Cascade River State Park

This state park was very disappointing. My travel trailer sized campsite was too steep to level my camper without feeling like it was on a cliff…plus the camper and truck barely fit in (my trailer is 21’ plus Tacoma. I abandoned the site when my trailer jack couldn’t get high enough to level it out even with double the normal amount of footers. The central drinking water to fill up campers had a sign saying it hadn’t been tested for the season, had almost zero water pressure plus a bad hose fitting so you had to practically take a shower while trying to fill your tank with “poison water”. The place was a 100% waste of money!

Minnesota State Parks is engaging in extremely dishonest business practices by failing to tell guests about additional fees that will be charged upon arrival. When making a reservation, I was not told that I would be charged an additional 25% ($7/nite) simply to enter the park. Thry call this a 'parking' fee and make absolutely no mention of it while selling reservations, not is there a mention of it on the receipt or the 'additional information' pdf that was emailed to me. After driving 100 miles with no place else to go, I was forced to pay this extra money, making the total for my site $30 for a tiny, unlevel 'pull through' that I had to back into in order to fit. Last time I stay at a Minnesota State Park.

This is my go-to campground whenever I visit the North Shore, especially in autumn. There are fantastic trails that connect to the campground area, and you can choose if you want to meander around or get a workout on the trail.

There are 40 campsites, and half have electric service. Although the sites are spaced out well, the trees aren't super thick between campsites, so privacy isn't ideal. Campgrounds with an 'e' designate electric hookups. 16e, 34e, and 35e are a bit separated from the rest of them, but they are right next to trailheads. 37e looks deceptively private, but it's right next to trailhead parking for non-campers. 38 and 39 have no hookups, but are pull-through sites away from the others. I generally try to get 8e.

Showers were closed and under renovation in 2015 and 2016, but their website says they'll be open for the 2017 season (and hopefully being new, they're super nice).

You can hear highway traffic throughout the entire campground, but that's generally unavoidable at most North Shore state parks.

As with all Minnesota State Parks, reservations online are super easy, and can be done last-minute, though there is a reservation fee. You need a state park permit (day, annual, or license plate) in addition to the camping fees.

There is a sliver of AT&T service, but no T-Mobile or Sprint. Unsure about Verizon.

Camped here in late August 2016 with no reservations. Most of the inner loop camp sites are fairly small with little privacy, but are shady if you are there in the summer. In fact, most of the sites are better suited to a small RV. I did get my trailer in a non-reservable site, #20 which was fairly sloped from front to back. It was a big site, but again was sloped. Due to the season, solar worked okay, not a lot of sun, but usually enough to get battery up to full charge.

For me, the best sites which are all reservable, are on the outer ring. When the weekend was over, I moved to site #35E which had a bit of privacy with bushes and trees. The rates are $23 Non-electric and $31 for electric. It likely is busy all summer, so if you need a particular spot, I would get reservations, otherwise if you get there before the weekend, a non-reservable spot should be available. I got mostly 3G in the inner loops. A Class A MH was camped in site #36E, but for the most part, the sites are on the smallish side.

You will also need a Minnesota State pass that is good for a entire year. Has a great access Dump Station & FW, note that not all campgrounds on the North Shore have a dump station.

This area of Minnesota including all of the other campgrounds on the North Shore of Minnesota have beautiful views and shoreline.

There are two fun hiking trails that I did with Q-dog, with our favorite being the Cascade River Trail (which is part of the Superior Hiking Trail) that is about an 8 mile loop traveling along the Cascade River. Many spots for Q-dog to splash around during the hike.

Grand Marais, MN is about 8 miles away which has a co-op, grocery, Voyageur Brewery (love it) and other scenic things to do.