The Bear Island State Forest is a state forest in Minnesota bordered by the towns of Ely, Babbitt, and Tower in Lake and Saint Louis counties.

It is adjacent to the Burntside State Forest and the federally managed Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

It is managed primarily by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the counties.

Prior to European settlement, the area was dominated by the old-growth Eastern White Pine which was completely harvested around the beginning of the twentieth century.

Subsequent wildfires in the area have caused the dominance of primary successional species such as birch, aspen, and Jack pine.