The Lodge Campground — Scenic State Park

This state park is in my top favs. It’s quiet and remote and there’s a lot to explore. We stayed at a remote watercraft site, accessible only by water so that was thrilling!

The landscape here is fun, with the huge peninsula jutting out into the lake, makes for fun canoeing/kayaking with many little areas to explore, and a couple little islands!

The site itself had a rustic log shelter built in it overlooking the lake, very cool.

The Chase Point peninsula is a great hike and has a little boat landing area at the tip of it to so you can start from either end.

Scooped out Chase Point campground though we didn’t stay in it - sites spaced well, quite wooded. Water and toilets spaced out well too, very accessible from anywhere in the park.

Very cool feature is the little boardwalk with docks along Coon lake and campground edge - makes for easy access to park your kayak or canoe and just a fun little morning walk or place to view sunset over the lake. So charming!

Scenic is definitely the word to describe this park!

The chase point trail is a must see! The campsites in the Lodge campground seemed small, site was all gravel not great for tent unless you bring thick sleeping pads. Close to neighbors but is nicely wooded. Beautiful nighttime views and a very quiet campground at night.

Nice, remote Campground in the woods of northern Minnesota. We spent 5 days there where we enjoyed plenty of hikes and time on the water. The sites are close together and more suited to RVs than tents. Even over a busy weekend, it was quiet overnight except for the loons calling across the water. The boat in sites are just a short distance across the lake from the main Campground, making it an easy paddle for those in non-motorized boats. We were on the water with two kayaks and the highest number of boats was never more than 8 at any time with only two of those boats being motorized. There are a few hike-in sites, only 1.2 miles from the park. A few additional hiking trails around the park as well. A family friendly beach and some cleared picnic areas. The showers and flush toilets are clean and backed up by pit toilets dispersed around the campground.

Stayed here for 3 nights in the Lodge Campground, site 82. Nice quiet campground. Site 82 was large but has a slight slope to it. Close to bathrooms and (free) showers. A little annoyed because several of the water spigots weren't turned on, including the one at my site. Bugs weren't too bad. Get up early and watch the sunrise over the lake. This park has 2 campgrounds, 2 boat landings, a beach, and hiking trails.

Close to: Grand Rapids & Hibbing

We visited Scenic State Park Lodge Campground in July, 2018, with two other families, for three nights, on our annual camping trip. The park was pretty nice, but there was not much to do outside of activities in the park. The campground was very open and you could hear everyone around you. Our site was a bit more private (L89), but our friends at L78 and L79 were completely open to everyone around them.

The Lodge Campground is a little smaller than Chase Point. Facilities were fine - two shower rooms in male and female showers each. Clean bathroom stalls very close to all sites. Fishing pier and beach were very close, so that was awesome for kids. The second you dropped your line in, a fish was on it.

The disadvantage was that although there were quite a few activities in the park, there wasn't much to do around the area if you wanted to go offsite. We hiked the Chase Point Trail to the edge of the esker on a nice breezy day, so the bugs were not bad. On the very hot day, we rented boats - canoe, two kayaks, and a paddle board - from the park office, which was very fun! Our kids had a blast trying them all out. Otherwise, the swimming and fishing were all that was left. The other hike out the fire tower trail was very buggy and several ticks were spotted on one of the adults who took his bike out that trail.

Overall, a nice weekend trip, but we might not make a second trip there due to the limited activities.