Best Cabin Camping near Grand Marais, MN

The camper cabins at East Bearskin Lake Campground in Superior National Forest are the ideal way to take advantage of northern Minnesota's wilderness. The camper cabins include a picnic style table inside along with bunk bed sleeping areas. Foam sleeping pads are provided, but you're responsible for bringing your own linens. There is no heat or electricity in the cabins, but the structures are sturdy and provide shelter from wind, rain and snow. Each campsite has an outdoor picnic table and fire ring. There are four camper cabins and they can be reserved through the recreation.gov website. They are just under $70/night. There is plenty of space between cabins as well as other campsites to give you the feel of truly being in the middle of nowhere. We were surrounded by pine trees and had a trail located in our campsite that led to East Bearskin Lake. Keep in mind, it's Minnesota and there was still some snow on the ground and ice on the lakes at the end of May. Pit toilets were just a short walk down the road as was access to potable water.

We saw a moose and had a fox visit our campsite while we were there. We fell asleep to the sound of loons every night. This is also black bear country, so it's important to be bear aware; make sure you store food and water properly and bring bear spray while out hiking. We tried our hand at trout fishing with little luck, but it was still fairly cold, and so not much was biting.

We hiked the Caribou Rock Trail and hikers are required to fill out a hiking log slip before heading out. The 2 mile trail was moderate with a decent incline. Once at the top of the overlook, you can see East Bearskin Lake. There are several lodges throughout Superior National Forest where you can obtain fishing licenses and rent boats.

Grand Marais, MN is only about 45 minutes away from East Bearskin Lake. It's a cool, quaint little town located right along Lake Superior. There's a handful of good restaurants, specifically The Angry Trout, which serves up fresh lake trout out of Superior. The Java Moose has great coffee and Lake Superior Trading Post carries lots of outdoor gear and souvenirs.

We liked it so much, we went back 4 months later in September, and stayed again in the same camper cabin. For a true taste of the North Woods, East Bearskin is hard to beat.

I love Grand Marais- and it has been made even better by the couple who started the Hungry Hippie Hostel and Hungry Hippie Tacos(made with fry bread). I have stayed in the private rooms, I have glamped, and I have camped on their property. Staying in the hostel building(downstairs is private rooms, upstairs is communal bunk beds) is a wonderful option for those who want a nice climate controlled and dry setting, but on our last two visits we have opted to stay outside. 

Amenities: Last fall we opted to stay in one of their three Frost River Company canvas tents- both the inside hostel spaces and the glamping tents are reservable on airbnb.    The view is incredible from these tents, and you have your own little deck with two chairs to soak in the view from the lake. The glampground is far enough away from the parking lot that you will want to make use of the available cart (stored by the shower house) to transport your belongings to your tent. 

We chose to stay in tent#1, which is the furthest tent on the property. The reason why I chose this tent is because it has more privacy- the front of the canvas tents are just a screen wall and since the other canvas tents are in close proximity you might have people walking in front of your tent to get to theirs. This also means that you need to be extra prepared for cold weather since they are missing a fourth wall. Note that canvas can and will smell depending on if it has recently rained and the temperature. Don’t leave anything leaning against the side if rain is in the forecast since that will allow water to seep into the tent. Bring a small table with you since the decks just have chairs and not side tables. 

One important thing to note is that the canvas tents are currently set up with air mattresses- which means you might encounter the traditional air mattress problems. With the temperature fluctuations(it gets chilly at night on the North Shore, even in August) we experienced mattress deflation both nights. Jeremy was very prompt on refilling our mattress after our first night, but if you have a manual air mattress pump you might want to bring it for non-disruptive middle of the night refills(unless pumps are provided in the future). Another option that I wish we had pursued would have been just to remove the air mattress and use our camping pad. 

Dogs are allowed if you are camping. Dogs at campground are always a gamble- one night there was a dog that barked incessantly every time you walked past its campsite, so that was a huge deterrent to use the restroom facility at night since I didn’t want to wake up the whole campground for my 2:00 am bathroom visit. Charlie is the owner’s dog and is a lovely sheepdog- friendly but not really up in your business. Make sure not to feed your dog if Charlie is out and about to avoid any food issues, simply ask the owners to bring him in. 

The restroom for the campground is really nice, I would recommend wearing shower shoes though because soapy wet concrete feels weird on your feet. Outlets are available in the sink area which is great since there isn’t electricity at the campsites. 

