Do you enjoy camping but don't want to rough it? Glamping is a great option. The Dyrt lets you enjoy a unique, rustic Cotton experience while glamping. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the woods or a site closer to all the action, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect glamping spot.
The rugged land formations of Jay Cooke State Park enhance the beauty of the hardwood forests and make for great camping near Minneapolis. The water-eroded gorge, steep valleys, and massive rock formations are seen throughout the park. In some seasons, the water of the St. Louis River thunders over slabs of ancient, exposed rock. At other times, it slows to a gentle trickle. Visitors enjoy the scenic splendor of Jay Cooke State Park during all seasons.
Drive-in Sites 79 Sites: Most are wooded sites. In winter, 12 sites are kept available for winter camping. Of these, five are electric sites.
Pull-Through Sites: One Site
Electric Sites: 21 Sites Majority of sites are 20 and 30 amps, some 50 amp.
RV Length Limit: Variable by site up to 60 Feet Length is measured from front of tow vehicle to rear of vehicle being towed.
Wheelchair Accessible Sites: 3 Sites Located near drinking water. Two sites are electric, one is non-electric.
Backpack Sites: 4 Sites Sites are located from 1 to 4 miles from parking area. Each site has picnic table, fire ring and latrine. Campers must haul water or treat water on site. Trail access to these sites has been restored after a 2012 flood, but a few nearby trails remain closed. Please register at the park office for details on how to get to these sites.
Walk-in Sites: 4 Sites Sites are located 50 to 150 feet from parking area.
Group Camp: 2 Sites - Each accommodates up to 25 people Remote, wooded camp with walk-in sites approximately 150' from parking area (limited parking). Carts are provided to carry in camping gear. Water spigot and vault toilets available. Tents only. Lodging
Camper Cabins: 5 Cabins All cabins have a screened porch. Electricity and heat are available year-round. Agate and Basalt cabins are ADA accessible and sleep 5. Slate, Gabbro, and Shale Cabins sleep 6 people. Pets not allowed in cabins. More information on camper cabins.
Nestled in a forest on the western high point of Duluth, Minnesota, Spirit Mountain Campground offers walk-in tenting as well as 73 campsites equipped with fire pits, picnic tables, and electricity. Easy access to our award-winning Mountain Bike Trails, our Adventure Park and Superior Hiking Trail.
Thirty-nine sites have water hook-ups, and two shower buildings offer 24-hour convenience.
Spirit Mountain overlooks majestic Lake Superior and the St. Louis Bay. Natural beauty abounds in the area– you can quickly and easily access water, hiking and biking trails and much more. The trailhead for the Superior Hiking Trail is within walking distance of the Campground. And near the Campground, there is an overlook area of Lake Superior, the bay, the St. Louis River, and the Aerial Lift Bridge.
Guide
This campground has it all: sites for families to reserve by one another, campsites with more privacy, RV specific loops. With newly updated facilities, it can feel like glamping. Good proximity to bridge and nearby hikes. I highly recommend finding the cedar forest near the CCC Trail on the north side of campground.
RangerNorth east Minnesota has some very beautiful country. Highly recommend this spot. 
ScoutThis was a last minute camping trip for us. The camp sites are spaced out enough to have privacy. The hiking trails were fun and not far from camp. It was chilly at night a very nice area to go camping. Absolutely love this place. Would comeback again if we’re ever in Minnesota again.
LegendJay Cooke is really a must experience state park within easy driving distance to other parks in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Positives:
LegendExcellent hiking and camping experiences here. Stayed for a weekend and returned after for many, many day hikes. Plenty of wildlife to see, a newly rebuilt “swing bridge” over the rusty rushing of the Saint Louis River. And the locals are pleasant, heck, it’s Minnesota! Buggy in summer due to all the water, bring excellent hiking shoes for the rocks yer gonna wanna climb around on. Excellent autumn photography options for all occasions. Camping is is a more secluded area where most day-hikers don’t come across ya.
Legend
Nice campground in upper Minnesota. I thought the best site was 4 as it was closest to the river, but really anything was pretty good. Site 7 had the best set up for us but 5 and 6 were good as well. Some sites were right next to each other and lacked a little privacy but it was still good. There was a nesting turtle caution when we were there.
