About South Kawishiwi River
Number of accommodations: 21
Campground Amenities
-
Potable Water -
River Access
Seasonal information
2026 Season availability
Sites & Availability
21 Sites Available
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Site Details
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21 Sites Available
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Reviews (116)
What Guests Are Saying
South Kawishiwi River is a beautifully maintained campground with well-spaced, clean sites and friendly camp hosts who ensure excellent upkeep, including impressively clean vault toilets. Visitors appreciate the peaceful atmosphere, great water access for canoeing, and lovely swimming spots nearby. While there are occasional issues with mosquitoes and site sizes, the overall experience is highly positive, making it a favorite destination for campers.
What Guests Are Saying
South Kawishiwi River is a beautifully maintained campground with well-spaced, clean sites and friendly camp hosts who ensure excellent upkeep, including impressively clean vault toilets. Visitors appreciate the peaceful atmosphere, great water access for canoeing, and lovely swimming spots nearby. While there are occasional issues with mosquitoes and site sizes, the overall experience is highly positive, making it a favorite destination for campers.
Review Summary
Richard R
VerifiedSeptember 27, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 004, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
The camp host was not very helpful. Very hard to get ahold of.
catrina m
VerifiedSeptember 25, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 009, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Beautiful camp area, love how each site is laid out and no matter which site you choose its an easy walk to the river
Todd B
VerifiedAugust 31, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 026, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Beautiful, scenic campsite. Clean site and restrooms. We enjoy Kawishiwi Campground so much.
Lance S
VerifiedAugust 31, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 009, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Great little campground.
Randy D
VerifiedAugust 27, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 014, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
clean and peaceful
Kenneth B
VerifiedAugust 27, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 005, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
We definitely need clarification on what constitutes a tow vehicle. Before this visit we have never been charged $8.00 a night for an extra vehicle. We have a Class C motor home and our truck that pulls our boat. We were told that our Class C is considered our tow vehicle. If that's the case and we used it as such we would have to pull in our awning, rug, tear down camp each time we put our boat in the water. This makes absolutely no sense. We camp in your campgrounds often and each manager seems to have their own interpretation of how this works. Can you tell us once and for all what is right.
Samantha A
VerifiedAugust 24, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 003, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Great private campsite. Short drive to Ely. Cleanest pit toilets ever seen. Great visit!
Peter B
VerifiedJuly 24, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 029, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Price of a bundle of wood is high. $8! Bought the exact same bundle 3 miles down the road for $5. Appeared to be the same vendor. Otherwise this is a great campground! Lots of privacy! Nice and quiet. Camp host is a nice guy and does a good job.
Michele H
VerifiedJuly 6, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 005, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
This is our second time here and we are definitely going to be back. It rained most of the time we were here but it forced us to relax and just hang out It was a good way to spend the first half of our trip
Gene S
VerifiedJune 23, 2023 β’ Stayed at: 027, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Location is all nature and beautiful. Restrooms are very well taken care of by the camp host, clean an decorated nicely. The site we had, 27, was small for our 5th wheel. Other sites would have been better for our unit. We enjoyed our stay.
Location South Kawishiwi River
Address:
Kawishiwi Ranger District
Ely, MN, 55731
United States
From Ely, Minnesota, travel about 10.3 miles south on State Highway 1 toward Lake Superior. Turn left onto the campground road.
Latitude & Longitude: 47.8156 / -91.7314
Elevation: 449 feet
Policies & Rules
| Category | About |
|---|---|
| General |
Traveling within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness requires a permit; day use requires a self-issued permit; overnight use requires a permit from the quota system. |
| General |
Beach and picnic areas open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. |
| General |
The South Kawishiwi River Campground holds a pavilion for rent (site 33) that can accommodate up to 26 people. The site also has an outdoor cooking area with a large grill and two picnic tables. See site 33 for more information. |
| General |
Off-road and all-terrain vehicles not allowed during camping season. |
| General |
During the walk-in season please contact the Superior National Forest for information. |
| General |
Please Note: One towed vehicle per single camping unit will be allowed for no extra charge if it can be parked completely on the surfaced area and does not create a safety hazard. Examples of towed vehicles include a boat trailer or a car towed by a motor home. Two motorcycles are considered one vehicle.
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| General |
Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (NOON) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation. |
| General |
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity). |
| General |
Don't move firewood: To limit the spread of invasive tree-killing pests, firewood from outside the area is not permitted. Some states have quarantines and may confiscate your firewood. Please help protect our forests from invasive species by obtaining your firewood at or near your camping destination and burning it on-site. Visit dontmovefirewood.org for more information. |
| General |
superior Click here to learn more about Superior National Forest. |
