Minnesota state park reservations, North Shore

Facts checked against official sources on November 11, 2026

Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Booking window: Up to 120 days before arrival
Opening time: 8 a.m. Central on the first day a date opens
Reservation fee: $8 online, $10 by phone, none for same-day
Free cancellation: 14 or more days before arrival
Longest stay: 14 nights camping, 7 nights lodging
Vehicle permit: Still required: $7 a day or $35 a year

In this guide

How the 120-day window works
What it costs
Cancelling, changing and showing up
Park-by-park booking notes
If everything is booked
Planning checklist

Short answer: Every campsite and cabin in a Minnesota state park needs a reservation, year-round, made through Reserve MN online or at 866-857-2757. You can book up to 120 days before your arrival date, and on the first day a date opens, booking starts at 8 a.m. Central. It costs $8 online or $10 by phone, and same-day reservations have no fee. You also need a state park vehicle permit, $7 a day or $35 a year.

This guide is for anyone trying to get a campsite at one of the seven North Shore state parks that have camping, especially in summer and fall when the DNR calls reservations "essential" at Gooseberry Falls. It covers how the booking window works, what it costs, how to cancel, and the park-by-park quirks that trip people up. Facts come from the Minnesota DNR; sources are at the end.

How the 120-day window works

The DNR's rules, from its reservation FAQ:

Window: "up to 120 days before your arrival date."
Opening time: online booking runs 24 hours a day, "except for the first day a reservation becomes available. On that first day, reservations cannot be made before 8 a.m. Central Standard Time."
Required year-round: "all lodging and all campsites in state parks and recreation areas are 100% reservable and require a reservation," including sites open in winter.
Book from home: the DNR recommends reserving before you leave because "cell phone coverage and Wi-Fi are unpredictable at some parks."

The window is set by your arrival night. To find your booking day, count back 120 days from the night you arrive, then be online at 8 a.m. Central that morning. Some examples for 2027:

Arrival night	Booking opens (8 a.m. Central)	Why it matters
Friday, June 18, 2027	Thursday, February 18, 2027	Early summer weekend
Friday, July 2, 2027	Thursday, March 4, 2027	Fourth of July weekend
Friday, September 24, 2027	Thursday, May 27, 2027	Late September weekend
Friday, October 1, 2027	Thursday, June 3, 2027	Early October weekend

Because the window is tied to arrival, a multi-night stay that starts on an open date can extend past the 120-day line. The DNR notes that if the last date of your reservation was outside the window, "you will need to wait 21 days before you can modify it."

What it costs

Reservation fee (DNR fee schedule): $8 online, $10 through the call center, non-refundable, charged per site. No fee for same-day reservations.

Nightly campsite fees in state parks, before tax:

Site type	Per night
Drive-in	$20 to $35
Cart-in and walk-in (under half a mile from parking)	$20 to $25
Backcountry (backpack and watercraft sites over half a mile)	$20 to $23
Group camp	$50 to $300
Electric hookup, where available	add $10

On the North Shore, only Tettegouche rents cabins. Its four Tettegouche Camp cabins list at $130 to $175 a night and the Illgen Falls cabin at $220, before tax.

Vehicle permit (DNR permit page): a reservation does not include park entry. The DNR says "all vehicles entering a state park or recreation area must have a Minnesota state park vehicle permit." Choose one:

One-day or overnight, $7. The DNR says an overnight permit costs the same as a one-day permit and is "valid for the date of purchase through 4 p.m. the following day."
Year-round, $35, good at every state park from the month of purchase through the end of that month the next year. An additional vehicle you own costs $26.

For multi-night stays, ask the park which permit covers your whole stay; the year-round permit covers every visit for a year.

A worked example: two nights at a North Shore electric site booked online, before tax: $8 reservation fee plus 2 × ($20 to $35 + $10 electric) for the site = $68 to $98, plus a vehicle permit ($7 overnight or $35 year-round). Reserve MN shows the exact price for the site you pick.

