Best Glamping near Tofte, MN

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:)

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.

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.

If you’re looking for a good campsite last minute or are you really really really like the North Shore I want to be right on Lake superior this is a good campground for you. This campground is located in Grand Marais Minnesota right inside the city on the harbor. The RV sites with electric are pretty dang close together which is not my style camping but for most people at RVs they don’t mind that. The tent sites were sent away from the RV sites and we’re pretty secluded from each other which I really really really like.

A lot of people choose this park to park their RV for the summer and pay the summer fee for it. You can also get a daily rate which is not that bad. Check out the picture for info on the rates.

There’s a boat launch into Lake superior in the Grand Marais harbor right inside the city park which is amazing if you’re on a boat and want to go fish or just swim.

All in all this is a great park for families. They also have group camps if you’re interested in that but they were pretty centralized in the the park and were not secluded to anybody.

Inside the city limits you can grab yourself a worlds best donut And for an amazing cup of coffee check out Java Moose For dinner you could do a sit down at The Angry Trout right on the harbor and follow it up with a Voyager Brewing Company beer with amazing views of the sunset.

The aspect of this campground we liked the best was that we could walk to town. The campground itself is o.k. It was full when we were and definitely felt crowded. There are some tent sites up in a wooded secluded area but most of the park is geared to RVs. Or you can pitch pitching your tent amongst RVs. Tucked up in the woods is a small tent area that is nice and quiet but a little far from the bathrooms so be prepared to walk.

There are 300 campsites of with full hookups, some with electric and water hookups and others no hookups. Some site have great views of Lake Superior, some are sunny and open and others have some large trees. Our site (#104) was very close to our neighbors and the RV right behind us and we had a big tree right in our “patio” which was not conducive to sitting outside. We had a 50 amp full hook-up site which all worked well and well-placed in the site. The campground is county-run and a mix of seasonal people (lots of whom appeared to be there for the fishing) and transients like ourselves. One aspect of seasonal campers that I don’t like is how they junk up their site and this certainly had that. 

There are four bathhouses on the property some of which are pretty old and tired whereas others are larger and more updated. The bathroom near us was large but was heavily used (which is an understatement) as four tour-size busloads of college students exiting the boundary waters spent the night in tents near it. It was pretty trashed with that volume of people. Since the park is pretty large they have amenities like baseball fields, playground, group camping sections, a beach with picnic area, fish cleaning station, and nearby boat launch. 

A short walk to downtown and you have restaurants, shopping, grocery, fuel, pretty harbor, art galleries, bait shops, and more. One of the most highly touted places in Grand Marais is World’s Best Donuts. Even before we got to Grand Marais, people in other parts of Minnesota told us about it. The donuts were really good but beware their closing hour is when they sell out which is why we went really early. We also ate at The Crooked Spoon Cafe and had an amazing meal. Nearby Grand Marais are a scattering of state parks known for their waterfalls which are worth seeing. Many people come here because it is close to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness but since we just came from the town of Ely we did not go back to the boundary waters. We liked this area and kept busy for the three days we were there but couldn’t see staying long-term.

Really nice campground, our site was pretty small & very close to others so that was kind of annoying. But the bathrooms were nice & showers were really nice, overall enjoyable!

Wow! This park was so much fun! We got super lucky and were able to get a site last minute last summer – thank you to whoever cancelled! This resort books up extremely fast and it’s easy to see why! Campfires on the beach, s’mores, a playground, lake side sites, a game room, a mini store – so many amenities! The night we stayed here was one of my most memorable nights of the entire summer! Family friendly but wasn’t overly strict with the adults that wanted to stay up a little later and have a good time on the lake! Book as early as possible with this one!

We stayed at this resort for 4 days and wish we had more time. The smooth pebble beach is fantastic. Our dogs loved running up and down the beach and playing on the shore. We took a day trip and walked North on the Gitchi Gami State Trail and visited Temperance River Falls and Hidden Falls.

We camp here usually once or twice a swason for the past 10 or more years. Restrooms are always clean when we have been there. Proprietors are very friendly and helpful. I've been there when when it's just me and my 2 young kids. Owner and other campers helped me out of a situation in which my pop up slide would not slide out. Did not even ask, they all came to my rescuewhen they saw me struggle. The views over the all are to die for. If you want more privacy they have wooded spots that are just as nice. Book early for prime locations. Very quite and draws a clientele that is respectful. Family friendly, for sure.

In trying to add a title to this review the word that came to mind for Dyer's Creek Camp is sufficient. It has water, even in the dry season, it has enough camp spots for a few tents, the fire pit is ample and sturdy... It just lacks that wow factor to give it 5 stars. The water source is good but the creek is just that, a creek. It lacks that gurgling flow that sends you off to sleep. It's also deep in the woods so no views. There are a few sites close to the fire pit and then another one deeper into the site that offers some privacy and easier access to the creek. Those near the fire pit will most likely want to go under the bridge which is just a 60 second walk from the site.

I have stayed at the Whitefish campground several times. The campground consists of 4-5 free spots next to the lake. The sites include a picnic table and fire ring, no running water, electricity, or sewer hook ups. There is a pit toilet located at the campground. This campground has a carry-in lake access for canoes and small boats, and the lake has good walleye fishing. From this lake you can access portage trails to neighboring lakes like Elbow Lake, which also has good fishing. There are also a few boat-in camp sites located on this lake and neighboring lakes. This campground often fills up quickly. When that happens, I have done dispersed camping in the area. Some of those spots include the gravel pit and a sand pit located along the road before you reach the campground, there’s also areas past the campground, the trail splits and if you stay to the right you should be able to find a spot between Frear Lake and Lost Lake. If you stay to the left the trail will take you to Bone Lake, which is a trout lake. You may be able to find a dispersed spot there. Once you get past this point the trail narrows. These trails are also used by ATVs, but it is fairly rare to see them in the area. While camping in this area you may also spot wildlife, I’ve seen moose, deer, and bald eagles. Also be aware there are wolves and bears in the area, although I’ve never seen them. Phone service in this area is pretty limited. If needed, your best bet would be a stop at the Trestle Inn bar/restaurant located a few miles down the road near the Crooked Lake Resort. The Trestle Inn is also a popular stop for burgers/pizza and a drink.