In 2021, 166,374 people visited the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota, according to the U.S. Forest Service's Permit & Visitor Use Report.
Black bears live in the forests throughout the Itasca State Park area and normally avoid people. But when humans leave out food sources with enticing odors, such as bird feeders, unsecured garbage cans or remnants of campfire cooking and picnics, bears will come.
The DNR reported earlier this week that of the approximately 4,500 state park campsites in the state, only about 177 were available for the full three-night Memorial Day weekend.
It’s best to find out in advance what’s missing and won’t work. The time for such discoveries is not when you start to pitch a tent upon your arrival at the campground right at dusk on a Friday night.
