Tent Camping near Ely, Minnesota

Pine Mountain Campground

4 Tent Sites

Pine Mountain Campground on Devil Track Lake, ten minutes east of Grand Marais, Minnesota, offers lakeside tent and RV sites with water hookups, a dump station, a marina, and a fishing pier on Cook County's North Shore. Fire pits and picnic tables sit at the sites, with swimming and boating directly from the lake. Back-in sites carry water hookups with fire pits and picnic tables. This is a modest, lake-focused campground rather than a full-service resort — there are no sewer hookups, and a dump station serves RV guests. Restrooms are on site. Guests should arrive prepared for simpler infrastructure than a commercial park offers, which is much of the point here. Pets are welcome. The lake carries everything. A marina and fishing pier give direct access to Devil Track Lake for boating and fishing, with swimming from the shoreline. The setting is the amenity — quiet water ten minutes off the North Shore's main corridor. The surrounding geography is exceptional. Grand Marais sits on Lake Superior, where the Sawtooth Mountains' basalt ridges descend to the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness begins its million-acre lake-and-portage interior nearby, and the Gunflint Trail's 57-mile corridor reaches into the most remote accessible wilderness in Minnesota at the Ontario border. Grand Marais itself holds an established art colony, the North House Folk School, and southern trailheads for the Superior Hiking Trail. The campground runs the short North Shore season. Summer is the peak by a wide margin, with fall color drawing a second wave — reserve ahead for both.

Mont du Lac Resort

20 RV Sites, 16 Cabins, 14 Tent Sites

Mont du Lac Resort in Superior, WI, offers 20 full-hookup RV sites, 16 cabins, and 13 tent sites, with 30 and 50-amp service and room for rigs up to 60 feet. Sites come as standard and deluxe back-ins, each carrying water, sewer, electric, and cable TV with site-delivered WiFi, a fire pit, and a picnic table. One thing to know before you book a cabin: the slope-side cabins are rustic, heated by a wood stove, and do not include indoor plumbing or a kitchen. Laundry, a bathhouse with showers, firewood, and on-site dining cover the essentials, and pets are welcome with a dog park. The resort runs year-round on a single hillside — a downhill ski and snowboard hub in winter, and a disc golf, mountain biking, and hiking property the rest of the year, with a marina, beach, water park, and walking trails for swimming, boating, fishing, and corn hole. Superior sits on the Wisconsin side of the St. Louis River, overlooking the Duluth-Superior harbor and the western tip of Lake Superior. Rates for sites and cabins are on the booking page. Confirm what your cabin includes before booking — the slope-side units are deliberately rustic.

from $20/night

Plum Pines RV Park & Campground

43 RV Sites, 5 Tent Sites

Plum Pines RV Park & Campground in Sayner, Wisconsin, offers 43 RV sites and five tent sites near Plum Lake in Vilas County, with 30 and 50-amp water-and-electric service, ADA-accessible sites, and rigs accepted to 50 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. Deluxe and standard categories sit behind a gated entrance in the Northwoods lakes country. Forty-three sites run in 30/50-amp deluxe, 30/50-amp standard, and standard pull-through categories carrying water and electric, sized to 50 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables — note there are no sewer hookups at the sites, though a dump station is available. Accessible sites are available. Five tent sites round out the accommodations. Laundry, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side, with a gated entrance controlling access. Boat rentals are available on site with boating and picnicking from the property, and off-roading and a golf course are nearby. The amenity set is deliberately quiet — this is a private, family-owned campground where the lake country does the work. Sayner sits in the geographic center of the Eagle River, Minocqua, Boulder Junction, and Manitowish Waters lake district, and the context is remarkable: Vilas County holds over 1,300 lakes within its boundaries, making it the most lake-dense county in the United States. Plum Lake is within blocks of the campground. Summer is decisively the season in the Northwoods. Reserve well ahead for July and August, and note the partial hookups when planning a longer stay.

from $32/night

Wildwood Outdoor Adventures & Campground

73 RV Sites, 10 Tent Sites

Wildwood Outdoor Adventures and Campground in Eagle River, Wisconsin, offers 73 RV sites and 10 tent sites directly on the Eagle River Chain of 28 Lakes, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted up to 102 feet. Pond water view and premium back-in categories in both full-hookup and water-and-electric versions join boat docks, kayak rentals, and floating boat slips. Seventy-three sites span pond water view back-in 30/50-amp, pond water view back-in 30/50-amp water-and-electric, premium back-in 30/50-amp, and premium back-in 30/50-amp water-and-electric categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric where noted, sized to 102 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Every category comes in both a full-hookup and a water-and-electric version, which lets you choose the setting and the hookup level independently — a sensible structure. One hundred two feet accommodates the longest coaches with a tow. Every site gets a fire ring and picnic table. Ten tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, dump station, restrooms, and private family shower rooms handle the practical side. Floating boat slips, a full dock, and kayak rentals open the chain for boating, canoeing, and kayaking, with a lake, pond, river, walking trails, biking, a playground, community fire pit, and productive birding filling the rest. The Eagle River Chain is the largest freshwater chain in the world — 28 glacially carved lakes connected end to end across more than 3,000 acres. Summer is decisively the season. Reserve well ahead.

Ham Lake Resort

5 RV Sites

Ham Lake Resort in Ham Lake, MN, offers 5 RV sites with 30 and 50-amp service and back-in sites for rigs up to 42 feet. Sites come in two categories, water-and-electric back-in 30-amp and water-and-electric back-in 30/50-amp. There's no sewer at the site, so plan on the on-site dump station. Laundry, a bathhouse with showers, a general store, and firewood cover the essentials, with cabins available for guests without a rig. Pets are welcome, with a dog park and a playground. For five sites the recreation is generous: boat docks, a beach, walking trails, volleyball, horseshoes, and planned activities, with fishing, boating, paddle boats, kayaking, and swimming on the lake. Ham Lake sits about thirty minutes north of the Twin Cities — close enough for a spontaneous weekend, far enough that the loons at dusk make the point. The Mall of America, Como Zoo, and the Sculpture Garden are all an easy drive. Rates for sites and cabins are on the booking page. With five RV sites this close to the metro, summer weekends go quickly — reserve ahead.

from $65/night