What an absolutely beautiful Minnesota state park. The dense woods and lakes are really amazing to…read morebe a part of. We did the norberg lake trail and I've done the blueberry lakes trail in the past as well. Definitely bring good shoes or boots for these trails. There is a fair amount of up and down throughout and lots of rocks and roots. I am excited to come back here in the future.

In our quest to visit all MN state parks, Bear Head Lake was next on our list. We stuck with the…read moreHiking Club trail or Norberg Trail. It was a three mile loop that took you past a couple of lakes. It involved walking on some uneven ground (roots and stones) but it was relatively flat and very woodsy. We visited in mid July and it was quite buggy so make sure you are covered or sprayed to minimize the bites. Minnesota parks are so beautiful. I get so worries about where I'm stepping, I sometimes forget to look up and all around to enjoy the beauty.

If you're up in this area, just go! For under $20, you get to go half a mile underground on an…read moreelevator and then take a train through a mine before learning some super interesting information about miners and their lives. It was such a cool and unique tour and I highly recommend it! What a fun experience.

During the Minnesota and Canada fires, we wanted to get out of the smoke. It was also a heatwave at…read morethat time. The air down in the mines is filtered through all that stone and is about fifty degrees year round!!!! We breathed clean air and we were able to get out of the heat for awhile. Nice! We booked online to make sure we got the time slot we wanted. Apple Maps got us there correctly. There is ample parking and a side lot for overflow as needed. There were quite a few people already there! The park itself is free. You can walk around and learn on your own. They have a small shop selling gorgeous mineral stones and cookbooks and t shirts etc. There's a public restroom inside that is clean, separate men and women with multiple stalls. We perused the whole building and then sat in the meeting room, waiting for the video presentation. Then as a group we donned construction style hats and headed for the mine elevator. They have some cubbies for your belongings- hats and sunglasses etc which you won't need down there. The staff were super nice. Apparently one woman did not bring a jacket so the staff member lent her their jacket! It is quite chilly underground. The staff were also willing to take pictures of us and other families when asked. Only one person had a hard time with the elevator. It is noisy and a tight squeeze for 10-11 people and there are times when it is completely dark inside. At the bottom, we waited for everyone to get off the elevator and we boarded a little train. That train took us to the mine shaft where we followed our guide up some stairs. There is an elevator for accessibility needs. We spent time looking and learning and then took the train back to the elevator. They have quite the safety protocol to ensure no one gets hurt and that the elevator up and down is coordinated with people above and below ground. I really enjoyed walking the grounds outside and seeing the machine shop and the drill bits etc. There are some signs where you can read about the different carts and what not. The mountain views were limited by the smoke but I imagine it's nice on a clear day. Tickets are reasonable. I would recommend this tour if you're in the area and looking to get away from the heat or cold and breathe some fresh air! It's a great way to learn about history and iron mining. If you don't care about a specific tour time and don't mind a little risk, you can save a dollar by going there and getting tickets at the box office on the day of. Also- There are no longer any bats or energy beam? research going on here. Just microbial research. That's some old stuff that used to be there.

went Official camping for my first time this year and we drove 4hrs north to Ely and stayed at the…read moreFall Lake Campground. I'm giving this place a full 5 stars even though I have little basis for comparison. The bathrooms and showers were amazingly clean and new. the sites do not have electricity but our site was huge, we put 3 large tents up and could have fit a 4th. We also had private lake access. The lake access was rocky and very slippery! So it wasn't much for swimming but it meant we had a great canoe launch right at our site. We also rented a canoe @ $20 a day it was a nice deal. The campground has a full playground, center store and office where you can get forgotten necessities and a sandy boat launch. There is a swimming beach on the grounds but it may be a short walk. The site was $17 a night and they have nice elevated fire pits with a built in grill grate. The site is also on the edge of the boundary waters which means no motorized boats (to an extent) lots of quiet and plenty of wild life! We got close to lots of turtles, ground animals and lots of bald eagles!. The scenery was amazing, the sky is incredibly clear for star gazing at it's best. And for being so far north the lake was quite temperate and excellent for swimming and boating. I highly recommend this camp site for newbies like me and the other, more experienced campers, were also impressed.

We stayed here before we hit the BWCA the next day. Our group was nice and large!…read more While it was a little confusing on where to find our campground, once we found the office everything made sense. The gates were closed for us (not locked) for the Campground area we were reserved for. The campsite was very clean and plenty of space for the tents. The paths are paved to go from place to place...i.e. the bathrooms. The bathrooms themselves were very clean. One has a code to enter on it to get in because of it's close vicinity to the boat landing, which is understandable. The only thing I had a rough time finding was the dumpster. it is kind of hidden. All in all, I would definitely stay here again.

