Upper Midwest truck camping

[shiltsy1]

Looking for some spots off the beaten path to take my TC and possibly fishing boat this spring/summer. I know of some rustic sites in the Superior National Forest which would be cool. Would also love to find something that requires some light off-roading and has spots on the water to camp.

Thanks for any suggestions! I'm in the Twin Cities and wanted to find some spots within 200-300 miles.

Hopefully I can talk my daughter into a trip out west before long.

[Sue_Bee]

When you say "off roading", are you talking about ATV/ dirt bike riding, or taking a jeep or truck off road?

If you want to ride ATVs, The Dead Horse Run trail which has a trailhead in Clam Lake is a lot of fun, may be a bit challenging for novices. You can camp at Day Lake Campground and ride directly to the trail. It is rustic, no hookups.

Park Falls Wi or Phillips Wi offers the Flambeau Trail and the Tuscobia Trail and Sailor Lake Campground or several other campgrounds, some on the water with direct trail access.

If you are talking about taking a jeep or similar, I don't know of anything "off road", per se, but a lot of the fire roads in the Chequamegon NF are really little more than dirt tracks, some with dirt track logging roads leading off into the forest that you can explore if you are adventurous.



Black Lake campground, google map here is off the beaten path, about 25 years ago my husband and I saw a cougar up here. Lots of logging roads in this area.

[Eric_Lisa]

Gull Point State Park in NW Iowa:



On the shores of Lake Okoboji:





Not so much off-roading & rustic, but definitely fits the fishing requirement. And if you are taking the kids it is definitely the cool summertime hang out.

[Jamm3r]

Great thread

Well technically you can't go off-road in the state/national forests in MN any more and technically you can't block a roadway. So I guess the only way you can legally camp is at the end of a spur. Since most of the spurs have been closed to vehicles it is now incredibly difficult to find a fully compliant place to spend the night that isn't a full-on campground.

Pretty much all of the parking areas in WMAs and near county lands have been posted no camping.

The two things I would suggest:

1) As noted upthread the non-electric parts of state park campgrounds are ideal for truck camping. These are usually smaller, quieter, more widely spaced sites with no electric. Also true of the newer county campgrounds around the metro e.g. Lebanon Hills (Apple Valley) and Bunker Hills (Coon Rapids). The overflow campgrounds that are nonelectric only are particularly good, like Carley State Park.

2) There are some smaller county/municipal campgrounds with no services that are typically remote and quiet. No water or electric or dump station. Little American Falls is one of my favorites. These don't appear in directories so you have to check the county maps/websites or ask around.

[campn4walleye]

There are some awesome CGs (very rustic) in the Washburn area in the Chequamegon national forest. There is one called Birch Grove CG. The sites are large and can easily take a TC. It stretches between east and west Twin lakes. We stumbled upon it while doing some exploring.

You may also ask this on the RV parks, Nat parks and state parks forum.

Not too sure about the off-roading part, but people do use ATVs at times. You might want to check the WI regs. The DNR is pretty picky about our pristine waters and forests. The beauty and serenity will make the trip worth it.

[Shiltsy]

I can definitely confirm the Chequamegon. There are some nice rustic sites with lake access (via walking trail). The sites are secluded and never waterfront, but pretty cool area.

I have never in my life seen mosquitos as bad as last time I was there. They would literally swarm and attack if you left your camper without bug spray!

[kknowlton]

Friends of ours, tent campers, always swore by the Chequamegon (sp?) NF in north central Wisconsin. I would guess some sites there would be amenable to TCs. Some nice SPs in that area too - not exactly off the beaten path but still woodsy & pretty.

[travelnutz]

The U.P. of Michigan has thousands of miles of offroad trails and backcountry 2 tracks that you can even get your TC on your truck down. Some will require taking the TC off too as the trees are to close together or too low if that interests you. Many are marked trails/roads and unimproved but have bridges over the streams and you also can buy a Michigan Gazette by DeLorme for detail so you don't get lost hopefully. We have them for most of the lower 48 states and Alaska too. Be sure to take a good compass and a GPS too. Some back roads and 2 tracks are over 50 miles long and cross many others along the way. It's almost like a maze of way to go. Gobs of CG's all over the UP right at the offroading expanses too.

[MN_Ben]

The OHV park in Gilbert is some off road fun. You cannot camp inside the trails but you can drive from the CG to the park. ( think Jeep country) I think there is a lake there as well but I am not sure.
I liked Frontenac State Park. Park the camper back in the tent areas where it is quiet. Walk the trails down to the river.
I guess I a manly a State Park camper as there are many more activities than the county and private CGs.
Ben
Oh, go down to Mystery Cave State Park and get lost on the winding back roads of Fillmore county. Fun times when I was a kid.