean and well maintained by the owners. We just did not feel a sense of welcome from the owners, and will not be making a return trip in the future. It was nice being only a few miles away from the city of Bemidji as we spent a day visiting Paul Bunyan and Babe, and Bemidji State Park to hike the Bog walk (recommended!!) We also spent a day fishing on Lake Bemidji, which is a 10 minute drive from the resort.

What an amazing find and diamond in the rough! This resort is amazing, quiet, clean, friendly people, and pet friendly! Only a 3 mile ride down the gravel to get to ATV trails, and a premium gas pump to fill up with when you get back at the resort after riding. Private boat launch and swimming beach make it fun for the kids and convenient for dad to dock his boat to go fishing. Will definitely book a stay here again, soon!

• This is the headwaters of the Mississippi, which is a neat experience.
• Itasca Rentals is here. This is a great option for pontoon, kayak, canoe, SUP, bike, and child/ pet carrier rentals.
• TONS of hiking throughout the massive park.
• The wilderness drive is very scenic.
• Some k the best hiking included: preacher’s grove and the fire tower
• This would be a great location to host an event such as a family reunion, because there is something for everyone.
• Very nice playgrounds for the kids.

This campground is in Paul Bunyan State Forest. First come, first serve. No ATVs are allowed, perfect if you have young kids on bikes. There are no hook ups at all. Must have a generator for power. Water is available but not at every site. Pets are allowed. Outside toilets are clean. This is a quiet camp ground. The site includes a table and fire ring. There is no place to dock your boat over night. Keep in mind these sites are only $14 a night. There is a host but no security. There are signs up warning about bears.

CAMPGROUND REVIEW

Itasca State Park is a primo destination in northern Minnesota for folks interested in exploring the headwaters of the Mississippi River. There are several campgrounds, group camps, cabins and lodge accomodations in the park that suit most visitors. But for folks who want a wilderness experience while at the headwaters, there are miles of wilderness trails in the backcountry area on the southern end of the park—and there are campsites and Adirondack shelters scattered throughout the myriad glacial lakes of this backcountry, enough so that you could backpack by foot or on snowshoes or cross country skis for a week through the territory, staying at a different lakes every night. April in Minnesota means we are still winter camping—but despite the snow, the sun is bright and warm, and it is great to get out into it. The park is at its peak of solitude in the winter, but if you can find a way to get to a campsite, they are open and reservable. This review is for Remote Campsite 11, located on an isthmus between Coffee Break Lake and Deer Park Lake. It is a several mile hike in from the nearest parking areas, either via Mary Kake and the Ozawindib Trail, or via the Deer Park Trail from Douglas Lodge. The trail is rolling and maintained for cross country skiers, snowshoers and snowhikers in the winter. This campsite is located just past the Ozawindib Adirondack Shelter, which is a good backup if its too windy or cold at the campsite. The campsite itself is down a hill by the lakeshore, between two lakes actually, on a rise that overlooks both. There is an additional campsite nearby on the south end of Deer Park Lake, campsite 10. There is a tent pad sheltered under the tall pines (and currently under the snow!) as well as a fire ring and an outhouse. There is no water provided, but a large bucket is available, so you can get lake water and filter it, or melt snow or bring your own. This is a great location for folks who like winter camping as the trek in is only a few miles, I was able to do it easily carrying a backpack of gear on my back, and a front pack with my dog when she got tired if trudging through the snow. And of course it is an easy hike in during the milder snow-free seasons. The site is scenic, pristine, and largely sheltered from the wind. The vista north over Coffee Break Lake would be awesome for viewing northern lights, this is a dark sky part of the park. It can get a little muddy in the transition season, including around the campfire area, so we hung out at the Adirondack shelter nearby and did our cooking there.

