“Get a Sense of the North Shore!”
Come to Tettegouche for a great sense of the North Shore: the spectacular overlooks at Shovel Point; rocky, steep cliffs and inland bluffs; the cascading 60 ft. High Falls of the Baptism River; and the historic Tettegouche Camp where visitors can stay the night. This is a hiker's paradise with miles of trails that overlook the Sawtooth Mountains and wind down to inland lakes accessible only by foot. The Palisade Valley Unit features broad scenic vistas coupled with an expanse of multi-use, four-season trails. Two more trout lakes complement the fishing opportunities within the rest of the park. The park is also known for rock climbing opportunities and quality birdwatching in the spring, summer, and especially the fall. The wide variety of plant communities in the park supports more than 40 species of mammals. Most commonly seen are white-tailed deer, snowshoe hare, red squirrel and beaver. Less commonly observed are moose, black bear, red fox, and river otter. Occasionally, coyote, fisher pine marten, northern flying squirrel, and even the timber wolf are seen. Northeastern Minnesota is recognized as one of the better areas in the nation to find rare birds. Diversity of habitat, geography and proximity to Lake Superior combine to produce a variety of bird life at Tettegouche. In all, 140 species have been identified. Kinglets, spruce grouse, and many northern warblers nest in bogs and coniferous forests in the summer. In fall, hawk migration along the shore of Lake Superior numbers in the tens of thousands. Winter is an excellent time to see northern owls, woodpeckers, finches, and unusual water birds. The park is home to peregrine falcons. In 1898, the Alger-Smith Lumber Company began cutting the virgin pine forests of Northeastern Minnesota. A logging camp was set up on the shores of a lake the loggers called Nipisiquit, an Indian name from a tribe in New Brunswick, Canada, the logger's native country. They took the Algonquin names for New Brunswick landmarks and gave them to the lakes in Tettegouche. In 1910, after removing most of the Norway and white pine, the logging company sold the camp and surrounding acreage to the "Tettegouche Club," a group of businessmen from Duluth who used the area as a fishing camp and retreat. One of its members, Clement Quinn, bought the others out in 1921 and continued to act as protector for the area until 1971 when Quinn sold Tettegouche to the deLaittres family. The deLaittres continued Quinn's tradition of stewardship for the land, beginning negotiations several years later for the preservation of Tettegouche as a state park. During these years, the Nature Conservancy, a private land conservation organization, played a vital role (along with other concerned individuals and groups) in the transfer of ownership. Finally, on June 29, 1979, legislation was enacted establishing Tettegouche as a state park.
Reviews of Tettegouche State Park
10 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on May 26, 2023AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on August 03, 2021I believe most, if not all, of the sites are dry camping. We had no problem getting enough solar in our site, yet we also had hammock trees and plenty of shade. It was the perfect combination.
We hiked out to Shovel Point, saw the mouth of the baptism river, and used this as a base camp to backpack in George Crosby-Manitou State Park where there is no campground. Overall very beautiful and peaceful with great Verizon signal.
The Visitor Center has super fast WiFi (I believe it was 8GB UP) but the parking lot down there has a 6 hour limit - not overnight like we originally thought. You could hang out in the lobby with a laptop and even grab a hot chocolate from the little cafe though if you wanted.
Nightly Rate: $23.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 18
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This was by far my favorite campground in the Minnesota SP system on the North Shore. I stayed at a few others and drove thru others except for Gooseberry SP. So if Gooseberry SP campground is better, I apologize, but I loved this one. The sites are big, spacious and most have a large backyard and privacy. Site #10e is probably one of the smallest sites in the campground and I had no problem getting my trailer in it. The campground is about 1.5 miles from the Visitor's Center so it was quiet and peaceful.
There about 28 RV sites (others in the main campground are walk-in tent sites), all electric except for 9 non-electric sites. This is likely one of the most popular campgrounds on the North Shore due to it's campground and proximity to Duluth. Gooseberry SP is closer to Duluth and is likely just as busy. I was here after Labor Day and you would expect most of the sites to be open on a weekday, not so, even if the families with kids aren't here, there are many other retired campers here. Even so, all the sites have very good privacy! I have solar, but all of the other non-reservable, non-electric sites were taken including the one I wanted, #18 by Currently Wandering. Oh well, still got a great site, just had to pay the electric rate of $31 a night! Got between 2-3 bars Verizon LTE without booster. NO Dump Station, although there is one in Silver Bay.
