Voyageurs National Park Camping Permits

      Camping

    Season Dates

    What is a booking window?

    This site follows the campground booking window. Individual sites at this campground are block released on the 1st of each month:

    • Can be booked through Mon, March 24th 2025. Select dates for availability.
    • On April 15, 2025 at 02:00 pm GMT, availability will be released through March 31, 2026.


    Overview

    ** All frontcountry and backcountry campsites require travel by private watercraft or water taxi to access. Click on any campsite name when searching sites to view boating distances. ** 


    Voyageurs National Park has 147 frontcountry, 14 backcountry, and 2 primitive campsites for visitors wanting an authentic northwoods camping experience.  


    PRIMITIVE CAMPSITES (Red Pine & Blueberry Ridge) are the only campsites that are located on the mainland and DO NOT require a boat to access. They are hike-in sites along the Kab-Ash Trail and are equipped only with fire rings and cleared areas for tents. Leave No Trace Principles apply in these areas.


    FRONTCOUNTRY CAMPSITES are located on the large lakes (Rainy, Kabetogama, Namakan, Sandpoint). You can boat directly to them from any park visitor center boat ramp. They offer fire rings, tent pads, picnic tables, bear lockers for safe food storage, and outdoor privies. Use the Build Itinerary button to plan a frontcountry camping trip. 


    BACKCOUNTRY CAMPSITES are located on the park's interior lakes and offer a more remote and secluded camping experience consisting of fire rings, tenting areas, an outdoor privy, a bear pole for safe food storage, and a canoe. These sites first require travel by private watercraft or local water taxi service to a remote trailhead and then hiking up to several miles to the backcountry lakes. All backcountry campsite reservations include the use of one canoe and an access code will be provided in your confirmation email. Some campsites can be hiked to directly while others require paddling after hiking. Canoes on backcountry lakes are provided by the park and remain stationed at these lakes. Personal watercrafts of any kind can not be portaged into backcountry. Use the Build Itinerary button to plan a backcountry camping trip.   



    • Chain of Lakes (Locator, War Club, Quill, and Loiten Lakes): Reservations at these sites automatically include one canoe because a canoe is required to reach them. In this area only, up to 2 additional canoes can be added on a first come, first served basis.  

    • Shoepack & Little Shoepack Lakes: The campsites on these two lakes come reserved together (for the cost of one) because the one canoe on Little Shoepack is required to reach the campsite on Little Shoepack and/or the portage to Shoepack Lake. Shoepack Lake has its own separate canoe - please leave the canoes on their respective lakes. 

    • Ek, Agnes, Jorgens, Quarter Line, Cruiser, Brown, Peary, Oslo and Ryan Lakes: These backcountry campsites can be hiked to directly after boating to a trailhead and have one canoe located at each site. 


    DAY USE BACKCOUNTRY CANOE RENTALS: The Chain of Lakes is the only backcountry area with an additional inventory of canoes that are available for single day use. Use of these canoes first requires travel by private watercraft or local water taxi service to the Locator trailhead, and then hiking two miles to where the rental canoes are stationed. To reserve a day use canoe in the Chain of Lakes area, click on the Reserve Day Use Rentals button or scroll further down on this page to view canoe options and availability. To use the canoe at any other backcountry site for day use, that campsite must be reserved for one overnight.


    DAY USE & VISITOR DESTINATION SITES: With 27 Day Use sites and 7 Visitor Destination sites, Voyageurs National Park has plenty of areas to enjoy for visitors who are out for a day trip on the lakes. Each Day Use site has picnic tables, fire rings and vault privies, while the Visitor Destination sites offer short trails with wayside exhibits, picnic areas and comfort stations. No reservations are required for Day Use or Destination sites. You can view a map of day use sites here .


    Keep Voyageurs National Park Wild for Future Generations: The Voyageurs Conservancy is the park's official nonprofit partner representing a community of people who care about the ongoing stewardship of Voyageurs National Park. VNPA works to fund projects and programs that will help sustain the park's waters, wild character, and visitor experience for generations to come. Become a member today , follow them on Facebook and Instagram , or sign up for their e-newsletter .



    Facilities

    Voyageurs National Park has three visitor centers, which offer area information, exhibits, a park movie, bookstore, Junior Ranger programs, boat ramps, hiking trials and more. All visitor centers are open daily in the summer, and re open limited hours in the fall, winter, and spring.
    Raniy Lake Visitor Center (218) 286-5258
    Kabetogama Lake Visitor Center (218) 875-2111
    Ash River Visitor Center (218) 374-3221



    Natural Features

    Voyageurs National Park is a land and water environment of great beauty, exceptional natural and cultural resources, and abundant recreational opportunities. Located in the lake-country of northern Minnesota, the park protects 218,054 acres (88,243 ha) that include roughly 134,000 acres (54,227 ha) of forest, 84,000 acres (33,993 ha) of water, 655-miles (1,054 km) of undeveloped shoreline, and hundreds of islands. The park's 55-mile (89 km) northern boundary is the international border between the United States and Canada and includes an important segment of the "transcontinental highway" traversed by French-Canadian voyageurs during the late 1700s and early 1800s.