To see a map and reserve a back country campsite at Itasca, check this link:

https://reservemn.usedirect.com/MinnesotaWeb/Facilities/AdvanceSearch.aspx

For more info on Remote Camping in Minnesota State Parks, see this link: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/remote_camping.html

For general info on Itasca State Park, go to the homepage: www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00181#homepage

PRODUCT REVIEW

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I ocasionally get camping products to test out. Today I am testing Mountain House Southwest Breakfast Hash https://www.mountainhouse.com/m/product/spicy-southwest-breakfast-hash.html

Mountain House makes lightwieght, freeze-dried trail meals that are "cooked" in their own pouches using only boiling water. The sealed pouches are durable and lightwieght to carry, and the no-fuss no-muss prep of adding boiling water and letting it stand for 4 minutes in the re-sealable pouch is really easy. Since I was carrying my gear on my back, and carrying my tired little dog in a front pack carrier, I certainly didnt want to have extra weight! But these meal pouches are so light you hardly know you are carrying them. This pouch of SW breakfast hash had more than enough for two people plus some leftover for the dog, we served it up on tortillas that we had also packed, but you could eat it straight up. The hash featured beans, corn, potatoes, veggies and shredded beef for a well rounded complete meal as is, but you could extend the servings by scrambling it with eggs to dish up for a larger group. The taste and texture were surprisingly good, tasty without being too spicy, and I would defintiely buy this again. See our video review at https://youtu.be/nB9lBmjUsqU

At a rate of$40 a night for camping here with all the amenities of a resort, this is a pretty good deal! Campers have access to the heated pool, free use of canoes and kayaks, there is a camp store and bait shop, showers and bathrooms and indoor recreation facilities in the lodge, and a boat launch(though you do have to pay extra to reserve docking space). The campsites are pet friendly too. However, the campsites are a bit close together and would not be my favorite way to camp. For paddlers crossing Lake Winnie on the Mississippi Headwaters Water Trail, this is a convenient place to camp, with easy pull out to the southwest side of the Winnie dam, and more amenities than the Forest Service campground or COE campground on the other side of the dam. From here, paddlers just have a short portage on the paved road across the dam to the downstream boat launch below it.

 Lake Bemidji State Park Campground is right on the lake. Bring your boat or rent one. The paved Paul Bunyan trail is waiting for a bicycle adventure. A variety of hiking trails can also be found. 

I happened to arrive the weekend of the Lake Bemidji bike tour. The park rangers were helpful and quickly filled me in on things to do. Many bicycles came through on Saturday- at least until the rain came. This was the weekend of the ride around the lake - perhaps because it was Father’s Day? I had to make reservations but most of the campground was empty. The sites are close together but the forecast for rain must have kept people away because I felt like there was plenty of space. 

My first time in the restroom found hundreds of flies and backed up toilets. This was remedied by the next day and it was well kept for the rest of my stay. The one central shower house was used throughout the day as people finished swimming. There are group sites available as well as accessible sites. There were a number of organized events that covered a variety of interests. 

I hiked the logging trail with my dog and found a dozen ticks before we finished. We kept to the paved Paul Bunyan trail after that and didn’t find any more. A bike would be nice to ride the short distance into town. 

We spend some of the rainy day in the beautiful town of Bemidji. A clean laundromat was followed up by a cool food co-op. Bill’s Base Camp was the best find. Bill started this outdoor store a year ago and has quality stuff. He spent time talking with me about possible places to go to next. 

I picked this place at random on the Dyrt app. I’m glad I found it. A rough beginning turned into a pleasant stay.

This is a full service fishing resort with a lodge and cabin rental, but RV and tent camping is also available. The campsites are very nice and wooded, the tenting sites include some very secluded spots back in the woods which is nice for solitude but precludes a view of the lake. There are daily rates as well as weekly rates for camping or cabin stays. This is a top notch place to stay for a fishing vacation, off the beaten path but with full amenities. It can be a destination vacation spot, or can be a great stop-over  for through-paddlers crossing Lake Winnie on the Mississippi River Headwaters Water Trail. Although near the National Forest campground on Tamarack Point, this has many more amenities which is nice when you are so far from the nearest town, especially if you are paddling through and have no vehicle for travel. Amenities include groceries, ice cream shop, full service boat launch and fishing supplies, and more. You might not be into winter camping in a tent, but there are ice houses to rent that you could camp in if you come in winter. More expensive than usual campgrounds, but with more amenities provided and with a stellar location. Pets welcome at no extra charge! Seasonal campsite rental can also be arranged.

