Best Tent Camping near Ely, MN

Drive in site with a designated parking spot. Same parking area and walk in trail as site 15 and 16. Last site of three on the small path. Very unique and very large. You can hear your neighbors but there is more coverage between them than the rest. There are a few steep built in steps to get up to this site, but the main area is very flat. Cliff front might not be small kid friendly, but there is a path down to the water. Stunning view. There is good tree coverage to put a tarp up, but also to see the stars. It can get windy, so bring the good tent stakes. The site has plenty of rocks to pound them in place. There is more than one space to put a tent.

We had a bear visit us about 8:30 after we had put the fire out in a very windy night. He has walked up from the water using the area between site 17 and 16. These three sites are near a dumpster, you can hear the lid close occasionally and I assume this was the bears motivation. Keep you food, trash, and grey water taken care of. You will have visitors.

. Drinking water is next to the bathrooms, which is about 300 feet away. This site has a waterfront view of one of the Saganaga Lake coves. You can walk your way down to the water. Might not be little kid friendly, but the water and view are beautiful. This site has a ground inset fire pit with grate and picnic table, but no bear box. You will need a bear bag or put your food in your vehicle. There are bears.

Drive in site with a designated parking spot. Same parking area and walk in trail as site 16 and 17. First site of three on the small path. Good size, but very little privacy. The neighboring site 14, has a few trees between, but you can see through and hear everything.

Drinking water is next to the bathrooms, which is about 300 feet away. This site has a waterfront view of one of the Saganaga Lake coves. You can walk your way down to the water. Might not be little kid friendly, but the water and view are beautiful. This site has a ground inset fire pit with grate and picnic table, but no bear box. You will need a bear bag or put your food in your vehicle. There are bears.

Drive in site with a designated parking spot. Same parking area and walk in trail as site 15 and 17. Second of three on the small path. Very small and no privacy. You can see straight to the main path and hear everyone. There is Medium coverage between site 17 and 15.

Drinking water is next to the bathrooms, which is about 300 feet away. This site has a waterfront view of one of the Saganaga Lake coves. You can walk your way down to the water. Might not be little kid friendly, but the water and view are beautiful. This site has a ground inset fire pit with grate and picnic table, but no bear box. You will need a bear bag or put your food in your vehicle. There are bears.

Quiet and full of trees, it's a great place to drop for the night. We didn't have a camper, but there was room for one. If you don't have a camper, you could actually fit several tents in the space where a camper would be parked. Ours, site #18, had a few steps that led to the picnic table and fire ring. Up there, we found another tent pad. That would have been the ideal spot for a tent (level and under trees), but we'd already set up at the bottom of the stairs.

The fire ring was next to the table, almost too close, but not a problem. There were, however, lots and lots of mosquitoes (end of June). There was also a mamma bear and 2 cubs there, but they didn't bother us at all.

The bathrooms were the nicest vault toilets that we've seen. Glad air freshener and everything!

Although we didn't swim, they had a very lovely area in the lake that was sectioned off for swimming. It also appeared as though they had canoes for free use as well. They also had firewood for sale, but it was $7 for a bundle. That seemed very steep to me.

Typical cost for a state forest campground in MN (cheaper, by far, than state park camps) and it was $15 for the night for a non electric site. Electric (30 amp) was $19 and electric (50 amp) was $21.There was also a $7 charge for extra vehicles at the site.

This is a small state forest campground on a small bay of the larger Vermilion Lake.  There is a nice beach, group picnic shelter, docks, and an adjacent public boat landing. For folks who are looking for a quiet place to stay while on a fishing trip at Vermilion, this wold be a good location, though more rustic than a state park. There are 5 fairly open sites close to the shelter and beach where RV's and trailers could easily park, but there are no hook-ups so be prepared. There is drinking water available in several locations throughout the campground, though this is shut off by mid September. There are  latrine toilets, and garbage collection.  There are also a group of 5 tent sites located close together that would work well as a group camp area, also cloe to the beach and docks. Further back in the woods, however, at sites 12-19, there  are larger more private sites spaced much further apart and set beautifully in among shady woods. Further along the campground loop road goes up a hill with more quiet sites, and two REALLY  exceptional hike-in sites at #20 and 21.  Site # 20 is a true gem, beautiful tall pines, picnic table, fire ring and tent pad in a very secluded setting but still just a short hike from where you park your car. There is a path down the hill to the beach and dock area. Really a primo campsite if you can get it, though all the sites are First Come-First Served and not reserveable.

Nice national forest campground that seems well run, has sites with decent privacy and nice bathrooms.

Sites vary a lot in size and some are quite unlevel so luck of the draw on whether your rig can fit, but worth trying.

