Dumb question

[tphanson]

Alright folks, dumb question. My wife and I are thinking about hiking the Greenstone Ridge Trail next year, from east to west, and I'm wondering if you can only camp where the shelters are?

[hooky]

No, you can camp in places other than the designated campgrounds. You'll see it referred to on here as a back country permit. On the NPS site, you'll see it referred to as Cross Country camping.

This link will get you started and then someone with more experience will chime in on the thread.

https://www.nps.gov/isro/planyourvisit/ ... amping.htm

[Ingo]

Also note that the established campgrounds along the Greenstone trail do not have shelters, just tent sites. Only campgrounds on Lake Superior have shelters (most, but not all).

[DonNewcomb]

"Trail" and "Backcountry Permit" are mutually exclusive concepts. If you are on a trail, you must camp in designated campsites. If you are using a Backcountry Permit to camp in outside of campsites you must be off the trail. They are also extremely restrictive about your schedule when you use a Backcountry Permit. Much more forgiving of schedule changes when you are on the trail.