This is an incredible (but very busy!) state park. We camped at walk-in site 83, which was hands…read moredown the best site in the park. The walk-in sites in general are all amazing, you're secluded from everyone else but still close to the amenities. Site 83 is about a 4-minute walk from where you park your car. There are two tent pads and plenty of space. It's a beautiful site--book it early! The amenities at the campground were great, plenty of places to recycle, fill up water, and throw out trash. The bathrooms are also very nice, but they are some of the busiest bathrooms I've ever seen! There are plenty of hiking trails as well, a great visitor center and gift shop, and it is an all around lovely state park.

We had an awesome camping weekend here - I'm so glad I got to see this state park! Here's the…read morebreakdown: CAMPSITES: 4/5 Lots of campsites here that we booked well in advance - I'd guess they fill up fast! I'm not super experienced at camping, but the campsites felt quite close together to me. Compared to other places we've been, the sites are much less private. AMENITIES: 5/5 The amount of water spickets and bathrooms around the site were great, and the showers/main bathroom facilities were nice! STATE PARK: 5/5 We loved walking a bit of the state park over the weekend! The suspension bridge is super cool, and it's really fun to walk on and explore the unique rock formations along the water.

Bent trout lake campground and the employees along with the owner are great! My family and I have…read morespent two different stays last summer and this summer we will be going again. We enjoy the paddle boat rental, the office/store, the scenic views, the kind other campers along with the activities. We only live a half hour from Barnum but it is such a great place to camp. It is quickly becoming our favorite campground. The beaches are so well maintained and the lake is clear as glass. So worth the drive wherever you're coming from.

We just spent 5 nights here visiting our family. Friendly place and nice location. The grounds are…read morekept up fairly well enough. Lots of Camper sites and tent sites available at reasonable rates. The lake was nice and there are a lot of rental boats available. The kids love the lake and have a lot of fun on the raft. Our main beef is the bath house, its a hell hole and is in DIRE need of some TLC and some SERIOUS upgrading. Theres no ventilation, Poor lighting and the smell from lack of cleaning is deplorable. You don't really want to touch anything. You cannot lock the toilette stalls and the doors just swing open. This goes for both the mens and women's bath rooms, I guess the only thing good about it, is that its free.

Come up a few times each summer. The level of care they put in to the grounds is amazing. Ponds are…read morestocked with a variety of fish. Paddle boats and canoes to use. Love this campground we'll continue to book time here.

There is a lot to love about this place, the club house has a pool table, free library, and movie…read morelibrary, and the bathrooms are new/very clean. However, the water in the women's shower (which there is only one of, it made it hard for our girls group of 4 to shower in a timely manner) is so hot you feel scalded on the coolest setting.... They need to turn down the water heater before someone gets seriously hurt. The spots aren't overly large, but the park is quiet! There isn't a lot of shade, but you can sit by the lake at a bench in the shade. And then, there is the elephant in the room, who puts trail cams up on all their trails? This place must be high crime that they need so many. If you need somewhere to stay in a pinch like we did, and you have an RV with a shower, this is a decent place to stay. But, it's not a destination stay.

Of all the points I've visited on the North/South shores, I keep coming back to here. The sand, the…read morewalk, all of which, are easy, continues to be one of our favorites. The only apology we have is recommending this place to others. But, by hopes, it will save it from further industrialization, because it's truly a remarkable spot of propriety. The only black mark on this place is that as a child I was able to camp here and now you can not. Our last visit a child informed us that he had broken the lock to the lighthouse. After 20 years, we investigated. That's where you'll f find the pictures.

I love this beach! The water might be cold, but the views are always great. This beach is where…read moreI've honed my rock skipping skills (I'm still not very good at it, but I'm getting there!) Be warned, four years ago my brother cut his foot on this beach and it got infected, but that's not the beach's fault! Just make sure to wear shoes when walking around or watch your step!

Every now and then you combine location, affordability, cleanliness and great personalities…read more When you pull in Rick is gonna start picking on you, run with it he's just loosing you up for a great weekend! All was well, I'll be back.

Knife river campground was great. The owners are very helpful and social, you can always find them…read moresomewhere around the site. The owner actually went out of his way to cut down some tree branches that were blocking out camper from comfortably entering our spot which was very nice. Bathrooms were clean but the women's was often busy. Not much else you can expect during peak camping season however. Very nice and close access to the beach as well as a nearby candy store. This place is great if you're looking for a nice place in the two harbors/Duluth area, but not looking to raise wild shenanigans. The owner seems to strictly enforce the 10:00 quiet rule time, which was fine with us.

Very clean and well maintained campground. The staff were helpful and friendly. I would stay there…read moreagain.

Great campground and RV park. Well managed. Lots of trees and shade and close to miles and miles of…read morebike trails that are nice, level and paved. Had some trouble leveling our RV, but once we did it was a good site. We were able to get our satellite tv and our Starlink signals thankfully. Lastly and most important, the staff went above and beyond to help us get our stay scheduled, so there's that! Enjoy your stay!

The name says veterans but anyone can stay here. Lovely campground, great access to fishing, beach…read moreand other recreation. Wooded sites, friendly hosts. We were headed north and needed a stop so we took a chance and were very pleasantly surprised. Room for seasonal camping too. $30/night

Five stars isn't enough for this crew. We fish with Craig at Lake Vermilion Fishing Guides just…read moreabout every year, and our Boundary Waters trips into Basswood are the ones we talk about all winter. From the first phone call he asks the right questions about what you want out of the day, then builds the whole trip around it. Getting into the BWCA on your own takes real planning, but Craig handles all of it, and once you're out there you've got world-class fishing with almost nobody around. He reads the water, adjusts constantly, and genuinely cares that everyone on board catches fish. He handles the big fish with real care too, quick photos and healthy releases. This is what a professional guide service should be. We're already planning next year's trip.

Doesn't get any better then, local and family owned…read more My cousin from Ely had previously bought a outfit for her grand baby and realized it was too small. We went in to exchange it and they could have not been more accommodating. She did not have the receipt and had removed the tags. They knew it was their product and were happy to make the swap for a larger size. As she made the swap, I browsed through the store with my other cousin. Oh my, the variety of merchandise was mind blowing. They had everything you'd need for a camping trip. They even sell camping packages for the boundary waters and when you check-in on Yelp they offer a 15% off coupon. If you're a fisher, they also offer live bait to help you catch that big fish. That way your "big fish" story will be truth instead of a made up one. My other cousin who was traveling with us, caught so much fish during our trip, that when we left Ely, we had to stop at Spirit to buy dry ice. When in Ely, I highly recommend that you shop, Spirit.

Don't let the gravel road deter your visit here-you won't regret it! We camped during the week…read more(only sharing the area with one other camper-quite a long distance away). The bathrooms and shower were a pleasant surprise: Clean and a great experience for camping!

The owner, Vicki, was very nice and would always check to see if everyone was happy. This…read morecampground is beautiful and quiet - no "city camping" here! Clean bathrooms and showers. Want to get away from the "Rat Race" come here! Great for RV's and tent camping. It's worth the few miles (2.6) from the main road. Will be back!