Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Superior National Forest

This rustic campground within the Superior National Forest is one of the many great options available in the area. There are 7 sites available, vault toilet and a boat launch. All the sites have a pull in area a tent pad spot an picnic table. I only stayed one night, but watching the sunset on the lake from my campsite was wonderful! It’s pretty easy to get too. I use Avenza Maps to keep track of my location in the North woods for piece of mind. It’s quiet campsites let you get lost inalienable the natural beauty around you.

Be careful in early summer, there were 4-5 turtles laying their eggs near the bathrooms. The mosquitos were crazy too. But, that’s Minnesota.

Cute rustic campground on Lake Toohey, near many more lakes and campgrounds in the Superior National Forest. Nice sized sites, about half have lake access, nearly all of them have direct views of the other sites in the campground- that’s a bummer in my book. There’s a single pit toilet near the entrance and dock, every site has a fire ring and picnic table. There’s no garbage pickup so pack out what you pack in! Also there was quite a lot of traffic while we were in the area for a couple weeks, but who could we blame for driving out to the forest like us? We just expected more quiet for how far in the middle of nowhere this place is. Definitely will be spending more time in the area, it’s beautiful up here.

Nels Lake is off the Echo Trail north and west of Ely. It is within the Superior National Forest and has an access to the Boundary Water Canoe Area, but the campsites are just outside the official BWCA border. Nels Lake has several backcountry campsites on the lake, all of which ate paddle-in sites, and one you can hike in to. You cant reserve these sites, but you also dont need a BWCA permit nor is there a fee like there is at the official National Forest campgrounds. These campsites are primitive like typical BWCA campsites, there is no picnic table or water pump, but there is a USFS fire grate and a latrine albeit al fresci. We stayed at the himein site, it is very large and private and secluded, with nice lake access for swimmming, paddling, and fishing. You could make this any easy destination weekend campsite, using it a a base for day trips in the area, or stay here one night before launching into a BWCA trip. There are many paddling options nearby, plus also several great hiking trails. We have been here several times and always found this site available so it seems this lovation is not heavily used, all the better for folks who want a secluded BWCA experience with easy access!

If you like primitive wilderness camping but want to be only a short backpack hike away from your car, this campsite is for you! There are actually two campsites at this location, offset from each other on the lakeshore but close enough for a group to spread out into. This is a backcountry camping exprience on Blackstone Lake, of the Fernburg Trail east of Ely in the Superior National Forest. The trail access is near the Moose Lake entrance to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness. You park your car, then have about a half mile hike in to the campsite. Once you are set up, you have an amzing pristine lake to gaze at or swim in, or paddle on if you portage in a canoe or kayak! Then, you have a maze of hiking trails to hike from the campsite, over rugged roky terrain and to some of the most breathtaking vistas in the area! If you are a rock climber, the cliffs at Ennis Lake are sought after by rock climbers all over the region who are up for the challenging hike in before even tackling the cliffs. Wildlife abounds, pristine wilderness beauty, an amazing opportunity! We came in the third week of June, and experienced no ticks, no bugs, which was blissful!

Ninemile Lake Campground seems to be the gem that no one knows about. I've stayed there multiple times and it has remained my favorite campground. The campground is located in the Superior National Forest along County Road 7 North of Finland, Minnesota. There are 20+ campsites available, with about half with direct lake access. Drinking water is available from the east side of the campground. There is also a landing for boats to be put into the lake and taken out. The campsites near the lake are gorgeous and offer a nice view of the lake. All of the campsites are perfect for tent camping, and all should fit RV's. The campsites may look small at first, but once you enter them you will find that many have passageways that lead to a clearing. Each site has the standard picnic table and fire ring. There is firewood for sale, and boat, kayak, and canoe rentals available.

The lake is beautiful, but not very exciting to swim in because it is quite muddy. There are 3 islands on the lake which I like to explore after a short kayak ride. One of the islands has some large boulders that offer a nice view of the sunset. Ninemile Lake got it's name because it is nine miles away from Lake superior! The fishing was decent, but the long winter a couple of years ago killed off many of the fish. I believe it was recently restocked.
Ninemile Lake is within driving distance of the Superior Hiking Trail as well as many other trails. There is a hiking trail about a mile long just across the road from the campsite entrance, which also crosses a four wheeling trail.
I found plenty of things to do while staying at Ninemile Lake Campground, and I would recommend it to all types of people who appreciate the outdoors.

This campground is tucked into the Superior National Forest but off of a main road. Access is easy enough for most rigs other than maybe very large ones.

There are a little over a dozen campsites here with 4 on their own loop in an ATV camping area.

The sites vary in size and access due to trees and foliage so not every rig will fit in every site. And, depending on your rig size, some sites will require a bit more work to level. A handful of sites are reserveable but most are first come, first served.

Site 11 is a prime spot if you can grab it due to size, layout and location.

There are vault toilets and a well available.

Each site also has a fire pit and picnic table.

If you need it, the cell service was very good for T-Mobile and great for Verizon.

Be prepared for mosquitoes and deer flies (in mid-July anyway) but overall, we had a peaceful stay and got a great night's rest.