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Tettegouche Camp Remote Cabins permit area in Tettegouche State Park (MN) - backcountry hiking destination
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Tettegouche Camp Remote Cabins Permit

Tettegouche State Park (MN) · Minnesota

Four cabins at the historic Tettegouche Camp on Mic Mac Lake. No road reaches them: everything you bring, you carry.

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When it opens

120 days
First come, first served from 120 days before your start date, at 8 am CentralYou book on the agency's site.

Source: dnr.state.mn.us

70% of the openings our scanner caught on Tettegouche Camp were gone within 10 minutes.

Tettegouche Camp reservation dates

max group size
6people

How to get a Tettegouche Camp permit

As of September 2026, Tettegouche Camp in Tettegouche State Park (MN), Minnesota requires a permit issued via reservation. Tettegouche Camp is one of the most competitive permits in the United States, rating 9/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Cancelled Tettegouche Camp permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens.

Type
Backpacking
Location
North Shore, MN

  1. Step 1: Create a Minnesota State Parks (ReserveMN) account

    Sign up at Minnesota State Parks (ReserveMN) if you don't have an account. Have your payment info ready.

  2. Step 2: Know the release schedule

    Permits release on a rolling basis. Check the release time for your dates.

  3. Step 3: Be ready when permits drop

    Log in a few minutes early. Have your dates, group size, and payment ready to go.

  4. Step 4: Monitor for cancellations

    If your dates are sold out, people cancel all the time. Set up PermitSnag alerts to catch openings instantly.

Book at Minnesota State Parks (ReserveMN)
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More on Tettegouche Camp: Live availability activityWhen Tettegouche Camp permits open up

The Tettegouche Camp hike

Tettegouche Camp landmarks

  1. 1Mic Mac Lake

    The lake the camp sits on. DNR puts Cabin B "about ten feet from the shores" of it, and its own hike-in figure to the lake is 1.7 miles each way.

  2. 2Lax Lake Road access

    The shorter approach: 1.7 miles, and the only one where mountain bikes are allowed. DNR calls it shorter but steeper.

  3. 3Main park trailhead

    The other way in: 3.5 miles to camp.

  4. 4Tettegouche Camp and Mount Baldy loop

    DNR: "3.5-mile loop — Steep terrain • Packed dirt • Gravel • Bare rock... Refill your water bottles from the hand pump at Tettegouche Camp before you return."

  5. 5High Falls of the Baptism River

    DNR: "the cascading 60 ft. High Falls of the Baptism River," on a 1.5-mile trail. The steps at its base have washed out.

Four cabins on Mic Mac Lake with no road to them: 1.7 miles in at the shortest.

About this permit

Minnesota State Parks list this facility as "Tettegouche Camp - Remote Cabins" and it holds four units. It is carried here rather than treated as a drive-up cabin rental for the same reason the Steep Ravine cabins are: the camp has no vehicle access, so booking one is a backcountry trip with a roof.

Why it matters

Tettegouche Camp is a rare thing in a state park system: lodging you have to walk to. DNR keeps all four cabins open year-round with a woodstove and firewood in each, so it works as a winter trip.

The feeling

A shared lodge with two fireplaces and a screened porch facing the lake, four cabins clustered around it, and a canoe with paddles for whoever wants the water. No plumbing, no engine noise, and 9,000 acres of North Shore park between you and the road.

Tettegouche Camp hike highlights

  1. Minnesota DNR: "Tettegouche Camp is located in the interior of the 9,000 acre park. No vehicle access is available. It is a 3.5-mile trek from the main park trailhead, or a shorter-but-steeper 1.7-mile hike from the Lax Lake Road access. Mountain bikes are allowed only on the Lax Lake Road access. You must carry in your gear; carts are not provided."
  2. Four cabins, and the reservation system's unit names match DNR's own list: Cabin A, B and C sleep up to six, Cabin D sleeps two.
  3. DNR's published nightly rates, plus tax: Cabin A $155, Cabin B $175, Cabin C $155, Cabin D $130.
  4. "Four rustic cabins are clustered together, and share a shower/bathroom building and a one-room day-use lodge with several picnic tables and benches, two fireplaces, and a large screened porch facing Mic Mac Lake."
  5. Each cabin has "a woodstove and firewood; a small kitchenette with two-burner cooktop, mini refrigerator, pots, pans, plates, and utensils; a picnic table and fire ring with grill; a screened porch; and use of a canoe with paddles and life vests."
  6. "Cabins do not have bathrooms or running water. Jugs are provided and guests may use the shower building or the hand pump to collect water."
  7. "All four cabins are available year-round."
  8. Cabin D's interior is accessible, though DNR notes there is still no drive-up access to it.
  9. DNR's own hike-in figure for the camp, from the rentals section of the camping page: "Canoes are available for rent spring through fall at the remote Tettegouche Camp. Access to these canoes requires a 1.7 mile hike (each way) to Mic Mac Lake."
  10. Water at camp, in DNR's own trail description: "Refill your water bottles from the hand pump at Tettegouche Camp before you return." Park-wide, "Water is ON for the season. Potable water for water bottles is available at the Visitor Center."
  11. Toilets and showers: "A year-round modern restroom with showers is available to visitors renting cabins in Tettegouche Camp."
  12. Group size is published park-specifically here: "A campsite may be occupied by a group of six or fewer people using one camping shelter. Groups of six or fewer traveling in one vehicle may have one additional tent with prior approval from park staff."
  13. The reservation system caps a cabin stay at 7 nights.
  14. Tettegouche's five Superior Hiking Trail backpack sites are a separate option: "These sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis only and are limited to a one-night stay."

