Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Duluth, MN

First, don't miss visiting this park, just a short drive from Duluth and the start of the jewels of the North Shore. The hikes are busy at the falls but if you go a little past that, they open up and the fauna is spectacular.

For the camping, I think this would be a great spot for families and car camping pros. For me it wasn't the right fit. I prefer a little more solitude and privacy. The sites are nice but close to one another. However, if the north shore is booked up (which does happen) I would be more than happy to camp here.

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.

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.

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.

This this is an amazing Campground for the family it's a wonderful County Park with really cheap sites ranging from $15 for just water hookups to $18 for a site with electric and water they have bath houses by the campsites with flushing toilets and hot showers the Rangers are extremely friendly and always willing to deliver wood to your site further down the campground they have a community stage with local bands playing all throughout the summer some events free some a minor charge most of the time you can sit right at your site and listen to the band if you forgot some food take a nice hike through the woods to the grocery store along with easy access for the lake which is beautiful! For swimming watersports and fishing with an amazing Sandy Beach and an ice cream shop just across the highway in walking distance there's no better place to bring the family also pet friendly

This spot is basically a convenient place to park an RV while visiting Duluth. Close to the interstate, real close, and within 1/2 mile of the most visited tourist attraction in Minnesota.  Nothing fancy, a place to park with electricity if you want it. Reservations not available, first come , first served, during events probably real hard to get a spot. Website explains what is available and what isn't.

Amincon is a hiking and photography dream. The staff at Amnicon are over the top friendly and helpful. Enjoy private feeling camp sites. I tent camp and I’m thankful that I have 10” steel stakes and a 2.5lb sledge hammer because the ground is very rocky. The sites are very clean and quite. Enjoy a short walk from the camping sites to the water and hiking trails. Bring your camera for sure! Don’t miss this Northern Wisconsin park just Southeast of Duluth Minnesota.

Duluth has great outdoor spaces, craft breweries, and an excellent marathon to run.

Nice bathrooms and showers! Cool agate museum! Close to Duluth

Spend the day in Duluth, spend the night camping under the stars!

I would recommend visiting this park and potentially camping with the hopes of visiting Duluth one of the nights you are there!