Looking for good tenting camp site.

[WTBF]

I have been to Cass, Gull, and Leech camp grounds (all very nice) that are run by the Cor./National Forest, but you were a ways away from the water and couldn't leave boat in. So many places catter to the campers and not tenter. Looking in Northern MN on good fishing lake with a play ground and beach for the kids. Any sugguestions would be great!

[sunnyj]

On the north end of Winny there is a place called Cutfoot Sioux Horse campground. Its a Nat'l forest campground without electric and only vault toilettes. There are six or seven? lakeside sites. They fill up during the weekend but if you try hard you can get one. You can pull your boat up to shore and its on a smaller lake so wind is not as mutch an issue as camping on Winny but you still have access to Winny.

[koochiching]

WTBF,

Let me tell you about two of my favorite tent campgrounds:

1. State Forest Campground at Hay Lake. You turn off Hwy 65 a few miles south of Jacobson. The turnoff is marked. You drive about 4 mi. east on a gravel road that ends at the campground.

About 20 beautiful tent camp sites in a mature pine grove. They supply firewood (first cuts from a local sawmill), you need a bow saw, or something similar, to cut it to length for use in your firepit. Many of these tent sites are right on a bluff about 50 feet higher than the lake, the others are less than 50 yards from the edge of the bluff; you can put your boat in at a very nice launch site, then put-put or row a few hundred yards along the shore, and park your boat in the weeds next to the shore directly below your camp site. There a several marked trails leading up the bluff to your camp site, but you can't see your boat from your camp site.

There's a beautiful swimming beach next to the boat launch site, but nicely screened by trees and rocks. I often see wives there sunning themselves on folding lawn chairs, watching the little kids play in the sand and shallow water, while the old man is out somewhere on the lake fishing...

Primitive sites-- no electric, but a fish-cleaning shack at the launch site, firewood, picnic tables at each site, convenient bear-proof garbage cans at intervals, water from a hand-pumped well, and convenient outhouses cleaned daily... About $10 a night, honor system...

Unfortunately, Hay Lake has everything but great fishing. If you fish hard, you'll catch enough northerns and bass for a meal... maybe. I don't even try... I leave my motor at home, row out to the edge of weeds about 200 feet from shore, and fish for small bluegills. Catch lots of them, just about anytime. Your small kids will love it... older kids will yawn. If you know how to filet small panfish, you'll have enough in a couple of hours fishing, or less, for a nice evening meal.

2. Former primitive state forest campground on Tamarac River at Washkish. The campground lies on the west side of Hwy 72; a beautiful sand beach is just across Hwy 72 on Upper Red Lake. You can launch a large boat into the Tamarac River, in any weather, then run under the Hwy 72 bridge right out into Upper Red Lake.

Two years ago, the state upgraded this campsite into a state park, so you now also need a state park sticker, and I suspect the prices for tent and camper sites have gone up.

Probably have sites with electricity now, also.

Maybe ten sites on the Tamarac River have little docks, where you can park your boat only 20' away from your tent.

This is a great fishing lake... check out the Red Lake forum threads...

If you have older kids who can swim well, the beach is unbelievable. You can walk out 50 yards, or more, beautiful sand... and the waves can be quite large in the right conditions...

But get current information on tentsites and charges from the MN state park information site...

k

[wingnutken]

I agree with the last post on Upper Red,it's called Big Bog State Park and the facilities are awsome but the lake is tough to fish when it gets windy. The crappie fishing is best now to about the third week in june.The lake is only 14' deep and the water tends to smell. I would also check out the corp. of enginers campround on the west side of Big Sandy lake in McGregor. Nice place but it gets full and the campsites by the boat docks are small. The swimming beach gets swimmers itch so I would suggest beaching the boat between the islands on the south end and let the kids play in the shallow sand. The water is bog stained but very clean otherwise. The walleye fishing is fantastic in the summer and they bite very well during the day (because of the dark colored water)troll very slow at the edge of the weeds.Ken

[WTBF]

Thanks for the feedback. I may have to just try big Sandy it's only about 2:15 from home for for a weekend run.