Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Duluth, MN

This is a small, well kept but basic private campground mostly for RVs but it does have some tent sites. The website advertises its location as “minutes from Duluth” but that would be a hood 15 minutes to the outer limits, a good half hour to the harbor. It isnt on a lake or in the woods, doesnt have a view of Lake Superior, isnt near a state park, and is right on a major intersection of two highways. I dont think it is meant as a northwoods vacation destination per se, but it is located adjacent to a rodeo and horse center so I would guess it is best for lodging close to whatever horsey events are happening next door. Since it isnt far from the Duluth airport and the airport has no hotels by it, perhaps this would be a decent place to stay overnight before an early morning departure, if needed. In sum, a well maintained but basic place to camp that might be a good location for select purposes. Daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal rates.

We have camped here multiple times in a tent and also in our RV. Grounds have a nice mix of RV spots out in the open as well as some RV and tent spots back in the trees with water and electric only sites. Full hookup sites are only out in the in the open spaces.

Sites are mostly level and are some are a bit tight and close to your neighbors. They have recently added some additional RV spots and some other upgrades as well. Staff is friendly and bathrooms, store, activity room, pool are all seemed to be well maintained.

Make reservations early in the session because things fill up quickly. Great family campground with a lot of young kids running around, riding bikes, and playing and dogs in most campsites. Pool is also available but we haven’t used.

Easy access to Jay Cook State Park. Jay Cook has a lot to offer; a suspended cable walking bridge, great moderate hikes, waterfalls, climbing on rocks, and amazing river views. Great place to stop in for a couple hours or spend the whole day hiking.

Not to far from Duluth and other amazing North Shore locations.

Dump station is conveniently located on your way out of the grounds but can get backed up at the end of a busy weekend and can make it difficult to exit the campground.

Like so many RV / campgrounds this one is also located near to railroad tracks that has several trains that come through day and night.

Gooseberry Falls State Park might be the most visited and recognizable of the parks on the North Shore, except for maybe Split Rock. The bathrooms and showers are clean and all of the campsites have enough room for your car and your tent. The Waterfalls are the main attraction but there are great hiking trails throughout the park and it is easy to get to the Lake for a picnic.

Don't forget to stop at Two Harbors as you are traveling north from Duluth. In Two Harbors you will find the Superior Hiking Trail Association at 731 Seventh Avenue, P.O. Box 4, Two Harbors, Minnesota 55616. At the Association headquarters you can get all of the Superior Hiking Trail maps (A set of 6) for under $10.00.

Two Harbors is a nice little town and is built to support campers and visitors to the North Shore State Parks if you are looking for extra amenities or just an ice cream cone.

Gooseberry Falls is a must see if you are in the North Shore.

This was right off the highway and it was really simple to get in and out of here. Really a nice area and has a lot to offer outside of the campground. Great for a family who doesn't want to travel too far from Duluth. The sites are pretty spacious and well taken care of. They are very private which as nice and they were actually very deep so you really felt like you were in the forest. 

There isn't a shower house and the toilets are vault toilets but that does not bother us. Very very nice rangers and super helpful and full of good knowledge. You do need a sticker to get into the park since it is Wisconsin so make sure you get one ahead of it. They do have a kiosk but it was not working when we went in. 

The falls....can't say enough at how relaxing they were. I could have stayed for days here. There is also a nice covered bridge and some history in the area! We had some great relaxing hikes.

Located just a short drive from Duluth, MN, this state park has something to offer anyone: hiking, camping, cycling, and gnarly whitewater kayaking. The campground is nestled tightly into the woods, a little crowded, but the sites feel spacious and nearly private.  The campsites offer the usual amenities, picnic table, campfire ring, but they really excel in their full-scale recycling program and self-service bike tune up stations.  

The bathrooms and showers were very clean -- I even found a park ranger cleaning and working on the toilet at 10 pm!  After a week-long paddle in Voyageurs National Park, we pulled into this campground late in the evening simply in search of a hot shower and place to stay for the night...and found a whole lot more when we awoke in the morning!

The visitors center, just a short walk away, offers interpretive programs, miles of hiking trails, and a swinging bridge over the beautiful St. Louis River gorge. 

Reservations are required year round, and the website is easy to use https://reservations1.usedirect.com/MinnesotaWebHome/. Campground was amazingly busy in early May, so I would recommend reservations for the high season.

The campground at Jay Cooke State Park is really nice. The sites are well maintained and private (for the most part. More on that later), and the shower and bathroom facilities are really top notch. Plus, lots of great hikes nearby and only 25min from Duluth.

Sites: Most sites are very private. There are lots of trees and foliage in between, so you really can't see your neighbor - at least this was true of the loop I was in (site 18). We didn't walk around all the loops, but the one we noticed had less privacy is the loop with sites 24-37. The center sites (27, 29, 34, 36) are all pretty open and didn't seem like there was much definition between spots. So, good as a group, but maybe less desirable if you're looking for some privacy.

My site, 18, was nice. They're all a little tight, so multiple large tents isn't advisable. The only downside to 18 is it is right next to a pit toilet. They're well maintained, but if the wind blows a certain way, you may have a faint scent. I'd probably opt for site 19 or 21 next time.

Pros:

> Really nice facilities. The separate shower rooms are fantastic. Water is hot!

> Easy access to lots of great hikes

> Sites are well maintained. There are tent pads at every site that I saw. They're flat and level. 

Cons:

> There are active trains in the nearby town. I was having trouble sleeping one night and heard the horns well into the night (1 and 3am). They're not super loud so I'm not sure if they would have woken me if I was already asleep, but if you're a light sleeper I'd bring earplugs just in case.

All in all, I really enjoyed Jay Cooke and would be happy to stay here again!

We 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.

Spent a weekend at Red Pine Campground (formally Ogston’s RV Park). Check-in was smooth and staff was very friendly. Our 35’ travel trailer fit well into our back-in site. Full hookups and everything worked as expected. Site was gravel and a a little un-level, but nothing extreme.

We were traveling with friends and the staff (owners I believe) made it work out for us to have sites next to each other.

Park felt well cared for and attended too. Walked the grounds and had fun looking for agates in a rock pile. The small lakes or ponds around the campground were a nice touch. Was a little buggy at night but it is Minnesota in the summertime. There was some water craft that could be utilized by campers. Since we were self isolating due to Covid we kind of kept to ourselves and hung around our site with our friends.

Easy access to Duluth. Would definitely stay here again.