Best Dispersed Camping near Brainerd, MN

This is a beautiful deeply wooded double campsite along the scenic Pine River. It is accessible only by foot, bike or paddle, for trekkers on the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail or the Pine River Water Trail. For paddlers, the campsite is right on the river between River Mile 35 and 36, just south of the town of Pine River. For bikers or hikers, it is about a half mile south  down the trail from the Bites Bar and Grill  to the turn off west on a dirt trail about a half mile down to the river. There are two campsites avaialble, for separate campers or for a group to encompas the whole camping area. Fire ring, picnic table, tent clearings available. There is no cost to camp here, but also no way to reserve either of the sites, and in accordance to trail etiquette if you show up on your bike or in your canoe ready to camp but someone else is there, they should share the camping space with you. 

Map of the water trail is here: 

https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/canoe\_routes/pine.pdf

General info on the water trail is here: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/pineriver/index.html

Map of the Paul Bunyan Bike Trail is here: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state\_trails/paulbunyan\_heartland.pdf

General info on the bike trail is here: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state\_trails/paul\_bunyan/index.html

It was a spur of the moment decision to stay at Woodtick Trail Dispersed Camp 1 on the North Country Trail for my first solo hiking experience! I wanted someplace not too far from home (in case I needed my husband to rescue me from the night sounds of an owl), but also easily accessible. I didn't want terribly rough terrain since the weather was going to be a little steamy, but somewhere that would challenge me a bit. I had a new pack that I needed to test out, and I wanted to see how my new OOFOS Women's OOriginal Sandals felt on my feet after hiking. I loved wearing them around the house, so I hoped to test them out in a different setting. What better place than nature!

Campground Review:

Campgrounds along the North Country Trail are all awesome, because they are free! But no matter what I have to pay for them, they are still hit or miss. A site can still be a pretty stinky experience, even if it's free (note: you always pay for sites in State Parks, even if they are along the trail). In the past, I've stayed at others along the trail, and been pleasantly surprised by how lovely they were, and this was no exception! I loved the fact that, for my first solo hike and camp, I didn't have to hike too far into nature to find a place to hang my hammock and eat my dinner (or in otherwords, my car was pretty close if a skunk looking for a midnight snack passed under my hammock and scared me during the night). It was insanely easy to find, just a hop, skip and a jump off of the trail. And this one had a very obvious sign at the bottom of the hill where the trail led to the tentpad. It was only about 50 feet up that small hill to the campsite. Beautifully located on a small ridge between 3 little ponds (or, perhaps, they were 3 of the 10,000 lakes that Minnesota boasts on their license plates). It had a small tent pad and a nice little metal fire ring with a cooking grate that folded up and over if you didn't want to use it to cook on. The latrine (and yes, it was in good shape except for a few resident spiders) was just down an opposing hill.

I brought my hammock this time, and I have to note, a hammock isn't an ideal way to use this site. The good trees have quite a bit of underbrush between them. The two trees that were ideal...next to the firepit...were too close together to create a good hang. I used them anyhow, but I think my 1 person tent would have been the better choice here. I must also mention that because the site is so close to a main road, I did hear quite a bit of road "chatter" from the cars all through the night. It wasn't bad if you are used to city sounds, but if you live deep in the heart of nature, it could be a bit of a bother.

I suppose I could say there is a place to bathe, but you'd be sharing the lake with the locals if you did (meaning: beavers). I must also note that if you enjoy watching the sunrise, there is a superb little spot about 20 yards down the main trail, just off the campsite, that has a cute little boardwalk that would be ideal to sit on with a cup of coffee and watch the colors of the sky change as the sun comes up.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At Woodtick Trail Dispersed Camp 1, I was able to review the OOFOS Women's OOriginal Sandals that I won from a contest. Although the camp received 4 stars from me, the shoes would receive 10 stars, if they would let me rate them that high! Here is a link to their site (specifically, the shoe I am reviewing) https://www.oofos.com/collections/womens-ooriginal-sandal

What I loved about the OOFOS sandals:

1. First, they are insanely lightweight! When the box arrived, I wasn't certain they had remembered to put the shoes inside. It's a super lightweight type of "foam" that is molded into this perfect shape of a shoe.
2. The color...I love the color! I know that's a small thing, but have your ever ordered something online, because you liked the color, and received it only to be saddened by the fact that it was truly ugly in person? Ya, not these. Bright and pretty!
3. The comfort of these flipflop sandals is something that you can only truly appreciate once you put them on your feet. They call them "recovery" shoes. Used by many athletes and those that beat their feet up daily. The arch support is high and cushy. It's perfect to "cradle" the parts of your foot that pound the pavement while you work hard or play hard. I'm a pastry chef and wear high end clogs on hard tile floors all day long. The clogs are awesome, but when I come home, I truly love stepping out of them and stepping into my OOFOS. It's like walking on a little cloud! Really...they are cushy, yet supportive. They hug your feet and don't want to fall off. Almost like a little foot massage when you walk.
4. I know they don't advertise this as an attribute of the shoe, but I found that if you have to get into the lake with them (I have dogs, they need to play in the lake to be happy), they almost get "sticky" and "grippy". While I absolutely would not consider them classic water shoes, they do not want to slip off your feet like generic flipflops do. You won't lose them if you have to go retrieve a frisbee or ball from the shallows.
5. They are very easy to clean off. The footbed (so far) doesn't really hold dirt. It seems very easy to rinse and clean.

I'm ecstatic that I was the winner of a contest on The Dyrt, and so excited that the "shoe I'd never heard of before" is now a permanent part of my summer wardrobe! I'll definitely purchase others in the future.

I've camped here twice, now. Once roadside during hunting season with oranges on and once in December. So far, I enjoy it. Where to start... The roads aren't really kept up for the winter. So, you'll want 4 wheel drive and slow and mindful driving. I walked in for ten minutes from one of the parking spots. I just cleared the snow, built a heat retaining wall, and set up camp in front of it. I did hear wolves for the first time. They were howling after sunset. A little creepy, camping alone. But, i don't suspect they'd come too close.

If you want secluded, minimal camping. This is an okay spot, close to the twin cities.