Best Tent Camping near Orr, MN

A very unique park. All sites are boat in. Many houseboat sites for private and rented houseboats and many many family sites for tent camping. Sites are a mix of dock, beach, and rock access and are labeled on the Voyageur National Park Camping map. Sites are located on all lakes in the park: and a few back country too. Houseboat sites have tie off rings and are quiet large- they offer a fire ring and many have a picnic table. Tent sites have one or two tent pads and a fire ring and picnic table and a vault toilet usually. No electric. No water. Remember you can in fact camp anywhere you wish as long as you are 200 meters (I think) from another established site.

No showers. Outhouses and potable water spickets throughout the campground. All sites are offered on a first come first served basis and the entrance has envelopes to pay by check or you can pay online at your arrival. Sites that are occupied will have a small white card clipped to the site number marker sign, just pick an open one, pay, and fill our your place holder card. Fire ring and picnic table at each site. Most were flat, but some were a little hilly. Might be harder to navigate the roads in the campground and back in if you have a larger rig. Very close to voyageurs visitor centers and local boat rental places.

61 sites. Multiple loops. All Boondocking- No electric or septic or water hookups. No showers. Very quiet. Two are marked as accessory. Far from the highway- the final turn can sneak up on you. Sights are spacious and most are a far distance apart (50 feet). Lots and lots of trees between sights. Sites are a mix of deep and shallow. Some are one car wide, others are two cars wide. Most 30 foot trailers would do okay. We saw a dozen travel trailers, one fifth wheel, a couple shorter motor homes, and lots of tents. A fire ring and picnic table are located at each site and water fountains/down spouts and vault toilets are located throughout. (Not all spigots have hose attachments.) Bathrooms were clean with a good amount of TP. There is a fair amount of sticks and firewood among the downed trees. A couple of public docks are located along the edge of the campground for guests to dock their boats. The boat launch, beach, and picnic area is very nice and nearby. No weeds when swimming. Dogs are not allowed at the primary beach, but there is a hidden rock beach at the end of the campground by one of the docks were they could swim. There are hiking trails that weave behind sites and between roads. Some sites are closer to the road (shallow) and some are surprisingly deep. A few sites are closer together, but would work well if you had multiple families camping together. $15.00 per night. Dogs are allowed. Unfortunately there are no reservations. We came on a Saturday morning in the end of August and one third of the sights were open, by midday half of the sights were open. We enjoyed our time.

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.

Scenic State Park has a variety of camping options, including a small lodge, standard RV campsites with hookups, and standard campground tent sites. But, best of all, they also offer numerous remote backcountry campsites that require you to either backpack in for a few miles, or paddle or boat in a mile or two, and a few where you can access the site via either backpacking or boating in. The backpack in only sites are on trails a few miles north of the lodge campground, and the boat-in only site is on Coon Lake about a half mile from the Lodge campground boat landing, and then there are 4 sites on Sandwick Lake to which you can backpack in or boat in. Sandwick Lake is located to the south and east of Coon Lake and is reached by boat or canoe by launching from the main boat landing, passing through Coon Lake , and then down a channel into Sandwick Lake. To me, the regular campgrounds seemed pleasant but pretty busy; the remote campsites, however, are absolutely exquisite and peaceful and quiet and off by themselves.  we camped at campsite #6 on Sandwick, you would have to backpack into it by hiking about 3 miles, or you have the option to boat in which we did. The boat-in campsites do each have a small dock, perfect for accomodating canoes, kayaks, and very small fishing boats like ours; larger boats would have trouble I think, because the docks are firly shor and there isnt much room to pull in alongside them. From the dock at our campsite there was a sloped path to walk up from the dock to the campsite, but the three others on the lake have a small set of stairs. Our site had a three sided log lean-to as well as a bear box, picnic table, and fire ring with grate. Our site had room for one tent, maybe another small one, but we visited site 4 and it had space for maybe 4 or 5 tents so you could had a scout troup or large family at that site. There is a pit toilet off in the woods, "al fresco"  because the site is isolated on its own. The campsite we had was up on a hill with a beautiful view, and faced north for catching wonderful breeezes that kept the bugs away! The lean-to was great for doing food prep, and would be a good shelter if a storm came up. The grill on the fire ring was sturdy, and the bear box looked to be brand new and indestructible. The shoreline had a pretty dense cover of cedar trees, but you can swim by your dock, and the water is crystal clear! If you boat in to this site, then you will be off on your own in a peaceful quiet spot, but you can hike either north or south on the hiking trail that passes nearby, you can paddle or boat acrros the lake to the unique esker where there is an educational geology trail, or you can go fishing, or bird watching, or get back to the main part of the park for nature programs or accees the many miles of trails that have trailheads near Coon Lake. If you dont have a watercraft of your own, the park rents canoes and kayaks that you can use. The state park is in the middle of the Big Fork State Forest, and the Big Fork River Water Trail runs through the area with many access point nearby. if you need supplies, the park's camp store is currently closed due to covid, but the town of Bigfork is about 7 miles from the state park entrance, so you have access to groceries, gas, hardware etc there, as well as a small hospital if needed. All the campsites are currently reservable online, and you must use that system because the main park office is closed to visitors at this time due to covid, though park staff are out and about in the park for cleaning and maintainence and campground supervision. I highly recommend this park, and especially the remote sites, but they are taken quickly on weekends so you need to reserve ahead!

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.

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.