Bear Head Lake State Park, MN

[PLJ]

Just back from an awesome week camping at Bear Head Lake state park. Park is located North Eastern Minnesota. Approx 15 miles West of Ely.

Park is beautuful as you'd expect in that part of the state. Park has a small beach with swimming area. Plenty of trails, some of them pretty difficult. Fishing pier. My 6 year old boy caught a 14 inch largemouth bass and my 8 year old daugter caught an 11 inch one from the pier. Fish cleaning house  

You can rent kayaks and canoes. $10 for 4 hours, $20 for the day. Plenty of lake to paddle around on. You'll see loons and the occasional Eagle. In the evening you can hear the wolves. They get active about 11:30. Although they say its in bear country we didn't see any evidence.

Sites are cozy, but very private. Lots of side to side coverage. Plenty of shade from the tall pine trees. Bathrooms are old but clean, plenty of hotwater although you press a button and the water turns off after about 5 mins. Just press again and your good to go. Stalls were plenty big enough for me and my boy.

Firewood was $4 a bundle and ice $2 for a five pound bag.

Soudan Mine is about 8 miles away and worth the visit. 1/2 mile descent in a elevator before a train ride along the drift to the mine shaft. Naturally they turn the lights out as part of the tour. Kids thought that was cool.

We also did the neutrino physics lab tour. Again you get the elevator ride, but the tour is mostly some videos and you look at a series of large steel plates that capture about 3 neutrinos a day from the Fermi Lab in Illinois. Not really a tour desinged for kids.  

Just outside of the mine is a small convinience store that sells pitchers of root beer and good ice cream. Worth the stop.

The only down side of this park. Its a 5 hour drive from Lakeville

[Kelly]

I have heard some really wonderful things about that park.  It's been on 'the list' for a while now!  We already have 2 trips with fairly long drives, so Bear Head Lake is getting moved to next season's 'must see list'.  Glad to hear it is worth the drive.

btw ~ there is a bear preserve about 60 miles from Ely that is something to see.  We'll be there at the end of August.  I believe they are also putting together a preserve in Ely.  IIRC it's due to open next summer sometime ...[/FONT]

[PLJ]

Thanks for the links Kelly. We'll take a trip up to the park again in a year or so and will check out the bear sanctuary.