Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Tofte, MN

In my haste to make the reservation online I forgot to indicate I was a Good Sam member. I thought, no problem, I will say something when I check in to pay the balance.

The office was very busy at check in and we were in quite a hurry as we had RV service scheduled and technician waiting on us. MY fault only, I forgot to mention it. I went into the office this morning and a clerk told me there was no way to issue a refund in their system. I told the clerk if they would not refund my 10% then I would have to dispute the charge at the bank and then they would have to make an adjustment with their banking service. The clerk said, “Do what you want, but we don’t do any refunds.” I called my bank and they said, “The charges are still pending to your account, so ask them to void the transaction and start over.”

I returned to the office and suggested that, and the clerk then contacted the manager who agreed to do just that.

Sorry I made the mistake, but that is not a way to earn a return stay.

Sometimes you gotta be the squeaky wheel.

The dog park has old astroturf on it. I found that a bit strange.

They have a cute little store. Laundry takes debit snd credit cards.

Looking out over the bay at two lighthouses right from our RV and open my door to the sound of the babbling brook right on our site. Large sights flat paved. Lots of walking places pet friendly.

The sites are generously sized, well spaced, wooded and private. short walk to get to Lake Superior shoreline. Pet friendly. clean showers. tons of water spigots and vault toilets spread throughout the park. Will definitely stay here in the future.

Stayed here on my way to Isle Royale and had a wonderful night. I booked an electric site (#233) to charge and camp in my Tesla, which worked out great. It was crowded on a Thursday night (August 17th) but it got really quiet after dark. I had plenty of space at my site and didn’t mind that the other sites were close by. Bugs weren’t bad, but I used spray, a citronella candle, and a Thermacell for protection. The women’s bathrooms were clean, and firewood was available at the office (I think a bundle was $6). Very pet friendly- my dog was relaxed here. Loved the location next to town, which was a beautiful walk during sunset (and I highly recommend getting coffee at Java Moose in the morning). Night skies are beautiful, especially on the water. A little pricey with all the fees (a $43 site turned into $60). I booked my site over a month in advance and there were only a few spots available, so don’t delay!

Me & hubbs had a weeklong stay here at the marina campground for our anniversary. Upon arrival, we noticed how crammed together the sites were. Yikes! One of our pet peeves . We have 3 dogs, no kids & enjoy a little space & at least the slightest privacy. No such luck. We had a back in site - hook ups on the wrong side!! First annoyance. Kids galore. Everywhere. And Uber noisy & running amok! Second annoyance. Don’t get me wrong- I love kids enjoying the outdoors & just being kids! But holy cow- could’ve done without the non stop wailing & firecrackers day & night. If we had to have stayed at our site any longer I’d never relax. But I digress. We weren’t there to stay at our site. We were the for the surroundings & they did not disappoint!! It is absolutely gorgeous! Adventures abound! Tons of beaches ( water was un-swimmable though , super freezing still!) Clear beautiful water, the scenery was breathtaking! An abundance of dog friendly restaurants & businesses. You could walk nearly everywhere you needed to see & be in town . Incredibly friendly people ! We never felt like silly tourists. Made new friends from Canada, took many hikes to waterfalls, found lots of secret beaches along 61 where the dogs ran leash free & took in allllll the sights ! The weather at the end of August was incredible! 65 degrees , no humidity, no wind or rain & very minimal bugs.

We spent every early morning drinking fresh local coffee , eating World’s Best Donuts & watching the sun rise on a nearly deserted shoreline in town. It was heaven.

There is tons to do if you just go exploring. Even with people everywhere, it never felt crowded & anxiety inducing. Somehow it all went perfectly! Reminded me of Tahoe or Bodega. Can’t wait to get back!

FYI- rv sites are hard to get ! Get a jump on a rez in January. Clarify if it has sewer- ours didn’t . We had site 77 . Not right on the water but a literal 2 min walk. I preferred this site to many others. More privacy for the pups.

