First let me start by clarifying a bit: The 1-star rating is only because of our bad experience with one certain individual and not indicative of the rest of the campground as they are terrific and a recommended outfitter in the BWCA.
That being said, we just finished a weekend up at Sawbill, our second annual stay and one member of our groups family spots for many, many years. Last year was a superb experience in all facets of our stay: canoeing, camping, celebrating being outdoors with great friends and basking in a beautiful Minnesota summer together. We stayed in campground 27/28 last year and were not bothered whatsoever to be quiet, that we were bothering anyone else, etc. Unfortunately, that was last year.
This year was a far different experience. From the moment we got there (and I'm being serious; It was 10-15 minutes after we parked at our campsite), the campground 'host' was hostile and extremely rude to us about being sure to pay for our site, even though the sign at the entrance clearly states pay within 1 hour of setting up your site. We'll just refer to this campground host as 'Jim', just for conversations' sake. Later on that evening, at 10:05 (quiet hours are 10pm-6am) Jim paid us another visit just as hostile as the earlier ones to tell us to be quiet and that he'd received 3 complaints from other campsites about us, which to be honest, is a pretty remarkable feat in the 5 minutes since quiet hours started. 10 minutes later, he comes back even more hostile than before, this time he greets us with a threat to kick us out of the county (yes, COUNTY) if we didn't quiet down. This is now 4 total visits within 4 hours time. Not acceptable. We were sitting around a fire talking, enjoying drinks, and laughing. LIKE EVERYONE DOES WHILE CAMPING. We are all around 30 years old and definitely not 'partying' any longer like we would in our younger days. Our voices may have been carrying a bit, but so what? There are many other campsites currently doing the same exact thing.
This experience caused us to switch one of our campsites the next day to the complete opposite side of where Jim was located. Did it help? Of course not. This is when we knew this guy truly had it out for us. Two nights later, we get another visit at 10:05. This is as we are CLEARLY packing up one campsite, putting out the fire, etc. Another unnecessary and unwarranted threat, this time with the phrase 'don't ever bring a group like this back here again'. We then moved to our second campsite across the campground to be in peace and enjoy our last night of our trip. Our reward for not starting a complete fuss and being combative with Jim? A visit from two Sheriffs an hour or so later from Grand Marais, a 40 minute drive each way along dirt roads. Luckily the Sheriffs were much nicer and understanding that the man who called them, probably because they were greeted by 3 pleasant individuals sitting by a fire (the rest of us had gone to bed). I bet they were at least a little upset that the were beckoned late at night and had to spend an hour and half driving for absolutely nothing, but they were great to us. Police officers should only be called in the most extreme of cases and only when necessary. This was absolutely not one of those times. He should be truly ashamed.
To close, this man single-handedly ruined our weekend and our experience. We will not be coming back to this campground/outfitters again. When detailing our experience to the head staff the next day, we were told 'since he is a middle school assistant principal, he speaks to everyone as if they are a 13 years old.' That is a serious character flaw and as good of a reason as any as to why he shouldn't be your campground 'host'. He accomplished the complete opposite of what a host should be. He should have the temperament to deal with adults and handle things in calm manner. We're all there for the same reasons I stated earlier: to have fun, enjoy the summer, and be amongst friends and family. Adults realize that. Jim did not. read more