Best Campgrounds near Chisholm, MN

Our family loved the campground, extremely clean and wonderful place to stay

We were amazed by the family feel, the quality of the fishing on trout lake, and the amount of seasonal sites available.

A hidden gem by the lake! I recently had the pleasure of staying at this charming campground, and I can’t recommend it enough! From the moment I arrived, I was impressed by how clean and well-maintained the entire facility was. The grounds were spotless, and it was clear that the staff takes great pride in keeping everything in tip-top shape. The highlight, of course, was the stunning lake right next to the campground. Whether you’re into kayaking, swimming, or simply enjoying the view, this lake is the perfect backdrop for a relaxing getaway. The water was clear, and I spent hours just soaking in the peaceful atmosphere.

This is an amazing campground, extremely clean and helpful and friendly staff. Lots of seasonal sites available would recommend.

This 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

Savanna Portage State Park is a beautiful and peaceful spot for camping, especially if you enjoy tent camping. The campsites are well-spaced, private, and perfect for tents, offering a great connection to nature.

The park features a lovely lake that’s ideal for kayaking, fishing, or just relaxing by the water. There are also several great hiking trails, ranging from easy walks to more challenging routes, giving you plenty of opportunities to explore the scenic forest and wetlands.

One thing to note—there are a lot of bugs in the summer, so make sure to pack plenty of bug spray! Overall, it’s a fantastic place for outdoor lovers looking for a quiet and rustic getaway.

I came in late October. As are most of the campsites in upper Minnesota this time of year, the owner told me they were closed. But he was happy to let me stay overnight for a reduced off-season fee. There were no hookups at this time of the year. It's a very pleasant lake. A lot of permanent RVs parked here. It's very quiet, although there is a highway that runs right next to the property. For my very small off-season fee, I got a shower included!

Great primitive campsite to hit on the way to Voyaguers National Park. Everyone says stay at Woodenfrog or Ash because it’s close to the park but those parks are very primitive. If you do not have a portable shower or don’t mind using a “hole-on-the-ground” toilet then Pine Acres is a great primitive campsite. There are portable potty’s around the campsite, out houses but they also have full functioning bathrooms and showers. There is a train that goes through across the lake but it stops around 10pm so horns aren’t going off while you’re sleeping. Wonderful staff very friendly. My go-to-place when I come back up here.

Came across this park while looking to put together a four-day trip in our travel trailer. This is a great park with great facilities and a great lake. No big boats allowed no more than 10 mph. No no waterskiing. Makes it ideal for paddling, kayaking, and calm water.

Lovely sites with plenty of trees so most sites are quite private. Mosquitoes are brutal here, especially on the hiking club trail and to a somewhat lesser degree in the campground. We were thankful to have a screen tent for this visit. No Verizon cell service at the campground. Surprisingly good cell service at the Loon Lake area of the park, which also has a beautiful short hike!

I had the entire park to myself. Beautiful view of the Mississippi River, not far from the headwaters. Enjoyed the sounds of nature as I relaxed in site #6. I took advantage of the on-site fire wood via the Yodel Portal app. Amazed that I had the place to myself.

Toward 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.

Small and well maintained park as you would expect for a USACE site. Super clean bathrooms. Level sites and great views of the Mississippi.

Road noise from Hwy 2 is a downside.

Campsite was good size and relatively private in the non electric area. Beautiful park overall and love the proximity from Ely and Lake Vermillion. I did find bear scat near our site so be sure to practice proper bear safety precautions.

This campground is great if you have smaller kids or group camping. Campgrounds are close together and a lot of the great campsitess are already taken by permanent campers. They do have nice bathrooms and showers. We do love the area and the beautiful lake the campground and some sites overlook.

There were no problems getting to this state park. We pulled into the dump station just before entering the campground(CG) area to get fresh water. While we were there, a park ranger stopped to check us in, including processing us for a free annual MN state park pass for disabled veterans. We followed the site signage to electric(50/30/20 AMP) only site 110, which was an easy back-in. The site was long enough for our 40’ toy hauler to include putting our back patio down and parking our F-450. We especially liked how ample trees and bushes were separating the sites, and you are well away from your neighbors. The site gave us plenty of space to set up our chairs around a nice fire pit and one fine picnic table. Get water as you come into the CG, as the spigots throughout the park do not have threads. The 300 loop has pull-throughs that will handle large rigs, with 312 being the best. We got 5 bars 4G. on Verizon. We put Starlink on the roof and got a decent signal. There was a nice shower house/restrooms where the park also sold firewood. Formal trail systems are throughout the CG and park, and we enjoyed walking our dogs. We really like the variety of RV sites for all sizes of RVs, but it's too bad the CG area has no water views.

I personally liked the Campground, close to the lake and clean bathrooms.

Some sites that are closest to the river are close together but okay view. Vaulted toilet and recycling/dumpster close proximity.