There are two campgrounds, an upper and a lower campground. Some sites in the lower campground have an excellent view of the lake. Most sites are in a shaded, wooded area.

Temperance River State Park Campground

We've stayed at several different campsites in Temperance River State Park. Upper and Lower and this was our favorite for ease of access and views of Big Blue! Lower campground has 2 pit toilets and a spring fed water spigot. The toilets from this site are about a 2 minute walk but they are clean and smell fine. The spring water is also near the toilets so you can multi task on your walk. The lake is literally across the road where there is also a nice area to play in the grass before taking the steps down to the rocky shoreline where large rock juts up along the shore making for a kids playground paradise. To get away from the crowds find your way to the upper campground and take the trail along the water till you find a large rock beach. There is usually nobody there. We like to get there via the lake but that will require some scrambling up and down a couple coves so no littles or fragile peeps recommended.

Lake Front Lower Campground is the Bees Knees 

Gorgeous area around the river! Campsites need to be booked in advance, but easy to get to. Tucked away pretty nicely between two harbors and grand marais, quiet area but attracts lots of hikers due to the beautiful river views! Def recommend staying here!

Beautiful river!

OK, we all love the North Shore and the AMAZING state parks that are along it. But Temperance River State Park has the best natural playground. We chose a site on the upper campground overlooking Lake superior. A stunning spot where we got to watch the colors of the sky change during sunset over the lake, listen to the water wash up on the shore rocks all night long and explore all along the shore as well as up onto the superior hiking trail. We had a large campsite with room for our tent, the fire pit, picnic table, an area to play as well as our parking spot. The site was great because we were close to the bathrooms and showers, but not too close, and the views of course were amazing as well as the proximity to the shoreline and the amazing trails.

Best natural playground on the North Shore

Pictures from the trip of falls and cool rock stairs!!!

Day trip pics

**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.

Ranger Review: Renogy Water Filter at Temperance River Campground

Due to severely late trip-planning, this was the only North Shore state park with a site available that didn't require backpacking in. We stayed at cart-in campsite #31 which you can practically see from the cart-in parking lot. A cart for each cart-in site is provided, and there is a pit toilet and a water spigot located at that parking lot. The site is located above lake superior and slightly inland, so a decent view if you are sitting in the right spot but it has nothing on the lake-side sites at Split Rock Lighthouse state park.

The reason for the average rating is that this campground is kind of long and skinny, which means that you will hear all the cars going by at 60 MPH unless you have a large buffer between your site and Hwy 61\. The trail system isn't nearly as vast as neighboring state parks- you can pretty much do a quick stroll through the lake-side portion of the park or go up the trail that follows the river (so lovely). You can take offshoot trails that are part of the Superior Hiking trail- but these are kind of overgrown and I'm tick-phobic. I wouldn't consider this a must-camp destination, but it was perfectly suitable as a quick place to spend a night on our way up to the Gunflint trail.

I would say this is a great campsite for campers who aren't leaving their site much or for people who don't need a lot of trail options.

The main bathroom facility isn't nearly as nice as the new one at Cascade River, but it is well-maintained considering its age. I would recommend showering early to avoid lines- I think there were just two or three shower stalls?

Decent place to stay for a night

A real gem. Intimate wooded campsites! Exceptional hiking trails. Beautiful water features.

Great hiking.

We LOVE this campground, as it's an awesome place to to call home base for a bit and take day trips around the North Shore. We camp every summer with three other families and this week we ended up in the lower campground of Temperance River State Park. The sites were nice and private with paths between so we could go see our friends next to us. The only downfalls were: the showers were across the river and up a LOT of steps and our site was just down from Hwy 61, so was a bit noisy with traffic at times.

Day trips:

*   Lutsen for alpine slides, gondola rides and hiking
*   Grand Marais for shopping, mini golf, hiking, and breweries
*   Hike the Temperance River trail (although sketchy with a lot of small children who like to go too close to the edge)
*   Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center - a small gem where the kids got to learn about rocks and the geology of the North Shore. maybe a bit above their heads, but the adults loved it!
*   Just throwing rocks in the lake from large boulders just down from our campground

Highly recommend this as a place to stay for short or longer periods of time due to how much there is to do around the area!