Trailhead information

Main park trailhead

Primary

DNR's primary approach to Tettegouche Camp: a 3.5-mile trek into the park interior.

  • No restrooms
  • No water

Parking

A Minnesota state park vehicle permit must be displayed on any vehicle left here.

Nearest Services

Silver Bay, on Highway 61.

Trailhead information

Lax Lake Road access

Alternate

The shorter route in at 1.7 miles, which DNR describes as shorter but steeper. It is also the only access where mountain bikes are allowed.

  • No restrooms
  • No water

Parking

A Minnesota state park vehicle permit must be displayed on any vehicle left here.

Nearest Services

Silver Bay.

When to hike Tettegouche Camp

Best time to visit

DNR states all four cabins are available year-round and stocks each with a woodstove and firewood, so winter is a real booking rather than a gamble. For wildlife it says: "In fall, hawk migration along the shore of Lake Superior numbers in the tens of thousands. Winter is an excellent time to see northern owls, woodpeckers, finches and unusual water birds," and to "watch for peregrine falcons in the summer." DNR recommends reserving May through the middle of October, and notes "campsites fill quickly from May-October, reserve early."

Tettegouche Camp rules, gear and safety

Gear checklist

Required
  • Bedding: DNR supplies bunks and beds, not linens
  • A pack for 1.7 to 3.5 miles of walking; DNR states carts are not provided
  • A Minnesota state park vehicle permit for the car at whichever trailhead you use
  • A camp stove, and a meal plan that works on it. Minnesota DNR closes fire rings at short notice, and its Tettegouche notice of 2026-08-10 read "Camp stoves are permitted for cooking."

Recommended gear

  • Water jugs are provided at camp, but a bottle for the walk in is on you
  • Winter traction if you are booking the cold half of the year. All four cabins stay open

