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Cut Foot Sioux Camping


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I see on a map there are a number of campgrounds along cut foot sioux lake. I'm coming up there memorial weekend, which are better than the others? My main concern is lake accessibility. I guess I'd prefer a smaller campground too so there's less people, but since it's a holiday weekend that won't matter really.

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Mosmo is nice and onegum, north and south deer, are the best ones and the seeley ones are decent too

Jason

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I see on a map there are a number of campgrounds along cut foot sioux lake. I'm coming up there memorial weekend, which are better than the others? My main concern is lake accessibility. I guess I'd prefer a smaller campground too so there's less people, but since it's a holiday weekend that won't matter really.


I spend 4 days at South Deer Lake every June... I really like it... But you're a little late, especially for Memorial weekend...

I couldn't get the Campsite I wanted on the lake channel, had to settle for my second choice just off the lake channel, and I made my reservations for June 14-17, on January 20th!

There are some up on the hill that are "First Come First serve" but you'll have to go up on Wednesday in order to get one.

I'm guessing the other ones are the same way...

For the Nationals... Here's the site I reserve through:

http://www.recreation.gov/campgroundDetails.do?subTabIndex=0&agency=nrrs&parkCode=deel

Though I'm guessing at this point you'd be better off going through a resort/campground like Bowens, Williams Narrows, or the Eagles Nest.

****

One thing I would put out to you, would be that when I go to Winnie to stay, I make a point to stay in Cut Foot Sioux... If the weather gets whipping up you can still fish CFS... Versus some of the other places out on Big Winnie, where a good windy day will make the lake unfishable... Or at the least have you urinating blood all weekend!

wink.gif

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Sites are not reservable Memorial Day weekend. Most of the best sites are occupied by wed or thu night, but the last several years there have been spots open on west Selye campground all weekend.

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I thought national forest campgrounds were first come first serve, and that only state park campsites could be reserved? Anyway, my plan was to go up there late thursday night. What are my chances of getting any site? Do any of those campgrounds have boat docks I could leave my boat at over night in the event I don't have a lakeside site?

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For many years in a row we camped on Cutfoot Sioux over Memorial Day weekend. The last time we went was late '90s so this may be out of date. But our last few years we had to head up there on Weds morning to even have a shot at getting a decent campsite, and if you left on Thursday morning you were likely to be S.O.L. for getting a campsite for the weekend.

The thing that really burned me the most was the number of sites, usually lakeside sites, that had big campers or RVs in them that were completely abandoned for the whole weekend. I talked to some of the campground hosts about this and although they deny it, I had the impression that they were playing favorites with a lot of retired people that could be there during the week when most of us working stiffs were back at home punching a clock --- basically letting these guys with campers save "their" site by paying a couple bucks a night even if they weren't staying there.

Hopefully it's changed since then, but we've since found something else to do on Memorial Day weekend, which is a shame since I love the lake and the campgrounds on Cutfoot Sioux and used to really look forward to that trip on that weekend.

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Doesn't sound like my chances are very good. Why do I get the impression that I'll be camping a half hour from the lake?

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Sites are not reservable Memorial Day weekend. Most of the best sites are occupied by wed or thu night, but the last several years there have been spots open on west Selye campground all weekend.


That might be...

(I only stay at South Deer)

I just saw that Memorial weekend was blocked out in the reservations, and assumed it was people like me who were jumping on it early, as I always go in June.

What they do (If you look at the map) in the regular season Is that there are something like 50% of the sites that you can reserve, and 50% that are first come first serve.

Only a few good sites are actually first come first serve... All the other FCFS sites are up on in the hill, in the woods etc...

They don't have a dock... Just a deep dredged channel that people pull their boats up on the muddy shores of...

So if you have some 20 foot fiberglass boat... I'd go somewhere else... It's really meant for 16-17' and smaller aluminum hull boats.

And while the guys who are on the channel of course take first dibs on the best places to pull up to in the channel, there are

I've always stayed on the channel... But there were always other boats pulled up in the mud from people up on the hill... There are a couple of trails that skirt channel sites, or people politely walk through to get to their boat.

As for safety wise...

There is a good presence of Campground host, CO's, and Sheriff, who run their rounds. And in general people seem to look out for one another.

The three times I've stayed up there I've never seen or heard about anything shady going on...

Though there are Waves of Coons everynight, that have lost almost all fear of man! So police up your stuff into the truck at night. And once a black bear came into camp up on the hill side, and caused some commotion. But we all got together made some spears out of tree branches and killed it before it could cause any serious trouble.

J/K about the spears thing!

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I looked everywhere for a site and everything is booked up, and I won't be able to get there until early friday morning, so there's no chance for me to grab a FCFS site. So I ended up reserving a site at O-Ne-Gum-E campgrounds for labor day weekend. I should've looked around a little more, I probably could've gotten a better site, but oh well, at least I'll still be fishing the open water on winnie this year. Now I have to figure out where to go for memorial weekend.

Speaking of O-Ne-Gum-E though, has anyone stayed there before? How is it? I read that it doesn't have a boat launch. My site is just off the lakeshore, are there still places I could beach my boat?

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I've never camped at Bowens Lodge but have stayed in cabins there a couple times, and I think (not sure) that they might have a seperate tent campground. Could be worth a look. I'm sure there are other campgrounds around as well and you could trailer to Winnie - maybe try Sand Lake or Bowstring.

