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
No available sites
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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
steven b
VerifiedAugust 19, 2022 • Stayed at: 007, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
The campsites were spaced out so that you didn’t feel crowded and the bathrooms were the cleanest pit toilets I have seen. I would recommend this campsite.
Tom B
VerifiedAugust 1, 2022 • Stayed at: 010, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
The grounds were very well kept, also vault toilets were very clean.
Host and manager do a very good job.
Karrie H
VerifiedAugust 1, 2022 • Stayed at: 030, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
A great spot to get a early start into BWCAW entry pt #33. Clean sites, super clean outhouses.
Paula K
VerifiedAugust 1, 2022 • Stayed at: 026, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
One of the nicest state forest campgrounds we have stayed at. Very well managed, super clean bathrooms, property manager/campsite house very present and available to answer any questions. Canoe rental and firewood for purchase onsite is a great bonus. Most sites have nice tree cover so are decently private.
Wayne B
VerifiedJuly 29, 2022 • Stayed at: 031, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Great campground
Kyle K
VerifiedJuly 5, 2022 • Stayed at: 027, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Campsite was perfect! No trash needed to be picked up. Best part was the vaulted toilets. They were the cleanest I’ve ever seen and they had a touch of home in the. The campsite hosts made sure they were decorated and smelled good!
daniel r
VerifiedJuly 2, 2022 • Stayed at: 010, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Camp host Ellen and Jim were wonderful and maintained the place great!
Thomas S
VerifiedJune 24, 2022 • Stayed at: 031, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
We were there in early June and the site had not been mowed so the mosquitos were horrible they would have been bad any way but with the long grass they were that much worse. The toilets were spotless as always so I don't like to complain. This is a great campground one of my favorites, I just happened to be there when the mower was broke down
Teresa C
VerifiedJune 23, 2022 • Stayed at: 029, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
Our site was beautiful, probably the nicest we’ve ever had (terraced from RV parking, steps down to fire ring & picnic table, more steps down to the lake with a perfect fishing spot, gorgeous view of the lake,) the camp host was very nice, bathrooms immaculate (and so nicely decorated 😊) and the park, in general, was so lovely and clean, but the mosquitos and black flies were so thick we couldn’t enjoy being outside, they invaded our motor home & we got bitten so badly, we had to end our stay a day early. We talked with a local man who was bringing his boat in and he said this is the time of year the bugs are especially bad, so maybe we’ll come back in the fall.
Steven V
VerifiedMay 31, 2022 • Stayed at: 028, Loop: SOUTH KAWISHIWI RIVER
The campground host Dan was a stand up guy. Great service and very helpful.
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.
|
| 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. |
