Grand Marais Recreational Campground and Marina

August 11th we followed the road around Lake Superior and headed up past Duluth, MN to Grand Marais.

Grand Marais is in Minnesota and sits nearly to the Canadian border along the western side of Lake Superior and in the Superior National Forest.  Along the way, we tried to stop at Split Rock Lighthouse but cars were rude and took up all the RV spots and so we drove around the parking lot and left.  I was quite disappointed since my friend, Kim Andrews said it is a MUST SEE on the way to Grand Marais.  But, I did stop at a little quilt shop she suggested.  

So much for Bus and Trailer Parking!!
Only 1 lucky person was able to park!

By the time we got to Grand Marais it was probably 2 p.m.  We stayed at the Grand Marais Recreational Campground and Marina and were given site 71W, which proved to be one of the best in the campground fortunately for us.  There are very few pull-through spots and this one was wide on top of it.  So, that was nice for the dogs.  We were able to put out all the fencing for them to enjoy a nice run outside in their pen.

We were in site 71W where the yellow highlight is.
All the sites with the pink and blue north of Cobblestone Beach is where all the VERY tight camping was!
Also, up above on the upper right area was tight in Green.
Naturally, the prime sites were the purple sites with unobstructed views of Cobblestone Beach on the East.

The campground is located on the main drag in town.  You can actually walk along the marina side to the exit and be right in the thick of things downtown - a great convenience for shopping.  

Here's the office.  A cute 13 year-old boy was doing the reservations!

The amenities for this campground were few and basic as follows:

• 161 full hook up sites - back in and a very few pull ins
• 82 electric and water hookup sites
• 57 Tent areas with no hookups
• 30 amp electricity only
• Wifi hotspot at the office only
• Dump Station
• Shade Trees
• Grass
• Picnic Table
• Fire Pit
• 4 Bath Houses
• Bike Path - Gitchi Gami State Bike Trail
• Nature Trail - Sweetheart Bluff
• Harbor with 2 boat launches
• Fishing
• Fish Cleaning Station
• Beach Access - Cobblestone Beach and Grand Marais Harbor
• Boat Access - Grand Marais Harbor
• Kids Playground is minimal
• Rec Building that was closed
• Tiny Camp Store
• Baseball Field
• Pavilion
• Wood Lot for fire wood purchase
• NO Laundry

While it sounds like a lot, there is really minimal things to do at this location and no laundry, so if you needed to do laundry you have to go to a laundry map in town.  You have to really venture out to access most everything.  Also, there is no Internet, so you have to go to the library to use this.  We have our own, so we were OK.

The bad thing that we noticed when we drove around this large rec area is that, while it was packed with people, most sites are back-in and narrow.  We left like the people not in our area were packed in like sardines...the units were so close you couldn't tell where one started and one ended.  It was super noisy, too.  Also, many of the sites didn't have full hook-ups...only partial ones.  This lucky guy got a quiet, enclosed pull-in site.

Our location was secluded, quiet and very wide...the widest part of the campground and so we didn't feel claustrophobic like you would have any where else.  I also liked that I could walk down to the marina - just a two minute walk from our site.  You can see the lighthouse and Coast Guard Station Small North Superior is across the small harbor, as especially pretty at dusk.

One day, as I was walking out by the harbor I heard a dog crying and I realized it was the local city pound!  I was so sad and the poor poochie was unconsolable!  If you want to adopt a sweet pet, contact the city pound.

Just past the pound, I saw some steps and so I ventured out to see what it was and I wasn't disappointed.  It was a beautiful rocky site along the shore of Cobblestone Beach!

Here are some remaining photos of the locations:

Gathering Area

Close quarters but on a nice corner.
The majority of the park was extremely tight...this is actually, a nice spot.

Walkways

Firewood for Sale

Community Garden

Rec Hall - But it was locked!

Outside the Rec Hall

Kids Playground

Bathrooms by us

Overall, we gave this place a 3 rating.  It was OK.  While the location was beautiful, the price was $45 per night on weekends (Fri & Sat) and $42 nightly for weekdays (Sun-Thurs) with no discounts so we paid $157.97 for the 4 nights we were there.  Our spot was really a solid 4 rating, but the rest of the campground was a 2 because they were so bunched up together.  But, the beach access in two places, hiking accessibility and location to town helped make up for the lack of some spaces.  

OH!  To access a pool, there is the YMCA 5 blocks away - you have to pay $5 per person or $20 per family if you show your receipt from the campground.  There is also a golf course and you get discounts there for camping at Grand Marais.