Gull Lake Recreation Area
October 2026
About
Overview
Gull Lake Recreation Area offers something for everyone with boating, hiking, fishing and swimming at Minnesota's famous Gull Lake, the largest of the 10 lakes on the Gull Chain of Lakes. Visitors have the opportunity to see and hear an abundance of watchable wildlife like bald eagles, white-tailed deer, river otters, a variety of songbirds, and the legendary call of the loon.
Recreation
Anglers will delight in the large population of fish including stocked walleye, northern pike, bass and a variety of panfish. Boaters can access crystal clear waters throughout the chain of lakes and enjoy the peaceful sunsets overlooking the woods. Hit the self-guided interpretive trail for a short hike with wildlife watching and scenic overlooks along the lake. Hop on your bike on the City of East Gull Lake's paved multi-use trail that starts by the dam, or head out to join up with the Paul Bunyan State Trail with trailheads located in Baxter and Nisswa. Got a kayak, canoe, or intertube? Try heading down the Gull River from the lower canoe launch. Ask the Park Rangers about river safety with current water flow and check-out a life jacket before you go.
Facilities
The campground is known for its well-spaced wooded sites, each with 50 or 30 amp electric hookup service, picnic tables, campfire rings, and a centrally located showerhouse. A water fill and dump station is located near the entrance to the campground. This side of the park holds two canoe launches, a paved shoreline fishing platform, fish cleaning station, self-guided information booth, playground, a flush toilet restroom, and a handful of picnic tabels and grills. Across the dam is the Ranger Office, boat ramp, vault toilet, and swimming beach on the lake. Volleyball nets, basketball hoop, horseshoe pits, and two more playgrounds are also perks of this side of the park.
Natural Features
The campground sits on the Gull River at the outlet of Gull Lake. The area was formed by a receding glacier that moved southward from Canada and carved the landscape. Gull Lake is one of the six Mississippi Headwaters Projects of the Mississippi River Watershed operated by The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Nearby Attractions
Gull Lake is located minutes from 520 holes of golf, the 100-mile Paul Bunyan State Trail, amusement parks, a zoo, and numerous shopping opportunities in Brainerd, Baxter, and Nisswa.
Amenities
Phone: (651)290-5772
Is GULL LAKE RECREATION AREA fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches GULL LAKE RECREATION AREA in Brainerd, MN for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching GULL LAKE RECREATION AREA for cancellations is the paid part.