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State forests and public lands surrounding Bovey, Minnesota offer several tent camping options for those seeking primitive lakeside campsites. Blackberry Campsite, accessible only by canoe on the Mississippi River, provides a secluded tent-only experience with basic amenities. George Washington State Forest features multiple tent campgrounds including Lost Lake and Bear Lake, both offering primitive tent camping experiences within 30-40 miles of Bovey. Moose Lake in Bowstring State Forest provides walk-in tent sites that campers describe as "off the beaten path" and refreshingly quiet.
Most tent-only sites in the region feature basic amenities suited for self-sufficient campers. Fire rings and pit toilets are standard at established sites, while drinking water availability varies significantly between locations. Blackberry Campsite includes unique features for tent campers such as a bear box and covered firewood storage, but requires paddling access. M44 Big Dick Lake offers tent camping in a "pine forest with large mature trees" and sandy shoreline access, though the road in can be difficult to locate. Seasonal access typically runs May through October, with some sites closing earlier depending on weather conditions. Mosquitoes are frequently mentioned in reviews, particularly during summer months.
The walk-in tent sites at Moose Lake provide a more secluded experience than drive-in areas. According to reviews, these sites offer good swimming access during hot weather and remain relatively uncrowded. One camper noted that Lost Lake campground is "a small, quiet state forest campground, off the beaten path" where fishing is a primary activity. Tent campers at Blackberry Campsite benefit from thoughtful amenities including "a bear box, pit toilet, and equipment to cut wood." The backcountry tent camping experience in this region generally involves lakeside settings with varying levels of tree cover and privacy between sites. Fall visitors often report stunning colors and decreased insect activity, making it an ideal season for primitive tent camping in the area.
"That said, this one is a canoe campsite, so in order to get to this one, you have to be on the Mississippi River in Minnesota."
"On a beautiful lake and free beach and paddle boats! Lots of road noise, and lots of permanent campers, otherwise a five star!!"
"The walk-in sites are nice and off-the-beaten path. Hiking is a bit underwhelming, but overall a nice easy trip from the twin cities"
"Vaulted toilet and recycling/dumpster close proximity."
"We were lucky enough to get the last 5 sites in the loop, and even though we weren't right on the lake, we were adjacent to a large mowed field area where we could play games and kids could run freely."
"This is a small, quiet state forest campground, off the beaten path from any direction. The main activities are quiet campig, and fishing!"
"Loved this campground, quiet lake and fishing dock right there."
"This review is for the group campsite at McCarthy Beach State Park, which is the only camping spot on Sturgeon lake, and separate from the main state park campground which is located on nearby Side Lake"
from $75 / night
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TravelerWe love camping here! Definitely not for campers or rvs. Perfect for tents, backpackers, and a couple sites are good for Rooftop tents. Vault toilets are clean. Lots of picnic tables and fire pits.
LegendNice basic standard USFS campground in the Chippewa NF.
$14/night, self pay, no reservations, no host. There’s a vault toilet on site and a pump-handle water faucet. No trash service here, please pack out. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring.
Mosquitos were brutal here!
Surprised to have ok (not great) verizon and ATT service here.
A little ways from the campground is the day use picnic area and boat ramp. You can walk along the main road or take a little connecting trail to it, but just a heads up that the mosquitoes are lying in wait in this trail. We decided to go for it and try out the trail (instead of walking back out to the main road), quickly regretting it and almost running through the whole thing to come out the other side (entrance to trail is near campsite 21).
Campsites were decent, not very private, and some were oddly shaped where you just pull onto the grass, with no clear driveway or parking area. But they were fine.
TravelerA lovely shaded site with plenty of trees to string a hammock. The lake is great for swimming and fishing. Quiet hours are observed. A short hike through the woods will bring you to a tiny convenience store with pretty much anything available that you might have forgotten. Potable water is available throughout and the vault toilets are cleaned daily by the camp host.
LegendThis is a small, quiet state forest campground, off the beaten path from any direction. The main activities are quiet campig, and fishing! There is a nice lake with a convenient boat launch nearby, nicely spaced wooded campsitess, room for RVs but no hookups. There has been some fresh loggin activity in the area so that does affect the scenicness of the woods nearby, as well as the quality of the access road if it is rainy. Basic water, basic pit toilets, picnic tables and fire rings, no other amenities besides peace and quiet and fish ready for your hooks!
