A free Chippewa National Forest campground two miles northwest of Wirt, with drive-in sites among birch and white pine and carry-in access to Noma Lake.
Noma Lake Campground is a Chippewa National Forest campground two miles northwest of Wirt on County Road 31, south of the Koochiching County line in Itasca County and an easy drive from International Falls. The sites are drive-in, on short gravel spurs a few steps off the road. The Forest Service now lists it as a backcountry site, which here means no fee, no reservations and no services rather than a hike in; there is a vault toilet.
The sites sit in a stand of paper birch and white pine, each with a picnic table and a steel fire ring... Read more
Arden Island (R4) is a boat-in tent campsite on a small Rainy Lake island in Voyageurs National Park.
Arden Island is a boat-in campsite — site R4 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park. The small island site is reached only by water; a floating dock serves as the boat landing, and a brown Park Service marker, a picnic table, and a bear-proof food locker sit in the clearing above the rock.
Like the park’s other small frontcountry campsites, it holds up to nine people and comes with tent pads, a fire ring, a picnic table, bear-proof food lockers, and a vault privy. Campfires and pets are allowed. An overnight stay requires a reservation and printed permit... Read more
The Black Bay Beaver Pond Trail is a 1.2-mile boat-in hiking trail in Voyageurs National Park, reached by water a mile from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.
The Black Bay Beaver Pond Trail is a boat-in hiking trail in Voyageurs National Park, reached by boating about a mile from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center to a day-use dock on Black Bay of Rainy Lake. A brown Park Service trailhead sign marks the landing, where there is also a vault toilet; pets are not allowed on the trail.
The narrow dirt path runs 1.2 miles round trip — rated moderate, about 30 to 60 minutes — through northern pines and hardwoods and across rock ridges, with a few short, steep climbs and descents over rock and roots. It... Read more
Cranberry Bay (R48) is a designated houseboat mooring site on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park.
Cranberry Bay is a designated houseboat site — site R48 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, marked by a brown Park Service post on a low bedrock point with a metal fire ring on the rock. The Park Service’s own waypoint list records it as an R48 houseboat site, and mooring posts or rings secure boats to the shore.
Voyageurs is one of the few national parks that welcomes houseboats, and its designated houseboat sites offer a beach or rock landing, a fire ring, and moorings. Overnight houseboat stays run May 1 through October 31 and require a... Read more
Alder Creek (R1) is a boat-in tent campsite on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, 7.6 miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.
Alder Creek is a boat-in campsite — site R1 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, about 7.6 miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. It is a small, watercraft-only site for up to nine people on the lake’s bedrock shore.
The site is equipped with two tent pads, a picnic table, a fire ring, two bear-proof food lockers, and an outdoor vault privy. Campfires and pets are allowed; check-in is 3:00 p.m. and check-out is noon. As at all of the park’s frontcountry campsites, an overnight stay requires a reservation and printed permit through Recreation.gov.
Jack Pine Bench (R55) is a boat-in tent campsite on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, eight miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.
Jack Pine Bench is a boat-in campsite — site R55 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, about eight miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. The site has rock access to the water and a brown Park Service marker reading ‘Jack Pine Bench R55’ on the lichen-covered bedrock.
It is a small site for up to nine people, with two 14-foot tent pads, two bear-proof food lockers, a picnic table, a metal fire ring with a cooking grate, and an outdoor vault privy. Campfires and pets are allowed. Every frontcountry site in the park is boat-in... Read more
Dove Bay West (R111) is a boat-in tent campsite on the wooded shore of Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park.
Dove Bay West is a boat-in campsite — site R111 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park. It is a small, watercraft-only site for one to nine people, set on the lake’s wooded shore with a seasonal floating dock that is in place through the summer (it may be off before June 1 or after October 1).
The site is equipped with two 14-foot tent pads, two bear-proof food lockers, a picnic table, a fire ring, and a vault privy. Campfires and pets are permitted. Reservations and a printed permit through Recreation.gov are required for every overnight stay, as... Read more
Dryweed Island (R11) is a boat-in tent campsite on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, three miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.
Dryweed Island is a boat-in campsite — site R11 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, about three miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. Boaters tie up at an 8-by-20-foot crib dock with a floating section; the Park Service marker on shore reads ‘Dryweed Island.’
The small site holds up to nine people and comes with two tent pads, two bear-proof food lockers, a picnic table, a fire ring, and an outdoor vault privy. Campfires and pets are allowed. A separate site, Dryweed Island North (R73), sits farther up the same island with sand access and... Read more
Channel View (R100) is a boat-in tent campsite on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, 2.2 miles by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.
Channel View is a boat-in campsite — designated site R100 — on Rainy Lake in Voyageurs National Park, a short 2.2-mile run by water from the Rainy Lake Visitor Center east of International Falls. The brown Park Service marker on the rock reads ‘Channel View R100,’ and a new timber dock and stone steps lead up to a red-pine bench above the water.
It is a small site, set up for up to nine people, with two 14-foot tent pads, two bear-proof food lockers, a picnic table, a metal fire ring with a cooking grate, and a vault privy. Like... Read more
Bass Lake County Park and Campground is a 663-acre Itasca County park with 43 campsites, four lakes, a swimming beach, and miles of multi-use trails between Effie and Togo.
Bass Lake County Park and Campground encompasses 663 acres of red and white pine, spruce, aspen, and cedar off State Aid Highway 1, eleven miles east of Effie and eleven miles west of Togo. Managed by the Itasca County Land Department, the park was purchased by the county in 1984 from the Boise Cascade Corporation with the help of a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. Four lakes lie within its borders: Bass and Duck each have a county boat ramp, Erskine is a carry-in trout lake stocked with rainbow trout and splake, and Sucker rounds out the set.... Read more
Togo Horse Camp is a DNR equestrian campground in George Washington State Forest with 12 pull-through campsites, picket lines, and 19 miles of signed trails.