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I think I'll have to take a week long vacation up there someday because I definitely want to fish some of the surrounding lakes as well. I still need to worry about learning winnie first though, this winter was the first time I had ever even seen the lake (let alone fish it) so I'm hoping this camping trip will help big time.

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there is a landing close on onegume just across the road and the campground is nice

Jason

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I looked everywhere for a site and everything is booked up, and I won't be able to get there until early friday morning, so there's no chance for me to grab a FCFS site. So I ended up reserving a site at O-Ne-Gum-E campgrounds for labor day weekend. I should've looked around a little more, I probably could've gotten a better site, but oh well, at least I'll still be fishing the open water on winnie this year. Now I have to figure out where to go for memorial weekend.

Speaking of O-Ne-Gum-E though, has anyone stayed there before? How is it? I read that it doesn't have a boat launch. My site is just off the lakeshore, are there still places I could beach my boat?


I've heard good things about Onegume... Never stayed there, but I've over heard this and that convo, and it stuck in my head as a place to check out if South Deer ever crapped on me... (Which it hasn't yet)

Sorry I don't have any specifics.

I'm sure there's probably some places you can reserve through the various resorts. (Many of which even have over-flow camping for busy weekends)

I don't know if I can give out URL's... But if you go to Lakewinnie DOT net, you'll find listings for all of them... I'd reccomend checking out anything that is on Cut Foot Sioux.

****

Another time to think about coming up to Winnie is during the New Moon of June. Carries the hotest Day bite I've seen for the lake.

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Well, like I said, this will be a learning experience for me. But starting next year I'll be getting there for memorial weekend, that's my preference. Unfortanutely I'll probably never be there in june for that month has been booked for me for grand marais ever since I was in diapers. And that will never change. But yeah, I'll definitely scout around while I'm up there and see which campgrounds I like better. Either way, I love the area. That one weekend in february got me hooked on winnie for life!

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Well, like I said, this will be a learning experience for me. But starting next year I'll be getting there for memorial weekend, that's my preference. Unfortanutely I'll probably never be there in june for that month has been booked for me for grand marais ever since I was in diapers. And that will never change. But yeah, I'll definitely scout around while I'm up there and see which campgrounds I like better. Either way, I love the area. That one weekend in february got me hooked on winnie for life!


I've also had luck up there in Mid August, so long as it's around the New Moon, and near that period where the blistering part of those Summer Heat waves are starting to break...

But that's a lot of conditions that need to meet in order to make things happen.

****

Another area to consider for Memorial Day is the Longville Area.

But I still think if you call around to the resorts on Cut Foot Sioux, there's still going to be some openings for Memorial weekend.

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It's ok, I plan on going to kabetogama on memorial weekend now...which is where I was gonna go next memorial weekend, so flip flopping works for me. No matter what season though, I plan on going to winnie twice a year just as long as 1 time is open water and the other time is on the ice.

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It's ok, I plan on going to kabetogama on memorial weekend now...which is where I was gonna go next memorial weekend, so flip flopping works for me. No matter what season though, I plan on going to winnie twice a year just as long as 1 time is open water and the other time is on the ice.


Originally I was going to go up to Winnie and stay for an entire week in 2007... But I'm getting Married this fall, and between the wedding prep and the honeymoon, I don't have enough vacation to do more than a 4 day.

Ah well... We plan on waiting a year or two before having kids, so I'm going to have to pencil it in for 2008!

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Yep, I'll be getting married in april of '08. I think I might be able to get away with a week in august of that year without the MRS having a problem with it...of course she'll have to tag along.

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Yep, I'll be getting married in april of '08. I think I might be able to get away with a week in august of that year without the MRS having a problem with it...of course she'll have to tag along.


The area around Winnie is a good place to bring the Wife as a Tag along... Nice people... Some women want for more than the USFS campgrounds offer... (They only have quality out houses and garbage, no showers) But my girl is fine with it... And each campground has at least 1 beach for kids to play, or to take a dip and get refreshed.

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Something you might want to consider, there are primitive sites right on the lake. and Cut Foot Sioux Inn also has campsites

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I think those sites would be pretty tough to come by on a holiday weekend...the solitude would be nice though. But yeah, I'm gonna end up discovering a whole lot of things while I'm up there. That'll definitely be part of the experience. I'd like to think I'll be more prepared when I go up there in '08, but in all likely hood probably not.

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I think those sites would be pretty tough to come by on a holiday weekend...the solitude would be nice though. But yeah, I'm gonna end up discovering a whole lot of things while I'm up there. That'll definitely be part of the experience. I'd like to think I'll be more prepared when I go up there in '08, but in all likely hood probably not.


While I've never stayed at any of the primitives, I have popped in and checked them out... Might take a single night and stay at one when I'm up in June...

Best one I found was more for someone with a smaller boat that you could pull up... In McAvity bay... There's this sort of point that sticks out into the Bay near the mouth just south of McAvity Island... Makes it's own little Lagoon/Harbor over there... So the boat is rather out of the waves...

Another cool one is on Battle Point... Thin little peninusla sticking out into the lake... It's uber popular though... I've never been able to give it a good look as there's always been someone there.

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