RangerWe have been staying at the North Star Campground for the past 10 years. This campground has no electric hook ups. The sites are roomy with a nice fire ring that has a grilling grate on it, and an extra large picnic table. The campground host Brock is friendly and welcoming. We spend many hours fishing the many different bays of North Star Lake with luck catching Muskies. There are a few sites with a stair case to lake access, and the public boat launch access is less than a 1/2 mile away from the campground.
TravelerWhat a treasure! I was the first person to stay at this campsite and loved it! I am a full-time solo camper in my 5th year. I love off-grid camping. My rig is a GMC Yukon and 17' Casita camper.
Directions:
Address for house just beyond campsite is 8214 E. Stone Lake Rd. Forbes, MN
Coordinates are: N47.286675, W092.549313
Turn on E. Stone Lake Rd. from Highway 7 and where the blacktop turns to gravel drive 2.5 miles then bear right at the fork to remain on E. Stone Lake Rd. Just beyond the fork watch for the red 8217 address marker. The drive into the campsite is directly across the road and before you get to 8214. Park and walk in to get a feel for the site.
A big rig could back in as far as they want. Smaller rigs will probably pull in and then back into the site on the side with the lovely clearing. The area has some residential housing but the campsite is isolated and very quiet. There is a fern-filled clearing for the campsite which is surrounded by trees. My suitcase solar panels worked reasonably well. I used my generator sparingly.
I had deer, squirrel, chipmunks and birds including Pileated Woodpeckers, Barred Owls and Common Loons on the lake. I had less than expected mosquitoes.
The campsite is very close to the north section of Sax-Zim Bog and about 20 minutes from the Visitor's Center. Further down E. Stone Lake Rd. is the Blue Dasher Bog trail. The lake, left fork of the road, has a lovely picnic area with vault toilets, fire rings, picnic tables and boat ramp.
This was just the kind of hidden gem I love to find.
LegendThis is a small county park and campground off the beaten path. It is located adjacent to the Little American Falls, and alongside the Big Fork River water trail. There are several campsites you can drive into, and if it is not the muddy season you could drive with a trailer or small RV into some of the the camping sites. Although the sites themselves are pretty well kept, campers are advised to pack out their own garbage but it seems some folks don't feel they have to--so there is some litter around, and evidence of campers burning garbage in the firepits. There is little to no cell phone service here, no on site ranger or camp host, but sites have basic picnic tables and fire rings, and there is an outhouse available. You should bring your own water; any RV's should know there are no hookups of any kind, but you are allowed to use a generator here.
The main appeal of this campground is access to the river, which involves going down a steep bank (there are stairs) but worth it for fishing or kayaking or canoeing. The falls are beautiful, and worth a visit. There arent official biking or hiking trails but you could easily walk or bike on the back roads adjacent to the campground. If you want more privacy, there is a canoe campsite on the bank opposite of the county campground, just downstream of the falls, that is maintained by the Minnesota DNR and is water-access only.
There is no cost to camp here, but also no reservations so first come first served. For maps, you can refer to the Koochiching County recreation maps to see location, which are here:
https://www.co.koochiching.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/135/Outdoor-Recreation-Map-PDF?bidId=
https://www.co.koochiching.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/994/Koochiching-Recreation-Map-2018-PDF
The Big Fork Water Trail map is here: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/canoe\_routes/bigfork1.pdf
And for more info you can contact the Koochiching County Lands and Forests office here: https://www.co.koochiching.mn.us/178/Land-Forestry
GuideToward the last minute in July of 2024, I needed RV spaces near water (that I could kayak) for two travel trailers. I found this campground and booked two of the last three spaces available. Three hours from my house, as the crow flies, I found myself visiting Minnesota's iron range. This campground is next to a reservoir with many islands and no current (unless the mining company is pushing or pulling water from the lake. The sites are of varying sizes and some are pull through. Leveling took me a bit, but I found just the right angle to jack up the front of my RV for leveling. My site was smaller, but still large enough for my 20 trailer, a screen house, the picnic table and fire pit, my Grand Cherokee, and plenty of extra room onto which I could probably have put at least three more screen tents, with room to walk. Electricity is provided on each site. There are no water hookups per site, but there are a few water spigots around the grounds to fill fresh water tanks. Because the grounds are small (45 camping sites) a short walk gets you anywhere on the site; like to the showers, beach, and other recreational facilities. Frisbee golf is on site. There is no tank dump available. The campground is surrounded by forest, so wild animals can and do appear. The lake is large enough for some long and interesting kayaking, and there are multiple kinds of fish (from bullheads to northern pike). The woman in charge works very hard to keep these grounds as perfect as possible. The place is clean and mostly dead quiet after hours. Two free showers per gender, but they have minimal privacy. The free showers have sufficient pressure to do the job, although you cannot control the temperature; which I found to be fine, even if it was not the burning hot showers I like to have. The sites have pretty good privacy, although during the day I had to listen to the typical chatting from my neighboring campers. I very much love this campground and will be back as my time permits.There is no wifi. We had strong service on T-mobile and Verizon, so we used our hotspots for media connectivity.
