The Grand Marais Recreation Area
The city-owned Grand Marais Recreation Area is the campground and marina on the west side of the harbor, at 114 South 8th Avenue West. It has 296 campsites on about 40 acres, and downtown is a short walk away. The grounds include the Sweetheart's Bluff nature area, four bathhouses with hot showers, a playground and a boat ramp with two docks.
The campground is open year-round, but the bathhouses and water at the sites run from May to mid October. Roughly half the sites can be reserved by the night or week. The other half are seasonal or drop-in sites.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Book online | Firefly Reservations, 24 hours a day |
| Park office | 218-387-1712 or 800-998-0959, recpark@boreal.org |
| Office hours | Daily May through mid October. Monday to Friday, November to May |
| Check-in and check-out | In after 1 p.m., out by noon |
| Quiet time | 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. No generators at any site |
| After-hours trouble | Local law enforcement, 218-387-3030. Emergencies, 911 |
How and when to reserve
Sites are released six months before the arrival date, and the window moves forward one day at midnight Central time. For the 2026 season, that meant booking opened on November 1 for May 1 arrivals. Once your arrival date is released you can book up to 14 nights.
- Reserve online through Firefly at any hour. From November to April you can also call the park office, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Every reservation takes a $40 deposit. Of that, $10 is a reservation fee you do not get back. The other $30 is refundable if you cancel two weeks or more before arrival. One-night stays are paid in full up front.
- Nightly and weekly sites have a two-week limit.
- Reservations are held until 1 p.m. on the day after your arrival date.
- There are no refunds for leaving early.
Drop-in sites
The lakeside RV and tent sites on the harbor (sites 1 to 18) and the bike trail tent sites (73 to 85) cannot be reserved. They are sold first-come at the front desk starting at 8 a.m. each day, if any are open. The person who will occupy the site has to be there to register, and you cannot hold a site for friends who have not arrived. To keep a drop-in site another night, renew by the afternoon of your last paid night.
2026 camping rates
These are the 2026 rates. They do not include 12.375% sales tax or the $10 reservation fee. Confirm the current figures on the rates page before you book.
| Site type | June to September | May and October |
|---|---|---|
| Standard RV, electric, water and sewer | $53.50 | $48.50 |
| Pull-through RV, electric, water and sewer | $58.00 | $53.00 |
| Lakeside RV, electric, water and sewer (drop-in only) | $70.00 | $65.00 |
| Basic RV, electric and water | $49.50 | $44.50 |
| Standard tent | $34.00 | $29.00 |
| Lakeside tent | $39.00 | $34.00 |
| Bike trail tent (drop-in only) | $25.75 | $20.75 |
The base rate covers one camping unit, one vehicle, one boat and trailer, and up to four adults. Extra adults, vehicles and boats are $5 each per night plus tax. No site may hold more than six people. Groups of seven or more use the primitive group sites at $8 per person per night.
A week costs the price of six nights, but only if you book it that way at the start. The weekly discount does not apply to the drop-in lakeside RV sites. Monthly rates exist on select sites, with a waiting list.
Campground rules
- Pets must be on a leash of six feet or less, picked up after, and never left alone.
- Buy firewood at the office. Outside wood is not allowed unless it is state certified.
- An RV site takes one RV and one tent. A tent site takes two tents.
- Campers under 18 must camp with a parent or guardian.
- Gray water goes in the dump station, never on the ground. The dump station is free for registered campers and $5 for travelers passing through.
- Clean fish at the station by the marina, not at your site.
All RV sites have 20 and 30 amp service, and many have 50 amp. A wifi hotspot works around the clock at the park office.
The marina
The municipal marina is in the northwest corner of the harbor, behind the inner rubble-mound breakwall. Its season runs June through September, with staff on from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and it monitors VHF channel 16. It sells premium gasoline with no ethanol and diesel, and it has a sanitary pump-out ($5) and a fish cleaning station by the service dock.