Amazing hike in only campground. 1.7 mile hike into Tettegouche camp. It has 4 cabins for rent and a main lodge available for use. Has a one room cabin for 2 people with a queen bed, small refrigerator, an electric cook top, dishes and a table with 2 chairs. Heated by a wood stove and has back up furnace if temperature goes below 50 degrees. Very cute, cozy, romantic cabin! There are also three 2 bedroom cabins that sleep 4-6 people. NO RUNNING WATER OR BATHROOM IN THE CABINS but there is a very clean, very nice bathroom house with electricity on site. Your cabin rental includes a canoe to use on beautiful Mic Mac Lake. There is no WiFi and this is not a pet friendly campground. It is very peaceful and quiet. We saw deer and rabbits roaming about. Amazing hiking trails near by and very near the shore of Lake Superior. The cabins are reservable and hard to secure as they are in high demand. I gave this campground 5 out of 5 stars because it is amazing!

Beautiful area up above the river with a few trails going down. I stayed at the Sawbill trail, Tofte, mn not the the campground by lake Superior just wanted to clarify, best decision ever!

This is an interesting combo-campground in a recreation area that is run jointly by the local county township park board and the National Park Service. The campground would be ideal for folks in campers and RVs , as the campground is particularly well set up for them with hookups and large shaded sites. It is also an excellent harbor and marina for boaters of all kinds from sailboat to yacht to kayak. For tent campers like me, the tent spots arent great...small and unsheltered and close together. There is firewood for sale plus cats available to tote a load to your campsite. Play area for kids, some hiking possibilities, and right on the water for swimming at the beach or launching boats. Seems a little strange that they charge for showers on top on the camping fee. The Park service has staff on location with a Park Mobile information center, but better yet they are almost finished building a brand new beautiful visitor center about the Apostle Islands.

Great campsites with water and bathrooms.  Lots of hiking in the area.  Dogs welcome.  One of my favorite st park campgrounds. A good hike to see kettle falls.

We love this campground for many reasons. First, the cart in sites are just far enough away from the parking lot that there is very little noise, but close enough you can get to your car easily (1/4 mile maybe). Our favorite site has a big, huge rock next to it and a raised tent pad. All the sites are secluded. Many, many trees to separate the sites from one another. Near the parking area is a bathroom and shower combo, but there are outhouse type of bathrooms scattered closer to the cart in sites. Very close to Lake Superior (easy walk) and bear boxes are at every site (strong metal boxes with shelves and locks for your food). Just beware of the black flies in the summertime. They are ruthless!! Don't take your dog if you want them to be comfortable. For some reason, the black flies love to land on dogs, particularly black ones, and there isn't a bug spray that will shoo them away. We actually left 30 min after arrival (not even camping one night) last July because they were so bad. By the time we reached the car, there were at least 30 on my dog's back.

Bottom line, avoid black fly season and this is a spectacular campground! We are repeat customers!

Campground Review

Temperance River State Park is just off of scenic Highway 61 north of Duluth, Minnesota about 60 miles. You will be camping near the shores of Lake Superior with expansive views out over the lake from the top of several tall cliffs along the lake.

The campground has a clean bathroom with showers. There is running water available at several spots within the campground as well as at a spout outside the restroom. The sites themselves are large and tree-lined. There is plenty of space for one or two tents or a small RV or travel trailer. We camped in our 1989 16 foot Scamp trailer and had lots of room left in the campsite to cook dinner and set up chairs, as well as plenty of space for our dog to run around.

The campground is close by to many hikes within Temperance River State Park, as well as just down the road from the Superior Hiking Trail, Cascade River State Park, and several other state and national forest areas.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get products to test from time to time. Today I am testing the Renogy Water Filter. The full video review is below, but I'll give you the rundown here.