Togo Horse Camp is one of two horse campgrounds in George Washington State Forest, tucked into the red pines off County Road 551 near Togo. The camp offers 12 primitive equestrian campsites — a cleared area, fire ring, and picnic table at each — with pull-through parking, picket lines at every site, manure bunkers, and an accessible horse loading ramp. Portable corrals and electric fences are welcome, as long as they don’t encircle trees.
Two accessible vault toilets, garbage dumpsters, and drinking water serve the camp, and the well can be pumped by hand or by hooking up your own... Read more
Thistledew Lake Campground is a DNR state-forest campground with 21 drive-in campsites, a swimming beach, and first-rate walleye fishing on a clear 326-acre lake near Togo.
Thistledew Lake Campground sits on the shore of its namesake lake in George Washington State Forest, about five miles southwest of Togo off County Road 551. The forest — created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1931 to mark the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth — spreads across 320,534 acres of northeastern Itasca County, and Thistledew is one of its eight campgrounds and one of just three with a swimming beach and picnic day-use area (Owen Lake and Bear Lake are the others).
The campground offers 21 drive-in campsites, two of them accessible, in the classic primitive state-forest style:... Read more
Boy Scout Point is Northome's lakeside park on Bartlett Lake, with a picnic pavilion, a T-shaped fishing pier, and a swimming beach (no lifeguard).
Boy Scout Point is Northome’s lakeside park on Bartlett Lake, with a timber picnic pavilion, a railed T-shaped fishing pier built by the City of Northome and the Minnesota DNR, and a swimming beach (no lifeguard on duty).
An accessible T-shaped fishing pier on Dark Lake near Gemmell, built by Koochiching County Land and Forestry, with a paved ramp and picnic spot.
An accessible T-shaped fishing pier on Dark Lake near Gemmell, built by Koochiching County Land and Forestry with the Northome VFW and Gemmell Lakes Association, with a paved ramp and shoreline picnic spot.
Little Vermilion Lake sits in the southeastern Crane Lake area, connecting to the interconnecting Voyageur waterway near Crane and Sand Point lakes.
Little Vermilion Lake sits in the southeastern corner of the Voyageurs and Crane Lake area. It connects to the interconnecting Voyageur waterway near Crane Lake and Sand Point Lake, placing it within reach of the broader system of waters this guide covers.
For paddlers especially, the area offers a way to explore the quieter edges of the region’s waterways.
Before heading out,... Read more
The Battle Lake Recreation Area near Northome offers county-managed non-motorized trails for skiing, hiking, and hunter walking, plus a picnic area and sledding hill.
In the southern reaches of Koochiching County, near the small community of Northome, the Battle Lake Recreation Area gives locals and visitors a place to stretch their legs across the seasons. While the name points to the water, the area is best known for the trail complex that surrounds it.
Managed by Koochiching County Land and Forestry, the recreation area is built... Read more
Managed hiking and ski trail complex near Northome, Minnesota. Features hunter walking trails, ski trails, picnic shelters, and a sledding hill. Run by Koochiching County Land and Forestry.
Battle Lake Recreation Area is a trail complex near Northome in southern Koochiching County, managed by Koochiching County Land and Forestry. The area features skiing, hiking, and hunter walking trails. No motorized vehicles are allowed.
Amenities at the trailhead include a picnic area with tables and a sledding hill with sleds stored on site. Some trail sections are only accessible in winter on skis. The hiking trails wind through mixed birch and aspen forest with some steep hills. The trail system leads out to Battle Lake, a marshy basin that attracts waterfowl in spring and fall.
Municipal campground on the Big Fork River in Big Falls, Minnesota. Home to Grand Falls, a set of powerful rapids viewable from the campground grounds.
Big Falls Municipal Campground sits on the Big Fork River in the town of Big Falls, about 39 miles south of International Falls on Highway 71. The campground is home to Grand Falls, a set of powerful rapids on the Big Fork River.
The rapids are viewable directly from the campground grounds. A wide, flat rock shelf above the water provides easy access to the viewing area without a hike. Parking is ample. The rapids are especially impressive in spring when water levels are high from snowmelt and rain.
The Lakeview Resort is a family-owned resort on Rainy Lake in the village of Ranier, three miles east of International Falls, with cabins and RV sites.
Nestled along the serene shores of Rainy Lake, The Lakeview Resort offers a quality Minnesota retreat in the charming village of Ranier. Just three miles east of International Falls, this family-owned resort provides guests with an authentic Northwoods experience, combining rustic charm with modern comforts.
Accommodations
The Lakeview Resort features a variety of lodging options to suit different preferences. Guests can choose from cozy cabins that provide a rustic ambiance or opt for RV sites equipped with essential amenities for a comfortable stay. Each accommodation is designed to offer stunning views of Rainy Lake, allowing guests to immerse themselves in... Read more
Make a splash at Ranier Beach!
Ranier Beach provides a peaceful setting along the shores of Rainy Lake. This public beach offers a simple and enjoyable space for locals and visitors to relax and take in the natural surroundings. Some parts of downtown Ranier are visible from the beach as well. The beach also offers serval benches to sit at and enjoy the views.
Ranier Beach provides activities for individuals and families of all ages. Swimming is popular during the summer months, and the beach area is well-suited for sunbathing and casual picnics. The lake also... Read more
