Big Bog Campground

A highlight of booking one of the campsites at the Big Bog Campground is being surrounded by the Big Bog State Recreation Area, which sprawls across almost 9,500 acres of swamps, bogs, and upland “islands.” While fishing is the most popular activity within the recreation area, there’s also a raised boardwalk that allows you to access the bog and its open wetlands. Stop to read the interpretive signs that detail the unique and fragile plants that grow in the bog, including carnivorous sundews, black and white spruce, and pitcher plants. The greater Big Bog region also includes the Upper Red Lake Peatland, which has been designated as a National Natural Landmark and provides an important habitat for a variety of endangered wildlife species. If you’re a birdwatcher, make the short drive east to the Lost River Peatland, which is a designated Scientific and Natural Area and an Audobon Important Bird Area. It covers almost 12,000 acres of nationally-significant peatland, including several spring fens that provide a breeding ground for rare species. Hair-like beak rush, beaked spike rush, and sterile sedge are all found here, together with threatened ram’s head orchid and rare sundews. Highlights for birdwatchers include sightings of short-eared owls, yellow rails, and Wilson’s phalarope while northern bog lemmings also call the peatland “home.” Waskish campers are also within easy access of the Chippewa National Forest, which is just over an hour’s drive to the south. It encompasses a 144-acre area known as the Lost Forty that was accidentally mapped as part of Coddington Lake and, therefore, never logged. It now features some of the oldest forests in Minnesota, with some of the trees having been dated to more than 350 years old. The Chippewa National Forest also boasts over 3,000 archaeological and historic sites, including one of the United States’ best-preserved Civilian Conservation Corps camps - Camp Rabideau. You can explore along one of the four scenic byways, including the Great River Road and the Edge of the Wilderness National Scenic Byway, or get active on the almost 300 miles of non-motorized trails.