Two guest slips, A3 and B7, can be reserved. They sit next to the main channel in 10 feet or more of water, take boats up to 50 feet, and have 30 and 50 amp power and potable water. Slip E1 is a reservable shallow-water slip for boats under 20 feet. Guest moorings are generally available. Call the park office at 218-387-1712 to reserve. The same $40 deposit applies.
| Marina rates, as of September 2026 | Per night | Per month | Per season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep-water slip with electric, per foot | $1.95 | $28.00 | $77.75 |
| Shallow-water slip, no electric, per foot | $1.00 | $14.00 | $37.75 |
| Mooring buoy | $35 | $380 | $822 |
| On-shore pull-up | $11 ($66 a week) | $110 | not listed |
The marina does not say which year these rates apply to, so ask when you call. For the harbor entrance and big-lake safety, read the boating guide.
When the campground is full
The public alternatives, nearest first:
| Campground | Where | Sites | How to get a site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade River State Park | 10 miles southwest on Highway 61 | 19 rustic and 21 electric drive-in, plus backpack and group sites | Reservation only, up to 120 days ahead |
| Judge C.R. Magney State Park | 14 miles northeast on Highway 61 | 27 rustic drive-in; no winter camping | Reservation only, up to 120 days ahead |
| Kimball Lake (Superior National Forest) | About 12 miles north, off the Gunflint Trail | 10 | First-come; $22 a night in 2026 |
| Devil Track Lake (Superior National Forest) | About 12 miles north | 16 | First-come, year-round; $22 a night in 2026 |
| Two Island Lake (Superior National Forest) | About 14 miles northwest | 38 | First-come; $22 a night in 2026 |
| East Bearskin Lake (Superior National Forest) | About 26 miles up the Gunflint Trail | 32 | Some on Recreation.gov, the rest first-come; $22 |
| Flour Lake (Superior National Forest) | About 30 miles up the Gunflint Trail | 37 | Some on Recreation.gov, the rest first-come; $24 |
| Trail's End (Superior National Forest) | 57 miles, at the end of the Gunflint Trail | 32 | Some on Recreation.gov, the rest first-come; $24 |
State parks
Every campsite in a Minnesota state park needs a reservation. There are no walk-up sites. You can book up to 120 days before arrival at the DNR reservation site or by phone at 866-857-2757. On the first day a date becomes available, booking opens at 8 a.m. Central. As of 2026 the reservation fee is $8 online and $10 by phone, and same-day reservations carry no fee. You also need a vehicle permit: $7 for a day or $35 for a year. Grand Portage State Park, at the border, is day-use only.
Superior National Forest
Forest Service fee campgrounds have drinking water, outhouses and garbage service. Some sites at most of them are on Recreation.gov. The rest, and every site at campgrounds that take no reservations, go first-come. Rustic campgrounds are free and first-come, with no drinking water and no garbage pickup.
In 2026 the Gunflint-area fee campgrounds opened in early May and charge fees through October 18. After that the water is off and there are no fees or services. The stay limit is 14 days in a row at one spot. Camping outside developed sites is allowed on national forest land under Leave No Trace rules. The forest service guide has more, and the Gunflint Ranger District office in Grand Marais can tell you what is open.
What not to do
- Do not plan to sleep in your vehicle on the street. The city bans on-street parking from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Highway 61 and the downtown streets south and east of it, and in September 2026 the council made the Highway 61 overnight ban year-round.
- Do not pull into a state park after hours without a reservation. Only campers with a reserved site may be in a state park after 10 p.m.
- Do not camp at the border rest area. Stops there are limited to four hours, and overnight vehicle camping is not allowed.
- Do not occupy a drop-in site before you register at the park office, and do not hold one for someone who has not arrived.
If everything is full, call the Visit Cook County Information Center at 218-387-2524. The visitor guide covers the rest of the trip.