There were no showers here but they did offer 2 toilets and a water well so you can easily manage a weekend here without a shower. It does offer for small RV and tents.
The boat access was not as easy...its not a traditional boat ramp so it is better for Canoe or Kayak. If it is rainy it would be a problem for the tow vehicle. Very basic campground but perfect for a rustic getaway.
TravelerWe stopped here on our way to north Minnesota. Originally we planned 2 days but really needed to rest so extended it to 4 days. It was a little hairy getting to, the 2 lane winding road with the raging river on one side did slow us down a bit. The Rangers were friendly and accommodating. The park had taken quite a beating with the winter storm that had been there the previous week, a lot of sites were closed due to trees down and snow. While we were there they were actively cleaning up, but left in the afternoon so we had no disturbances from saws or equipment noise. The water was not turned on yet for the season, so the bathroom/showers and dump station were not available. There was a potable water source at the front of our loop to fill our fresh tank and our water storage cubes. The sites were shaded well, and easy to back into. We had to work a bit to get our camper level but that may have been due to the snow and water that was on the site so we figured it was par for the course. We walked to the Welcome Center and the swinging bridge, there were multiple hiking trails accessible by the camping area. It was relatively busy on the weekend but cleared out during the week. We had lots of wildlife visitors. The park is pet friendly. We found affordable propane and a dump site closer to Duluth.
TravelerDon't waste your time here, unfriendly Management,they try to avoid you as best they can
ScoutNice campground, we have stayed several times and have really enjoyed it. Nice beach fun lake to boat on. Sites are good sized not too crowded. Nice showers.
ScoutThis campground is a great place for anyone and is especially great for those with young children. Direct access to A great beach, plenty of space to safely roam, and a park to play in.
Guide
I got a tent site (E5) for a one night stay. The check in process was quick and seamless and the site was nice. I was sleeping on a bit of an incline, and there wasn’t a truly flat spot, but I made due. There was one tent in the spot next to me, but was far enough away to not be noisy.
ScoutGreat campground with great views. Bathrooms are nice and clean. With in walking distance from Main Street.
ScoutCool view looking over a nice lake, has a playground for the kids
RangerLove, love, love this campground! It not only has full hook-ups and overlooks a lake, but is right on the Mesabi Bike Trail. The managers were friendly and helpful. The sites were spacious. It was so peaceful!
TravelerGot there after sunset met the host and easily found our campsite. The next morning we awoke to a wonderful view of the lake. Friendly people all around and would highly recommend this campground.
Traveler
We always stay in the cabin. It’s a remote paradise! The price is right. Refrigerator, microwave, queen bed along side a bunk; double on the bottom bunk and a twin up top. The neighborhood is welcoming.
Scout
We spent 2 nights at the back of the campgrounds in the most secluded area. The view of the open woods was amazing! Spirit mountain has plenty to do at the grounds and is close to the city Duluth for other adventures.
ScoutWebsite states they are closed for 2020 summer season due to Covid.
GuideBeautiful area, quiet ,lots of hiking trails.
GuideBeautiful area with a gorgeous view, lots of hiking 👣.
GuideWe had so much fun staying at Spirit Mountain, visiting Duluth and Gooseberry Falls. The campgrounds were very private due to tree cover but it rained every night and never dried out because of the tree cover so it's a plus and a minus. There was a big slope to get down to our firepit which we didn't care for. If we would stay again we would book site 50 or 52.
TravelerRoad up to the campground is very rough, broke the axle on our camper. Bathrooms are just ok, showers need improvement- especially the shower head. Dump station is tilted the wrong way so we weren’t able to completely empty the tanks. I suggest using the free dump station at the gas station down the hill. Secluded but close to Duluth. Pricey for what you get.
TravelerI love this camp area. . .has everything I need for a weekend shredding at Spirit Mtn Bike Park. Clean, easy access, toilets & showers 👍
ScoutAPPARENTLY NOT KID OR SMALL FAMILY GET TOGETHER FRIENDLY.
