Campsites overcrowded and hard to find? National trend not the case in Minnesota

Some camping-related websites and apps continue to declare that campgrounds are overcrowded and sites are hard to come by nationally — a rippling effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the truth is different from a Minnesota perspective.

What's reality is that a preference for state parks is a hardwired default for many Minnesotans, one cultivated over generations, and rightly so — many of the parks are excellent as camping venues. They're launchpads for recreation. And state residents especially favor the North Shore locations — from Tettegouche to Temperance River to Gooseberry — when it comes to overnights. Several North Shore parks are historically among the most-camped in the system every spring, summer and fall.

What's also real is that preference for a single geographic area opens up countless opportunities to camp elsewhere at the other dozens of state parks and recreation areas tucked near lakes and rivers and within prairies and hardwoods, and more. Even on weekends and despite a parks reservation system that some have gamed to lock up sites since the state made every site reservable several years ago.

Still, sites at state parks needn't be the default. Ask Sue and Bob McCloughan if a campsite is a tough get in the Superior National Forest near Grand Marais. They've owned Bearskin Lodge on East Bearskin Lake for 17 years, and, for the U.S. Forest Service, operate its fee campground down the road (and next to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness).

Sue McCloughan said most people are too focused on state parks and some who post online that they "can't find a campsite anywhere" up north are missing the possibilities in national forests. Plus, there isn't a three-month window to navigate. Like some of the state forest campgrounds, there are rustic sites that are first-come, first-served. And free, if the visitor is up for something a bit wilder.

"The difficulties with reserving state park sites have helped our federal campgrounds because it has forced more campers to look elsewhere, but it's still a comparatively unknown option for most campers," she said. "There are more options out there than just Minnesota state parks."

Her husband, Bob, said but for a few nights in 2020 during the pandemic-driven rush, the 32-site East Bearskin Campground is never full.

"I think that is true of just about all of the national forest campgrounds up here on the Gunflint Trail. Beautiful camping. Big, spacious sites. A lot more room than people are used to at state park sites, and less money."

Visitors give up amenities like a shower house, electricity or, say, Wi-Fi access, but he said regulars have come to appreciate that.

"I think the people coming up here are looking for a little bit more of a wilderness experience," he said.

Seeking different experiences opened up camping possibilities for Kara Younkin, her husband and their three kids from St. Paul.

The family's camping story has added texture as it has advanced, with more state park visits and camping out of state and by a variety of means. The Younkins started camping regularly about seven years ago and have progressed from a tent to a popup trailer to a recreational vehicle.

As for securing sites, Younkin seems undeterred. She said they're more inclined to decide on a weekend and see what's available, rather than fixating on a particular park. That is partly how prairie parks like Lac qui Parle near Montevideo, Minn., became a destination rather than the wooded north.

"When you are there, it takes you a minute to feel the majesty of that land even though it's not the Rockies, there are no waterfalls, it's not Gooseberry," she added. "But it is so beautiful."

Her husband's job at the Minnesota Historical Society also has inspired visits to parks, like Forestville/Mystery Cave near Preston, with distinctive back stories or markers of a period gone by.

Finding a campsite? It doesn't register as a problem.

"Any park with a hookup, we'll try it," Younkin said.

Like the Younkins, a determination to get outdoors drives Molly Foss.

Since the autumn of 2020, the Brooklyn Park resident has followed the camping scene closely as she has built up her side operation, Camping Critterz, a revelation borne of the stress of the pandemic and her nursing job at North Memorial Health Hospital.

Camping, in her mind, became the safe, viable getaway to take up in earnest. She and her husband, Cole, had camped with their son, Sammy, since he was a toddler. They had hard-won knowledge to share.

"I thought, [camping] is going to get bigger now," she added.

Camping Critterz has become a portal for encouraging newcomers on topics like alternatives to air mattresses or scouring for the best baby monitors, or how to light a Jetboil stove.

Foss said messaging that campsites are difficult to find hasn't been a barrier. Plus, her family has yet to experience a Minnesota park that has felt overly crowded. One pro tip to nabbing a site at a traditionally busy park (like she did at Whitewater, southeast of Rochester): gather friends and family to reserve a group site, she said.

Ultimately, Foss said she tries to follow her own advice to greenhorn campers and, too, colleagues who ask her how to pull off a trip and don't know where to begin:

Keep it simple — especially about where to go and "must-haves."

"There are campsites to be had in Minnesota if you want to go out camping, do it, try it with your family," she said. "We're not super picky."