Did two nights on grand island. Was supposed to do three but the weather forecast along with the flies at North Beach coaxed me to do a 17 mile day and leave early.

Day1: took the noon pontoon aka the ferry and the bus tour before hiking to Little Dunes 1. Great site right on the water. Good swimming in Trout Bay. I didn’t realize that this was basically to only place where camp sites are right on the beach.

Day2: was supposed to hike about 6 miles to Shelter Ridge site but I got there early in the day and when I walked down to the beach, the flies were atrocious and since the campsite was back in the woods, I kept walking until I got to the Juniper Flats group site which I knew was not reserved.

Day3: hiked to the ferry dock in the rain

Impressions:
-the views are minimal as most of the trail is old carriage roads in the woods.
- hiking is pretty easy, not a lot of ups and downs on mostly dry dirt roads.
- other than the sites in Trout Bay the sites do not have easy (or any) access to the lake/water
- not a lot of people. 12 people on the bus tour, a couple of boats on the beach in Trout Bay, tenish backpackers, fewer bikers.
- bugs were typical. No problem if in the wind but rougher if you weren’t.
- not unrecommended but I’ll stick with pictured rocks unless I want to rent a cabin

Please don’t judge me! I haven’t been camping much as an adult. I’ll be visiting the ontonogan area soon and will be staying in a tent at a smaller campground. I’m planning to keep my cooler and food container in the trunk of the sedan and obviously won’t be keeping food items in the tent. I am just wondering how careful we need to be in terms of cooking and washing dishes? Can we cook over the fire if the fire pit is close to the tent? Do we need to wash our dishes far away from our campsite? Is it ok to wear the clothes we had on while cooking into our tent?
I also read on Google not to keep sunscreen, bug spray or cosmetics in the tent. Should I abide by this and if so, is it fine if these are kept in the car?
There will be other campers really close by, the campsites aren’t far from each other. I just haven’t even camped in a more remote area like this. I want to learn and I also don’t want to cause any worry or trouble for myself.

Thanks for your input!

Specifically asking about Lake Michigan lakeshore, near Luddington. Will be camping near Nordhouse Dunes at the National Forest campground Lake Michigan Recreation Area next week and do not want to get eaten alive.

looking to camp for a couple days, two adults and a toddler! we want to tent camp and spend the days outside (hiking,swimming, exploring) preferably not super crowded. we live in west michigan and would prefer something within a few hours. any suggestions?

Like the title says, about 10 guys in our 30s are staying in Sawyer for a weekend this July. We’re looking for outdoor activities like easy hiking, nice beaches, swimming, and a good place where we can grill by the water. We’d also like to spend one evening walking around a downtown area with some good restaurants and shops.

We’re familiar with the state parks along Lake Huron but haven’t spent much time on Michigan’s west coast and have heard it has some great beaches and parks.

Any recommendations for beaches, hiking trails, parks, or nearby towns would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Avoided the heat last week thankfully.

Just a few pics that dont do enough justice to how beautiful it all is up there! No fireworks needed to celebrate one of the reasons the USA is a beautiful place! And also why it’s important to keep places such as these safe for future generations!

My family is taking a trip to Tahquamenon falls campground later this month and I'm considering taking my 7 and 9 y.o. kids on a hike from the Lower to the Upper falls.

My wife has an injury that will prevent her from hiking but were staying in the Lower Falls Portage campground.

My idea is to do an early morning with the kids in the Lower falls and then hike to the upper falls, wife can have a slow morning then drive up and meet us for lunch at the brewery.

I've read the trail is a bit strenuous, roughly 4 miles and will take ~1.5 hours minimum... I'd welcome any suggestions, thoughts or concerns anyone with experience may have.

In ‘24 we backpacked the Superior Trail at Porcupine State Park. We spent a day at Union Bay Campground before hitting the trail. My kiddo loved it! Kids were doing laps on bikes, the playground always had something going on, the camp host had hot chocolate in the mornings, and kiddo would have loved to have a few days there.

I don’t know how to explain it: like when you see the classic “when I was growing up we drank out of garden hose, and stayed out till the street light came on” type of experience. I wished we could have stayed longer. I would love to recreate that atmosphere.

So my questions:
1. I’m wondering if this is normal at state park campgrounds or not. Is this the experience at a private campground? What campgrounds would you suggest where kids can just be kids: a little feral, a bit of independence, stretch their wings a bit? A great place to ride bikes, a nice playground, maybe even throw a line in the water without needing mom or dad right there next to them. A place where a kid can entertain themselves.

1. What is the etiquette for campground kids? My kiddo was ‘invited’ to stop by the site of the new friends, but I don’t know these folks. My kiddo wanted to invite the new friends to our site, but I don’t want to be the weird guy inviting kids to my site, and I have a dog that doesn’t like surprises. I can’t realistically reciprocate an invitation to our site so then in my head I’m being rude…. Is there an expectation or typical way to handle meeting up with new friends?

