Camping in Voyageurs National Park: Everything You Need to Know

Almost every campsite in Voyageurs National Park sits on an island or a stretch of shoreline you can only reach by boat. At Voyageurs, you get to load your gear into a boat, cruise across the water, and set up camp at your own private campground for the night.

We spent 6 days doing exactly that, with a houseboat being our boat of choice. For us, that looked like cruising through the park all morning, enjoying lunch on the upper deck, and relaxing in a hot tub as the sun went down. Houseboat sites work differently from the tent sites, so we’ve covered both in this article.

Camping in Voyageurs National Park is one of the most unique camping experiences in the US, and also one of the most confusing to plan. So here’s everything you need to know: the types of campsites, how reservations actually work, and how to even get across the water in the first place. Let’s dive in!

The 4 Types of Camping in Voyageurs National Park

Voyageurs has 157 frontcountry campsites, 14 backcountry campsites, and 2 primitive campsites. Not to mention a plethora of sites reserved for houseboats. Each type works differently, so here’s a breakdown of each.

1. Frontcountry Campsites

Frontcountry campsites are on the park’s five big lakes—Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, Sand Point, and Crane—and you can boat directly to them from any Visitor Center boat ramp. Each site has a fire ring, tent pad, picnic table, and a bear locker. Some have docks. This is a great choice if you have (or rent) a boat, take a water taxi, or rent a canoe and travel like the original voyageurs.

2. Backcountry Campsites

Backcountry sites sit on the park’s interior lakes, offering a more remote experience. The journey requires a boat, water taxi, or canoe across a big lake to a remote trailhead, then hiking up to several miles inland. Some sites you can hike to directly once crossing a main lake, while others require some extra paddling.

Depending on the backcountry campground, you might also get one canoe with your permit, which lives on these interior lakes permanently so as to not spread invasive species with personal watercrafts. Even if you cross the major lake with your own canoe or kayak, you have to leave it there and take the park canoe.

3. Primitive Campsites

Red Pine and Blueberry Ridge (circled in green in the map below) are the only campsites in the park that don’t require a boat to reach, but you do have to hike to them. Located along the Kab-Ash Trail, they have a fire ring and a cleared area for tents. You can reach them from the Kabetogama Lake and Ash River Visitor Centers.

4. Houseboat Sites

Houseboat sites work slightly differently, as there are no reservations, making them first-come, first-served. To get your ideal spot, we recommend trying to arrive by 3 PM. And although they might look similar to a tent camping site, you aren’t allowed to set up camp on them, as you’re expected to sleep on the houseboat. They’re more so meant to let you enjoy a campfire and get your land legs for a bit.

How Much Does Camping Cost in Voyageurs?

Although there’s no park entrance fee for Voyageurs, you do have to pay for its campgrounds, but we found the prices quite reasonable. Prices vary based on the type of campground as well as the season during which you plan on reserving. The high-use season (May 15th to October 15th) has higher prices, while the low-use season (October 16th to May 14th) is a bit less.

How to Reserve a Campsite in Voyageurs

Every frontcountry, backcountry, and primitive site is reserved through Recreation.gov, or by calling 877-444-6777. But before paying, they require you (and everyone in your group) to watch the Voyageurs National Park camping video in full.

Also make sure to book in advance, especially if you’re planning on visiting during the high-use season which runs from May 15th to October 15th. If your travel dates fall between these dates, you can book as early as the previous November 15th. For the rest of the low-use season, October 16th to May 14th, camping permits open on the previous April 15th.

Five days before your trip, a Print Permit button appears in your Recreation.gov account. Print and display the permit in the waterproof box on the bear locker at your frontcountry campsite. In the backcountry, keep it on you.

How to Get to Your Voyageurs Campsite

You have three main options when it comes to crossing the water to access your campsite, and all involve boats. If you’re renting or bringing your own boat, you’ll have to know how to moor it properly so it doesn’t float away during the night.

1. Your own boat: If you have your own canoe, kayak, or small boat, you can use any of the public launches located at the park visitors centers, the Crane Lake ranger station, and the Woodenfrog and Ash River state forest campgrounds. Just remember that if you are going to a backcountry site, you have to switch to a park canoe to prevent the spread of invasive species.
2. A rental: Canoes, kayaks, and small motorboats are available through local outfitters in any of the gateway communities as well.
3. Water taxi: If you prefer not to row out yourself, there are water taxis that will drop you at a campsite or a backcountry trailhead and pick you up at an agreed time. We’ve pinned a few companies on our map of the park below.

What Camping in Voyageurs is Actually Like

DISCLAIMER: We stayed at houseboat sites rather than tent sites, so take this as what the water-access experience feels like generally rather than a review of the tent campsites themselves.