The Lake Bemidji State Park is situated right on the shore of Lake Bemidji. Many people come for the day to use the beach, playground, and BBQ grills, but I'd highly suggest planning a trail excursion. Take your bike on the Paul Bunyan Trail that almost loops the entire lake, or take a hike or run on the wooded trails around the park to explore the bogs. This wooded park is beautiful in the summer, fall, and even winter.

The campground has either electric or water or just electric sites for RVs and there are also tent-only sites.  The tent sites are located across from and adjacent to the RV sites.  The RV sites are pretty close together but, we were there in the middle of the summer and there were a couple of open tent sites on one side of us.  The campground is pet friendly and the management is friendly.  The campground is close to Itasca State Park as well.  Others have mentioned that getting in to the campsites near the circle drive area (closest to the lake parking lot) are a little difficult to get into & this is very true.  We have an 8x17 Ice Castle/RV that we pull behind the truck and backing into our spot without disturbing other campers was not an easy task.  The circle drive is right where the last couple of RV sites are sitting and there is a tree at the point of the circle drive so you have to avoid the tree and maneuver around it when backing in.  The sites that are closer to the entrance & the playground that do not have a good view of the lake are easier to get in to.  We used the dump station which is nicely situated on a slope just outside the entrance so it's easy to completely pump out a tank that might sit lower on your unit.  There was a picnic table and campfire ring at each site.

This is both a campsite review and Dyrt Ranger Product Review.

CAMPSITE REVIEW:

Coffee Pot Landing is a canoe landing and campsite located near the LaSalle Scientific Natural Area and along a wild and scenic section of the Mississippi River Headwaters Water Trail. You can download a map and brochure about the water trail at this link: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/canoe_routes/mississippi1.pdf

If you are paddling “from source to sea,” or just from source to the first town on the Missisippi which is Bemidji, then this is the second campsite you come to downstream from Itasca State Park. It takes most people two days paddle to get here, then another three to five days til Bemidji (Close to 100 water miles, but only 30 as the crow flies) Of the various campsites available in this first stretch of the Headwaters, this is one of the nicer ones, and the only one in this first segment that you can drive or bike into as well as paddle-in. There is a large group tent site on one side if the river adjacent to the parking area, and it has space for several tents and has a fire grill. Across a foot bridge to the north side of the river you will find another large group site with even more tent sites, two great Adirondack shelters, several picnic tables, two fire grills, a stone fire ring, and a fairly well maintained outhouse. There are canoe landing sites on both sides of the river.

I really love this section of the river, and this is a great place to camp. I dont give it a full five star rating, however, because the campsites used to have water pumps and more picnic tables; however, as these were vandalized at some point, rather than being replaced and maintained, they were removed and the campsites downgraded from rustic to primitive. Another disappointing aspect is that there is supposed to be a larger buffer zone of undisturbed forest on both sides of the river as this stretch has wild and scenic status, but there has been a fair amount of blowdown and logging near the north side. The SNA on the south side is well protected though. overall, this is a nice place to camp, for individuals or groups, whether through paddling or using this as a destination for a short trip.

PRODUCT REVIEW As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes have the opportunity to try new camping products and evaluate them. This product review is for Nature’s Kettle coffee, and yes I purposely chose the Coffee Pot Landing campsite to try it out!

Nature’s Kettle coffee is a real brand of high quality coffee that comes conveniently packaged in its own reusable brewing bag that very cleverly functions like a drip coffee maker without you having to bring along and fuss with a coffee pot while on your trip. SEE THE ATTACHED VIDEO TO SEE THE BREWING PROCESS.

Pros: wow, this coffee tastes really good! I hate instant coffee but tolerate it when camping because then we dont have to have a big fire or lots of pots when cooking breakfast. However, with this along you need just one pot water heated up—use some of the water for your morning oatmeal or freeze dried eggs or whatever, then the rest of the water is used to easily brew your coffee right in its own brew bag. The bag is two chambered and the coffee steeps almost like french press coffee, then you pour it out just like a coffee pot. and the brew bag is reusable too. So, good coffee, great variety of refill coffees, even tea or cocoa if you want. and such a clever but simple compact and lightweight brewing system! Great for camping

CONS Actually….only one. Since you use boiling water, you have to be really careful when you first pour the water in because the bottom of the brew bag doesn’t flatten out and stand on its own til you get the first cup in. And the bag gets a bit hot. Therefore, this isnt something to do around kids or pets unless you are very careful.