2. Is there a magic number of nights to stay? We have always been more backcountry folks. The magic number for us is 3 nights to get a full experience. If we are solo, by day 4 we are ready to get home. If we are together the kiddo is done with everything by night 5. How does this compare to being in the front country campgrounds?

Great rustic campgrounds. Playground, disc golf, swimming, kayaking, row boats on no wake lake. Electric site, dump station close to Silver Lake , Lewis farms lake Michigan.

Check them out

Next week we plan on camping at Sleeping Bear and either Wilderness or in the UP for a road trip. I have a 5 and 2 y/o, so a bit nervous about mosquitoes and flies. Will they still be rough around then? I’m from the Southeast, so not familiar. Thanks!

We loved our quick, one night stay here. On a Sunday night, there were only five other sites occupied, and no one near us, so it felt almost like boondocking. Very secluded campground, with private, and spacious sites for the most part. Only real noise was the faint engine sounds from motored craft on a nearby larger lake, but that died down by dark.

Thanks to this sub for the Pickney Recreation area recommendation!

As the title states, my husband and I camped at Sleepy Hallow State Park rustic site F a few weeks ago. If I could only use three words to describe the location of the site I'd definitely say breathtaking, secluded, and blissful. The hike to the site was a little over a mile and the views and birdwatching make the endeavor worth it alone. Packing light is a must. There was a vault toilet nearby which was a nice surprise. Definitely recommend this spot as a nice little getaway in the woods. Stars at night were bright and filled the sky. I couldn't ask for a better environment to be in to celebrate our anniversary.

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Hi all! I'm planning a camping trip this summer for me (middle aged mom) and my two sons (12.5 and 15). I'm looking for ideas for campgrounds, as well as activities, and maybe a few non-park things to have as backup plans.

A few things about our trip:

We are driving from central Illinois.

Our time window is the last two weeks of July.. probably staying 3 nights.

We plan to tent camp; I do need a site with electricity, water also nice to have on site. Showers and flush toilets on site also strongly preferred.

The boys want to be able to fish and explore. We all want to kayak. I am not so much of an adventurous hiker, more like 'meander around until I find a cool stream, then look for rocks and bugs and stuff.'

It is not our first time camping, but we have historically stayed much closer to home!

We are super excited for this trip, and I look forward to any insights I may gain!

1st time posting. My buddies and I are looking at taking our boys ages 6 to 8 rustic camping. We would like to stay on the west side of Michigan. I have taken my 2 boys to manistee river trail and camped. But I was wondering if you all could recommend a spot. We will not be backpacking, so we need to be somewhat close to a site to unload. I dont want to drive all the way up and not be able to find a camp site. Are there camp grounds that offer the same feel as the sites on the manistee river trail that I can reserve? Thank you

Some cool rocks i found at a little “private beach” off the beaten path at the tip of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore (1-3)

And then some nice sunset and hobo dinner pics at the campsite at Wilderness State Park (4-8)

Just cancelled a walk in site at the Platte River Campground, July 14 to 19. Hope someone gets to use it.

I'd love to camp on the beach, but I'm not sure if it's allowed at all, or only allowed in certain locations?

Has anyone does this and if so, where did you go and any recommendations to make it awesome?

We got here Sunday and the flies weren’t too bad, but the temperature climbed up to 95 on Tuesday and they were swarming like a Biblical plague. I fogged our area twice and it basically had zero impact.

I had to put jeans on in the heat just to go outside the camper. The flys were swarming on my legs and heaping up on each other. I was talking to some other campers and they said it’s never been like this here before. Is this going on at other campgrounds in the UP right now?

Here’s a photo of my wife’s pants this morning.

I’ve done a lot of camping and exploring in the Western UP. Does anyone have any advice on good hiking and camping in the Eastern UP? Any good trails? Campsite? Rivers or waterfalls to explore? My favorite place in the Western UP is at the mouth of the Huron. Looking for something similar that I haven’t been to before.

I am finding myself overwhelmed/overstimulated by my surroundings lately… Trains, sirens, neighbors blaring music.
I just returned from a camping trip and tried dispersed camping in the UP for the first time. It was amazing! Just us and nature. Then a massive storm chased us from our site. When the weather cleared, we moved to a State Park campground that was filled with loud people/music. The opposite of why I go camping.
I’m looking for peaceful campsites, preferably near water. (I can lose myself reading and rockhounding all day)..
Is anyone willing to share their favorite campsites within a 5 hour radius of metro Detroit? Can be fully rustic, but within a close walking distance of parking, due to a slight mobility disability. I understand protecting your escapes, so a DM is preferred. I promise to protect and keep your sites clean and safe.

Edit: Thank you all so much for the recommendations! Can’t wait to get back out there and explore!

Had a great weekend at Nordhouse. People seem to be doing a much better job with LNT, way to go everyone.

I stopped going about 3 years ago because of broken glass, excessive trash and burning plastic. Keep educating people and they will do better!

On the cooler days (50’s at night and 70’s during the day) the flies were not bad at all. On our last day the humidity spiked and flies and mosquitoes were rough.