Bear Head Lake State Park

 

 

About

Ownership

Minnesota DNR logo

 

Links

Minnesota DNR

 

Overview

 

 

History

 

 

Management

 

 

Comments

 

Location

Size

5,685 acres statutory, 4,398 owned

 

Driving Directions

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  Area and County
    County   St. Louis County
    Region   Northeast Minnesota

Parking

9301 Bear Head State Park Road
Ely, MN 55731

N47 47.670, W92 4.725

 

Hours

Daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.

 

Fees

Daily park permit: $7

Annual park permit: $35

 

Maps

campground (PDF)

all season (PDF)

all season (GeoPDF)

Activities

Hiking

Biking

Mountain biking

Horseback riding

Picnicking

Camping

Backpacking

Rock climbing and bouldering

Swimming

Boating

Canoeing

Birdwatching

Nature photography

Geocaching

Cross country skiing

Skate-skiing

Winter hiking

Snowshoeing

Snowmobiling

 

Hiking Trails

14 miles

The Taconite State Trail, a snowmobile trail, passes through the park.

Trails

Hiking

14 miles

Cross country skiing

9 miles (7 miles groomed)

Snowmobile

4.5 miles (one-mile spur connects to Taconite State Trail)

Snowshoe

Anywhere in park

 

Hunting and Fishing

No hunting. The park may hold one or more managed hunts in the fall.

In most cases, Minnesota residents do not need a permit to fish in Minnesota State Parks.

Ecology

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification
Ecological Province Ecological Province  

Laurentian Mixed Forest Province

 
Ecological Section Ecological Section  

Northern Superior Uplands

 
Ecological Subsection Ecological Subsection  

Border Lakes

Nashwauk Uplands

 
Land Type Association    

Ely - Knife Lake Bedrock Complex

Pike - Sandy River Sand Plain

Whalsten Till Plain

White Iron Lake Bedrock Complex

 
         

Native Plant Communities*

 

Alder - (Maple - Loosestrife) Swamp

Alder Swamp / Forested Peatland Complex

Aspen - Birch Forest: Balsam Fir Subtype

Beaver Wetland Complex

Black Ash - Aspen - Balsam Poplar Swamp (Northeastern)

Black Ash - Conifer Swamp (Northeastern)

Black Spruce Bog

Black Spruce Bog: Semi-Treed Subtype

Black Spruce Bog: Treed Subtype

Graminoid Poor Fen (Basin)

Graminoid Poor Fen (Water Track)

Graminoid Rich Fen (Basin)

Leatherleaf - Sweet Gale Shore Fen

Low Shrub Bog

Low Shrub Poor Fen

Lowland White Cedar Forest (North Shore)

Lowland White Cedar Forest (Northern)

Northern Cedar Swamp

Northern Dry Cliff

Northern Mesic Mixed Forest

Northern Poor Conifer Swamp

Northern Poor Fen

Northern Shrub Shore Fen

Northern Very Wet Ash Swamp

Northern Wet Cedar Forest

Northern Wet Meadow/Carr

Poor Black Spruce Swamp

Poor Tamarack - Black Spruce Swamp

Red Pine - White Pine Woodland (Canadian Shield)

Rich Black Spruce Swamp (Basin)

Rich Tamarack - (Alder) Swamp

Sedge Meadow

Upland White Cedar Forest

White Cedar Swamp (Northeastern)

White Pine - Red Pine Forest

Willow - Dogwood Shrub Swamp

 
* Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources    
     

Natural Features

   

 

 

 

 

 

Visitor Photos
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
Bear Head Lake State Park   Bear Head Lake State Park

Park entrance

     
Bear Head Lake State Park   Bear Head Lake State Park

Bear Head Lake

     
Bear Head Lake State Park    

Picnic area

 

Camera

Slideshows

Bear Head Lake State Park
Sharon Somero

Bear Head Lake State Park

Bear Head Lake State Park
Brett Whaley

Bear Head Lake State Park

Bear Head Lake State Park
Richard Sanders

Bear Head Lake State Park
About

Bear Head Lake State Park

Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota
campsitephotosdotcom

About

Published on Oct 26, 2013

Favorite Sites: 2, 4, 9, 14, 16, 25, 28, 32, 39, 40, 46, 51, 52, 53, 55, 57, 58, 65

Minnesota State Parks, Loch Ness Visits Bear Head Lake State Park
mikeminnesota

About

Uploaded on Nov 1, 2011

"mikeminnesota" spent 3 days at Bear Head Lake State Park camping & Hiking. Here are some 500 photos to give you some idea what the park in Northern Minnesota, near Ely, Minnesota, BWCA, is all about. The couple days we where there we got to see a forest fire close to Ely, very impressive when we got up close. Check out the fishing boats in the video, 250 horse power motors.

