Jay Cooke State Park Campground

We stopped here on our way to north Minnesota. Originally we planned 2 days but really needed to rest so extended it to 4 days. It was a little hairy getting to, the 2 lane winding road with the raging river on one side did slow us down a bit.  The Rangers were friendly and accommodating. The park had taken quite a beating with the winter storm that had been there the previous week, a lot of sites were closed due to trees down and snow.  While we were there they were actively cleaning up, but left in the afternoon so we had no disturbances from saws or equipment noise. The water was not turned on yet for the season, so the bathroom/showers and dump station were not available.  There was a potable water source at the front of our loop to fill our fresh tank and our water storage cubes.  The sites were shaded well, and easy to back into.  We had to work a bit to get our camper level but that may have been due to the snow and water that was on the site so we figured it was par for the course.  We walked to the Welcome Center and the swinging bridge, there were multiple hiking trails accessible by the camping area.  It was relatively busy on the weekend but cleared out during the week.  We had lots of wildlife visitors.  The park is pet friendly.  We found affordable propane and a dump site closer to Duluth.

The park is a little off the beaten path so quiet on the whole. Jay Cooke has many miles of walking trails and the swinging bridge (St. Louis River) is a must see and a must cross. Campsites are fairly secluded and heavily wooded. Spend a few days at Jay Cooke, there is much to see.

Never fails this campground is perfect. Lots to do and honestly I have grown to really enjoy coming here in the winter. Yes water is shutoff and you don’t get to us le the awesome shower house but there are hardly any people here! Always enjoy this campground and the area surrounding. Lots of good hikes!

Excellent hiking and camping experiences here. Stayed for a weekend and returned after for many, many day hikes. Plenty of wildlife to see, a newly rebuilt “swing bridge” over the rusty rushing of the Saint Louis River. And the locals are pleasant, heck, it’s Minnesota! Buggy in summer due to all the water, bring excellent hiking shoes for the rocks yer gonna wanna climb around on. Excellent autumn photography options for all occasions. Camping is is a more secluded area where most day-hikers don’t come across ya.

This campground has it all: sites for families to reserve by one another, campsites with more privacy, RV specific loops. With newly updated facilities, it can feel like glamping. Good proximity to bridge and nearby hikes. I highly recommend finding the cedar forest near the CCC Trail on the north side of campground.

Jay Cooke is really a must experience state park within easy driving distance to other parks in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Positives:

• Amazing hiking and water play
• photogenic
• Some open site options for camping with other families or friends and many private sites
• Very clean and large shower/restroom facilities
• 15 min to small town grocery store
• Standard fire rings that you can grill on too
• lots of bird watching

Negative:

• MOSQUITOS!!!! Bring bulk bug spray or extra blood.

Jay Cooke has always been one of our favorite places to camp. It has gotten so busy it’s not even that enjoyable anymore. It’s always well maintained and clean!! We booked a walk in site ( 83 ) which was beautiful! The down side was it’s very close to the camper cabins and many families with children running around unattended. They ran into out campsite yelling and screaming with flashlights and banging bat’s against the trees  while the parents did nothing even after my husband asked them nicely.  We had planned to have a quiet getaway from the city and zone out peacefully.  I have not been back since. Busses and busses of kids pulling up the the park and a 25 minute wait to cross the swing bridge.  But it is absolutely gorgeous there despite the hoards of people.

Stayed for 2 nights mid-week in October 2021. Wooded sites. New restroom/showerhouse. Clean. WiFi. 3 bars T-Mobile. Popular state park, busy campground. Fantastic hiking trails throughout state park. Helpful staff in park office. Water. Trash. Would stay here again.

The campground at Jay Cooke State Park is really nice. The sites are well maintained and private (for the most part. More on that later), and the shower and bathroom facilities are really top notch. Plus, lots of great hikes nearby and only 25min from Duluth.

Sites: Most sites are very private. There are lots of trees and foliage in between, so you really can't see your neighbor - at least this was true of the loop I was in (site 18). We didn't walk around all the loops, but the one we noticed had less privacy is the loop with sites 24-37. The center sites (27, 29, 34, 36) are all pretty open and didn't seem like there was much definition between spots. So, good as a group, but maybe less desirable if you're looking for some privacy.