I'd you have a Class B, B+, or small C, try to snag Site 42. It's around the curve from other sites on the loop and has great privacy. Parking spot is down a small hill from your picnic table and fire ring but the parking is quite level.

Bathrooms only have one shower per gender but work well and have good hot water.

You can get water here but note there is no RV dump station.

Lake is on the smaller side and seemed peaceful the one day we were here. Decent boat ramp for access Swimming beach isn't much but works if you want it to.

Overall a nice tucked away campground in the forest with a lake, a short paved biking/hiking trial, decent amenities and friendly staff.

Plus it's only about 8 miles from Ely if you need provisions.

Bear Head Lake State Park is just south of the Boundary Waters, and shares a comparable wilderness element.  The shoreline is beautiful and very fun to explore by kayak.

Campground features: Cabin rentals, tent sites, and RV sites.  The campground is open in fall & winter. The campsites are private, well shaded, and level. Each campsite has a picnic table and fire pit. Flush toilets, hot showers, dump station, group sites, and electric are also available.

Hiking at Bear Head Lake State Park

• Bear Head Lake State Park Trail is a moderate 3.2 mile trail. This hike is a loop route. Dogs are allowed but only on leash.
• Norberg Lake Trail is a easy 1.5 mile trail. It is a trail for all skill levels and dogs are allowed but only on leash. Mostly wooded.
• Blueberry Lake Trail is a easy 4.5 mile trail. Longer than the other listed trails. It is an out and back hike that is mostly wooded. Dogs are allowed on leash.
• Becky Lake Trail is a easy 2.7 mile hike. Beck Lake is a loop hike that is mostly wooded. Dogs are allowed on leash.

Fishing at Bear Head State Park

Bass, northerns, walleye, panfish, and trout can be caught at this State Park. Many people fish from the fishing dock or shoreline. Panfish are all over the lake and most likely the first ones biting. Good walleye fishing after 6pm.

Other activities:

Boat rentals, cross country ski trail (groomed), snowshoe trails, and snowmobile trails.

The trails of this park are either a hikers dream or nightmare. Exposed roots, large rocks, and elevation changes are common. Good potential for a twisted ankle. I would not advise bringing small children or inexperienced hikers as they will likely not have a very good time. Although there is the Bensen Lake trail that is a wooden boardwalk that rings Bensen Lake. This trail connects to the picnic grounds that is a great place for a day outing. You can drive almost right up to it and there is a vault toilet. The lake itself is fairly small. I don't know if it is worth the trouble of bringing a canoe or kayak unless you plan on taking some trout out of the lake.

9/14/2020 - 9/16/2020
I camped in site 19 which is only .5 miles from the parking lot. Flat road and wooden boardwalk sounds good until you get to the trail that leads from the boardwalk up a hill to the campsite. According to my GPS this is 138 feet of elevation. And remember what I said about the large rocks and exposed roots? This trail doesn't disappoint. Let's put it this way, you will not feel guilty for playing hooky from the gym during your stay here. This site is also not level. It has a pitch of about 5 degrees which doesn't sound like much until you attempt to balance your cookpot on your backpacking stove. There also isn't a bear box which I am told the other campsites do have. My guess is that nobody wanted to carry one up that hill.  You do get a field latrine and decent view of the sky. There is a rocky outcrop in the middle of the site that is a perfect platform to lay down on and stargaze. There is a couple of bushcraft style benches and a stool near the fire ring. Good luck finding dry deadfall for firewood around the campsite. If you want a fire you are going to have to bring your own up the hill. 

I decided to take a look at the neighboring campsite 18 thinking that this must be a cakewalk compared to 19.  It wasn't on a hill but the trail resembled something like what Indiana Jones had to contend with getting into the Temple of Doom. I didn't even get all the way to it. Although I didn't come across any signs that said, "I'd Turn Back If I were You" - I turned back partially because I already had a long hike planned for that morning, and this isn't the trail I wanted to have to run down while being chased by a huge boulder. 

All this toil has its payoff though. There are some great views. The cascades on the Manitou river, the overlooks, and the Matt Willis trial that looks like you are going to see Robin Hood come walking down the trial at any time. This trail seems like it hasn't been touched by humans in a while. There were lots of trees fallen over the trail and there are parts where it is difficult to tell where the trail goes. 
Would I come back to this park? Absolutely. Will I reserve campsite 19 again? I think I will pass on that, and site 18 for that matter - wherever it is.

Note - there is no cell service in the park, You do get it when you get out to the park entrance on county road 7. There is a hand pump for water near the entrance. Otherwise you will need to filter or boil the water you find in the park. The map shows springs that flow towards the Manitou river, although they are not marked as such.

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.