The solitude we felt in Voyageurs was unmatched. Once we moored up, the shoreline felt like ours. We had no neighbors, no road noise, nothing. Our favorite night of the trip was when we found a wide-open sandy beach with crawdads in the shallows, strung up string lights, and watched the sun go down from our houseboat’s hot tub.

During the day, we left our campsites and took our dinghies around the park to explore as much as we could. Some of our favorite spots included the Kettle Falls Hotel, I.W. Stevens Resort, and Hoist Bay. We break down all of the things to see and do in Voyageurs in this guide.

Two honest warnings. First, the mosquitoes were the worst we’ve experienced anywhere. Citronella candles helped, DEET helped, but on a calm night with lights on, nothing helped. Second, have a backup site in mind if you’re houseboating. We only had to move once in six days, but we were expecting it so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Arriving before 3 PM also seemed to improve our chances of getting our ideal spot.

Camping Outside of Voyageurs

If you’d rather sleep next to your car, there are even more options just outside the park’s boundary as well. Woodenfrog and Ash River are state forest campgrounds with their own public boat launches, which makes them a smart base if you’re bringing a boat and day-tripping into the park. Then, you have the City Beach Campground near Rainy Lake, and Crane Lake Voyageur RV Park and Campground near Crane Lake.

We drove through the recently built Crane Lake Voyageur RV Park and Campground. It was a pretty wide-open campground, so there wasn’t much privacy between sites. It was conveniently located near the Crane Lake visitor center if that’s the area of the park you’re interested in exploring.

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Best Time to Camp in Voyageurs

The full camping season runs from May 1st through October 31st. That being said, there are better and worse times to go during these dates. Mosquitoes can be brutal here, the worst time being June and July, and the busy season is July and August.

We recommend aiming for late August or September if you can. We went from July 5th to 10th, and definitely got a taste of the mosquitoes and weren’t able to get one houseboat spot due to competition from fellow houseboaters, but we still had a great time.

What to Pack for Camping in Voyageurs

In addition to your typical camping supplies (tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, camping pillow, etc.) and clothing items, here are some Voyageur-specific items you might not initially think to pack.

• Bug spray with DEET: Bug spray quickly became our #1 must-used item and is a non-negotiable. Bonus points if you bring a citronella candle (or two) like we did for nights at camp.
• Sun protection: Don’t forget a bottle of sunscreen, sunscreen lip balm, and a wide-brimmed hat to protect yourself from the sun, especially when on a boat.
• Water Filter: You have to haul in any filtered water you want, plus bring a water filter if you want to treat and drink the lake water.
• Personal Flotation Device: If you’re coming in on your own boat, make sure to bring a PFD.
• Paper Map: Pick up a physical map of the park, it will be much more reliable than a digital map.
• First Aid Kit: A well-stocked first aid kit is something we always keep on us, although hopefully we never have to use it.
• GPS: We use the Garmin InReach Mini 2 for peace of mind when travelling in areas with little to no service, like Voyageurs National Park.
• Headlamp: A headlamp comes in super handy for hands-free light during late nights and early mornings at your campsite.
• Camp shoes: We love having a comfortable pair of slip-ons to wear at camp at the end of the day. Crocs, Tevas (mens Tevas), or Birkenstocks are a great option you might already have.

Map of Voyageurs National Park

How to use this map: We have saved the locations from this guide on this map. You can save this map to your Google Maps by pressing the star icon. In your Google Maps, click the menu icon and then Saved Maps, where this map will appear.

Camping in Voyageurs FAQ

Can you camp in Voyageurs without a boat?

Yes, but barely. The Red Pine and Blueberry Ridge primitive sites are the only campsites in the park on the mainland, and you hike in along the Kab-Ash Trail. Every other campsite in the park requires travel by water. If you don’t have a boat, and don’t want to rent one, a water taxi is your best option. Operators can drop you off and pick you up later.

Do you need a reservation to camp in Voyageurs?

Yes. Every frontcountry, backcountry, and primitive site requires a “reservation,” or a permit, through Recreation.gov. Houseboat sites are the exception, which are first-come, first-served.

Can you tent camp at a houseboat site?

No. The only way to tent camp while travelling via houseboat is to reserve a tent site on Recreation.gov and moor their houseboat at least 200 feet away from the tent site. You can use the dinghy to travel to and from your site. There is an exception for two group campsites (R-74 and K-54), where houseboats are allowed to moor at if they have reserved the proper permit.

Is dispersed camping allowed in Voyageurs?

No. You’re only allowed to camp at frontcountry, backcountry, and houseboat sites, and have the proper permit when doing so.

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