USFS · Minnesota

Chippewa National Forest

Chippewa National Forest is a national forest located in north central Minnesota, United States, in the counties of Itasca, Cass and Beltrami. Forest headquarters are located in Cass Lake, Minnesota. There are local ranger district offices in Blackduck, Deer River and Walker.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Forest1.6 million acresUSFSMN22 campgrounds within 10 mi73 Forest Service sites289 trails
Official page at U.S. Forest Service ↗
1 fire
active
Hwy 87 · 46 mi from the center · 50 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Forest
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StateMinnesota
Size1.6 million acres
Forest Service code0903, region 09
Center point47.41° N, 94.14° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 8)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground Forest Service recreation site

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Chippewa National Forest0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.68 inches of precipitation, 9.3 inches of snowFebruary: 0.68 inches of precipitation, 7.2 inches of snowMarch: 1.11 inches of precipitation, 6.8 inches of snowApril: 1.86 inches of precipitation, 5.9 inches of snowMay: 2.91 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 3.82 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 4.37 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.20 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 3.13 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 2.51 inches of precipitation, 1.1 inches of snowNovember: 1.22 inches of precipitation, 6.8 inches of snowDecember: 1.09 inches of precipitation, 11.1 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 7.7°F averageFebruary: 12.5°F averageMarch: 26.2°F averageApril: 40.6°F averageMay: 54.4°F averageJune: 64.4°F averageJuly: 69.1°F averageAugust: 67.1°F averageSeptember: 58.2°F averageOctober: 44.5°F averageNovember: 28.9°F averageDecember: 15.0°F average0 in5 in10 in15 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Leech Lake, 12 miles from the center point at 1,302 feet, station USC00214652 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 27 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 48 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

20 federal campgrounds sit inside the boundary and 2 more are within ten miles of it. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · Inside
Bimijiwan Recreation Area
Reservable14 sites
FS · Inside
Chippewa Loop
Reservable64 sites
FS · Inside
Clubhouse Lake
Reservable48 sites
FS · Inside
Cut Foot Horse Campground
Reservable34 sites
FS · Inside
Deer Lake
Reservable50 sites
FS · Inside
East Seelye Bay
Reservable14 sites
USACE · Inside
Leech Lake Recreation Area
Reservable78 sites
FS · Inside
Mabel Lake
Reservable21 sites
Show 4 more

10 more within ten miles are not listed here.

Trailheads and sites

Forest Service directory · 73

The Forest Service lists 73 recreation sites in this forest, among them 29 boat launchs, 16 campgrounds, 14 beachcombings, 2 dispersed campings. Each links to its page on fs.usda.gov, which carries the season, fees and current status.

Show all 60

The 60 closest to the center point are listed; 13 more are on the Forest Service site.

Distance is from the center point of the boundary, not from a road or town.

Trails

Every trail on Trailhead Atlas →

The Forest Service trail layer records 289 named trails in this forest, 594 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
North Country Trail (Hiking) ↗71.8
Chippewa "C" Gia Snomobile Tra ↗23
Avenue of Pines Snowmobile Tr ↗21.9
Soo Line ATV Trail ↗21
Soo Line Gia Snowmobile Trail ↗21
Lost Girl Gia Snowmobile Trail ↗19.5
Triville Gia Snowmobile Trail ↗19
Cutfoot Sioux NRT ↗18.4
Suomi Snowmobile Trail ↗17.1
Boy River Canoe Route ↗15

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

All 289 trails in Chippewa National Forest on Trailhead Atlas ↗

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Wildfire
    Hwy 87

    46 mi from the center point · 50 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 37 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Minnesota

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Chippewa National Forest?

1.6 million acres.

Source: Forest Service boundary data

Who manages Chippewa National Forest?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

What state is Chippewa National Forest in?

Minnesota.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Chippewa National Forest?

Dispersed camping is allowed on most national forest land outside developed sites. Check the forest page for closures. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Chippewa National Forest?

A point inside the boundary is at 47.407° N, 94.138° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Forest Service

Is there a fire near Chippewa National Forest right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Hwy 87 at 46 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Chippewa National Forest?

The National Register has 37 listings within 15 miles, including Rabideau Civilian Conservation Corps (ccc) Camp and Battle Point (21ca12).

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage and code: the Forest Service Enterprise Data Warehouse.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Description: Chippewa National Forest on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, matched by forest code.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched by forest code.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.