My buddy and I (two teachers) are driving up from Indiana Monday night and are looking for a spot to just throw down our tent at dark and get up by 6am to head to the Sag boat launch. It looks like Trails End Campground is our best option, but $30 for a few hours isn't great.

Can we disperse camp anywhere? Are there better options for just a few hours of sleep? Most cabins are $25-$40 each and its just for a few hours.

Thoughts?

Dispersed camping is allowed in Superior NF outside of the BWCAW.

pleflar: "Dispersed camping is allowed in Superior NF outside of the BWCAW."

The problem along the Gunflint Trail is discerning what is public and what is private. And then finding a way to to get your vehicle off the road to not be a hazard is another issue.

Iron Lake Campground about half way up the trail is a little less money: $24 @ night.
Iron Lake Campground

A little more out of your way is the Temperance River Campground: for $20 @ night. It is a few miles up the Sawbill Trail back near Tofte. Crash there and finish your drive in the morning.
Temperance River Campground

Rockwood Outfitter has bunkhouses.
Tuscarora Outfitter has bunkhouses.
Sea Gull Outfitter has bunkhouses.

I have come to like the bunkhouses for the opportunity to avoid starting with a wet kit if it should rain the night before. It is worth a few bucks to me.

Do you have a spot to get your permit?

That's a good point, Michwall.

I haven't been there, but according to the FS map of Superior NF, the area along the Gunflint around Magnetic Rock looks promising for dispersed camping. There are a couple of trailheads that should have parking space and the land is almost all national forest. It's also not far from Trail's End/Sag. On the other hand, it was in the Ham Lake fire so there isn't much mature forest.

pleflar: "That's a good point, Michwall.


I haven't been there, but according to the FS map of Superior NF, the area along the Gunflint around Magnetic Rock looks promising for dispersed camping. There are a couple of trailheads that should have parking space and the land is almost all national forest. It's also not far from Trail's End/Sag. On the other hand, it was in the Ham Lake fire so there isn't much mature forest."

why will the lack of mature forest matter if you're only setting up for a few hours?

Both the Cross River Access and Round Lake Access (FS 47 and FS 1495) usually have room to throw up a tent. They may very well be posted "No camping", but folks arriving in the middle of the night sleep in their cars and sometimes put up a tent. I would wait until dark to set up a tent and have it down real early to avoid a conflict.

Also put the tent behind your vehicle instead of taking up a parking space if the lot is crowded.

Both sites have pit toilets, though they are often pretty nasty.

If you don’t want to spend the $25 for a bunkhouse then I’d also suggest just sleeping in your car at the EP. Lots of people do it.

Though dispersed camping is allowed and available in the SNF, it’s not comparable to dispersed camping out west.

I seem to remember a sandpit near the Bower Trout entry point that people were camping at.