Awesome hiking and right on the North Shore

Temperance River has two really nice campgrounds, each with their own highlights. The Lower Campground sits on the lake and if you’re fast enough you can get lake view sites reserved. We were at camping with family that was RV camping so we chose two sites right next to each other. They were sites 57 and 58. The bathrooms were just vault toilets a little bit down the road so not super convenient as with the shower bathrooms at the Upper Campground but they worked fine for us. Our site did not have a view of the lake but was a fine size for our car and a large tent. A short 3 minute walk brought right to the lake and rocky beach where there were plenty of books and crannies to explore. The Temperance River also comes out in this beach so you can play around that as well. From our location at Temperance we easily explored and enjoyed hiking the Oberg Mtn Loop, trails like Honeymoon Bluff up the Gunflint and visiting other parks like Cascade River. 

So close to the lake!

Another place to have some great hiking. The views we're fantastic and the trails well maintained. 

Great day visit

Yes it is tucked in right off of HWY 61 and can be a distraction if you let it.  We hiked, fished and just sat and looked at the Lake.  
The 300’ wild waterfall is my favorite area to hike to.  Study the force of the water over the centuries of work. 
Driving the forest roads you can come upon little surprises like Heartbreak hill.  

Our favorite   

Gorgeous campground on the shores of Lake Superior. Great views and great hiking trails. 

Beautiful 

On our way back from Grand Marais, Mn I stopped and toured the campground at Temperance River State Park. This park is located just outside Schroeder, Mn which is   1.5 hours north of Duluth, Mn. It’s just off of highway 61 with spectacular views of Lake Superior. 

There is an amazing foot bridge with amazing views of the Temperance River Lagoon that is also an awesome fishing spot for Salmon, Trout and all other kinda of fish. 

This park has a great campground woth amazing views of Lake Superior right from your campsite. Campsites can be occupied by a maximum of 6 people and cost $15-$23/night for standard campsites and an additional 8$ for electric sites.

There is an upper and lower campground with showers, bathrooms and water at the upper campground. The lower campground has pit toilets and water spicket‘s. The lower campground also has cart in sites if that is an interest of yours. There are carts provided. 

We ate at the picnic area in the lower campground and were able to get our feet wet in Lake Superior that was a bit cold this time of year. We found some awesome rocks and fished at the base of the waterfall in the Lagoon. We didn’t catch anything but we definitely were not fishing with the correct lures. Other people were reeling in the fish. 

Temperance is also close to the famous Betty’s Pies, Castle Danger Brewery and a TON of other amazing food places.

This park is definitely on my list of parks to stay at in the future. 



Beautiful scenery and views of Lake Superior! 

Great campground with many trails and great access to Superior. Note that the office is only open at certain times, so if you’re banking on buying wood/fire starters/etc. plan ahead. The showers are located in the upper campground (none in the lower). 

Great Campground

My favorite MN state park for camping

9/20/19-9/21/19. #14

Temperance is definitely at the top of my list for camping along the north shore. The Temperance River separates the upper and lower campground.  Both campgrounds are similar with the upper offering electric sites and each have 3-cart in sites.  Several sites are next to Lake Suoerior, with full lake views in the lower campground.  There are showers in the upper campground and vault toilets throughout. 

Site 14 was in the upper campground, near the lake and there was a trail that took you right to the rocks overlooking Lake Superior.  I enjoyed the privacy and the sounds of crashing waves. I booked this site the day before (I assume it was a cancelation) as I wanted to catch the fall colors. 

Temperance river has miles of trails and waterfalls to explore on the Temperance River. You can take trails on both sides of the river and can access these trails right from the campground. The trail also takes you all the way to Carlton Peak. It’s a gorgeous campground and state park.  This campground is very popular and books up fast. 

A favorite state park campground  

Welcome to Superior National Forest. First come, first serve is not a joke on Labor Day weekend. I didn’t get to camp here, but I grabbed a couple of pics that provide info I didn’t find elsewhere about the campsite. I definitely will be back to stay here. Super secluded. Campsites aren’t on top of each other. 

Temperance River Camprground Not w/in the State Park- cute, isolated campground

Temperance River State Park campground has always been a favorite of ours! On a recent backpacking trip on the Superior Hiking Trail we utilized the campground and stayed in the upper campground site 10. Formally this would have been right across from the old bath house but they tore that down and are currently getting that area prepped for new camp spots. The campsite #10 is a lovely spot with ample space, a little grove of trees that have a moss carpet beneath them and space to hammock, tent or rv camp.