For those of you who love canoeing, backpacking, or camping with streamlined supplies and gear, but really cant start your morning with anything but real coffee, this is a great product for you! Rich tasty real coffee, with no extra pots to pack and no fuss no muss brewing.

We stayed at Camp Ground for 3 days. Short way to a beautifull Beach on the lake Bemidji. Very nice Bike trails. We made a Bike Tour around the lake and visit the beautifull downtown. The privacy between the Campsites is not so good. Thats why 4 Stars

We just got back from Lake Bemidji, it was ok. The amenities were great, and there was a sandy beach for swimming and watching the sunset. My only/biggest complaint is that the sites have no privacy and they don't separate tent and camper camping. We had a great view until our neighbors came with their trailer taking away from the experience.

The RV sites were moderately flat and easy to back into. The forest provided ample tree coverage. The sites were nicely sized and private. The bathrooms were a little creepy. There was fresh pottable water throughout the loop. The resort up the street has wood and ice for sale. This campground is close to Bemidji which is a nice town to tour. No sewage dump on site.

I don't remember much about the actual campsite itself, but I remember the amazing wildlife I saw. Such a beautiful place to visit. So many pitcher plants!

Like any other state park in MN, firewood is available for purchase at the office where you'd check in. Each site has a fire ring and a picnic table.

Bemidji is a short drive away and there are plenty of places to check out there!

While this seems to be mainly an "RV" campground, but there were a few cabins on the lake and two gorgeous tent sites that would be the envy of many other camps. They were ideal, especially for the family that wanted the "tent" experience without having to huff it through the woods with toddlers in tow.

Sleeping Fawn is very clearly marked from the road, and although they don't say "campground" on the sign, there are a few tent sites available. It's about a 3/4 mile drive off the main road, but signage is apparent the entire way, and it's super easy to find once you get there. There is an office for check in, cabins to rent and lots of RV sites available too. Even though RV's seem to dominate here, the roadway through the woods and past them is peaceful and serene. Pine needles cover the ground and create a softness to the scenery. The posts that mark each site are wooden, tall, and are clearly numbered. Close to the entrance is a "tent parking" area, a cart for hauling your things, and 2 tent pads, just across the drive and down a little path about 20 yards. Perfect!

The tent sites are far enough apart to be "separate", but close enough that if you had family or friends, they are close by. Garbage cans are at the split in the path between #1 and #2 and each site has a fire ring, picnic table, gorgeous, flat tent pad and a view of the lake. And again, if you needed something from the car, it's a 50 yard walk. Not a 3 mile trudge through the woods.

Camping in tents May 18 - Oct 1

Camping rates were a bit steep for my liking, but I like primitive sites in the woods. So if you were a family trying to introduce wee ones to camping, it would still be worth it. $28 for a site as of 2018. Or a weekly rate of $170. Showers and laundry available, as well as free coffee in the morning. They also have a beach, nature trail, small store and other amenities.

NOTE: Pets are not allowed at this resort

If easy camping is what you're looking for, this is it. Our 15X15 tent fit in their listed 12X12 spot. Built in grill on fire rings with park bench and table. Potable water available to everyone. Perfect cell reception as it's eyesight to the city of Bemidji. Self serve wood and ice when office is closed. Even a vending machine. Amazing showers for a camp ground, bathrooms ok and clean. If you want to get away while still being in easy driving range of city. Hiking trails are quite a walk but easy and cleared. Beach, dock, sand volleyball court. Some outdoor showers also available but they were buggy when we went mid July.

