Dispersed camping in the Chippewa National Forest

 It has been a while since I dispersed camped in the Chippewa National Forest. I am thinking maybe nine years and that was a pretty bad trip when the go to spot at Shingobee was occupied. I found a rather slanted spot somewhere further into the forest. I was not pleased- but I was on foot and there was little light left to hike further. 

So what is dispersed camping? 

It is camping outside of established campground or campsites. In Minnesota, the 2 National Forests and numerous state forests allow it with some stipulations. I believe one of those stipulations is it needs to be a certain distance away from designated campgrounds- state forests it is 1 mile. National forests have similar rules.

Generally, dispersed camping is primitive, however I have found a few dispersed sites that are quite comfortable and have a table, a fire grate, and a pit toilet, and are by a lake. More common are sites that are just a pull out from a forest road and nothing more than a clearing to park and maybe set up a tent. A few more are old timber harvest tracks that lead to a clearing. If you decide to go the dispersed route, be prepared to rough it.

When I first started visiting Chippewa National Forest, I rarely saw a soul when I camped or bikepacked in the backcountry. You would usually see more people during hunting season- either for ducks or pheasants. And even then it was rare to see anybody else utilizing the forest for dispersed camping. Lots of solitude and silence. 

Probably due to the pandemic and the increase in ATV usage, the forest is seeing more visitors. And it is not just the Chippewa. I found that out the hard way with my family a month earlier when going to the nearby Paul Bunyan State Forest. We drove deep into the forest, well away from the trodden byways, and found an entire campground booked up with ATV enthusiasts. Even a few dispersed sites in the general vicinity were occupied. So much for trying to find something off the beaten path. Instead we found a spot at an established campground that surprisingly was not even close to being crowded. Go figure. Darkness and the fact my whole family was with also made the choice clearer. Mantrap Lake campground was actually very pleasant.   

My trip last weekend to the southside of the Chippewa National Forest, I spied enough parked cars in the spots I would go to camp that I did not want to risk hiking in and finding the campsite occupied. That's the downside to the dispersed sites that the forest service publishes online- you never know when it might be occupied. In those situations to disperse camp you need to know for what to look. It takes a little scouting and a map certainly helps.

I drove on down the forest road looking for unmarked trails. These will usually be the pull offs I mention above. I check before I drive fully into it as occasionally these trails are a little more that 2 ruts in the dirt. And sometimes you might find somebody is already there. Eventually I found something after following a trail that went by a lake- a shelter and an outhouse with a clearing beside them. See image at top. A rather posh campsite.

Sometimes there is a dispersed spot near a water access. In my case it was just up the hill from the lake access. After further scouting around the lake access I also found another spot in the opposite direction but it was a little more difficult to get into. You can see the trail to that campsite in the 2nd image. You cannot see the last 100 yards of the trail, but it was a ruddy mess. However, that that spot was secluded and had a fine fire ring. There were also some old TVs somebody disposed of in the weeds and covered in leaves in case you need a weekend project while camping.

So if you like a little improvisation and something off the beaten track (or in some cases just a stone's throw from a beaten track) then dispersed camping might be for you. The Chippewa has lots of space to explore. The area around Walker is just a small portion of the land. If you scout around the forest enough you may find a dispersed campsite. So get a map and start planning your adventure.