This is my favorite state park in Minnesota (of the 75). It's about 3-1/2 hours from the Twin…read moreCities (northeast of Duluth). It has the most spectacular vistas and is a hiker's paradise. The cascading 60 foot High Falls waterfall into the Baptism River are beautiful, as are the view of Lake Superior. Palisade Head is not to be missed, either. The are ample bird watching opportunities in the park as well.

Cart-in campsites are normally great and well taken care of, especially campsite H…read more We scooped up a campsite(H) and reserved it early on. We get to the site after pushing a full cart(with a messed up wheel) to find a dozen fallen trees that haven't been clean up, and a bunch of dry old rotting brush on the site, and the fire pit is needing to be cleaned out(its full) Site needs maintenance, bad, was really looking forward to our stay, and now just kinda disappointed.

We had such a fun North Shore getaway at North Shore Camping Co. The outdoor sauna by the main…read morelodge were an absolute highlight, so nice after exploring the sights and checking out Lake Superior. They've really thought of the little touches too, like board games and a lending library of books and games at the base lodge, perfect for hanging out after dark. Be ready to walk if you don't get there right at check-in, you'll be hauling your gear up to your cabin, which can be a trek, and even after that there's a short walk down to the bathrooms or back to the parking since cars aren't allowed by the tents. Our room had two big beds and felt surprisingly spacious for "glamping." There are little flush porta-potties near the cabins, but the nicer restrooms and showers are in the main lodge. The staff are super friendly it really makes it feel like a comfy, elevated camping experience worth coming back to.

It's a nice concept, but I would not go back. The tent and bed were nice, but getting there was a…read morereal chore. The hike from the parking lot and office was up a long, steep, rocky, dusty, eroded trail that apparently had never been graded. Then there was a tall flight of homemade stairs up to the tent. The hike down to the toilet box or office toilet was tough enough to discourage me from using it. The worst aspect was the continual, all-night, loud traffic noise from nearby Highway 61. I went up there hoping for some peace and quiet but got more noise than I get here in St. Louis Park. I was happy to leave after three days. At least the camp was set amid a very nice pine forest. Some day, those old very trees will fall on a tent or go up in a major fire. I am highly experienced with mountain backpacking and BWCA canoe camping but at 75 years of age I was looking forward to sleeping on a real bed. In summary, the tent was much nicer than the overall camp and its location.

This will be my third time camping here and I will never get sick of this place. I have noticed…read morethey have been getting busier. They have a ton of tent sites with some electric sites for campers. The tent sites are fairly spaced out with tons of woods around you. Each site you can drive up to and it has a fire ring and picnic table. There are some outhouses close by. I also really like the small bar at the campground.

We stopped here last minute for a rest from the SHT (Super Hiking Trail) and wow I 100% recommend…read moreit! We rented one of the little cabins which was just perfect to charge our phones and sleep in a bunk and not the ground. The restaurant on the campground was so good and so fun!! I learned so much and the new owners are the kindest, most genuine business owners I've met in so long. They are doing so much to make this campground a great place for the community. I learned a lot, had a great beer and the wings that tasted heavenly after a week of backpacking food. (and ice cream too!) There's a place to refill in town. The campground is too far to hike to in my opinion, but it's easy to get rides. The owners even drove us to the trailhead. There's a place to refill in town. Finland was wonderful. I hope to come back.

Visit for the Sea Caves! We spent 4 days in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore - 3 days of…read morecamping on Sand Island and a full day touring the surrounding area. Skip Madeline Island if your schedule is tight. Highlights: Sea Caves - my favorites were the northeastern edge of Sand Island (next to Justice Bay). They are so breathtakingly beautiful, especially in sunrise or sunset lighting. Since we took our boat, we were able to get up close to see all the spectacular details. If you don't have a boat, rent kayaks and a tour guide to get up close views. Grand Tour - we drove to Bayfield to ride a large catamaran boat for a 3 hour tour of the Apostle Islands. Visitor Centers - they were full of interesting info and has some fun merch for souvenirs. Many people rave about their experience visiting Madeline Island (the largest island) which isn't actually a part of the National Lakeshore, but we found it rather outdated and boring and left on the very next ferry.

Great area with some beautiful scenery. We stopped at 2 mainland visitor centers for about 30…read moreminutes each and learned a bit about the islands. The Little Sand Lake visitor center we could have actually spent more time if we'd had the luxury but we had an appointment to keep. I could see spending about an hour there. I recommend visiting both centers and taking a ferry/tour of the islands. If you want to do it all give yourself 3+ days. Otherwise you could probably hit the highlights in 1.5 days.

Get there early to secure a spot or wait until about after lunch time. This is usually when campers…read moreare heading out for the day/leaving from their stay! Super easy to set up, however to get spots along the lake, you need a reservation scheduled at least 1 week in advance. 2-3 vault toilets for both male and female and no shower. They have a fire pit and most have picnic tables at each spot. Definitely recommend bringing your own wood, toilet paper, wipes, and hand sanitizer in case the site manager isn't around.

