U.S. Forest Service · Superior National Forest · MN

Wilson Lake Rustic Campground & Backcountry Sites

First come, first servedNo reservation, and none to be had: the sites go to whoever pulls in first.

This is how it should work.

Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
A night
FreeNo camping fee
1,710 ftElevation
247 ftWater · an unnamed stream
25.2 miNE of Silver Bay, MN
41%Tree cover
Bortle 2Night sky · 19th darkest of 77 in MN

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there

In the agency’s own words

* { box-sizing: border-box;}.caption{font-size:80%; }.row { display: flex;}/* Create three equal columns */.column { flex: 50.0%; padding: 5px;}@media (max-width: 750px) {.row {display: block;}} Wilson Lake Rustic Campground is on the shore of the lake and has a drive down boat ramp with a dock. Nearby Little Wilson Lake also has a boat ramp, and there is a portage trail from Wilson to Sister Lake. Wilson Lake Rustic Campground offers 4 sites accessible by car. On the shore of the lake is an additional backcountry campsite accessible by boat, and there is another backcountry site on Little Wilson. For information, see the Wilson Lake Map or read about backcountry campsites. Wilson Lake Access. USDA Forest Service photo. Wilson Lake Boat Launch. USDA Forest Service photo.

Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

Facilities

Boat ramp
Yes
Source: Stated in the agency description

Around the campground

On the water
Lake
Source: Stated in the agency description

Nothing to book, just show up

One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and it costs nothing at all. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.

recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.

BookingNo reservationsNothing to book, and no release date to wait forthe record
A nightFreeNo camping feethe agency’s fee record
A weekendNothingDerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
Runs itU.S. Forest Servicethe agency’s record
Every line of the receipt · 4

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
Camping feeFree
There is no fee at rustic campgrounds.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Nothing. This campground takes no bookings, so there’s no reservation fee to pay.
What a stay costs
A night, and a whole weekendDerivedNothing

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s own record says there’s no camping fee, and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

How we know this receipt · 5
Source: USFS Enterprise Data Warehouse · Aug 24, 2026

record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this

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Getting there

the map and the coordinate

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Today44°Mostly Sunny1% rain
Tonight29°Mostly Clear1% rain
Saturday54°Sunny
Saturday Night37°Mostly Clear

NWS forecast for Lutsen, MN

Typical weather

Typical October night 34°F, day 51°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 1°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°-10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

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.

Measured at: WOLF RIDGE ELC, MN (USC00219134), 16 miles away and 310 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Cabin Creek6,071 acres · 8 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Pete Stauber, official portrait

Wilson Lake Rustic Campground & Backcountry Sites 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Lutsen, MN, 15.6 mi W (a census designated place). Straight line.