ALL ABOUT MIKEMINNESOTA
mikeminnesota has some 90+ travel-log & educational youtube videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/mikeminnesota/videos

Several of the travel videos are of Norway, both Nordland and Southern Norway. One of my best norway videos is of my great grandparents hometown Bodo, Nordland, near Lofoten Islands http://youtu.be/3KbqvMfL7bA

You are free to go to my personal home page "mikeminnesota.com" http://home.comcast.net/~mwick4249/site/?/home/ with my family immigration history,

Northern Norway lag (Nordlandlaget) Stevne 2013 http://home.comcast.net/~mwick4249/site/?/page/Nordlandslaget_2013_Stevne_Agenda/ N-AGA,

Links to my Videos, Sons of Norway Lodge Norsota 1-602 http://home.comcast.net/~mwick4249/site/?/page/Sons__of__Norway_Norsota_1-602_Apple_Valley_Minnesota/&PHPSESSID=b19e61aa61546afdd3aea8f85ca7168e

and more.

Bearhead Lake State Park 2012
John Heywood

About

Published on Sep 8, 2012

No description available.

 

slideshow

Visitor Videos
 

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Wander Without Wifi

BEAR HEAD LAKE STATE PARK - Minnesota
Oct 11, 2020

About

Voted "America's Favorite Park" in 2010 by beating out the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we show you why Bear Head attracts both fishing and hiking enthusiasts. We hope you check it out for a 2021 Minnesota camping adventures.

Our thanks to the MN D-N-R, Division of Parks and Trails

Music - Epidemic Sound- Headlund

Other Videos

Bear Head Lake State Park: America's Favorite Park
MinnesotaDNR

About

Uploaded on Sep 17, 2010

Bear Head Lake State Park in Ely, Minn., won the title of "America's Favorite Park" and $100,000 in a nationwide campaign sponsored by Coca-Cola that ran July 29-Aug. 31, 2010. In addition to the honor, the park received $100,000 from America's State Parks Foundation, a gift made possible by Coca-Cola's Live Positively initiative. Located just south of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, Bear Head Lake State Park has a similar wilderness quality, as can be seen in this video of the park's pristine forests and shoreline. More information about the park, including reservation information and a virtual tour with 360-degree panoramic photos, can be found on the park web page at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/bear_head_lake/index.html

Bear Head Lake spring frogs
flameofhope

About

Uploaded on May 24, 2008

Norberg Lake Trail and pond where frogs were in concert on a spring morning in May of 2008

Twilight at Bearhead Lake
Michael Walker

About

Uploaded on Jun 24, 2008

A view of Bearhead Lake at dusk from the group campground on Wednesday, June 18.

 

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings
 

Share your sightings or comments about of this destination.

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Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.

Lane Keller

Comments

9/3/2022

Here are some of the wildlife I saw along the way at Bear Head Lake.

Birds

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Common Loon (Gavia immer)

  Common Loon

Reptiles

common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

painted turtle (Chrysemys picta)

  common snapping turtle

Lisa Kovacs

Fungi and Lichens

Bear’s Head Tooth (Hericium americanum)   Bear’s Head Tooth

Tim Lantz

Insects and Arachnids

elm sawfly (Cimbex americana)   elm sawfly
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

Visits

5/27/2011

Birds

Minnesota DNR Bird Checklist

eBird Field Checklist

Fishes

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fishes List

Fungi and Lichens

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fungi List

Plants

Four plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:

Special Concern

Fernald’s false manna grass (Torreyochloa pallida var. fernaldii)

northern yellow-eyed grass (Xyris montana)

small beggarticks (Bidens discoidea)

yellow sedge (Carex flava)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

Plants frequently found in:

Alder - (Maple - Loosestrife) Swamp FPn73a

Aspen - Birch Forest: Balsam Fir Subtype FDn43b1

Black Ash - Aspen - Balsam Poplar Swamp (Northeastern) WFn55a

Black Ash - Conifer Swamp (Northeastern) WFn64a

Black Spruce Bog APn80a

Black Spruce Bog: Semi-Treed Subtype APn80a2

Black Spruce Bog: Treed Subtype APn80a1

Graminoid Poor Fen (Basin) APn91b

Graminoid Poor Fen (Water Track) APn91c

Graminoid Rich Fen (Basin) OPn92a

Leatherleaf - Sweet Gale Shore Fen OPn81b

Low Shrub Bog APn90a

Low Shrub Poor Fen APn91a

Lowland White Cedar Forest (North Shore) WFn53a

Lowland White Cedar Forest (Northern) WFn53b

Northern Cedar Swamp FPn63

Northern Dry Cliff CTn11

Northern Mesic Mixed Forest FDn43

Northern Poor Conifer Swamp APn81

Northern Poor Fen APn91

Northern Shrub Shore Fen OPn81

Northern Very Wet Ash Swamp WFn64

Northern Wet Cedar Forest WFn53

Northern Wet Meadow/Carr WMn82

Poor Black Spruce Swamp APn81a

Poor Tamarack - Black Spruce Swamp APn81b

Red Pine - White Pine Woodland (Canadian Shield) FDn32a

Rich Black Spruce Swamp (Basin) FPn62a

Rich Tamarack - (Alder) Swamp FPn82a

Sedge Meadow WMn82b

Upland White Cedar Forest FDn43c

White Cedar Swamp (Northeastern) FPn63a

White Pine - Red Pine Forest FDn43a

Willow - Dogwood Shrub Swamp WMn82a

   

 

 

Binoculars

 

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