Agency-listedBLM · dispersedFree
Lake Vermilion Public Islands
Drive-up · Bureau of Land Management · MN · 47.87583, -92.30026
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →Bureau of Land Management lists this site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Lake Vermilion Public Islands
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,358 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake Vermilion Public IslandsNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Lake Vermilion Public Islands · Superior National Forest · MN
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- +Urgent care4 mi
- FFuel5 mi
- GGrocery5 mi
- MMechanic5 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- HHardware5 mi
- LLaundry5 mi
- ShShower5 mi
- DDump6 mi
- RxPharmacy18 mi
- WWater20 mi
- OOutfitter20 mi
- EVEV fast charger26 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 5 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Lake Vermilion Public Islands
Access
Drive-up
Land
Bureau of Land Management · dispersed
Elevation
1,358 ft
State
MN
Coordinates
47.87583, -92.30026
Cost
Free · no fee, per the land manager's own page (blm.gov, read 2026-09-19)
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Vermilion Public Islands · Superior National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureVermilion Lake · under 0.1 mi · USGS: perennial lake or pond
- Nearest townTower · ~5.0 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~5.1 mi
- FuelFuel · ~4.8 mi
- Propane / LPGFerrellgas · ~27.0 mi
- Dump station~5.7 mi
- GroceriesSoudan's Only Store · ~4.8 mi
- PharmacyFranks Pharmacy · ~18.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicCook Hospital · ~17.7 mi
- HardwareVermilion Lumber · ~5.1 mi
EV charging — from Lake Vermilion Public Islands · Superior National Forest · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger26.3 mi straight-line SW — Ken Waschke Auto Plaza, VIRGINIA, MN · EV Connect · CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 3 within 50 · 13 within 100 · 30 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)65.3 mi — Two Harbors, MN - Tesla Supercharger, Two Harbors
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO26.6 mi — VIRGINIA PU VETS MEMORIAL, Virginia
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)21.2 mi — Dairy Queen Grill & Chill - Tesla Destination, Ely, MN (at a restaurant) · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 6 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Adventure Inn - Tesla Destination, Ely, 21.0 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 353736 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Lake Vermilion Public Islands · Superior National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletPfeiffer Lake Campground · ~11.7 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPfeiffer Lake Boat Access · ~11.8 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPfeiffer Lake Fishing Pier · ~11.8 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPfeiffer Lake Day Use Area · ~11.9 mi SW · USFS
Coming out here — Lake Vermilion Public Islands · Superior National Forest · MN
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Vermilion Lake as a perennial lake or pond, under 0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Lake Vermilion Public Islands elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Vermilion Public Islands
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lake Vermilion Site 1~2.2 mi
- Lake Vermilion Site 18~2.8 mi
- Lake Vermilion Site 15~3.1 mi
- Lake Vermilion Site 4~3.4 mi
The unit that manages Lake Vermilion Public Islands
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lake Vermilion Public Islands are set by Superior National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Lake Vermilion Public Islands
Fee note
No fee, per the BLM page, read 19 Sep 2026: "There is no permit or fee requirement to camp. All sites are first-come, first-served. Considerations The Lake Vermilion public islands are sensitive, unique features with cultural and natural resource values. Please do…" https://www.blm.gov/visit/lake-vermilion-public-islands
Source
Bureau of Land Management recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up). | No fee 2026-09-19: "There is no permit or fee requirement to camp. All sites are first-come, first-served. Considerations The Lake Vermilion public islands are sensitive, unique features with cultural and natural resource values. Please do…" Source: https://www.blm.gov/visit/lake-vermilion-public-islands (worker_W, statement verified on that page).
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Lake Vermilion Public Islands
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Lake Vermilion Public Islands
Camping near a reservoir →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Picking a spot →All field notes →