McDougal Lake Campground – Superior National Forest – Minnesota · Tony Webster · CC BY 2.0 · cropped
Superior National Forest published a September 16, 2026 press release that sets the fall campground calendar in writing. Developed and rustic campgrounds are moving into seasonal closures, with October 1 as the main gate and fee date and October 18 as the last listed fee night on several Gunflint and Tofte sites.
If you still need a Forest Service pad near Ely, Grand Marais, Tofte, or Cook, match your arrival to the district list, not to a generic “open until snow” guess. Start with Deep Arrival’s RV parks and campgrounds near Ely if your trip is built around town services, then confirm the Forest Service release before you leave a car at a gated loop.
- Release: Seasonal Closure Information for Superior NF Campgrounds, dated September 16, 2026.
- October 1: Fall Lake and Birch Lake gates close. Several other sites drop fees and services.
- October 18: Devils Track, East Bearskin, Flour, Iron, Kimball, Trails End, Two Island, Crescent, Sawbill, and Temperance River stay open with fees through that date.
- October 26: Echo Lake, Jeanette Lake, and Pfeiffer Lake gates close after an unpaid, no-service window.
- Not included: The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is outside this announcement. Dispersed camping, boat ramps, and trails remain open.
October 1 Gates and Fee Changes by District
The Forest Service’s own September 16 release is the load-bearing list. Kawishiwi District, based in Ely, is the sharpest October 1 line: Fall Lake and Birch Lake campground gates close that day. Fenske Lake and South Kawishiwi Lake stay open in October with no fees and no services.
LaCroix District, based in Cook, moves Echo Lake and Jeanette Lake to no fees and no services on October 1, then closes the gates on October 26. Laurentian District does the same at Pfeiffer Lake. Cadotte Lake is already gated and closed for the season. Whiteface Lake Loops 1 and 2 are already gated; Loops 3 and 4 close October 1.
Tofte District drops Little Isabella, McDougal, Divide, and Ninemile to no fees and no services on October 1. McDougal Lake is the named campground on the forest sign many drivers photograph on the way to Isabella. After October 1 it is an unpaid, unserviced pad until the gate policy for that site takes over, not a staffed fee campground.
The Ely Echo printed the same district list on September 19. Use the Forest Service page as the official text and the Echo as independent confirmation that the October dates reached local travelers in the same form.
Campgrounds That Stay Open Through October 18
Gunflint District, based in Grand Marais, keeps a longer fee season. Devils Track Lake, East Bearskin Lake, Flour Lake, Iron Lake, Kimball Lake, Trails End, and Two Island Lake remain open through October 18 with fees. Tofte District keeps Crescent, Sawbill, and Temperance River Campgrounds on the same October 18 fee window.
That is the last listed paid night on those loops, not a promise of heat, water, or a host after a storm. The release says that once a site is in seasonal closure, there is no garbage, recycling, water, or power. If you book the October 18 night, pack out everything and treat the next morning as a possible gate.
Flour Lake sits on the Gunflint Trail, which is the classic drive out of Grand Marais. Sawbill and Temperance River sit on the Tofte side, closer to the North Shore. Those two clusters are the remaining developed options if Ely’s Fall Lake gate is already locked. They are still Forest Service campgrounds, not private resorts, and they still close after the listed date.
Do not transfer an October 18 date onto Fall Lake, Birch Lake, or Cadotte. Those names have earlier gates. A Gunflint reservation does not keep a Kawishiwi loop open.
What Stays Open When the Gates Lock
The release is explicit about what this is not. Dispersed and backcountry camping remain open. Boat ramps, trails, and certain restrooms remain open. Gates at recreation sites lock until spring. Sites with no fees and no services become first-come, first-served.
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is not in this announcement. The Forest Service footnote says developed and rustic campgrounds sit on about two million acres of the forest’s three million, and the wilderness is excluded. A BWCA permit, an entry point, or a wilderness campsite is a different product from Fall Lake’s developed loops.
That matters because the forest is still carrying wildfire work from the July lightning event. The forest home page tells visitors some areas still have fire impacts and to use the current conditions page. A locked developed campground does not reopen a closed wilderness entry, and a reopened entry does not keep a developed loop staffed.
Deep Arrival’s earlier campfire-rule note covered summer fire restrictions at developed pads. This fall list is the seasonal gate calendar, not a new fire order. Check both if you plan a stove or a ring after October 1.