Rules & regulations

  1. 01"No pets, no smoking." DNR states this for Tettegouche Camp specifically, on top of the system-wide rule that only service animals may enter lodging.
  2. 02"Bring your own bedding and linens - sleeping bags work best."
  3. 03"Guests are responsible for cleaning after their stay, supplies are provided."
  4. 04Mountain bikes are allowed on the Lax Lake Road access only.
  5. 05All campsites require a reservation. Minnesota DNR: "All campsites require a reservation. Please make a reservation online or call 866-857-2757."
  6. 06Reservations open 120 days before arrival, and same-day bookings are allowed. On the day a date first becomes available, online reservations cannot be made before 8 a.m.
  7. 07The reservation fee is $8.00 online and $10.00 by phone, non-refundable. There is no fee for a same-day booking.
  8. 08Lodging check-in is after 3 p.m. and checkout is by 11 a.m. If you have not checked in by 11 a.m. on the second day of the reservation, DNR may cancel it.
  9. 09"A campsite's occupancy is limited to one camping group of six people or less, one camping shelter, and one vehicle." More than that needs the park manager's prior approval.
  10. 10Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., and generators may not run in those hours.
  11. 11Park hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., 365 days a year, and "only campers with a reserved campsite are allowed in the park after 10 p.m."
  12. 12Every vehicle entering a Minnesota state park must display a valid year-round or one-day state park vehicle permit.
  13. 13Firewood transport is regulated. DNR allows wood bought at this park for use in this park, Minnesota Department of Agriculture certified firewood anywhere on DNR land, and an uncertified bundle only if it is not ash and was harvested in the county where you will burn it: "be sure to keep your receipt and the bundle label to show proof of purchase."
  14. 14Firewood from home, pallet wood, and painted, stained or metal-bearing lumber are all prohibited, and "collection of firewood in state parks is not allowed."
  15. 15Pets are not allowed inside cabins, yurts or any other lodging building. Outdoors they must be on a leash six feet or shorter and personally attended at all times.
  16. 16It is illegal to consume or display intoxicating liquors in Minnesota state parks.
  17. 17Fireworks and metal detectors are not permitted.
  18. 18Hammocks need trees at least 12 inches in diameter and straps at least an inch wide, one hammock per tree, hung over mowed and cleared ground.
  19. 19You may pick edible fruits and mushrooms for personal consumption; picking wildflowers or other plants is not allowed.
  20. 20Campfires here run on a live burning restriction that moves with fire danger, so a fire ring at the site is not permission to use it. The authority is this park's own Camping & Lodging page, https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/tettegouche/camping.html. Read it in the week you travel, not the week you book.
  21. 21Tettegouche publishes its own, stricter restriction and it names this camp. Read 2026-08-10, its Camping & Lodging page (DNR-dated "Updated July 29, 2026") said: "Currently campfires are only allowed in designated areas of Tettegouche State Park due to extreme fire danger. Areas where campfires are allowed include: Baptism River Campground, Cart-In Campground, and Group Campsites. Fire bans remain in place at Tettegouche Camp, Superior Hiking Trail campsites, and Finland and Eckbeck State Forest Campgrounds. Camp stoves are permitted for cooking."
  22. 22DNR stocks each cabin with a woodstove and firewood, and its ban notice speaks about campfires and designated areas. Ask the park whether the ban covers the indoor woodstoves.
  23. 23Bear country. DNR: "Do not store food, trash, clothes worn when cooking, or toiletries in your tent or camping hammock. Store in approved bear-resistant containers, or out of sight in a locked vehicle." It also says to keep a clean camp and "cook downwind and as far from your tent as possible."

Hazards & considerations

  • No running water and no bathroom in the cabins; water comes from the shower building or the hand pump.
  • The camp is in the interior of a 9,000-acre park with no vehicle access. A forgotten item is a 3.4 to 7-mile round trip.
  • DNR's visitor tips: "Wear good hiking shoes (not flip flops)." "Hiking trails cross rugged and difficult terrain, use caution." "There are cliffs. Keep small children close and be aware of surroundings." "Swimming at the park can be dangerous. River and lake conditions are unpredictable."
  • DNR trail alerts: "The bottom of the steps have washed out at the base of the High Falls and Two Step Falls viewing steps. Please use caution in these areas." "The Cascade Trail was damaged after 2024 flooding caused several landslides. The trail is impassable and closed beyond the first half mile."
  • Black bears are in the park. DNR lists "moose, black bear, red fox and river otter" among the less commonly observed wildlife, and puts bear-proof storage lockers at its walk-in and cart-in campgrounds.

Safety & planning

Emergency Info

Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Tettegouche Camp.

Food Storage

Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.

Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Tettegouche Camp · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides

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Tettegouche Camp FAQ

How do I get a Tettegouche Camp permit?

PermitSnag alerts you the moment a Tettegouche Camp cancellation opens, so you can book it before anyone else. Tettegouche Camp permits use a reservation system.

When is the best time to visit Tettegouche Camp?

Season dates are on the agency's page. Weekdays have better availability than weekends.

How competitive is the Tettegouche Camp permit?

This permit has a demand score of 9/10, making it extremely competitive. We recommend having backup dates and using PermitSnag's cancellation alerts.

What if I can't get a Tettegouche Camp permit?

Cancellations happen daily. Set up alerts with PermitSnag to get notified the moment a spot opens up. Pro and $19 single-permit alerts are checked about every minute, 24/7; free accounts are checked hourly.

Tettegouche Camp trail conditions and trip reports

Trail Conditions

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Trip Reports(1)

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Tettegouche's Mic Mac Lake Cabins: Fall Color Season Permit Notes

Tettegouche Camp

4.0
Oct 3-5, 2026

Alternatives to a Tettegouche Camp permit

  • Similar ExperiencePermit required

    Glendalough Remote Yurt Camp (Canoe-In)

    Two year-round yurts with woodstoves on a motor-free lake in west-central Minnesota.

    Tradeoffs

    $80 a night rather than $130-$175, but no kitchenette and no shower building.

  • Similar ExperiencePermit required

    St. Croix Backpack Campsites

    Two tent sites five to six miles in, at Minnesota's largest state park.

    Tradeoffs

    A longer walk and no roof, at $23 a night instead of $130 and up.

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