The campsites are nice, level, reasonably sized, and offer different pros and cons. Site 1 is the most private, but you don’t have a view of the lake. Sites 2, 3, and 4 are the closest to the bathroom and communal fire pit and are on the smaller side, are less private, and the view of the lake is obstructed. Site 5 is way off next to the glampground and it has the best view of the lake of the campsites. 

Experience: 

This is probably one of the most interesting places I have stayed at since you are aware of the comings and goings of people, and the guest turnover is much more apparent and can shift the mood of the place. The guests range from young dudes looking to find girls on the superior hiking trail to retired couples who are obsessed with Grand Marais. Quiet hours start at 10pm and so far every stay here has quieted down at that time. Bring earplugs if you want to sleep in since a lot of guests are early risers to start their hiking trips and you will hear their car doors slamming if you are sleeping outside or you will hear them making toast in the communal kitchen area if you are in the hostel.

Weekdays are generally quieter, but weekends will typically see the hostel and the glampground completely filled, just something to think about if you are trying to social distance during this pandemic. Currently the bathrooms are cleaned twice a day and they leave the cleaner out if you want to sanitize as well. 

There is one fire pit in the front of the hostel building and one fire pit in the campground area, so take that into consideration if you want to prepare your meals in a fire pit or if you are trying to social distance. It would be nice to have more fire pits for the camp/glampsites since some people aren’t considerate with giving you your social distance space, and sometimes I just want to be able to have a fire without socializing(even when there isn’t a pandemic). While you are here you might as well go to Hungry Hippie Tacos in Grand Marais and get a brisket burrito:)

The campsite wasn't huge, but it did what we needed it to do...it allowed us to set up a tent, have a campfire and sleep!  That's all you need, right?

The tent pads were very level and without any lumps or holes.  The were, however, gravel type sand pads that made it very hard to pound in stakes, but fortunately, it wasn't windy so we didn't have an issue.  The fire grate was clean and provided a nice campfire in the evening.  Each site had a picnic table that was nice and solid.  Our site, number 21, had a small path that led down to the lake.  You couldn't see the lake from where we were, but it was only about 20 yards and BAM...BINGO!  The lake! The bathroom (pit style enclosure with a door) was just down the path from us and we were on a loop, so it was easy for the kids to walk around a bit and stretch their legs after the long car ride. Everyone was quite and respectful after dark and remarkably, we didn't have any critters that night!  Not even a mouse :)

Easy to get to from Grand Marais, and the sites were fairly private from one another.  A good choice, even when it's busy season.  But make sure to bring bug spray...the mosquitoes were brutal!

Kate and Jeremy run the Hungry Hippie Hostel. It has been two years since we last stayed with them, and since then they have expanded their lodging options to three Frost River canvas tents and 5 primitive campsites. These additions were accompanied by the construction of what might be my favorite toilet/shower outbuilding that I have ever come across. Oh yeah, they also bought Hughie’s Tacos in Grand Marais. I’m excited about all of this because everything is enjoyable AND affordable- this is a hard combo to come across in the North Shore of Minnesota’s private sector.

Private rooms and bunk beds in the upstairs communal room in the hostel itself are rented out through Airbnb. The nice thing about the rooms are that they are clean, climate controlled, and cozy. However, you WILL hear your neighbors even with your door shut. If you are a light sleeper like me you can forget sleeping in because someone inevitably will start grinding coffee in the common room. This is always fine by me because THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO ON THE NORTH SHORE and time slept beyond what is necessary for a day of adventure is time wasted.

This is why I’m excited about the Frost River campfire tents (Duluth Pack is the ubiquitous canvas goods producer in Minnesota- but not for long!!). They go for $59+tax a night and you have an amazing panoramic view from your little haven. The tents are located a quick walk away from the communal fire ring and the new bathroom building. Bring your own linens for a queen air mattress. I’ve attached a video of the bathroom which has three toilet stalls and two shower stalls.

Recently I stayed in the upper level bunkhouse suite, which means that I have stayed in all of the accommodation types that HH offers. I loved having our own dedicated lounge space upstairs. The upper level used to be a traditional hostel format, but sometime during the pandemic they switched it to a single booking for the entire space. You get a large bed (full or Queen I can’t recall) and then 4 bunks. 

This was the most affordable option to take my nephew up to the north shore while still having a roof over our heads and running water. The only things that are still communal with this space are the showers on the first floor (only a toilet and sink upstairs) and the fire pit. Love love love hungry hippie!

