Mukooda Lake locator map at Voyageurs National Park/NPS

Backcountry paddlers and boaters soon will have more space to pitch their tents in Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. The National Park Service has approved a plan to add two campsites, each with two tent pads, and one larger site that will hold four tent pads, at Mukooda Lake.

The plan also calls for a trail system that will connect the campsites to a new day use area, water well, and comfort station. Under the plan, roughly 3 miles of new trails will also link the campground to the historic Filben Cabin ruins to the north.

There also will be a trail that runs south along the narrow isthmus that separates Sand Point Lake and Mukooda Lake in the southeastern corner of the park. The dock on Sand Point Lake will be redesigned to handle more boats.

The camp area on the eastern shore of Mukooda Lake that is being redesigned by the Park Service started out as a small campground that the state of Minnesota established before Voyageurs became a national park in 1975.

The Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe did raise some concerns about the Park Service's plans to expand the campground, worried about increasing visitation to the area and the potential impact that could have on any archaeological sites there as well as the solitude presently enjoyed.

The tribe suggested that dock improvements be limited and the trail design be modified to avoid archaeological impacts. The NPS shares the tribe's concerns about potential impacts, which is why the campsites and trails have been proposed to improve conditions for archeological resources and avoid known sensitive areas.

In order to address these concerns, the proposed trail design north of the campground will be revised; the new hiking trail will become an out-and-back stem on the west side, connecting to the loop at the north end. The proposed portion of the trail located on the east side, south of the looping section, will be removed. This will minimize the amount of facility needed to be implemented and further minimize impacts to resources.

In addition, the NPS will phase in the dock size increases over time to evaluate any resource impacts and visitor experience concerns. In the first phase, the dock will increase from approximately 4 spaces to 8 spaces, doubling the current capacity. If resource impacts are not experienced and demand for more space appears necessary, dock space may increase in future phases up to a maximum of 12 spaces, as long as no resources impacts occur. The dock size could be decreased at any point if impacts are determined to be unacceptable.