My site, 18, was nice. They're all a little tight, so multiple large tents isn't advisable. The only downside to 18 is it is right next to a pit toilet. They're well maintained, but if the wind blows a certain way, you may have a faint scent. I'd probably opt for site 19 or 21 next time.

Pros:

> Really nice facilities. The separate shower rooms are fantastic. Water is hot!

> Easy access to lots of great hikes

> Sites are well maintained. There are tent pads at every site that I saw. They're flat and level. 

Cons:

> There are active trains in the nearby town. I was having trouble sleeping one night and heard the horns well into the night (1 and 3am). They're not super loud so I'm not sure if they would have woken me if I was already asleep, but if you're a light sleeper I'd bring earplugs just in case.

All in all, I really enjoyed Jay Cooke and would be happy to stay here again!

We found a great walk-in site that was off the beaten path, with plenty of space to spread out. The swinging bridge is a great attraction, although very crowded. The hiking thins out as you venture further away from the bridge. Overall a great park with many updated amenities

North east Minnesota has some very beautiful country. Highly recommend this spot. 

Nice wooded sites with just a short walk to the river or water falls and although we visited in early June, there was surprisingly no bugs! Camp sites were clean and it was a very enjoyable stay.

Great hiking and mushrooming

The campground offers a lot of choices. We stayed one night in a non-electric site then were able to move over to an electric site. It was a pretty full campground, but they did not have everything open. We had some great neighbors that were tent camping next to our camper. The showerhouse was clean and they had just turned the water on so we were lucky. The reason you come here tho is the hiking and the views. I can tell you that no matter the weather the parking lot will be full but mid afternoon so best to get up early and hike. I was able to have something…wolf/coyote cross the path in front of me on one of the early morning hikes. This was a really great location and a great campground. This would be a great location for families with kids of all ages. Loads to do and experience here.

You can spend days hiking and exploring.

Great hike-in site and terrific snowshoeing (highly recommend the grand portage trail)

I fully enjoyed staying here. Scenery was amazing and you are close to many activities in northern Mn.

Overall a great place to stay. We stayed at a campsite with a tent and there was plenty of room for the two of us. If you have a group of people you may want to look into two sites but otherwise plenty of space. The campsites are relatively private with trees between the sites to allow some privacy. There was a well water pump near our site which was very convenient. There was firewood available to purchase as the state park as well. 

The shower and bathroom facility was new and very clean. There are multiple private shower rooms which was a nice surprise. 

The trails in the park were well maintained and well marked. The trails along the river were very pretty. No trails seemed too strenuous, a fairly easy hike. 

—one thing that we found was there was not many places for swimming in the area. The river appeared quite murky when we visited and there were signs for no swimming at the park. It’s quite possible we just didn’t research well enough to find a swimming spot, but we could not find anywhere. 

So glad we stayed at this park. Would recommend!

We were coming back from a camp trip up north and wanted to spend another night out near Duluth. We needed to find somewhere fast before sunset and this was an easy find. Lots of sites to pick from. Very large and clean bathrooms, and private shower stalls. Sites a pretty close together so not much privacy, however. Beautiful trails and river just a couple minute walk away.

We began our 2 night trip crossing the Swing bridge and headed to the left for 2.7 miles until we reached Ash Ridge, our backpack site. The hike there was easy and fairly flat. Once you are closer to the site you walk through grass and weeds that are about 4 ft tall, so be sure to check for ticks!

The campsite was very spacious and right on the St. Louis River. To get to the river you have to walk down a steep hill right next to the campsite. There are two picnic tables, a fire ring, a bear safe box, and a latrine near by.

I did not rate 5 stars due to the fact that we could hear the highway.

We have stayed in a camper cabin in the winter and RV site in the summer. We have explored so many trails on our snowshoes and cross country skis in the winter and have enjoyed many hikes and mountain bike rides in the summer months. The accommodations were well maintained with very clean campground area. The shower room is very new and the bathrooms were very clean. The cabins are pretty basic with bunk beds and a small table with chairs. The cabin we stayed in was heated with base board heaters that you have control of the temperature. We have also brought our canoe to explore the river and went fishing. There are so many trails to explore so we plan on camping here again and again!