We planned a huge family camping trip this year and the lovely Chippewa Loop campground in the Chippewa National Forest was the camp ground that we had the honor of staying at! We had three sites, 79, 80, and 81 with 17 people total. 9 Adults and 8 kids ranging from ages 7 to 1. The campground is right outside Cass Lake Minnesota that had a nice grocery store, a pretty weird liquor store, a family dollar, and a fishing pier if you didn’t have a boat. It was about a half an hour outside of Bemidji, Mn that has a lot of history from Minnesota and a great fireworks display over the lake on the Fourth of July. The City of Bemidji has a lot a little boutique shops if you are into shopping while on camping trips. It also had a cute little ice cream store that we took all the kids to across from the Paul Bunyan and Babe the blue ox statue and a nice park for the kids to play at right off of Lake Bemidji. If you’re into craft breweries Bemidji also has a brewery called Bemidji Brewing right in town. There’s also a Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and a dollar tree amongst other stores if you have that “I forgot list”.

Site number 80 was the best to put up a travel trailer, but it was also extremely close to site number 82 and practically joined site number 82. We ended up putting our Jayco Eagle 30 foot travel trailer in site number 81 because with everyone else tent camping and we were the only one with a travel trailer, we felt this site was the best to park our travel trailer in because it was the least level site and only had one small pad for a tent. Site number 79 and 81 were joined together by a path that made it easy for us to all eat in one site. We all pretty much congregated in site number 81. We put most of our tents, three to be exact, in site number 80 because it was the most level and open for tents. The site was capable of having two large cabin tents and a small 4 person tent comfortably. Site had a lot of good pine trees for hanging Hammocks but, like I said before, it was almost right on top of site number 82 so we decided to only put up the 3 tents and congregate across the road in site number 81 as to not disturb the other site occupants. It was pretty frustrating that that was the most level site because it was also the best one to park a travel trailer in and have an awning out and a picnic table but we couldn’t do it because we didnt want to disturb the other site with 17 people.

Site number 79 had a good drive pad but the tent pad was extremely un-level. we put up a single pole tipi in that site because the people in that site had cots and didn’t mind sleeping on an incline. When I say incline, I mean incline, the tent pad was not level at all which is kind of frustrating. Site number 79 was the least friendly for hammocks so we hung all her hammocks in site number 81.

Site number 81 is where we decided to put up the trailer but the trailer pad was super un- level. We ended up making a Walmart run to get two more packs of leveling blocks and we use three packs of leveling blocks to make it level with room to have our awning and out. Right behind the travel trailer was a sloped hill that went down to the fire pit and a tent pad that was also on a slight incline which we were up by eight person tent there but that person had a raised air mattress and didn’t mind sleeping on an incline. Attached to site number 81 was also the path to the showers that was right down the hill. It worked out great because the showers and the bathrooms were so close to our site but we felt like the trees were blocking everything from our site.

We took a lot of bike rides and got to see a lot of the other sites and they had a lot of good tent sites in some of the other loops and it seems like all of the electric sites were not as great as the tent sites. All of the electric sites seem to be un-level and not a great place to pitch a tent as well as having the camper.

The park itself was very beautiful had a lot of nature things like milk weed and monarch butterfly’s everywhere and a beautiful swimming beach that was about waist high (4 feet deep) for about 300 to 400 yards out from shore. The beach was great for swimming and kayaking and you could dock a boat on the sandy beach and eat lunch if you wanted to. We ended up catching 40 crawfish and doing a crawfish boil, which the kids absolutely loved. The picnic shelter was pretty awesome too, very shaded and on a rougher part of the beach. There was a really long bike path that went through all of the loops and the main road was super bike friendly as well.

In the visitor center there was a really cool area for the kids to go to play if it was too hot or rainy, or if you just wanted to be indoors for a little bit. They had a bike decorating event and we brought all the kids bikes and decorated them. There was a little gift shop and they also gave out free stickers which we ended putting on our camper as we do at every park we get a sticker from.

Each camp ground loop also had a campground host that sold firewood, three bundles for $10. The firewood was pretty bad and some of it was wet and it burned really really fast. But like every park in Minnesota you can’t bring your own firewood unless it’s kiln dried lumber or something like that within a certain number of miles of the place you are camping.

