Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree

Snowbank Lake Site 8

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · MN · 47.98665, -91.44637
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U.S. Forest Service 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
USGS topographic map of Snowbank Lake Site 8
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Snowbank Lake Site 8
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Weather outlook — at Snowbank Lake Site 8
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Snowbank Lake Site 8NIFC · 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 Snowbank Lake Site 8 · Superior National Forest · MN

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 22 miWDump · 32 miDShort Stop · Fuel · 19 miFShort Stop · Grocery · 19 miGEssentia · Pharmacy · 19 miRxKJ's True Value Hardware · Hardware · 20 miHEly Auto Services · Mechanic · 19 miMThe Laundry Room of Ely · Laundry · 20 miLShower · 15 miShVermillion Clinic · Urgent care · 42 mi+Trading Post · Outfitter · 2 miOEly Post Office · Mail · 20 mi@Tofte, MN - Tesla Supercharger · EV fast charger · 40 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • OOutfitter2 mi
  • ShShower15 mi
  • FFuel19 mi
  • GGrocery19 mi
  • MMechanic19 mi
  • RxPharmacy19 mi
  • LLaundry20 mi
  • HHardware20 mi
  • @Mail20 mi
  • WWater22 mi
  • DDump32 mi
  • EVEV fast charger40 mi
  • +Urgent care42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 22-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 19 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 40-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 — Snowbank Lake Site 8

Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
MN
Coordinates
47.98665, -91.44637
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Snowbank Lake Site 8 · Superior National Forest · MN (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureGriddle Lake (water) · nearby
  • Nearest townForest Center · ~14.7 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • Fuelnone within 30 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • GroceriesShort Stop · ~19.1 mi
  • PharmacyEssentia · ~19.3 mi
  • Hospital / clinicEly Bloomenson Community Hospital · ~20.6 mi
  • HardwareHardware Hank · ~20.2 mi
  • Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.

EV charging — from Snowbank Lake Site 8 · Superior National Forest · MN — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Snowbank Lake Site 8 · Superior National Forest · MN — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Snowbank Lake Site 8 elsewhere

Other camps near Snowbank Lake Site 8

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

The unit that manages Snowbank Lake Site 8

Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Snowbank Lake Site 8 are set by Superior National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.

How we know this — Snowbank Lake Site 8

Source
U.S. Forest Service 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).
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 Snowbank Lake Site 8

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 — Snowbank Lake Site 8

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 →