Agency-listedUSFSFee

McDougal Lake Campground

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MN · 47.63914, -91.53393
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U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of McDougal Lake Campground
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of McDougal Lake Campground
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Weather outlook — at McDougal Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 1,783 ft.
Fire & smoke — around McDougal Lake CampgroundNIFC · 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 McDougal Lake Campground · Superior National Forest · MN

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 23 miWDump · 28 miDShort Stop · Fuel · 20 miFShort Stop · Grocery · 20 miGEssentia · Pharmacy · 23 miRxMehar's Ace Hardware · Hardware · 24 miHDon's Mobil & Auto Repair · Mechanic · 21 miMThe Laundry Room of Ely · Laundry · 24 miLShower · 20 miShBay Area Medical Clinic · Urgent care · 27 mi+Boundary Waters Outfitters · Outfitter · 19 miOBabbitt Post Office · Mail · 20 mi@Tofte, MN - Tesla Supercharger · EV fast charger · 32 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • OOutfitter19 mi
  • ShShower20 mi
  • FFuel20 mi
  • GGrocery20 mi
  • @Mail20 mi
  • MMechanic21 mi
  • RxPharmacy23 mi
  • WWater23 mi
  • LLaundry24 mi
  • HHardware24 mi
  • +Urgent care27 mi
  • DDump28 mi
  • EVEV fast charger32 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 20 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 32-mi run (and back).

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 — McDougal Lake Campground

Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
1,783 ft
State
MN
Coordinates
47.63914, -91.53393
Cost
Fee · Forest Service inventory: fee charged

Nearby & resupply — around McDougal Lake Campground · Superior National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureStony River (river) · nearby
  • Nearest townJay See Landing · ~7.0 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFinland Cooperative · ~20.7 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~27.6 mi
  • GroceriesZup's · ~19.9 mi
  • PharmacyEssentia · ~23.1 mi
  • Hospital / clinicEly Bloomenson Community Hospital · ~23.9 mi
  • HardwareHardware Hank · ~23.8 mi

EV charging — from McDougal Lake Campground · Superior National Forest · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around McDougal Lake Campground · Superior National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open McDougal Lake Campground elsewhere

Other camps near McDougal Lake Campground

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages McDougal Lake Campground

Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at McDougal Lake Campground are set by Superior National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.

How we know this — McDougal Lake Campground

Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 McDougal Lake Campground

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.

Before you go — McDougal Lake Campground

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →