Tent Camping near Orr, 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.

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