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Submission
From Grand Marais, Minnesota, take Gunflint Trail (County Road 12) 36 miles north, turn left on County Road 92 and travel 2 miles on a narrow gravel road to Iron Lake Campground.
Amazing little campground that is very remote. We were lucky enough to be the only ones in the whole campground for 3 nights. If you are looking for a place to get away from it all, then this is a great place. It is about 40 miles outside of Grand Marias and we were not able to get cell phone reception but that was not a problem at all. If you are looking for a place that gives you more access to the outside world or like to run into town for supplies, eats or drinks then this may not be your best bet. No old growth due to the 2007 fires but it is coming back nicely.
We stayed here August 2nd & 3rd, 2020. We got here late in the afternoon without a reservation and scored the last open campsite. Most campsites appeared to have been reserved in advance. It seemed like many of the campers were staying here before and after paddling trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. There are limited services along Gunflint Trail but there did seem to be gasoline and snacks. We never got any cell signal in this area. The condition of Gunflint Trail was excellent but the gravel road connecting to the campground was somewhat bumpy but not challenging, even with the limited ground clearance of our vehicle. We were in a camper van. A larger RV or trailer up to 25' or so would not have been any problem. The campsites are primitive but they are mostly level, have fire rings, a picnic table, they are nicely secluded from one another. We could hear the people in the neighboring campsites but they weren't loud or anything. This was our first first visit to the Gunflint area. We did not try any fishing or paddling but that seemed to be the main attraction. There were bugs but with repellant it was tolerable. Would visit again but will bring a kayak and fishing gear next time.
It was not full, and the sites were laid out nicely with room for different size campers or tents. Watch out for mosquitoes after a good rain.
Beautiful scenery. Well secluded and off the beaten path. The facilities are not modern so be ready for roughing it. Camp sites are large and spread out to offer some privacy. There is plenty to be done for fun in the area - hiking, kayaking, canoing, horseback riding, gawking at nature, pretty much anything a teenager finds boring😁
We stayed at site 5 and it was better than expected. The site was large and plenty of flat space for our tent, the scenery was gorgeous and we loved that we could easily access the lake directly from our site.
The bathroom didn't have any TP, but it was clean and that's really rhe more important part. The water from the tap tasted great and while we knew we had neighbors, we rarely heard or saw them.
Can't beat the location right at middle of the trail, the lake was a great one to canoe on. We tried fishing but didn't have any luck, but that was probably more on us than anything.
100% will be returning. Awesome Campground
