I have permit for North Fowl Lake July 7 looking for info on the McFarland Lake Campground
I know it’s first come camping but can’t find how many sites or how busy it gets just looking for a site for the Sunday night before we go in country
Any information would be appreciated
Thanks
Dean

It is a very small campground. Only 5 sites. We were there the last weekend in September 2024. It was full when we arrived late in the day. We ended up dispersed camping a mile or two back up the trail along what looked like a logging road. We got up the next morning and a couple sites were open. We used a campsite to grab some breakfast, double checked our gear, use a restroom, etc. Then parked in the lot and left. It looked full when we returned a week later at the end of our trip, too.

McFarland Lake Campground

As I was looking at the info for the campground, it looks like this may be a Minnesota State Forest and not a National Forest. Dispersed camping is legal on Minnesota State Forest Lands, but you need to know the rules.

Minnesota State Forest Dispersed Camping Info

Thank you

There are two more state forest campgrounds comparable to McFarland pretty nearby. We stayed at both Esther Lake campground and Devilfish Lake campground last year. There are some nice sites at both and a few marginal ones but for one night it shouldn't matter much. I got the feeling they were less popular than McFarland.



Here's a link to that state forest page, same forest as McFarland.



Grand Portage State Forest

I was there early August last year and all sites were open.