U.S. Forest Service · Chippewa National Forest · Minnesota

East Seelye Bay

East Seelye Bay Campground is located 20 Miles north of Deer River off Highway 46 and 4 miles west on Eagle Nest Road (FR 2198). East Seelye Bay has 13 first-come, first-served campsites, a picnic area, swimming beach, boat ramp, and parking area. The Chippewa National Forest and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe work together to co-steward resources - making the Forest a great place to recreate as well as a special place where cultural and traditional resources are protected and preserved and the Band’s treaty rights are respected.

Closed for the seasonReservable · Recreation.gov14 sites

More like this: reservable in Minnesota

Check availability on Recreation.gov ↗

Site mix

Standard, no hookups13
Host/management1
Most sites here open on Recreation.gov six months ahead, at 10 a.m. Eastern. Sold out is not final: cancellations come back into the pool, most of them two to three days out. How to catch one

Season & status

StatusClosed for the season. Forest Service sites close for the season; check the official page for the reopening date.
ForestChippewa National Forest
FeesUse Fee/ $16 Night

Chippewa National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near East Seelye Bay0°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, 20 miles from the campground 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.

Getting there

Coordinates47.5247° N, 94.0956° W · Directions ↗

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearWildlands Gear Exchange ↗33.2 mi
Dump stationDump station ↗34.1 mi
RV sales & serviceKB RV Center Inc. ↗36.1 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Limited data for this unit

No amenities, no fee schedule, no directions or photos in the Recreation.gov record. What is here comes from the agency's own listing. The rest lives there.

Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the record fills in.

Explore

Video

Video of East Seelye Bay Campground, MN from Bri S.

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • 0.1 mi
    Simpson Creek/Seelye Point
    0.5 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 0.1 mi
    Simpson Creek/Seelye Pt Spura
    0.07 mi trail · hiking
  • 0.1 mi
    Simpson Creek/Seelye Pt Spurb
    0.2 mi trail · hiking
  • 0.8 mi
    Simpson Creek Trail Spur D
    1.6 mi trail · hiking
  • 0.8 mi
    Simpson Creek Trail Spur A
    0.2 mi trail · hiking
  • 1.1 mi
    Simpson Creek
    3.9 mi trail · hiking

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

This campground sits inside Chippewa National Forest.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Recreation

Opportunities for fishing, swimming and boating on Lake Winnibigoshish abound. The Cut Foot Sioux National Recreation Trail runs past the campground and along Seelye Point, it is an unpaved trail used for hiking and horseback riding. The East Seelye Point Trail also runs through the campground, and there is easy access down the road to the Simpson Creek Trail system.

Guidebooks for Minnesota

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

Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at East Seelye Bay?

Sites at East Seelye Bay are reservable on Recreation.gov. Any walk-up sites are listed on the booking page.

Source: Recreation.gov

How much does it cost to camp at East Seelye Bay?

Use Fee/ $16 Night

Source: Recreation.gov

Is East Seelye Bay open right now?

Closed for the season as of Oct 16, 2026.

Source: Forest Service status

How many sites does East Seelye Bay have?

14 sites, including 13 standard sites without power.

Source: Recreation.gov

What is there to do at East Seelye Bay?

Opportunities for fishing, swimming and boating on Lake Winnibigoshish abound. The Recreation section on this page has the rest.

Source: Recreation

What if East Seelye Bay is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Deer Lake (0.9 mi), Williams Narrows (2.1 mi), and Mosomo Point (2.3 mi).

Source: Campgrounds nearby