Established campgrounds that welcome vehicle-based travelers, from public campgrounds on the way to somewhere to private camps worth a stay of their own.
We’re working on adding the latest campgrounds in Minnesota here.
In the meantime, BLM campgrounds are already on the public land map, with the fees and stay limits the agency publishes and a link to each one.
Near Tower, St. Louis County, on February 2, 1996. The all-time high is 115 degrees
Camping on public land in Minnesota
Three systems, three sets of rules. On the Superior National Forest most ground outside the Boundary Waters is open to dispersed camping with no permit, with a 14-day limit at fee campgrounds outside long-term sites. The Chippewa has over 60 maintained dispersed sites and 76 designated backcountry sites, all free and none reservable, with developed campgrounds at $14 to $26 a night.
In a state forest, dispersed camping is free but must be at least a mile from any designated campsite or campground, and campground stays are limited to 14 days from the first Saturday in May to the second Sunday in September and 21 days otherwise. Our build of the federal reservation data finds 47 federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach statewide, 42 of which take bookings.
Developed campgrounds have numbered sites, toilets, often water, usually a fee and sometimes reservations. They are the easy night on the way to somewhere.
Dispersed camping means no facilities and no fee. It is allowed on much Bureau of Land Management and National Forest land, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether you can have a fire.
Private campgrounds and ranch stays add showers, laundry and hookups: the reset day in the middle of a long trip.
How to find a good one
The managing agency's own page is the only source for current status.
01Check the agency page for closures, fire restrictions and water before you drive in.
02Check the stay limit. Many public lands use fourteen days within a set period, but it varies by office.
03Check vehicle length limits and the condition of the access road.
04Arrive before dark, and have a second option.
Camp so it stays open
Most closures of dispersed areas follow the same pattern of trash, new fire rings and driving off the track.
01Use sites that already exist rather than making new ones.
02Pack out everything, including human waste where it is required.
03Have fires only where and when they are allowed, and drown them.
04Leave gates as you found them.
Questions people ask
Is dispersed camping legal?
On much BLM and National Forest land, yes, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether fires are allowed. Rules are set by the local office and change with conditions, so check before you go. The public land map shows who manages the ground.
How long can I stay?
Many public lands use a 14-day limit within a set period, but it varies by office and by area. The campground details on the public land map show the stay limit the BLM publishes for each site.
Do I need a reservation?
For popular developed campgrounds in season, often. Many public campgrounds are first come, first served. Recreation.gov handles reservations for most federal campgrounds that take them.
How high is Minnesota?
From Grand Marais at 612 feet to Eagle Mountain at 2,301.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
VirginiaOn US 53 in the middle of the Iron Range. The DNR directs drivers to the Iron Range OHV State Recreation Area from Gilbert, east of here on Highway 135.1,439 ft
ElyKawishiwi Ranger District office on Highway 1, which the Forest Service calls the Voyageurs Highway. County 116 out of town is the Echo Trail, for which no agency publishes a length or a season.1,432 ft
BemidjiWhere US 2 meets US 71 at the top of the Mississippi headwaters country. The nearest full-service town to the western Chippewa and the Beltrami Island country north of it.1,367 ft
Cass LakeChippewa National Forest supervisor’s office, on US 2 between the big lakes. The Ladyslipper Scenic Byway runs north from US 2 to Blackduck.1,337 ft
FinlandInland on Highway 1 above Silver Bay, in the Finland State Forest, which carries more than one motor vehicle classification. The state’s record single-storm snowfall fell near here.1,330 ft
WalkerChippewa district office on Leech Lake, at the eastern end of the Lake Country Scenic Byway and the start of the run south toward the Woodtick Trail.1,317 ft
OrrOn US 53 between Virginia and International Falls. The Park Service lists Orr and Pelican Lake among the access points for Voyageurs.1,304 ft
Grand RapidsSouth end of the Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway, 47 miles up Highway 38 to Bigfork, and the eastern gateway to the Chippewa National Forest.1,289 ft
Crane LakeOne of the five access areas the Park Service names for Voyageurs, at the end of the road east of US 53.1,127 ft
International FallsBorder crossing on Rainy Lake, and the address of Voyageurs National Park headquarters on Highway 11. The winter ice road begins at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.1,120 ft
Silver BayLake Superior end of the Superior National Forest Scenic Byway, Forest Highway 11, which runs inland to Aurora.764 ft
DuluthWhere I-35 meets Lake Superior and Highway 61 starts north. The Superior National Forest supervisor’s office is here, and so is the last full range of services before the Arrowhead.701 ft
Two HarborsOn Highway 61 between Duluth and Silver Bay, the first town of any size on the North Shore Scenic Drive.673 ft
Grand PortageNorth end of Highway 61 at the Canadian border, beside Grand Portage National Monument. The state’s deepest recorded snow and its snowiest season both happened near here.633 ft
TofteTofte Ranger District office, on Highway 61 below the Sawtooth range. The district’s Sawbill, Temperance River and Crescent campgrounds lie inland from here.628 ft
Grand MaraisGunflint Ranger District office and the south end of the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway. Last real resupply before 57 miles of byway to the end of the road.612 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Eagle MountainThe highest point in Minnesota, inside the Boundary Waters wilderness. No road reaches it, and our own 3DEP query at the USGS name point reads 2,288 feet2,301 ft
Moose MountainSawtooth range above Lake Superior in Cook County. Our own measurement of the 3DEP surface at the USGS name point; no agency publishes a figure1,689 ft
Carlton PeakAbove Tofte, the most prominent rise on this stretch of the North Shore. Our own 3DEP measurement at the USGS name point1,509 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
