McDougal Lake Campground
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $18From, per site
- Sites
- 21All of them booked ahead
- Season
- May 9 – September 30Open May 9 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
McDougal Lake Campground provides easy access to a wide variety of recreational activities including hiking, boating, fishing, picnicking and swimming within the central part of Superior National Forest. Superior National Forest, located in northeastern Minnesota's arrowhead region, is comprised of three million acres. The forest spans 150 miles along the United States-Canada border. Visitors can find recreation opportunities year-round, including travel in the famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The one-mile hiking trail and campsites 17 and 19 were closed in 2021 due to impacts from the Greenwood Fire and will be closed until further notice. Keep reading
Recreation
Kids will love the sandy swimming beach within the facility. A boat ramp and shoreline access provide anglers the opportunity for a leisurely afternoon of fishing for walleye and northern pike.
Facilities
This comfortable facility provides 13 first come, first served and 8 reservable campsites that are either drive-in sites suitable for RVs and trailers or hike-in sites for tent campers. Campsites are private and separated by woods. The facilities include water from a solar powered pump station and vault toilets. Five of the first come, first served sites are available for long term rental by contacting the Tofte Ranger District Office at 218-663-8060. The one-mile hiking trail was closed in 2021 due to impacts from the Greenwood Fire and will be closed until further notice.
Natural Features
The 323-acre McDougal Lake is surrounded by a thick forest of birch, maple and pine and sits at an elevation of 1,800 ft. The area is peaceful, rustic and begs for relaxation. One unique feature of the lake is the wild rice growing within it. Birds and wildlife frequent its shores. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (218) 663-8060.
Nearby Attractions
Numerous outdoor recreation opportunities lie within Superior National Forest's 77 lake access areas, 13 fishing piers, 10 swimming beaches and 22 picnic areas. The forest is also home to three scenic byways.
What the agency tells you
No campground host on site.
Maximum of nine people per site. There is space for one vehicle and one towed vehicle (such as a boat trailer). Additional vehicles on the site require additional half fee and must park on the spur. No vehicles may park on the grass or where they impede traffic.
Sites #17-21 are available for long term seasonal camping from May 1 to October 30. Site rate is $504 per season or any period greater than two weeks. Contact the Tofte Ranger District Office at 218-663-8060 to reserve long term sites.
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Please use facilities provided such as fire rings, tent pads, and latrines.
Dispose of waste in containers provided.
Water faucets are for drinking water only, do not use as wash areas. Hose hookups are not permitted.
Noise limits enforced, respect your fellow campers.
Store your food so wildlife can't get to it. Bears and other animals will eat food that isn't stored securely.
RV Camping - Sites are pull-in and not specifically designed for RVs. Most can accommodate a moderately sized vehicle, some may not be suitable for an RV.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 21 · 4 walk-in
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…from a solar powered pump station and vault toilets. Five of the first come, first served sites are…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Beach
- Berry Picking
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Motor Boat
- Mushroom Picking
- Non-Motorized Boating
- Paddling
- Picnicking
- Stargazing
- Swimming
No reading yet, book on recreation.gov
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 17
What you actually pay
“Additional vehicles or trailers on the site require an additional $9.00 fee to be paid.” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own fee record
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $18 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
21 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 21 mapped sitesAll 21 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 21 of the 21 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| McDougal Lake CG - North Loop | 17 | standard nonelectric | 73 ft | 411 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - North Loop | 18 | standard nonelectric | 73 ft | 426 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - North Loop | 19 | standard nonelectric | 117 ft | 303 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - North Loop | 20 | standard nonelectric | 83 ft | 376 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - North Loop | 21 | standard nonelectric | 83 ft | 443 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 1 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 396 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 10 | walk to | 104 ft | 205 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 11 | standard nonelectric | 104 ft | 157 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 12 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 116 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 13 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 187 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 14 | walk to | 72 ft | 229 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 15 | walk to | 72 ft | 300 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 16 | standard nonelectric | 118 ft | 416 ftStony River | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 2 | standard nonelectric | 37 ft | 360 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 3 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 330 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 4 | standard nonelectric | 91 ft | 275 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 5 | standard nonelectric | 74 ft | 258 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 6 | standard nonelectric | 77 ft | 308 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 7 | standard nonelectric | 88 ft | 204 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 8 | standard nonelectric | 92 ft | 272 ft | $18 |
| McDougal Lake CG - South Loop | 9 | walk to | 97 ft | 147 ft | $18 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Little Isabella River CampgroundSuperior National Forest · 5.0 miSand Lake Rustic CampgroundSuperior National Forest · 7.4 miEighteen Lake Rustic CampgroundSuperior National Forest · 8.8 mi
Divide Lake Campground & Backcountry SitesSuperior National Forest · 13 mi
Birch Lake CampgroundSuperior National Forest · 14 mi
South Kawishiwi RiverSuperior National Forest · 15 miMcDougal Lake Campground is located on Forest Road 106, 10 miles west of Isabella, Minnesota. From MN-61, turn onto MN-1 at Illgen City and follow to Isabella. Proceed 10 miles west of Isabella to Forest Road 106. Turn left and continue a half-mile to the campground entrance.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Babbitt, MN
Typical weather
Typical May night 40°F, day 60°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical May night 40°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
McDougal Lake Campground is in Minnesota’s 8th congressional district. Its representative, Pete Stauber (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →