Rabideau Lake CCC Camp Picnic Area

Camp Rabideau National Historic Landmark represents the best preserved of the Civilian Conservation Corps camps in the nation. Part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's mammoth "New Deal," Camp Rabideau was one of the 2,650 camps established across the country in 1935. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) gave more than a quarter of a million young men, many of them unemployed and just scraping by during the Great Depression... some skills, some money, some happy memories. Camps were run jointly by the U. S. Forest Service, which manage the camps today, and the U.S. Army, which commanded the camps. Enjoy a self-guided walk through the camp or hosts provide tours as well. Interpretive displays highlight the buildings and history of the area and hosts are available to give tours. A picnic shelter is available and hiking trail winds through the camp area. Prairie Public Television produced a documentary "Built To Last" on the CCC in Minnesota, featuring the Chippewa National Forest's Camp Rabideau.