A River Runs Through it(specifically the St. Louis River)- and a train runs through somewhere nearby. We stayed at this campground on our way back from the North Shore, we almost decided to just skip it and head home and I’m so glad that we didn’t! I knew as soon as we pulled into the campground that we made the right decision to stay. We did do a little hiking along the river, but we didn’t do any longer hikes since my brief park research led me to believe that the river is the best feature. It is a very popular campground- we stayed on a Monday night and less than 5 campsites were vacant.

Pros

-Every campsite seems to be well-treed and relatively private, providing a perfect atmosphere to just enjoy nature from your campsite.

-Tree straps are available to borrow at the ranger station. This was the first time I have ever been asked if I’m hanging anything from trees- even a clothes line. It had never occurred to me that a clothes line would be a problem for trees, but I’m glad that I know that now!

-The restroom/shower facility is very new and has my favorite layout where there is one main area with toilets and sinks and separate rooms accessible from the outside for private shower rooms. Not only is the shower privacy nice, but it keeps the water contained to that individual room. This was great in comparison to Whitewater State park which had constantly wet floors in the shared shower, toilet, sink space. The pit toilets are also nice(for a pit toilet). The outhouse near my site had a hook for hanging things(nice) and a hand-written note explaining that in order to keep smells to a minimum you need to close the lid AND the door when you leave. So while it wasn’t the newest pit toilet I’ve ever used, I didn’t mind using it at all. 

Cons

-One of the only things that was obnoxious about this park is that there is a frequently used train track nearby- and the trains really lay on whistle. I slept with earplugs in because of this, but I was still woken up around 4 times that night.

-The layout of most campsites is kind of tight. If you are camping with multiple tents it might be a good idea to get multiple sites OR just do your research to make sure that the tent pad measurements listed on the reservation site are going to be sufficient. Most sites did not have enough space for your car, your tent, the fire ring, and a bug house. Our site would have had enough space for all of them had we chosen to move our picnic table into the car area, but we weren’t planning on a fire so we just left the picnic table by the fire pit and put our bug house over it. We DID see a campsite with their bug house literally 2 feet from an active fire- do not do this.

-Our tent pad was really well graveled and made me realize that the standard stakes that came with our tent and bug house need to be upgraded. I was able to get most anchor points secure, but I gave up on one particularly resistant spot.

-The Hiking Club trail is probably the most used, I considered the CCC hike which is accessible from the loop I was staying in- but I’m tick phobic and the grass trail looked a bit overgrown. The Hiking Club trail wasn’t super well marked and based on the markers I went on the rocky side trail to the river assuming that that was the Hiking Club trail- it wasn’t.

Alright, just kidding. There’s so many different trails to be had here. There are beautiful sights to be seen and a wonderful lodge near the bridge that had a fire going as a warming shelter.

6/14/19-6/16/19.

This was a wonderful campground with great hiking. The swinging bridge and river are a great feature to the park and they are absolutely beautiful. They just finished building new bathrooms and shower facilities.

A beautiful fall camping trip!

First time ever at Jay Cooke State Park. Great campground with lots of hiking trails to get beautiful views of the St Louis River. There were brand new bathrooms and showers which was a nice surprise. We had the only pull thru site #46e and was just across front the new bathroom facilities. It did have a lot of foot and car traffic but the nice wooded sites still gave us privacy. Crossing the swinging bridge gives you the wonderful views up and down the river and grants access to some nice hiking trails. The soil at Jay Cooke is clay, so wet trails are very slippery as well as the rocky terrain is slick when wet too. Be sure to see the big stone which is located in one of the campsite loops. Saw my first ever - pink lady slipper flower. My Verizon cell service was pretty much non existent at the campsite. There was WiFi at the front office in the event that you need your phone. Loved Jay Cooke and hope to get back there again.

A buddy and myself camped here for a night at drive-in 62 and it was spacious but with close proximity to other campers. There are new bathrooms and showers being developed at the current moment so there was one Biffy for the whole campsite and made it kind of difficult for. I am sure there were better campsites but from what we saw and experienced it wasn't the best.

This was a last minute camping trip for us. The camp sites are spaced out enough to have privacy. The hiking trails were fun and not far from camp. It was chilly at night a very nice area to go camping. Absolutely love this place. Would comeback again if we’re ever in Minnesota again.

Nice hiking trails. Not too difficult. Family friendly