Does anyone have experience staying at the Sawbill campground? We are thinking of staying there for a week and just doing day trips. We are introducing two new paddelers to the wilderness and want there first experience to be relaxing plus i need a no worries trip. Not going on the best week, July4th, but its the only chance I have to go and will take whatever i get at this point.

How close are the camp sites?
Is there alot of car traffic?
would love to see any pictures of a site.
thanks

It is one of the nicer campgrounds on the BW border. The sites are pretty nice and fairly well wooded and spaced. You will see other sites from your own but it isn't like most state parks.
The only drawbacks are the lack of a beach for kids and no showers (unless you buy one at Sawbill Outfitters). But considering it is a little more remote than most campgrounds, the surroundings are great.

If you want something with showers, a beach, and closer to more potential activities, Fall Lake campground outside of Ely is also pretty nice. The sites are also well spaced and wooded and you have the chance to do more things if the kids get bored.

Right on the lake. Great area, great people, and super area. Be there on June 16th for the night! Going to be a great Father's Day for this cat!

Have stayed at Sawbill 10 -12 times before and after trips. Always enjoyable, beautiful area, well run campground. There will be people, enjoy them.

what everyone else said, plus the Sawbill store - which is right there - has pretty much everything you need without having to take a long drive back to Tofte.

A great place to do exactly what you have in mind. Lots and lots of day trip options there!

A great campground. Perfect for newbie intros, I think. All sites visible from the graveled loops. Only a few of sites easily visible to next door neighbor; some have a screen of shrubbery/undergrowth between sites but none are on top of each other.
Showers cost $5 or $6 (towel $1 extra). Grocery/supply shop that stocks brews too.
Everyone's pleasant, including the dogs. No yahoos. Quiet hours enforced.
Pit toilets kept clean and actually smell good, considering. Toilet paper supplied. Water spigots located at several points.
July: sites 1-24 catch the afternoon breezes best. #5 & #8 are primo sites. #12 & #14 are adjacent with no screening between but both are spacious.
All, but one or two sites accommodate at least two 2 P tents. About half the sites can be reserved online.
There's a pfd of complete layout of numbered sites on Sawbill's web site.
Had someone tap on my camper door one evening to let me know there was a storm w/hi winds expected. Nice, huh?
Car traffic: yes, a modest amount but it's still quiet overall.

I have gone in at Sawbill several times. Don't have any pictures handy, but you can take a look at my Sawbill slideshow. The first few shots were taken at the Sawbill Campground.
Sawbill Slide Show

Driving on the Sawbill Trail



My favorite EP campground!

butthead

quote dicecupmaker: "Right on the lake. Great area, great people, and super area. Be there on June 16th for the night! Going to be a great Father's Day for this cat!"

ghamer,
great video sending it to the girls now.

dicecupmaker,

If you have time pleas snap a few photos of any sites nearest the shore. No kids this year but trying to pack to heavy with the hopes the rest of the party will want to camp on the lake if a site is open. I don't want to portage any gear this year, but plan on taking day trips just to break them in.

thanks

quote ghamer: "I have gone in at Sawbill several times. Don't have any pictures handy, but you can take a look at my Sawbill slideshow. The first few shots were taken at the Sawbill Campground.
Sawbill Slide Show "

wonderful video, thanks!

quote ghamer: "I have gone in at Sawbill several times. Don't have any pictures handy, but you can take a look at my Sawbill slideshow. The first few shots were taken at the Sawbill Campground.
Sawbill Slide Show "

Wow, LOVED that slideshow!

I can't add much to what has been said. Very nice campground. I have stayed there teo times before trips. The campground was full but it was not crowded. As I remember you can't see other campsites.

The sites on the lake have been full most of the time when I got there except for September. But a lot of the lake sites are high up and you have a hike to get down to the lake. I liked the the site right near the canoe landing because you could park your canoe across the street by the canoe storage area and access the lake easily. It is however not as private and is exposed to foot and car traffic.

When I took my oldest daughter on her first trip we did a Sawbill campground basecamp. I reserved site #5 very early in the year. #5 and #8 both sit close to the lake, close to the fresh water,close to the restroom and close to the canoe landing.

We were able to day trip to about 10 different lakes and still have plenty of time to get back to camp for dinner everynight. After about three days of canoeing she began to get a little bored so we drove to Tofte and rented bikes and rode the Gitchigami bike trail and hiked in the Temperance river gorge. Had an ice cream in Grand Marais and a burger at the Gunflint Tavern. This seemed to get her back in the game for more exploring. Came back to Sawbill and shuttled the canoe to a creek about 15 miles from sawbill and bushwhacked up willow creek into Kinogami lake.

My point is that Sawbill Campground is great for new people or getting kids started. It's location gives you a wilderness feel but it's close enough to other things so that you can switch gears and do something else like, bike riding or hiking or climbing if you feel like you need a change of pace for a day or two.

quote butthead: " Driving on the Sawbill Trail





My favorite EP campground!


butthead "

Don't you miss that truck? I sure do!

just do it, it's a great campsite.

Sawbills is a great campground. It's one of many in that area of Voyageurs National Park that are awesome. Crescent Lake is nearby and much less crowded. You can't go wrong with any of them though. Having the outfitter nearby is definitely a plus about Sawbill.

amhacker22
"in that area of Voyageurs National Park"... I think VNP is across the state from Sawbill. Did you mean Superior National Forest?
CB

Sawbill is a nice campground. As noted above most of the lakeside campsites are uphill from the lake. The only site at lake level is site #1 right near the landing. Note that it is a tent only site. You can't pull a camper into the site. You also have the landing traffic to contend with as well as it's the first site on the road in so everyone coming in goes by.