New Bath House, yay

Not sure how it happened but mid-August I scored cart in spot 46 in the lower campground, right on Lake Superior!! The carts appeared newly updated and rode well. The walk from car to site was short. It's up on a little "cliff" but getting to the shore is accessible, though somewhat steep. There was a pit toilet a short walk away. No trees present that would make a hammock tenting possible. 

Lucky! 

Loved how close we were to the water! Best place I have hiked in northern minnesota for sure! Would recommend to everyone! Had a variety of levels of hikes and some amazing views everywhere you turned 



Amazing & beautiful stay!

This campground has the best showers and toilets. Lots of beautiful trees and shade. We stayed in 19E. Plenty of trails leading to Lake Superior’s rocky shoreline. 
The water is cold. 

Drinking water around the site and multiple outhouses near us. 

19- is across from the camp host and wood is in a self serve box for $6. 

Get it early - it goes quickly. 

Serene and Starry 

Fantastic state park on Lake Superior! Best bath house ever! Great little  camp store and informed staff. Sites are large and most in the upper ground are private. We stayed in 4 sites over 2 weeks. Most have only electric hook up...no water or sewer. The roads are paved so no dust!  Easy access to lake via trails. Great hiking al miles and river. Lower campground has access to a more friendly beach area for swimming. We loved our stay here and some sites have fabulous views of the lake.

Best State Park Ever

Campsites are spacious. New bathhouses and outdoor kitchen cleaning area. Quiet and peaceful. The hiking in the area is excellent. Adjacent to the Superior Hiking trail for more adventurous types. We had a wonderful time. Will be returning!!!

Just a wonderful magical state park

The location is great and very spacious. Bike/ walking/ hiking trails are close by. 
The bathrooms are fantastic(new facilities) 
For RV campers there are no dump station.
I recommend this Park A+



Great location-peacefull!

This park is gorgeous, the trail along the river is a bit rough but it was worth it to see the beautiful river gorge. We didn’t get to stay at the campgrounds because they were all reserved but we will definitely be coming back to stay!

Gorgeous

I have camped at the walk in sites on the upper loop and once on the lower loop with a lake view across the beach access area. 
The lower loop was much busier with the beach access right there but we still thoroughly enjoyed the site with quick access to the lake and a beautiful view. 
The cart in sites on the upper loop were nice and private. We loved that we didn’t really have anyone near us and we still had a lake view. Only downfall was traffic noise. 

Convenient location

Although it’s 36 degrees and raining Lake Superior has 5 to 10 foot rollers coming from the overlook at site 32. (They haven’t put out the cart yet so it was several trips back to the truck) looks like mostly campers and rvs around, don’t blame them, going to be a cold night. At least I don’t need to worry about ice 👍 

Mn spring solo trip

We stayed here overnight the night before we were set to hike the SHT for a week. The campsites and bathroom/shower room were very clean. However, the campsite was a little noisy. (Our site was closer to the road and we had loud neighbors). A nice thing about this park is that they have a place you can leave your car if you plan on hiking the SHT. You just have to talk with the front office. 

Clean campsites 

Upper campground is right on Lake Superior. Sites are partially shaded and the undergrowth is tall enough in July to provide lots of privacy. It's a short hike to the rocky shoreline. We visited twice this year. In the early spring during "waterfall" season, you could hear the roar of the Temperance River from the campground. In July, the river had returned to normal and was great for swimming and cliff diving.

Beautiful North Shore campground

This was one outstanding experience. 
A few steps to stairs that took you to stunning views of the lake. 
The pit toilets were clean and did not smell
And the shower house was so clean and nice it felt like home. 
Quiet when it was supposed to be and full of fun and enjoyable people . 

Fantastic

Had a spot in the lower campground right by the Lake. Showers are in the upper campground. Tent pad was great for a small tent, not sure if anything larger would fit here. Picnic table and fire ring with grate provided. The mosquitos were pretty bad when I was here in June, so be prepared with insect repellant. There is an outhouse in the lower campground. Firewood available for purcahse at the office in the upper campground; short drive or trail walk away.