Arnold's Campground & RV Park has everything you could possibly ask for in terms of accommodations…read morestaying outdoors with a tent or trailer. I camped here for two evenings back over the summertime of 2021 and really enjoyed my experience. There were so many great aspects to Arnold's. First thing...although they don't accept reservations online, I called them the day of needing a campsite and they had immediate availability. Granted, this area of International Falls, Minnesota is very remote in terms of locations for tourists to visit, but overall, Arnold's was extremely accessible for any adventurer traveling spontaneously. I just had my tent with me and could have used a simple primitive site for $20...but for $5 more I got Amp Power as well for charging my electronics. I was set up for success in my explorations around Voyageurs National Park. Arnold's is located pretty much right in town of International Falls, MN...convenient for everything a good ole small town can offer. There are fast food restaurants, supply stores, grocery stores...all the necessities that you can think of. So...having the amenities of International Falls while spending time at the Rainy Lake section of Voyageurs (only 12 miles away) as well as the Lake Kabetogama area too (only 28 miles away), it was great to stay here at Arnold's. I met the Arnold, the camp host right when I pulled into the campground, and he directed me to my site which was located in the center of the grounds surrounded by the RV sites. What was terrific about being in the middle of it all was that I got to set up my tent along fluffy grass while being situated close to the bathrooms and showers. I paid $25 per night for 2 nights. Right when I was greeted by Arnold, he gave me a quick overview and tour of the campgrounds. And that was it. I was good to go on my own. I set up my tent and plugged in my electronics with the Amp Power service (I believe I had 20 Amp). Since it was late in the afternoon on my first day...I headed off to the shower house. They have 2 showers for men, basically both very clean and well maintained. The bathrooms located inside the shower house were fine. Also good was the cell phone reception service being strong. I had no issues downloading a couple of movies to watch at night. Some other details and extras... - They have a dump station. - They sell firewood and have fire pits. - Each site had a picnic table. - Quiet hours start at 10pm. - They offer rates for weekly and monthly stays. Weekly is $150. Monthly is $550. During my time here, there actually weren't any other visitors staying next to me with tents. I was the only person using a tent. But...all the RV sites were fully occupied. Lastly, using Arnold's as my home base in exploring a majority of Voyageurs National Park was simply ideal and perfect. I'm so happy I found it on Campendium, the app on my phone. I highly recommend to visitors and tourists interested in coming to this remote area of Northern Minnesota near the border with Canada to consider staying at Arnold's Campground & RV Park.

Nice, friendly folks run the place. Cash or check only. Reasonably priced and close to town but…read morequiet. We had a nice, shady spot with electric only for $28 total. The bathroom was clean but small with no shower.

State park with the best beach in the Midwest! Sand and pines, family and pet friendly!read more

Best state Park in Minnesota, with best swimming beach anywhere. The sand soft and u can walk out…read morelike 2 and a half blocks. The water is like bath water on a warm day. They have new shower building and new beach dressing house.

I had a great time here. The sites were private, good views of the water, had standard amenities…read moresuch as vault toilets and drinking water, fireplace rings, grill inserts, and a large picnic table per site. I liked that the host didn't come bother us once. We stayed up till midnight or later each night listening to music by the fire, no one complained. No luck fishing birch lake but that doesn't mean they're not in there. Don't forget bug spray and tiki torches if you decide to camp here.

The name says veterans but anyone can stay here. Lovely campground, great access to fishing, beach…read moreand other recreation. Wooded sites, friendly hosts. We were headed north and needed a stop so we took a chance and were very pleasantly surprised. Room for seasonal camping too. $30/night

This is a very popular rv campground. The locals have it monopolized b/c of the boating and lakes…read more It's beautiful and very convenient to Voyageur National Park. All but two sites are back in. The guests are friendly. There is no store on site except for clothing. Ice and firewood can be purchased. Sites are large. Bring your mosquito repellent. Friendly staff.

Exceptional and timely replies to our questions! We have booked a week during summer and will add…read moreadditional comments after our trip. Thank you Rainy Lake RV for your professional communication!

Five stars isn't enough for this crew. We fish with Craig at Lake Vermilion Fishing Guides just…read moreabout every year, and our Boundary Waters trips into Basswood are the ones we talk about all winter. From the first phone call he asks the right questions about what you want out of the day, then builds the whole trip around it. Getting into the BWCA on your own takes real planning, but Craig handles all of it, and once you're out there you've got world-class fishing with almost nobody around. He reads the water, adjusts constantly, and genuinely cares that everyone on board catches fish. He handles the big fish with real care too, quick photos and healthy releases. This is what a professional guide service should be. We're already planning next year's trip.

I don't have enough great things to say about Steve and Ginny and the rest of the crew at Spirit of…read morethe Wilderness. We were out on Knife Lake on Tuesday July 14 2026 (the day of the closure and evacuation of the wilderness). I had rented a one way Spot and picked up my permit from Spirit. Unfortunately with the device we had no one could communicate with us, but the crew at Spirit was tracking us and keeping everyone back home aware of our situation. After we got back into Ely, they even offered a bunkhouse for us to stay the night before heading home.