Best Cabin Camping near Bovey, MN

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 quality of this campground is really a 4, however the location is a little  bit out of the way for doing day trips, exploring and access to the Chippewa National Forest. It is not on Lake Winnie, so you have to drive to a boat landing to launch your watercraft, and there is swimming at a nearby beach but it is not on the premises. However, the grounds are meticulously maintained and the camping prices cant be beat--$20 a night for tent camping, and $35 a night for full RV campsite with hookups. There is a playground. laundry facilities, and full bathrooms. There are also many walking trails on the premises. The general store on the premises provides staples and treats. If you prefer, there are also vintage cabins you can stay in here. Best of all, staying here supports a local family business including their painstaking efforts to maintain an hisotric general store and vintage vacation spot that was established almost a century ago and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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.

The park has two backpack campsites along small pine lake.  It's an easy 1.5 mile hike to the camp site along flat trails.  The campsite is set back from the trail a good ways so you have complete privacy. There is a "shelter" for rain or snow as well as a fire pit, picnic table, bear locker, and a pit toilet.  The lake is easily accessible to filter water. 

We were two of the first groups allowed to camp once the MN DNR resumed camping during Covid-19, so many of the "perks" or the park, such as canoe renting, were not available. Also, the old fire tower is locked up and should not be climbed. 

We were there in late May and the mosquitos were HORRIBLE, despite it being colder and windier than average.

Scenic State Park has a variety of camping options, including a small lodge, standard RV campsites with hookups, and standard campground tent sites. But, best of all, they also offer numerous remote backcountry campsites that require you to either backpack in for a few miles, or paddle or boat in a mile or two, and a few where you can access the site via either backpacking or boating in. The backpack in only sites are on trails a few miles north of the lodge campground, and the boat-in only site is on Coon Lake about a half mile from the Lodge campground boat landing, and then there are 4 sites on Sandwick Lake to which you can backpack in or boat in. Sandwick Lake is located to the south and east of Coon Lake and is reached by boat or canoe by launching from the main boat landing, passing through Coon Lake , and then down a channel into Sandwick Lake. To me, the regular campgrounds seemed pleasant but pretty busy; the remote campsites, however, are absolutely exquisite and peaceful and quiet and off by themselves.  we camped at campsite #6 on Sandwick, you would have to backpack into it by hiking about 3 miles, or you have the option to boat in which we did. The boat-in campsites do each have a small dock, perfect for accomodating canoes, kayaks, and very small fishing boats like ours; larger boats would have trouble I think, because the docks are firly shor and there isnt much room to pull in alongside them. From the dock at our campsite there was a sloped path to walk up from the dock to the campsite, but the three others on the lake have a small set of stairs. Our site had a three sided log lean-to as well as a bear box, picnic table, and fire ring with grate. Our site had room for one tent, maybe another small one, but we visited site 4 and it had space for maybe 4 or 5 tents so you could had a scout troup or large family at that site. There is a pit toilet off in the woods, "al fresco"  because the site is isolated on its own. The campsite we had was up on a hill with a beautiful view, and faced north for catching wonderful breeezes that kept the bugs away! The lean-to was great for doing food prep, and would be a good shelter if a storm came up. The grill on the fire ring was sturdy, and the bear box looked to be brand new and indestructible. The shoreline had a pretty dense cover of cedar trees, but you can swim by your dock, and the water is crystal clear! If you boat in to this site, then you will be off on your own in a peaceful quiet spot, but you can hike either north or south on the hiking trail that passes nearby, you can paddle or boat acrros the lake to the unique esker where there is an educational geology trail, or you can go fishing, or bird watching, or get back to the main part of the park for nature programs or accees the many miles of trails that have trailheads near Coon Lake. If you dont have a watercraft of your own, the park rents canoes and kayaks that you can use. The state park is in the middle of the Big Fork State Forest, and the Big Fork River Water Trail runs through the area with many access point nearby. if you need supplies, the park's camp store is currently closed due to covid, but the town of Bigfork is about 7 miles from the state park entrance, so you have access to groceries, gas, hardware etc there, as well as a small hospital if needed. All the campsites are currently reservable online, and you must use that system because the main park office is closed to visitors at this time due to covid, though park staff are out and about in the park for cleaning and maintainence and campground supervision. I highly recommend this park, and especially the remote sites, but they are taken quickly on weekends so you need to reserve ahead!

This is primarily a cabin resort, however camping is also offered for both RV's and tenters. Camping rates are a little hard to find on the website, so check them at this link:https://www.thepinesresort.com/camping/camping-rates

There is a nice swimming area and dock on the lake, a camp store, boat rentals, laundry facilities, etc. I think staying in the cabins might be a nicer experience for a long term stay, as the campsites are rather open and close together, but the lake access and amenities are favorable for a short stay. 

For through paddlers on the Mississippi Headwaters Water Trail, this is the most convenient campsite above the Winnie Dam. The tent sites are only $25 per night, you have more amenities than at the COE or Forest campgrounds on the other side of the dam, and your portage around the dam from the campground to the boat launch below is super easy if you have a canoe or kayak cart--just pull out at the resort boat launch dock, cart your craft a short walk on the paved road across the dam, and put in at the COE boat launch below the dam.Much preferable to scaling the dam on the steep rocky portage that is on the east side of the dam, plus you have a decent and reasonably priced place to camp the night before.  So for that type of camping, this spot is ideal!

Following the winding pathway you will come to the campground. It’s situated near four lakes and loads of biking/hiking. There is a lot to do in the area from fishing, hiking, biking, and nature watching. Loon lake has a nice little “park” with a beach so that is great for families.

The campground itself sits next to the lake which is nice and while no site has true waterfront claim several can see the water. I stayed in 22E which was next to a trail head but close to the water spigot and showers. Sites 62/3/4 would be great for a large family as they have loads of space. Showers and restrooms were super clean!

Yes it is buggy but it’s minnesota so you deal with it. There is lots of nature. We saw a bear while hiking the continental divide trail so nature is out there.