Facility Details - CRESCENT LAKE (MN), MN

Overview

Crescent Lake is an undeveloped lake surrounded entirely by the remote Superior National Forest. This quiet campground has waterfront campsites with easy access to fishing, exploring the nearby wilderness and simply enjoying the beauty of the natural area.

Superior National Forest, located in northeastern Minnesota's arrowhead region, is comprised of 3 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.

Natural Features:

Superior National Forest is known for its boreal forest ecosystem, numerous clean lakes and diversity of plants and animals. The entire campground is heavily wooded with white pines, red pines, spruce, balsam, birch and aspen. Birds and wildlife are abundant, from moose and bear to bald eagles and loons.

Recreation:

The fishing is good for walleye, northern pike and muskie. Crescent Lake allows motorized boat use without limit on horsepower, but is most appropriate for small fishing or similar type boats.

The surrounding national forest offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities, including hiking in secluded woodlands and canoeing in pristine lakes and rivers.

View recreation guides and maps of hiking trails and canoe routes in the national forest.

Facilities:

The campground has 32 sites situated on a peninsula that juts out into the lake, providing many sites with nice views of the water and some sites with access to the water.

A few sites are first-come, first-served, including one primitive backcountry camping site that campers can boat into; access is a boat ramp on the northwest side of the lake.

Picnic tables, campfire grates, water pumps and vault toilets are provided. A fishing pier is located within the campground.

Nearby Attractions:

The concessionaire Sawbill Canoe Outfitters maintains a store with showers, laundry, fishing licenses, fishing bait and tackle, ice, grocery and convenience items, canoe and camping gear rental and a pay telephone. It is 13 miles from the campground.

Numerous outdoor recreation opportunities lie within Superior National Forest, including the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Over one million acres in size, the Boundary Waters extend nearly 150 miles along the United States-Canada border and contain over 1,200 miles of canoe routes, 12 hiking trails and over 2,000 designated campsites.

Additional sites of interest.

Activities and Amenities

Within Facility
Boat Ramp Boating Drinking Water Fishing	Fishing Pier Parking Area Trash Collection Vault Toilets

Know Before You Go

Because of its potential to carry invasive insects, absolutely no firewood is allowed from outside of Minnesota or from a non-certified vendor; visitors are allowed to use and possess firewood from trees other than ash gathered within 100 miles of Chippewa or Superior National Forests; learn more
Dogs are allowed but must be leashed
Two-vehicle limit for each campsite, not including trailers; second vehicle must pay half the posted fee; extra vehicles may park in the public parking lot for free
Fires in campfire pits only and must be completely extinguished; cutting of live vegetation is not allowed
Be bear aware; keep all food out of site in approved containers or locked inside a hard-sided vehicle and remove all food from area after eating
Click here for more information on Superior National Forest

Getting There:

GPS Info. (Latitude, Longitude):
47.83676, -90.77314
47°50'12"N, 90°46'23"W

Travel Highway 61 along Lake Superior's north shore to Tofte, Minnesota. In Tofte, turn north (away from Lake Superior) on Sawbill Trail (CCHS 2). Follow the Sawbill Trail for 16 miles to The Grade (Forest Road 170). Turn right onto the The Grade and proceed east for 7 miles. The campground is on your right and is marked by a large sign.