8/16/25 – Well, we are into another busy weekend in our campground here at Sawbill! August tends to be quite the time for camping, so our campground has a tendency to get close to full most weekends. We manage the Sawbill Lake Campground, as well as the Temperance River Rustic Campground and Crescent Lake Campground. We introduced the Sawbill Campground host, Hawk, on the blog, but Jack is also the host at Crescent, along with Reggie, his black lab. 

The Sawbill Lake Campground is right here on our property and right along Sawbill Lake. There are 51 sites total, with just over half of those being reservable on recreation.gov, and the rest being first come, first served. At Sawbill we have water and outhouses throughout the campground as well as fire grates and picnic tables at each site. There is water access, however only for carry-down boats, not motorized boats. You are also right on the edge of the Boundary Waters and can easily fill out a day use permit and paddle into the Wilderness. We also have ample canoes to do day use rentals. 

Temperance River Rustic Campground is about halfway up the Sawbill Trail, right after the pavement ends. There are only 9 sites at this campground and they are all first come sites. However, there is also water, outhouses, fire grates, and picnic tables. The Temperance River is easily accessible from this campground and is a good fishing spot

Finally, we manage the Crescent Lake Campground which is along The Grade, about 13 miles from Sawbill. There are 32 campsites, with around half being reservable on recreation.gov, and the rest being first come, first served. Here, there is water access as well, and there is motorized access in addition to carry-down water access. Similar to the other campgrounds, there is water, outhouses, fire grates, and picnic tables. 

All of the campgrounds are great and each site has its own unique feel and set up to it! While Sawbill Lake Campground is the biggest and closest to us, the other two are great options as well and are also close by if for any reason we are full at Sawbill. They are all $20 per night and an extra $10 if you will have two vehicles in the site (each site includes one vehicle, and two are the maximum). There is also a limit of 9 people per site. If you are seeking a woods and lake getaway and have some free time, come on up and check us out for camping!

– Anna