A snow-covered campsite at Temperance River State Park on Minnesota's North Shore in winter — Photo: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cancelling, changing and showing up

From the DNR reservation FAQ:

Situation	Camping	Lodging (cabins)
Cancel 14 or more days before arrival	No cancellation fee	No cancellation fee
Cancel under 14 days, more than 48 hours before check-in	$6 online / $7 by phone	$6 / $7, plus one night forfeited
Cancel under 48 hours before check-in	$6 / $7, plus one night forfeited	$6 / $7, plus one night forfeited
Change a reservation	Up to 2 times; $6 online / $7 by phone	Same

The $8 or $10 reservation fee is never refunded. The DNR says refunds can take up to 5 business days to reach your account.

Check-in and no-shows. The DNR park rules set camping check-in at 4 p.m. and lodging check-in at 3 p.m. for camper cabins (other lodging: check with the park). If you have not checked in by 11 a.m. on the second day, the reservation may be canceled with no refund.

Length of stay: 14 nights maximum on a single camping reservation, 7 on lodging.

Paying cash: the DNR says cash is accepted only for same-day reservations, only when the ranger station is open. Call 866-857-2757 to hold the site, then pay at the park.

Park-by-park booking notes

Each North Shore park's DNR page adds its own advice. Grand Portage is left out because it has no camping. For site counts and electric hookups, see North Shore state parks compared.

Park	When to book ahead, per the DNR	Quirk to know
Gooseberry Falls	"Essential during late spring, summer and for fall weekends"	Off season, you can register after you arrive. Unplowed winter sites are blocked in the system; stop at the visitor center to arrange one.
Split Rock Lighthouse	"Highly recommended"; sites "book quickly during the summer season"	No first-come sites. Make sure you book Split Rock Lighthouse, not Split Rock Creek State Park in southern Minnesota.
Tettegouche	"Highly recommended May through the middle of October"	DNR pages disagree: the park's camping listing calls the 5 backpack sites and the Lake Superior canoe-in sites first come, first served, while its reservation note says "No first come, first served sites" and the DNR FAQ says all campsites require a reservation. Call the park before counting on a walk-up site.
George H. Crosby Manitou	Reserve before arriving	No cell service at the park; all 20 backpack sites are reservable.
Temperance River	"Strongly recommended from May to mid-October"	Sites 53 and 55 are steep; the DNR suggests only tents or very small trailers there.
Cascade River	Not stated	Many sites are small; the DNR says to count both trailer and tow vehicle length. Max RV length is 35 feet.
Judge C.R. Magney (Devil's Kettle)	"Recommended for peak summer and fall seasons"	Closed late October through April, and no reservations are taken for those months.

If everything is booked

Book same-day. Same-day reservations have no fee and can be made from home, the road or the park, according to the DNR. They depend on cancellations, so check the morning of your trip.
Look at state forest campgrounds. The DNR's FAQ says "if you want to camp without a reservation, the state forest campgrounds have first-come, first-served sites." On the North Shore, Tettegouche manages the Eckbeck and Finland state forest campgrounds, and the DNR says Judge C.R. Magney manages Devilfish Lake, Esther Lake, McFarland Lake and Twin Lakes campgrounds in nearby state forests.
Look beyond state parks. Near Grand Marais, the city campground and Superior National Forest campgrounds run on their own systems. See the camping near Grand Marais guide.

Planning checklist

Pick the park and site type, and check the RV length limit.
Count back 120 days from your arrival night and set an alarm for 7:55 a.m. Central that day.
Create or log in to your Reserve MN account the day before.
Book online for $8 rather than by phone for $10.
Buy a vehicle permit: $7 one-day or overnight, or $35 for the year if you will visit five or more park days. For a multi-night stay, ask the park which permit covers it.
Cancel at least 14 days out if your plans change, to avoid fees.