• Sturdy construction, should last many trips.
• Decent flow rate, filled a 32-ounce bottle in about 90 seconds.
• Contains input and output tubes, input tube float, and a prefilter.
• Filter can be removed or replaced.

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.

Amazing views by the water and while hiking up above it all. Great campsites, visitor center and restrooms up near the campsites. Definitely would go back. We stayed at baptism river campground. Tried once to stay at the cart in sites but had two little kids and a dog and the black flies were horrible.

This backpacking site was an easy to hike to spot, located just off Lake Superior. The view from this location was incredible. However, we went in June and the mosquitos and black flies were out in full force. We had bug spray and mosquito nets, but ended up cutting our stay short as our poor dogs got the worst of the bites. Despite the bugs, it was a great campsite.

Love this park. Great cart in sites. Convenient rest stop office. You will need to grab wood and with some sites, like G, waterfront is not easily accessible or kid friendly. Site G is an extremely steep climb down. We had to harness the dogs and it took two of us to lower them down. That being said, it has a private beach when you get down. Bring the bucket and the water filter. This site is fully covered. Plenty of tree coverage against the lake and elements. It has a bear box, table, and fire pit. The bathroom is close.

We called a few hours ahead on a Monday and were able to stay for a week at a site with electrical and water hookups. While the sites are close together, we felt like we still had plenty of privacy with how many trees are in the campground, and all of our neighbors were so nice and also quiet. Very kid and dog friendly place. There's a sink for washing dishes by the bathrooms/showers which came in handy and there are multiple bath houses. A quick walk to town too, so we didn't have to ever leave the site with our rig.

This is one of the most beautiful campgrounds in northern Minnesota along the glorious shores of Lake Superior.  The campsites are surrounded by plenty of wilderness to allow some privacy.  There is a wonderful newly built visitors center with wonderful interpretive displays.  You can hike some really great trails to beautiful waterfalls.  This is Minnesota in all it's glory

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:)

I camped at the Baptism campground with my mom and our dogs. The state park is simply beautiful. And so is the campground. The sites are all very private. Some have electricity, some are without. There are even some walk in campsites. The bathhouse with showers and toilets is very clean. A lot of people had campers so I had the feeling it was not used so much. The walk in sites had little vault toilets in the parking lot. From the campground you have the choice of several hiking trails and access to 2 waterfalls. You can also park at the visitor center and enter hiking trails from there. They have a very nice gift shop. Firewood can also be purchased. There are a lot if cool things around the park as well like Split Rock Lighthouse or Gooseberry Falls. I would definitely camp here again. It was a great experience.

Great new option to camp near the Superior Hiking Trail and all the North Shore has to offer. We camped here just a weekend after staying in a State Park elsewhere. The Hungry Hippie was so much better because it’s SO QUIET. No screaming children on scooters, no RVs running A/C all night. It was so peaceful and beautiful. The scenery is great, it’s open and rural, they have horses to watch, a dog running around, and Lake Superior in the distance. 

They have five campsites for tenting and a really nice bath/shower house. There is one fire pit and one picnic table for all, we were busy elsewhere and did not use them. 

We are stargazers and really enjoyed the night sky, it was nice and dark, no light pollution. 

This is a beautiful, quiet, affordable place to camp, highly recommend!

This is a private campground adjacent to a Lodge off the Gunflint Trail. If you are wanting something less rustic than one of the nearby Forest Service campgrounds, and you don't mind paying a little more, then this may be for you. Current rates are $39 a night per campsite, plus an additional $5 a night if you have a dog, which adds up to a bit of a  steep price if you are tent camping. However, the sites do have electrical hooups and other amenities preferred by RV campers which arent found in the basic Forest Service campgrounds nearby, so that may be a plus. If tent camping by yourself, or wanting close proximity to food, lodge amenities, boat rental, etc, then you might find it is worth it. The campsites are very nice, and there is good fishing in the lake plus nice hiking trails nearby!