LegendWhile at Leech Lake Recreation Area we stayed in site number 33 which was the electric site with our 30 foot Jayco Eagle travel trailer. There was enough room in the site for a travel trailer truck and probably another tent or screen tent. The other sites were close but not too close. if another travel trailer or RV pulled in it would block our view from their fire ring. The pad was all dirt and you can only set up on the dirt and not on the grass around it. The trees around the site were perfect for hammocks, we hung three of our Kammok brand hammocks. Our only complaint about the site was that the fire pit was dug down into the ground making it kind of unsafe if you had children and the fires didn’t stay lit very well because there was no oxygen going underneath them, so you’re constantly fanning it which was annoying because we cook with cast-iron over the fire for every meal.
We were able to go and take a walk to the lake which is super short walk from pretty much any of the sites but really close from our site. The sunset over the lake were stunning and a loon hung around the dock while we fished.
We took a lot of bike rides around the campground looking at each site and going to the park which was absolutely amazing for the kids. They had basketball courts, a huge playground that was amazing quality, shuffleboard, volleyball, badminton, and a picnic shelter that you could rent out with the cooking area inside the picnic shelter. There are pit toilets and bathrooms close to the playground so that isn’t an issue with little ones. The playground area is a great place to hang out with adults and children.
We took a bike ride to the tent sites as well and found that there are pretty close together and right next to a main road that was kind of noisy. They would probably be good if you got all four at once with a group of people. The dump station for the RVs was right next to the tent sites to which would probably be annoying to see all the RVs on a busy day dumping at the same time.
The federal Dan was a magnificent sight but it was pretty hard to fish around that area without a boat going on the leech lake because of the fast-moving water. They’re also wasn’t an area to swim because it would be unsafe which is kind of a bummer but the playground made up for it.
The park is run by the Army Corps of Engineers volunteers and they were super friendly and kept everything clean and sanitary which was amazing. There was even Washers and dryer’s to do laundry for free and amazing shower facilities that they called comfort stations. Everything was borrow on the loan and bring back which included all of the equipment at the park like basketballs badminton shuffle board stuff and rakes shovels and stuff to clean up your campsite.
All in all this would be a park that we would definitely come back to you and spend a week and possibly have a group of people with kids because it’s a super cool friendly kid park.
Tent campsites near Bovey, Minnesota provide access to the area's lakes and forest landscapes. Walk-in tent areas can be found at several locations, including Blackberry Campsite along the Mississippi River and M44 Big Dick Lake in the northern forest region. George Washington State Forest offers tent camping options at both Lost Lake and Bear Lake campgrounds, with most sites situated within 30 miles of Bovey.
The tent camping experience in this region typically includes basic amenities suited for primitive camping. Most backcountry tent sites feature picnic tables and fire rings, though firewood availability varies by location. Walk-in tent sites at Moose Lake in Bowstring State Forest provide both lake access and toilet facilities, while more remote sites may have minimal infrastructure. Several locations like Blackberry Campsite offer bear lockers for food storage, which is particularly valuable for extended backcountry stays. During summer months, mosquitoes can be prevalent at most tent sites, particularly in wooded areas near water.
Tent campers seeking more secluded experiences will find options throughout the surrounding forests. The boat-in tent site at Blackberry Campsite provides a distinctive camping experience with the added benefit of riverside location. Most walk-in tent sites remain relatively quiet, even during peak summer weekends. Several tent-only areas offer direct water access, allowing campers to paddle or fish directly from their sites. Areas in George Washington State Forest provide both drive-in and walk-in tent options for varying levels of camping accessibility. A review of Bear Lake Campground mentioned that despite having space for RVs, the campground offers excellent accommodations for tent campers with "good areas for tents" and "a covered picnic area available as well as a swimming area."
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Bovey, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Bovey, MN is Blackberry Campsite with a 4.5-star rating from 2 reviews.
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