- Estimated Cost: $5
- Deposit: $5
- Max Trip Size: 25 people
Spend the holiday weekend at Bear Head Lake State Park, near Ely. Pristine lakes. Home to black bears, nesting eagles, wolves and moose. White and red pines tower over the birch, aspen and fir trees. Located just south of the BWCAW, the park has a similar wilderness quality. Explore miles of shoreline by canoe.
Swim at the beach, picnic in the shelter, fish for walleye, bass, crappies or trout. 17 miles of trails in the park link to the Taconite State Trail and offer hikers plenty to enjoy. (Plus, the group site has its own dock on Bear Head Lake!) If that’s not enough, the Wolf Center, the Bear Center, and Soudan Underground Mine and the new Lake Vermilion State Parks are nearby. You’ll leave knowing why Bear Head Lake State Park is such a favorite.
We’ll provide a couple of stoves and some basic pots and pans and a dishpan for cleaning up. You bring your food, snacks, beverages, plates/utensils, lawn chair, and camping gear. If you can bring a grill or tarp (just in case of rain!), let us know. We plan to have a potluck one night and a cook-off on another. More details on that later. Also, if you can coordinate an activity, let us know. Tents and sleeping bags are available from the Rovers for free, but you will need to make arrangements with the cage coordinator to reserve and pick up. Rovers membership is required for this overnight trip. Beginners are welcome, and 5 spaces will be reserved until June 17 for new members who have joined in the past year.
Spend the weekend here and then continue into the BWCAW the next week! We’ll arrange carpooling as the trip gets closer. Please contact the coordinators if you want to discuss bringing your EXTREMELY WELL-BEHAVED dog. Estimated cost: $5 per night + food, gas and park sticker. Deposit: $5 per night.. Max trip size: 25.
Stacey G.& April O. 
Trip report