This was the one-time when it paid-off not to plan ahead. It was a rare July weekend when my…read morepartner & I both didn't have plans so we decided to go "up north" camping. In MN, reservable campingsites fill up fast, sometimes a year in advance so when we looked, everything was booked. Luckily, there are many campgrounds in the state that are walk-in or first-come-first-serve only. We chanced it and drove up north 4 hrs from the Twin Cities on a late Friday morning. When we arrived, all the lake-view campsites were taken but there were plenty of other drive-up sites available. We picked campsite #8 since it was one of the more spacious ones. It also felt far enough away from others and was a decent ways from the toilets (which I learned the hard way you shouldn't be too close to). The toilets are just like an outhouse but they were clean and included TP & hand sanitizer which was nice. The campgrounds have a boat access area to the lake with a dock that made for a good star-gazing spot. We walked over here at about 11pm and saw a brilliant night sky with layers of stars and the Milky Way was visible. I'm just sorry that I can't share any photos of the night sky to prove it. Believe me, I tried but my iPhone looks like I took a picture of a black rectangle -__- OVERALL TIPS: - This campground is located in Superior National Forest and has a small hiking trail near the campsites to check out. It's ok, but I recommend spending most of your time exploring the nearby George H Crosby Manitou State Park for more exciting and varied hiking paths. - Bring cash & small bills! You'll need the cash to pay for your campsite using small envelopes available when you enter. There's no onsite staff & unless you're ok writing down your credit card info or paying over the amount, bring plenty of $5 dollar bills and $1s. You'll want cash for the state park fees as well. - Get here as early as you can to get the best campsites. Look at all the empty ones before settling. I wanted to jump on the first open one I saw, and when I kept looking, they got better and better. There were still open sites at 11pm on the weekend after Fourth of July so shouldn't be too hard to find one. - Don't count on wood to be available. They were all our of wood bundles to purchase on-site. We had to drive back in town a ways to purchase wood for $7 at a gas station. - Drive a car you don't mind getting dirty. There are only dirt roads near here. It kicks up a lot of dust & makes for one bumpy ride. - Try to time your visit when there isn't a moon & you'll be able to see amazing layers of stars. - Remember to be a good camper & leave the campsite as-good if not better than you found it! Each campsite has a picnic table & firepit. We lucked out with the previous folks leaving a bunch of kindling for us & the firepit was nice and clean with no garbage in it like I've seen at other campgrounds. I was pleasantly surprised by Ninemile Lake campgrounds! It made me a believer in the goodness of impromptu trips. Overall, I loved the huge pine trees, how quiet & dark it got at night, & folks were pretty friendly. We were the only POC campers though. I'd definitely recommend staying here, as long as you're ok not having showers and flush-toilets. It's pretty rustic but doesn't "roughing it" make it more exciting?! -Says the person with a queen-size air mattress in her tent, wuhaha :)

This place is always on our stopping list when we're up north…read more The falls being easily accessible are also a great place to put your feet in the water and throw rocks. The visitor center is also very nice and well equipped with the extra bonus of ice cream treats!

Because this state park has a rest area, the admission is free. You only need to pay entry if…read moreyou're going to the campground or driving down to the Lakeshore. You can see the Falls and hike the upper areas for free. Friendly staff, small nature, center, restrooms, vending. Ample free parking. The fall cells are pretty cool. It was fairly busy so there were a lot of people around. If you walk to the other side of the highway and hike up there, there are far fewer people.

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.

I enjoyed my stay at the Legendary Waters Resort & Casino. Who doesn't like staying at a casino?…read more There were events and a restaurant on site. I ate at the restaurant multiples and recommended the chicken wrap and the chicken wild rice soup! There are also kayaking spots/tours that you can book right next to the resort and a distillery within walking distance. It is a little outside of Bayfield so be prepared to drive into town.

Although the people at the front desk were very friendly, if my 3 night stay, I asked for the room…read moreto be "made up" ( put knob sin out). It was ignored both days. So I had to go to the front desk to get my coffee refilled, lotion refilled and on the second day I had to bring down the full garbage bags and get new bags and put them in the garbage cans myself. Now I don't really care if the bed is made, and I don't need the towels changed daily, but when you only get 2 coffee pods and there are 2 people in the room it would be nice to have them refilled. The photos on the website are deceiving when it comes to the toiletries, the "standard " toiletries are a body/hair soap dispenser in the shower, no conditioner and a foam hand soup dispenser next to the sink. Casino is very small and not well maintained. Many of the machines were out of service. I was very disappointed in my stay, especially for the price I paid for the room.

We found Apostle Islands Area Campground to be exactly what we were looking for--and maybe even a…read morelittle better than expected. It's conveniently located just outside Bayfield, making it a great home base for exploring Bayfield and the Apostle Islands. When we arrived, Jennifer, one of the owners, gave us a warm welcome and got us checked in quickly. The campsites are terraced along a hillside, so most have nice views. They aren't perfectly level, but a couple of leveling blocks took care of that without any trouble. The bathhouse has five large private bathrooms, all spotless, along with a convenient laundry room. The campground also has a swimming pond, mini-golf, and some of the most creative themed cabins we've seen in our travels. It's obvious Jennifer and Zach have put a lot of hard work into making this a special place. We really enjoyed our stay, and if we're back in the Bayfield area, we'd definitely stay here again. One nice bonus is that Adventure Club Brewing is just a short walk from the campground. Tucked into the back of an outdoor recreation store, it's a small brewery with a fun, welcoming atmosphere and a large outdoor patio that's perfect for relaxing with friends.

Nice folks! Nice restrooms/showers. Very nice campsites! Kids loved the play area and met some new…read morefriends. Wish we could have stayed longer!