-Sites are way too close together. Had a terrible experience here and was even harrased by 2 other nearby campers, TWO SEPERATE TIMES, who would not leave us alone at our site and continued to be rude and yell at us with all our children around. We were minding our own business and kept to ourselves the entire time. The two campers felt we were rude for showing up past midnight trying to get our stuff together and set up. We finished setting up and made super late dinner for our children who were hungry and just finished a 5 hour, no stop, roadtrip. The first camper who showed up to tell us that we were being too loud was very rude to us, but we felt we were in the wrong and complied because it definitely was past quiet hours. We respected their confrontation, even if it came off rude. We quickly and quietly ate and all went to bed about 10 minutes after the confrontation. The "white woman who is 61 years old" (her own wording) told us off and was super disrespectful to us and our children. She came to yell at us to be quiet on our second day and even threatened to call the cops on us if we did not. It was only 7pm and we were cooking dinner for our children. Our children were playing, was that so terribly wrong?? Mind you, quiet hours dont begin until 10pm. She felt so privileged to tell us to be quiet at 7pm as we were just having family bonding time and making dinner. When she began to start getting verbally agressive, we asked her to leave our site as we did not feel comfortable with her on our site with all our children (all under age 9) around. She was even more verbally aggressive and triggered us to become verbally defensive back to her and yelled back at her because of her disrespect. She would not leave our site and continued the harrassment confrontation for another 5 minutes. They reported us the first day to the office already for apparently being too loud when we showed up past midnight to our site, we were warned by the office already. I believe that was more than enough, but they didnt feel it was enough and confronted (more like harrassed) us another 2x when we were minding our own damn business and were at a respectively loudness at 7pm BEFORE quiet hours even began. There was even another site right next to us who was thumping loud music, in the middle of the night and all day during the day of 2nd confrontation/harrasment, from their cars and camp site and it didnt seem to be be an issue whatsoever to anyone or them apparently. But i guess arriving late past quiet hours you cant make dinner or set up your site or even have your kids play together during the day because its disrespectful and rude and apparently too loud. We still own up to being "too loud" when we arrived though we felt we werent. We even complied and apologized when they came at us with rudeness. Terrible experience overall. Would not reccomend to anyone nor return again. EVER.
Also, the campground map on the website has an address which we thought and assumed was the campground address since there was no other address listed. We followed our gps to the address listed and it wasnt even the campgrounds! It looked like it was the ski area, which was 11 minutes away from the campgrounds. We were lost for a good 1 to 2 hours until we used google satelite to locate the campground and found the campground ourselves.
GuideNice Campsites mostly secluded in the woods. Campsites are not to close to eachother giving you the privacy you want. Great views by the ski lift of Duluth! They also have a spot where they have mini golf, mountain luge, and mountain biking. Nice bathrooms and laid back environment!
TravelerWe stayed there in July 2018. We went for the lift served downhill mountain biking and found this to be an extremely convenient place to stay. The Campground is lovely and shaded and at the top of the ski mountain. You ride across the road to acsess the trails. We stayed for a week and it helped that the weather was perfect. The days are long there so after we tired ourselves out riding we did some hiking and and siteseeing along the Ridgeline that goes through Duluth and up the lakeshore. Also saw the ship museum in Superior. The campsites have electric and they recycle the orange bags for the firewood so be sure to return those to the office before you leave. The ice is for sale at a good price too. There were some mosquitos but not nearly as many as I expected. Restrooms and showers are decent and clean. The spirit mountain beginner trails are machine built and smooth and are a total blast. I saw advance riders on the beginner trails also. We wore full face helmets but some people don't. I can't do the advanced trails but a lot of people were enjoying them. I recommend this Campground for sports enthusiasts.
RangerAs a tent camper the only reason I’m not giving Thais a 5 star is the price and the lack of privacy. The tent sites are all within arms length of each other and in the middle of a path to a trail. The price was 30$ to camp in a tent without electricity... by far the most expensive tent camping I have ever seen. arms length from other people... in the middle of a path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Cotton, MN?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Cotton, MN is Jay Cooke State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 66 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 12 glamping camping locations near Cotton, MN, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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