The Northwoods Dining Hall is still not usable for summer camp in 2024 due to foundation problems. However, the kitchen part of the building is usable and we’re excited to offer limited camp programs at Northwoods again this summer including wilderness trips. Mealtimes will look different than usual, with campers helping cook some of their own meals in the troop house kitchens as well as picking up some meals from the dining hall kitchen to eat elsewhere. Weather permitting, we will often eat outside.
Set on 432 acres and surrounded by the Chequamegon National Forest, Camp Northwoods has the feel of the wilderness, yet offers modern amenities for campers. Camp Northwoods is perfect for older campers looking to travel further from home for their outdoor adventures.
Camp Northwoods is also “base camp” for our advanced wilderness trips where campers leave camp on a canoe, kayak, or backpack trip to exciting locations near and far.
Some of Camp Northwoods summer attractions include:
- Archery
- Backpacking
- Canoeing
- Kayaking
- Key Log Rolling
- Low Ropes Course
- Outdoor skills
- Swimming
- Tent Camping
- Wilderness trips
Housing
No matter where you stay on camp, you’ll find a cozy place to rest your head and call home for your visit. Camp Northwoods has a variety of housing. The type of housing for campers or groups will vary and depend on the session they attend.
- Troop Houses have a small room that sleeps four, a large room that sleeps up to 18, a common room that includes a kitchen, and a bathroom with flush toilets and showers
- Morning Star cabins sleep eight in bunk beds and have electricity, with outdoor toilets a short walk away
- Yurts (a cross between a cabin and a tent) have bunk beds for twelve campers, a domed skylight, and screened windows and doors. Outdoor toilets are a short walk away.
Photos
Click any photo below to open a slideshow:
Address & Directions
Camp Northwoods is a one hour drive east of Duluth—close to the Superior Hiking Trail, and Lake Superior. We also offer a bus to Camp Northwoods for summer campers!
63275 Camp One Road
Mason, WI 54856
Directions From Minneapolis & Saint Paul
- Take I-35 to Duluth.
- Take Highway 2 East to Wisconsin.
- Follow Highway 2 East for approximately one hour to Iron River.
- Turn right (south) on County Road H.
- Follow H for about 11.8 miles until you see the Delta Diner.
- Turn onto Camp One Road (approximately 100 feet from the diner on your left).
- There is a small Northwoods sign at the entrance.
- Drive up the gravel road about 1.2 miles to a “T.”
Maps
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History of Camp Northwoods
1930’s
The first people to live on the Camp Northwoods site were American Indian and it then later served as a logging camp. Remnants of the logging camp as well as Ojibwe axe blades, tools, and pottery were found when the Tall Timbers unit was being constructed.
Did you know? The “Chequamegon” in Chequamegon National Forest is a French adaption of the Ojibwe word for “peninsula.”
1930’s
The camp served as a corporate hunting and fishing retreat. This retreat included many small cottages and buildings, but only the Abbey—the oldest building at Camp Northwoods—remains today.
1956
By the mid-1950’s, Girl Scouts looked to expand their camp and outdoor offerings beyond Camp Lakamaga and started exploring locations further from the Twin Cities. Girl Scouts pitched their first tents at Northwoods, in the area where the Wastahi building now stands.
1959
Camp Northwoods was officially dedicated with just three units now known by the names Chippewayan, Solheim (sunny meadow), and Coin du Bois (corner of the woods).
1960
The first building the Girl Scouts constructed at camp was Wastahi, which is a combination of the words “water,” “stars,” and “hills.” Wastahi served as the camp’s original infirmary and is still in use today.
1963
A group of 13 Girl Scout Seniors ran a day camp on the Lac Courte Oreilles Chippewa reservation, making a favorable impression on John Anderson (Bonajance), a tribal elder, who recognized them as Honorary Thunderbirds of the Chippewa. When the council expanded the camp to allow for Counselor-in-Training programs, they named the new section of camp Thunderbird after those 13 Seniors.
1961
Camp Northwoods was intended as a rustic retreat for older Girl Scouts and a launching point for wilderness trips, especially for canoeing. Some campers who liked trips, but not canoeing, hiked up to Bayfield to have a campfire on Lake Superior, starting Northwoods’ tradition of backpacking trips.
1966
1968
1976
Camp Northwoods’ horseback riding program began.
1980
The first extended horseback riding trip left camp. Advanced riding groups often staged horse shows, first at a ring near the Voyageur area, and later on a local ranch.
2001
Girl Scouts held a fundraising campaign that allowed the construction of three new troop houses, a shower house, and a new equestrian center.
Today
The story of Camp Northwoods continues—be a part of its living history!
