Free camping and cell signal in The Arrowhead
Where dispersed camping is allowed in The Arrowhead: Boundary Waters, Superior NF & the North Shore, which carrier will reach you to work or call for help, and what's on the road in. Free to use online. Offline use is paid: the Camp Map Pass saves the region to your phone for use with no signal.
Open The Arrowhead in the mapCan you camp for free in The Arrowhead?
On most national forest and Bureau of Land Management land, yes: dispersed camping is allowed outside developed sites, usually for up to 14 days, unless an area is posted closed. Minnesota state forests also allow free dispersed camping for up to 14 days in summer, at least a mile from a state forest campground. National and state parks, wildlife refuges, tribal land and private timberland are not. In The Arrowhead the map shows who manages every piece of public land, wilderness boundaries and the land with no public record, which you should treat as private.
Where will I have cell signal?
From the carriers' own coverage filings with the FCC, strong (in-vehicle) LTE covers about 37% of The Arrowhead for AT&T, 11% of The Arrowhead for Verizon, 9% of The Arrowhead for T-Mobile, 0% of The Arrowhead for nsighttelservices. Carriers model their coverage optimistically in the mountains, so the map also collects speed tests from other campers. Canadian phones usually roam on AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon here: check which one your plan uses.
Remote spots with coverage in The Arrowhead
Ranked by distance from town and signal. Tap one to open it on the map.
- Baker Lake Campground · gravel road · 24.4 km from Lutsen · AT&T
- Ham Lake · road · 99999 km from · AT&T
- Fenske Lake Campground · gravel road · 10.9 km from Ely · AT&T, Verizon
- Public land near Lost Man Lake · gravel road · 13.4 km from Kinney · AT&T, Verizon
- Public land near Lonesome Polecat Creek · gravel road · 11.9 km from Side Lake · AT&T, Verizon
- Sawbill Lake Campground · gravel road · 29 km from Lutsen · AT&T
- Crescent Lake Campground · gravel road · 22.1 km from Lutsen · AT&T
- Campsite near Ella Hall Lake · access unclear · 12.3 km from Silver Rapids · AT&T
- McDougal Lake Campground · gravel road · 11.2 km from Jay See Landing · AT&T
- Public land near Duck Creek · gravel road · 23.5 km from Burntside Lake · AT&T
Road access and wildfires
The map shows which roads in The Arrowhead are paved, gravel, rough or unpaved tracks, plus parking lots and trailheads, and live wildfire hotspots and perimeters while you're online.
Open The Arrowhead in the mapCosmic's Camp Map puts all of this on one map with land status, cell coverage by carrier, recreation sites, wildfires, services and road reports, and, with the Camp Map Pass, saves it to your phone for use without signal. See everything the map does.