A few downsides to this park where there’s no official places to fill water up for your camper and no official place to dump your black and grey water tanks from your camper. You end up having to go to another park and pay to dump your camper. This could be a problem if you are staying for an extended time and use a lot of water. There also wasn’t a whole lot to do aside from biking and hiking and swimming like there was a leech lake recreation area we were at a few days prior to this trip. The restrooms and showers were pretty unkempt and dirty. Everyone but me and my sister had cold showers every time they went to take a shower.

All in all the park is very beautiful and I had some very good attributes like friendly staff, clean campsites and secluded campsites where you didn’t feel like you are right on top of the other site aside from site 80 and 82. It seemed like there were three or 4 sites together in groups and then a little ways away there were a few more clumped together.

I don’t know if we would actually come back to this park because the sites weren’t as big as they seemed in the pictures online and we felt cramped most of the time. There wasn’t a good space in the sites to put up games like corn hole or ladder ball which made it a bit boring at times to just stay at camp. We spent a lot of time at the beach.

Our family just returned from a 9 day stay at Leech Lake Receeation Area, and wish we could have stayed 9 more!! The Campground is located in north central Minnesota (Federal Dam) about 30 minutes southeast of Bemidji or a 3 & 1/2 hour drive from Minnneapolis/St. Paul, MN area, and is run by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Volunteers. The park is located in the Leech Lake Reservation and Chippewa National Forest.

The park has 77 sites available that you can make reservations online at: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/leech-lake-rec-area/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=73246

**Note: We reserved our spot 6 months in advance as they book up super fast in the short Minnesota summer months.

There are 73 sites with electric hook ups (5 are full hook ups) or if you want to tent in a private setting, they have 4 primitive walk to sites. Each site has a large picnic table and fire ring with adjustable grill.

When you check in they give you a code that allows you access to the comfort building (flush toilets, showers, and laundry facilities) We took advantage of the boat mooring area (just a few steps down from the campground) that includes a plug in area to recharge our boat batteries, and we really appreciated the fish cleaning station building!! (Super clean!!!)**See pics of the awesome fish we caught-Note all Walleye in the 20-26 inch slot size must be released.

We spent the majority of the time enjoying Leech Lake, but we also spent time hiking the trails (Check out the 400 year old Cedar Tree!!), we played horseshoes, and shuffle board (a new game to us!!), and relaxing by the campfire. **NOTE Only certified & approved firewood can be used in the park. There is a general store just outside the park that sells it for $20.00 a wheelbarrow full.

We would give this campground 6 stars if we could, and know you would too!! Enjoy the pics!!

We love our Boundary Waters Canoe Area to the north of us, and the North shore of Lake Superior to the east, both of which offer some of the best wilderness camping in northern Minnesota. However, they are both a good three hour drive from our home in north central Minnesota. Itasca State Park, between Park Rapids and Bemidji, is our go-to special place when we want to take to the woods for a weekend but only have to drive about a half hour to get there. Most campers at Itasca head for the main campgrounds for standard tent and RV camping...but for a near Wilderness experience, there are 11 remote backpacker campsites which are between 1 and 6 miles trek into the roadless wilderness area of the park south of the parks main loop drive. The Iron Corner Lake remote campsite is one such campsite off on its own in the backcountry, actually by the nexus of the Ozawindib Trail and the North Country National Scenic trail that runs through this part of the park. It is an easy trek in from a small parking area near Josephine Lake, or from a larger parking area at the south entrance of the park. Either trail in goes up and over the Itasca Moraine, so there is some good elevation change along the traild, but not too rugged, and it is really just over a mile that you need to pack in to this campsite. The campsite comes with fire ring and benches, beautiful bed of pine needles for a tent pad, access to a gorgeous crystal clear lake, and a clean three-sided outhouse with a scenic view toward the lake. (No need for a door—its the wilderness! ) You can camp here as a base camp, and then have the chance to hike miles of trails in every direction to dozens of other wilderness lakes in the area. The trails in are both wide, soft, and well maintained so you could easily bring in a kayak ir canoe if you dont mind portaging the distance. Quiet, rustic, pristine, and dark skies at night! Check this page for a description of the MN state park remote campsites with a link to reserve one: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/remote_camping.html and check this link for info on the Itasca State Park overall https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00181#homepage