If you have a tent, there are about 13 cart-in sites (in a different area, not at the main campground) that over look Lake Superior and are beautiful.
Hiking trails to the falls area is fairly short but fun. I was fortunate to have a friend come up so we were able to do a point to point 12 mile hike on the Superior Hiking Trail from Silver Bay back to the campground. If you are able to do this, it is extremely pretty and you hike near a few lakes. You can also do a loop hike from around Silver Bay to include some of the Superior Hiking Trail and a local trail.
You can easily spend 2 weeks here and just day trip to the other state parks for their hiking. Grand Marais is about 50 miles one way but an easy drive if you are staying here.
Nightly Rate: $31.00
Days Stayed: 14
Site Number: 10e
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
This state park is absolutely breathtaking! The campground is wonderful; private sites surrounded by beautiful greenery, great hiking trails, clean sites, clean bathrooms. This campground doesn't have a dump station but the station is a short drive into Silver Bay. The staff at the visitor center are super friendly and helpful. They have ice and firewood available for purchase. Shovel point, palisades head, and lake superior beach are all so magically beautiful. Northern Lights Roadhouse is down the street which serves great food and great bloody marys!
Nightly Rate: $31.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 21E
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We had a great site that was very level. Sites are spaced apart for some privacy. The bathhouse and showers were clean. The park has a lot of hiking trails and is across the highway from the beach .
Nightly Rate: $39.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 30
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
The drive in from South along the coast was beautiful. So many purple and pink wildflowers, so green and lush. We had a nice site, big and private. There’s paths from the back of the campsites that go to the falls. We had electric and filled with water near the bath house. Our friends were in site #22 it was awesome. The smell of pine was so nice Christmas in June. It was very quiet all week.
There’s many trails in the park along with lots to do close by. Palisade Head, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse and state park, Cascade falls state park, Grand Marais, Temperance River so, Bettys pies (we ate there) then went to the Rustic inn for pie. The best peanut butter pie ever. Good Blueberry pie too.
There is a lake called Lax lake about 5 miles inland nice boating, kayaking and fishing. Dinner was served. On the way there are 2 places that sell wood not bad bundles. The park sells it but due to COVID they didn’t sell it.
Nice dark sky’s at night.
The visitors center looked nice yet was closed. The dump station is
Nightly Rate: $33.00
Days Stayed: 8
Site Number: 20
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We had a back-in 50A electric only site. Thick tree cover. Short drive to get to the bathroom/showers/water/garbage.
Nightly Rate: $42.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 15E
We really enjoyed not having neighbors close by, as there were many trees separating each campsite. There is a fire ban on at this time, so no campfires, which was a bummer, but understandable. Enjoyed the quiet and relaxing campsite and will return again.
Nightly Rate: $35.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 14E
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This is our second stay here. The sites are very private. My site had a few hours of sun every day. There was not power or water at my site. My site was near the bath house. The shower was a bit cool for my taste but I might of taken a shower after several others that used all the hot water. We ar where in June and had it not been for all the wind the flys and mosquitoes would have been barely tolerable.
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 3
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We stayed here the weekend before memorial day. The campground seemed fairly full but was rather quiet for a state park campground. Our site long and narrow and was nicely secluded with trees on all sides and not being able to see adjacent sites. it was right next to a trail but it wasn't trafficked too heavily. It was not terribly level but we were able to get it leveled with blocks. It doesn't really appear like there would be a good spot to put down a tent. We got no TV channels and 2 bars of Verizon LTE. The LTE was spotty at times but I was able to stream to my TV. You couldn't really hear the road at our site but you could hear the nearby waterfall. There is no dump station but there is one just down the road in Silver Bay which also has drinking water to fill your tanks. The road into the campground in from 61 is kinda long and has a good amount of heaves.
Nightly Rate: $35.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 19E
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Tettegouche State Park
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 12:00 am - 11:59 pm
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Last Nightly Rate
- 35.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 27.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 23.0
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 14
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Water Hookup
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