page_title: Bear Head Lake State Park
section_title: Recreation
hierarchical_section_title: Bear Head Lake State Park / Recreation
caption_attribution_description: English: Rental watercraft on Bear Head Lake, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota, USA
context_page_description: Bear Head Lake State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, providing ready access to outdoor recreation in the Boundary Waters region. It boasts scenery similar to the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, with the added conveniences of road access, modern facilities, and motorboating. The most popular visitor activities are boating, fishing, swimming, and hiking. The park entirely surrounds 670-acre Bear Head Lake and three other fishing lakes. It was established in 1961 in Saint Louis County near Ely, Minnesota. The park also contains the woodlands surrounding the lakes, which gives an entire total of about 5,540 acres. The park also shares a large border with Bear Island State Forest.
  In September 2010, Bear Head Lake State Park was voted "America's Favorite Park" in a major online poll. The little-known park, not even among Minnesota's most popular, won in a surprise landslide, capturing 28% of the more than 5.7 million votes. The strong showing was credited to the online fan community of mother and cub black bears, featured on a popular webcam, whose territory included the park.
context_section_description: Bear Head Lake State Park mixes the North Woods scenery of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) with modern access and amenities.  As such it has been described as an "entry-level taste" of the BWCAW.  It is especially known for its fishing and canoeing opportunities.
  Bear Head and Eagles Nest Lake No. 3 have boat ramps.  Bear Head is also developed with a sandy swimming beach, canoe launch, and handicapped-accessible fishing pier.  Both large lakes support northern pike,  walleye, black basses, black crappie, and panfish, while Norberg and Cub Lakes are stocked with brook trout.
  The park's various overnight options are all convenient to a lakeshore.  The drive-in campground has 73 sites—45 of which have electrical hookups—and five camper cabins, plus showers, flush toilets, and a dump station.  A rental guesthouse offers a full kitchen and heating/air conditioning for up to 10.   A secluded group camp accommodates up to 50 tenters.  Scattered elsewhere in the park are six backcountry campsites catering to backpackers or boaters.
  The park's modest trail system totals 17 miles (27 km).  Much of Bear Head Lake State Park is inaccessible by trail.   In winter 9 miles (14 km) are groomed for cross-country skiing, while the rest of the park is open to snowshoeing.  The 165-mile (266 km) Taconite State Trail and a 1-mile (1.6 km) spur to the picnic area provide a snowmobile route through the park.
caption: Rental watercraft near the Bear Head Lake boat ramp
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