Jeanette Lake

Jeanette Lake Campground is a small, single-loop campground on a peninsula reaching out onto the glacier-carved Lake Jeanette in Superior National Forest. Originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, this sweet, picturesque campground is well worth the drive. Superior National Forest, in northeastern Minnesota's arrowhead region, spans 150 miles of three million acres along the United States-Canada border, with recreation year-round including travel in the famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The winding shoreline and islands make the 638-acre Lake Jeanette a great place to explore in a canoe or kayak. Fishing opportunities include walleye, northern pike and perch. The campground provides access to the Astrid Lake Hiking Trail for those who want to stretch their legs, and the surrounding national forest offers hiking in secluded woodlands and canoeing in pristine lakes and rivers. There are 12 sites total: six reservable standard sites, four first-come, first-served standard sites, and two first-come, first-served tent-only sites, usually accessible to RVs and tent trailers along with tent-only and hike-in sites. Most sites have a view of the lake and some are located on the lakeshore. The campsites are close together, providing fair privacy, except for the walk-in sites, which enjoy excellent privacy. The walk-in tent sites have an additional backcountry latrine nearby, and campers may want to bring toilet paper. Lake Jeanette also has six dispersed backcountry sites that are first-come, first-served and accessible only by boat. Lake Jeanette is not the largest or most isolated lake in the national forest, but it feels like it is both. Created long ago by a massive glacier, this lake is considered by many to be a special location. The campground is wooded with a pleasant mix of hardwoods, pine and spruce providing shade for most sites. The understory of fern, wildflowers and grass is kept under control by mowing, giving the campground a manicured appearance, and glacial "erratics" (massive boulders) left behind by the receding glacier give the campground character and a place for moss to grow. Possible day trips include Voyageurs National Park, Crane Lake and Vermillion Falls. Beyond them, the forest holds 77 lake accesses, 13 fishing piers, 10 swimming beaches, 22 picnic areas and three scenic byways.