How to Plan an Ely or Gunflint Trip After October 1
If your trip is Ely-based and you wanted Fall Lake, October 1 is the gate. Shift to Fenske Lake or South Kawishiwi for an unpaid October pad, or leave the forest loops and use town camping from the Ely guide. If you need a hookup, dump station, or guaranteed water, do not treat a no-service Forest Service site as a substitute for a private park.
Gunflint and Tofte travelers have until October 18 on the named fee loops. That is four extra nights after Ely’s Fall Lake gate, which is enough to finish a foliage week if you book the right district. After October 18, assume those fee loops are in the same seasonal-closure bucket as the rest of the developed system unless a later forest notice says otherwise.
North Shore drivers who are already in Grand Marais can pair a Gunflint fee night with a stop at Deep Arrival’s Grand Portage National Monument page for the border-and-lake day, then return to Flour Lake or East Bearskin before the October 18 cutoff. That is a different itinerary from an Ely Fall Lake weekend, and the dates are not interchangeable.
Pack for no services even on the fee nights that remain. The release tells visitors to pack out all garbage and gear and to Leave No Trace. Bring water, a way to store food from bears, and a plan if the recorded conditions line lists a new gate. The forest’s camping and cabins page is the search tool the release names for individual campground filters.
Leave No Trace and Current Conditions Checks
Seasonal closure here means the developed plant shuts down. It does not mean the forest is closed. You can still drive forest roads that remain open, walk trails, launch a boat at a ramp the forest keeps available, and camp dispersed where that is legal. You cannot count on a host, a water spigot, or a dumpster after the listed dates.
Cadotte Lake is already closed. Whiteface Loops 1 and 2 are already gated. Those are current facts, not October forecasts. If your screenshot still shows those loops as open, replace it with the September 16 release. The Ely Echo’s September 19 reprint matches the same names, which is useful confirmation and not a second set of dates.
Call or click before you commit a Friday arrival. The forest asks visitors to check Current Conditions and Alerts. Culvert work on the Ely side has been postponed to September 28 through October 16, which overlaps the Fall Lake gate. A detour and a locked campground on the same weekend is a different trip from the one you booked in July.
If you hold a reservation past a gate date, resolve it with Recreation.gov or the forest, not with a local rumor that “they always leave it open.” The written list is the planning tool until a later release changes a named site.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Want Fall Lake or Birch Lake near Ely | Be out before the October 1 gate. Use Fenske or South Kawishiwi in October only as unpaid, no-service sites. |
| Are driving the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais | Fee camping remains through October 18 at Devils Track, East Bearskin, Flour, Iron, Kimball, Trails End, and Two Island. |
| Need Tofte-area developed sites | Crescent, Sawbill, and Temperance River stay on fees through October 18. McDougal, Little Isabella, Divide, and Ninemile drop fees on October 1. |
| Are camping in the Boundary Waters | This list does not apply. Use the wilderness permit and entry-point rules, plus current fire and closure maps. |
October 1 is the main gate and fee date. Fall Lake and Birch Lake lock. Echo, Jeanette, Pfeiffer, McDougal, Little Isabella, Divide, Ninemile, and Whiteface Loops 3 and 4 lose fees and services, with later gates on some of those names.
October 18 is the last listed fee night on the Gunflint and Tofte holdouts. After that date, treat those loops as entering the same seasonal-closure pattern unless the forest posts a new notice.
October 26 is the Echo, Jeanette, and Pfeiffer gate. Use the unpaid October window only if you can pack out everything and accept a first-come site with no water or trash service.
When do Superior National Forest campgrounds close in 2026?
The September 16 Forest Service release uses October 1 as the main gate and fee date, October 18 for several Gunflint and Tofte fee loops, and October 26 for Echo, Jeanette, and Pfeiffer gates.
Does Fall Lake Campground close October 1?
Yes. The Kawishiwi District list says Fall Lake and Birch Lake campground gates close on October 1, 2026.
Which campgrounds stay open through October 18?
Gunflint keeps Devils Track, East Bearskin, Flour, Iron, Kimball, Trails End, and Two Island on fees through October 18. Tofte keeps Crescent, Sawbill, and Temperance River on the same window.
Is the Boundary Waters included in this campground closure?
No. The Forest Service footnote says the BWCAW is not included. Dispersed camping, boat ramps, and trails remain open.
Can I still camp after a campground drops fees on October 1?
On named no-fee, no-service sites, yes, first-come, first-served, with no garbage, water, or power. Pack out everything. Gated sites such as Fall Lake are closed at the listed gate date.
Where do I check before I drive to Ely or Grand Marais?
Use the Forest Service Current Conditions and Alerts page named in the release, plus the camping and cabins filter for the exact loop.
