Increasing costs of maintenance and other requirements are driving the need for the USDA Forest Service to create new or increase fees at Superior National Forest developed recreation sites. Increased fees will take effect December 9, 2024, and reservable sites can be reserved on www.Recreation.gov .

Superior National Forest’s fee changes include:

• Increasing fees at eight developed campgrounds and one new cabin (see listing below).
• The reservation window for Echo Lake, McDougal Lake, Little Isabella River, and Jeanette Lake Campgrounds has been changed to seven days (sites cannot be reserved fewer than seven days before the reservation date).
• Pfieffer Lake Campground - the reservation window is the day of (site can be reserved up to the day of arrival).
• The reservation season for Echo Lake and Lake Jeanette is May 9 to Sept. 2, 2025, and May 9 to Sept 30, 2025 for Ninemile Lake, Little Isabella River, Pfeiffer Lake, and McDougal Lake.
• Divide Lake sites are available on a first come, first served basis all season.
• A new cabin and cabin fee for Wolf Island Cabin may be implemented.  If the cabin is added as a fee cabin rental, the anticipated opening is in 2027 or 2028 and alternatively may be operated by a private concessionaire under a special use permit.

In 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act which allows the Forest Service to retain 95% of revenue collected at recreation sites and use these funds locally to operate, maintain and improve these sites. Revenue is reinvested into forest recreation sites in the form of trash pickups, septic and toilet pumping, painting, cleaning, addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance, conducting patrols, maintaining highly used trails and campsites, and more.

Specifically, the following fees changes have been approved: 

Campgrounds

Single Site Fee:                         Current $12/ New $18

Per Extra Vehicle:                    Current $6/ New $9

·       Echo Lake (LaCroix Ranger District)

·       Lake Jeanette (LaCroix Ranger District)

·       Pfeiffer Lake (Laurentian Ranger District)

Single Site Fee:                         Current $15/ New $18

Per Extra Vehicle:                    Current $7.50/ New $9

·       Divide Lake (Tofte Ranger District)

·       Little Isabella River (Tofte Ranger District)

·       McDougal Lake (Tofte Ranger District)

·       Ninemile Lake (Tofte Ranger District)

Group Campground Fee:       Current $20/ New $30 per night

·       Echo Lake

Seasonal Camping

Seasonal Camping Fee:           Current $420/ New $504

Per Extra Vehicle:                    Current $7.50/ New $9

·       Little Isabella River

·       McDougal Lake

A complete list of fee areas can be found on the Superior National Forest webpage at https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/superior/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=36905&actid=29. 

Many developed recreation sites on the forest are free for public use. You can find information on recreation opportunities at https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/superior/recreation.

The Process:  The Superior National Forest conducted public outreach last summer (2023), receiving comments on the fee proposal. The comments received were taken into consideration when preparing the final fee change proposal. The proposed changes were based on the level of amenities and services provided, cost of operations and maintenance and market assessments.

The fee changes come after the Superior National Forest Secure Rural Schools Resource Advisory Committee met October 11, 2024 to approve the proposed fee changes. Committee members represent a broad array of recreation interest groups to help ensure that the Forest Service is proposing reasonable and publicly acceptable fee changes. For more information, click here. The USDA Forest Service Eastern Region - Regional Forester reviewed and approved the final fee changes on December 2, 2024.

For more information, please visit the Superior National Forest  website at: www.fs.usda.gov/superior or at (218)- 626-4300.

The U.S. Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a mission of sustaining the health, diversity and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Forest Service’s Eastern Region includes 20 states in the Midwest and East, stretching from Maine, to Maryland, to Missouri, to Minnesota.  There are 17 national forests and one national tallgrass prairie in the Eastern Region. For more information, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/r9.