State park campgrounds, municipal sites, backcountry camps and furnished glamping
Camping is how a lot of people first see Minnesota’s North Shore, and the choice runs from a full-hookup RV site on the Lake Superior shoreline to a free backcountry tent pad on the ridge. Five state parks between Two Harbors and Lutsen have campgrounds, two towns run their own lakeside campgrounds, the Superior Hiking Trail maintains backcountry sites the whole length of the shore, and North Shore Camping Co. in Beaver Bay does the furnished version where the tent and beds are set up before you arrive.
Two planning facts matter more than any other. State park campsites are reservable up to 120 days ahead at mndnr.gov/reservations or 866-857-2757, and summer weekends and the first three weeks of October are gone the day they open. Every state park also requires a vehicle permit on top of the site fee, sold at the park or online.
North Shore Camping Co. is the property we feature here — furnished walk-in tent sites on the ridge above Beaver Bay, halfway between Split Rock Lighthouse and Tettegouche, with Cove Point Lodge directly below it on the shoreline if the forecast turns. Superior Shores Resort and The Harbors in Two Harbors put you nearest Gooseberry and the Burlington Bay campground, and Ours Resort in Lutsen is ten minutes from Cascade River.
North Shore Camping Co. sits on 195 acres of ridge above Lake Superior with around 30 walk-in glamping sites: a canvas tält, a real bed with bedding, lighting and cookware, and your gear driven to the site by ATV at check-in. King, two-queen and four-twin bunk tents, a base lodge with restrooms and showers, dog friendly, and a winter camping season for anyone who wants the cold version. Split Rock Wilds and the Superior Hiking Trail start over the hill.
The most visited campground on the shore, a short walk from the falls and the Gitchi-Gami trailhead, with drive-in sites in birch and a group camp. Central location makes it the easiest base for the lower shore — and the hardest reservation to get on a July weekend.
Two very different options in one park: the Shipwreck Creek campground inland with drive-in electric sites, and 20 rustic cart-in sites strung between Lake Superior and Day Hill for tent campers who want the water without the RVs. Four backpack and kayak sites too.
The Baptism River drive-in campground has electric on about half its sites, plus a cart-in campground for a quieter night. Tettegouche also rents the Illgen Falls Cabin above its own waterfall and four rustic walk-in cabins at Tettegouche Camp — a 1.7-mile steep or 3.5-mile gentler hike in, no carts.
Upper and Lower campgrounds along the river and the lakeshore, roughly 60 single-family sites including about 18 electric and 6 cart-in. The gorge trail leaves straight from camp, which makes this the best site-to-waterfall walk of the five parks.
A year-round campground of about 40 sites, roughly half with electric, plus five hike-in backpack sites and two group camps. Small, wooded, close to Lutsen, and it fills fast through color season.
The city campground on the pebble beach at the north end of town — well over a hundred sites, most with water, electric and sewer, plus primitive tent sites, a dump station and a shoreline walking trail into downtown. Open roughly mid-May through mid-October and the most RV-friendly camping on the lower shore.
Forty-nine sites on 14.5 acres beside the taconite-black sand beach, with electric, full-hookup and pull-through options. Sites are in the woods rather than on the water, but the beach and Tettegouche are both minutes away.
The SHTA maintains roughly 94 backcountry campsites along the 310-mile trail, each with a fire ring and a tent pad or two. No fees, no permits and no reservations — first come, first served, and you share. Pack water treatment; most sites sit near a creek that runs low by August.
Inland from Highway 61, the forest has small rustic campgrounds on quiet lakes — vault toilets, hand pumps, a handful of sites each, and almost never full. The trade is no showers and a gravel-road drive in.
Reservations open 120 days out and the good weekends go in minutes. Bug season peaks in June, July and August are warm and busy, and September into the first half of October is the best camping of the year — cool nights, no mosquitoes, and color. Nights on the lake run 15–20 degrees cooler than the Twin Cities, so bring a real sleeping bag.
This is Lake Superior: a forecast can turn into three days of cold drizzle. Furnished sites at North Shore Camping Co. hold up better than a nylon tent, and Cove Point Lodge is directly below it if you decide you want a fireplace and a roof instead. Both are worth knowing about before you drive five hours.
Five state parks between Two Harbors and Lutsen have campgrounds — Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse, Tettegouche, Temperance River and Cascade River. Two Harbors and Silver Bay each run a municipal campground on Lake Superior, the Superior Hiking Trail has about 94 free backcountry sites, and North Shore Camping Co. in Beaver Bay offers furnished walk-in glamping tent sites.
Minnesota state park sites can be reserved up to 120 days before arrival, and popular parks sell out for summer weekends and early-October color the day they become bookable. Book the moment your window opens, or plan a weekday trip.
North Shore Camping Co. above Beaver Bay sets up a canvas tält with a real bed, bedding and lighting before you arrive, delivers your gear to the site by ATV, and provides restrooms, showers and cookware. You get the campfire and the woods without packing a tent or setting up in the dark.
Yes. Cascade River State Park keeps its campground open year-round, North Shore Camping Co. runs a winter camping season with furnished sites, and the frozen waterfalls and groomed ski trails are the reason to go. Expect single digits at night and pack accordingly.
You need a vehicle permit for the park in addition to your camping fee, available at the park office or online. Superior Hiking Trail backcountry campsites require no permit and charge no fee.