    There are four distinct seasons in Voyageur country. The air is mild during June, July, and August when periods of fine, warm weather prevail. The frost-free season averages 120 days from June to mid-September. The average ice-out date is May 3 but varies year to year. Annual precipitation (rain and snow) averages 25-28 inches (63-71 cm) in the park and average snowfall ranges from 55-70 inches (140-180 cm), but is highly variable. The first measurable snowfall occurs in late October and the last in late April or early May.



    Recreation

    From spring through fall, explore Voyageurs National Park on land by stopping in at a visitor center or hiking any of our 52 miles (84 km) of scenic hiking trails. To explore the vastness of the same lakes the Voyageurs and Ojibwe Indians once traversed, leave your car behind and explore park waters by kayak, canoe, sailboat, motorboat, houseboat or tour boat. Public boat launch ramps are available at park visitor centers, the Crane Lake ranger station and the two state forest campgrounds - Woodenfrog and Ash River.


    With scheduled programs and boat tours, you can paddle a canoe on the Voyageurs Highway, watch wildlife by day and stars by night, and explore historic Kettle Falls Hotel, Hoist Bay and Ellsworth Rock Gardens. Check the Things to Do page on the park website for a current list of these activities and many more, or speak with a park ranger at one of the Voyageurs National Park visitor centers. Many of our programs offer reservations. Visit the Voyageurs National Park Tours or the Voyageurs National Park Special Interpretive Programs pages (reservations are highly recommended for boat tours). 



    Important Dates

    Date Range
    Description
    October 16th 2024 - May 8th 2025
    Non-Peak Camping Season (all site types are reduced to $10/night)

    Activities

    • Boating
    • Canoeing
    • Backpacking
    • Berry Picking
    • Birding
    • Camping
    • Cross Country Skiing
    • Day Use Area
    • Environmental Education
    • Hiking
    • Historic & Cultural Site
    • Interpretive Programs
    • Kayaking
    • Ice Fishing
    • Picnicking
    • Paddling
    • Sailing
    • Snowmobile Trails
    • Snowshoeing
    • Sledding
    • Snow Tubing
    • Star Gazing
    • Swimming
    • Tubing
    • Visitor Center
    • Water Skiing
    • Wilderness
    • Fishing
    • Wildlife Viewing
    • Photography

    Boat Rentals - Day Use

    Boat Rentals

    Canoes can be rented for the day on many of the backcountry lakes at Voyageurs National Park. Each boat costs $14 for the day, plus a $10 reservation fee. To rent a canoe for day use, select the lake you'll be visiting, the number of boats you need, and check availability for the particular dates below.

    Rental Day Use Date

    Amenities

    • Boat Dock
    • Campfire Rings
    • Drinking Water (hand pump)
    • Picnic Tables
    • Tent Pads
    • Vault Toilets
    • Waterfront Sites

    Nearby Attractions

    Unique attractions near Voyaguers National Park:

    The City of International Falls sits on the U.S.-Canada borde r, across from Fort Frances, Ontario. You can have a picnic lunch in Smokey Bear Park, and then tour the Bronko Nagurski Museam and Koochiching County Historical Museum, which both sit on site. Don't forget to take a photo with the 26-foot statue of Smokey the Bear himself - a well-known and beloved national symbol of fire prevention and forest conservation. There are many unique businesses and shops along main street, as well as some great coffee shops and restaurants. Heading eastward out of town, you will pass the village of Ranier and numerous resorts where you can find delicious lake-side dining, fishing guides, hotel and cabin accomodations, houseboat rental companies and much more.

    The Historic Port Village of Ranier is a quaint little community situa ted right where Rainy Lake empties into the Rainy River underneath a cantilever-style train bridge that spans from the U.S. into Canada. Here you will find lodging, an RV park, a park and playground, a public beach, public docks, delicous food, an ice cream parlor and a lakeside brewpub, all packed into one small charming town of about 150 residents. Be sure to take a photo with Big Vic, the 25-foot (8 m) tall statue of a French-Canadian voyageur, who stands at the entrance to this unique little town. 

    The communites of Kabetogama , and Ash River , and Crane Lake are located 30 to 60 miles south of International Falls, and serve as gateways to the southern district Voyageurs National Park. Be sure to stop and take a photo of yourself "riding" the walleye statue at the entrance to Kabetogama on Highway 53.