North Shore Minnesota end of July

[MoRookie]

We are looking at going to the North Shore of Minnesota last week in July. We have a 30ft travel trailer. I see a lot of the campgrounds do not have electricity just wondering if they allow generators in there state parks. Or if we will even need air conditioning at night. Any campground ideas would be great. Thinking about staying at Jay Cooke state park the first night then working our way up. We are from Kansas City travelling with two kids ages 12 and 15 and a dog. Looking at maybe doing the waterfall loop. We like bike riding, hiking, fishing and kayaking. Any help would be great. We have waited almost to late to book I see a lot of the parks are already full. But if we can stay with out electric I think we will be ok. Also we do have a generator. Maybe you have some ideas on Rv parks not just the state parks. Thanks!!

[troy_t]

We have a cabin up the shore just up Hwy 1 from the lake so we spend a lot of time up there every summer. A couple more spots to stay would be the Finland state forest campground in Finland, its right on the river and is just up from Eckbeck. There's also a nice campground in Grand Maria's, never stayed there but looks OK. Definitely spend some time on the superior hiking trail, it's got some great sections to hike. Tettagouche state park has some great hikes, be sure to go up to High Falls and out to shovel point. Just up hwy 1 is Illgen falls, a great spot to go cliff jumping. It's real unlikely you'll need a/c while you are up there. If you have any questions just ask, we know the whole shore pretty well.

[MoRookie]

Thanks for all of your alla help we have Jay Cooke booked for one night Lamb resort booked for four nights. Now trying to get two more nights maybe at Gooseberry or Burlington bay. Looking into booking a fishing charter in the area if anyone has any ideas.

[John_Burke]

North Shore is in my top 5 places to go. With a tent you can go anywhere. With a 30 foot you are limited.
We like to stay in Burlington Bay campground in Two Harbors. You can get full hook-ups or just electric. If you stay here make reservations soon, they are full most of the time. I would recommend getting a site with full hook-ups, site 74-85 are good. The north end 92-102 are all good. They have 3 sections in the main campground. The first one,1-66, gets tight. We have stayed in that part with a 29 ft. before. Some sites are good some are quite small. The next two to the north are good, the ones on the outside of the curve have the most room and best views. The ends are tighter and more in the trees.
They also have what they call the annex. It is across the street and only about 3 years old. It has nice views of the lake but no trees. It is not bad but we like the main campground better.
The worst thing about the campground is the traffic noise, you are along side the highway. REALLY busy during the day, not bad at night. But most campgrounds along the shore are close to the highway.
Staying in Two Harbors is a good choice with a longer trailer. It is at the end of the 4 lane highway, easy to get to, several good eating places in town. Plenty of gas stations and a grocery store.
It is fairly centrally located for North Shore sightseeing. Farther drive to the northern area, but easy drive.
You are about 30 miles from Duluth and 80 miles from Grand Maris. One day trip to Duluth and a couple of day trips north to the state parks. The state parks in that area are well worth the stops. Gooseberry and Split Rock are musts. Palisade's Head and the states highest waterfall are as well.
When going out for the day we leave by about 8 in the morning and get back to the camper by about 4-4:30. That way we miss the heavier traffic. In the summer there are a LOT of tourists and going earlier you miss most of them.

[MinnCamper]

Some good information above. With a 30 foot camper you will be limited in some of the state parks. Jay Cooke is a great park, but they only have a few sites that fit a 30 foot camper and unfortunately driving through the campground there are alot of trees and it's narrow so you need to be careful. That being said, if you can get in the front area it's a wonderful park.

It's rare that you need air conditioning along the north shore in the summer, but last summer there was an unusual heat wave which lasted almost 2 weeks and temps were in the 90's (which is very hot for the north shore). This also brought many black flies.

Our favorite park along the north shore is Temperance River as the sites are far apart, there is a ton of hiking to do in the area as well as a few places to eat, and for kids access to Lutsen where you could take the gondola up the mountain and ride the slide. Lambs resort is just down the road from Temperance and would be a good alternative to this area.

With kids try to get up to Grand Portage. They have a great old fort that is very interactive and interesting and there is also a short boardwalk that will take you to the highest waterfall in Minnesota.

[rexlion]

When unhooked, be sure you drive to Palisade Head for a high view of the lake (about 200' straight down) and maybe see some climbers rappelling the cliff.

Most of the campsites at Eckbeck tend to be small; not sure if you'd find one big enough there, but it's possible. Nice place with good location for sightseeing.

Some of the NF CGs are down lengthy gravel roads, but the ones along the Gunflint Trail are not far off the pavement.

[Tom_Trostel]

Do not miss Split Rock Lighthouse.

[dewey02]

Hi Mo Rookie:
There are 8 State Parks on the North Shore and that doesn't count your first planned stop, which is Jay Cooke (it is on the St. Louis River that dumps into St. Louis Bay that flows into Lake Superior).

The State Parks allow generator use from 8AM to 10PM, with a caveat - "as long as there are no complaints." So if you have a really noisy generator or if you have a curmudgeon for a camping neighbor and he complains, you may be told to turn it off by park staff.

Having said that, most DNR parks up the shore fill up very quickly. And this year EVERY site is reservable. They used to have some first come/first served sites, but that is no longer true.

However, as Bob806 has said, there are several other campgrounds up the shore.

• Burlington Bay, Two Harbors: Newly remodeled and expanded. Right on the Lake and 12 miles from Gooseberry SP and 18 miles from Split Rock SP
• Black Beach, Silver Bay: New campground, not a lot of amenities, but right on the lake and adjacent to North Shore Mining processing plant (might not be opened yet)
• Eckbeck Campground, Finland: A primitive State Forest Campground but just a couple minutes from Tettegouche SP
• Lamb's Resort, Schroeder: As Bob mentioned, a nice privately owned campground and Skip Lamb is a great guy. Nice Cross River waterfall and Temperance River SP nearby
• Grand Marais Campground, Grand Marais: Again, right on the Lake, pretty busy and crowded, but close to Cascade River SP
• National Forest Campgrounds: There are several NF primitive campgrounds that are several miles away from Lake Superior. Almost all are on smaller lakes that offer boating and fishing. You can access info on these at this link:Superior NF Campgrounds brochure
• Grand Portage Casino, Grand Portage: Has an RV park at their casino.

Also, visit the website of the North Shore Visitor which has campgrounds and great information about where to go and what to see on the north shore.
Other attractions in addition to the 8 state parks:

• North Shore Scenic Drive NationalScenic Byway (HWY 61)
• Superior National Forest (Ranger Stations in Tofte and Grand Marais)
• Grand Portage National Monument (National Park Service)
• Grand Portage Indian Reservation
• Gitchi Gummi state bike trail(paved)
• Superior Hiking Trail (on the ridge overlooking the lake and runs from Duluth to Canada)
• Gunflint Trail National Scenic Byway
• Superior National Forest State Scenic Byway

We have camped throughout northern Minnesota for years and have used our air conditioning only a few times, but we don't really mind warmer sleeping. If you are adjacent to Lake Superior, you will likely not need it at all. If you are inland, it can sometimes get hot during the day but normally cools off enough for the night. Only a couple days per year are really warm during the night, and those come usually in late July and August.

Have fun!

[Bob806]

We went up MN 61 last summer, and it's very scenic. We were too late for the SPs also, and lucked out by staying at Lamb's Resort near Schroeder. Nice, quiet place there, and we were able to use it as a base camp to visit the SPs on the shore (most were within an hour's drive, Gunflint Trail was farther out however). If they have room, you won't be disappointed staying there.