I had this past weekend planned as a 4-day weekend for quite some time without any actual firm plans until last Monday. This would have been a disaster had I planned on staying at a state park, but this national forest campsite had A LOT of openings and we even snagged one of the cabins for a night. This campground does not appear as though many of their sites are heavily used. The campsites that weren't close to the lake were vacant to the point that the "open" grassy areas were long and growing to seed. I would have been disappointed if I had wound up booking one of those since a weed whipper isn't something that I would ever consider having to pack.

The toilets are pit only- not the worst or the best that I have ever seen, and there are no shower facilities. There is a drinking water tap located by campsite 3, but the two of us were feeling slightly ill a few hours after brushing our teeth and swishing with it.

Before you hit the campground you will drive past the Bearskin Lodge. This lodge manages the campground- but don't feel like you need to stop here to check in if you know the specifics about your reservation- your name is already on the campsite post. The staff there are friendly and they have a few food items in addition to camping basics such as firewood and ice available to purchase. Their lattes were surprisingly good for being in the middle of nowhere and the homemade ice cream sandwich was perfect on a hot day. Canoes and kayaks are also available to rent. There isn't a restaurant onsite- I would recommend going to the Loon Lake lodge for their all-you-care-to-eat breakfast from 8-9:30 if you are heading up the Gunflint Trail in the morning. This price is an unbelievable bargain for the quality of food. Ok back to the campground!

The first night we stayed at campsite #5. It has a nice little path to a private little area on the lake. This site was relatively private and had plenty of room to park 1-2 vehicles. The site was flat and required no extra effort to haul your stuff from your vehicle to where you wanted to set up your campsite. Several sites- #6 and whatever is directly across from #5 require climbing up a hill from your car to the actual site. This would be quite a pain if it had been raining. The firepit was nice enough with a grill that you could flip on or off.

For our final night we stayed at the Tamarack cabin. If I remember correctly up to 7 people could sleep here with 2 bunk beds and two pads also provided in the loft. There is also an awesome screen porch with basic plastic chairs on the front that I wish that I had more time to sit in. You don't get a key, but the door is lockable from the inside. I think that it would be kind of cramped if it were filled to capacity on a rainy day. I would also probably be a sleepless mess if I had to share this cabin with more than just my husband on account of how creaky the bunk bed and the floors could be.

The lake is pretty nice for swimming- the lake access point is pretty clear of weeds and you are able to walk out a bit before it gets too deep for an adult. The parking lot was pretty full for a Friday at mid-day without seeing anyone around, so it was nice to have the lake "to ourselves" for a quick swim/float.

Overall I was very pleased with the experience that we were able to obtain considering that we put off making reservations and had never heard of this campground before.

Yes this park is FAR up the north shore, but that should NOT stop you from checking it out. I have stayed here 2-3 times and every time I find new adventures. There are great trails at the park itself, definitely check out Devils Kettle and marvel in where that water all goes. If you feel like exploring elsewhere there are so many options within ½ hour drives of this park it’s insane!

On our most recent visit last weekend it was raining at our site so we decided to drive into Grand Marais, about 25-30 min away - there was a little farmers market going on, we checked out the camp supply store where we were given advice to hike up Eagle Mountain, the highest elevation in MN. It was an AMAZING hike, 7 miles round trip but worth every step!

I have stayed at a few different sites at Judge Magney, they all offer their own charm. Most recently we were in site #24 and I think it was my favorite thus far. It offers a picnic table, fire ring, and flat clearing for your tent like all the others, but when the sun came up in the morning it hits your tent just right in the clearing to let you know it’s going to be a beautiful day. You can clearly see the people at the sites on either side of you, but they’re far enough away where you rarely notice them. Directly behind the tent spot is a wooded hill that leads down to highway 61 - being from the city though I didn’t notice the cars driving by. I actually noticed when there weren’t anymore driving by later in the evening and the frogs were out singing.

As most Minnesotans are realizing, the parks are busy and loud in the summers. This park was no different but I think most people here were aware of the sound they were making and no one was extremely obnoxious.

A great campsite just a few minutes from the main highway up the coast of lake superior. There's a bar with a kitchen where you check in to the campsite filled with friendly people, games, and great food. But enough about that, the campsite itself is very private with a spot to park you car, and you are surrounded by trees and bushes for each individual campsite. A fire pit and picnic table can be found at each site. There is potable water, showers, and an outhouse. Ice, firewood, and limited camping supplies are available for purchase at the bar.