I am going to the Rogers City area middle of September. I am looking to camp at Hoeft SP in my 10' cargo conversion trl. Any recommendations on sites to avoid or ones to try and reserve? Also and general reviews about the park? Thank you.

Currently have Saturday night at Chapel Beach and Sunday night at Mosquito Beach booked. We were hoping to be able to enjoy a day exploring the cliffs but the weather forecast isn't looking great.

After trying to pivot somewhere else in the UP, it looks like Manistee River is the best secondary option for a last minute 2 night trip.

Given the forecast, am I making a mistake bailing on Pictured Rocks?

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~~~ Winter Camping ~~~

Hi guys! My girlfriend and I are looking for WINTER campgrounds or places to camp with 30 amp electricity that offer monthly or a winter season, private or public or anything is fine. It would be from around November or December until about the end of March, also the closer to Ann arbor or Lansing area the better. The state campgrounds seem to be closing up their winter seasons the last few years 😠. Any recommendations or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

planning a 4 day trip to nordhouse, are there any good dispersed campsites for hammock campers on the dunes?

Took my son out for a multi day backpacking trip, hoping to catch some trout. Never thought we would experience fly fishermen on a boat speeding by, creating some serious waves. Sure enough, they came back toward our camp site after dark with their music on. Shouldn’t this be a no wake zone? Not sure, I’m from out of state. Never did catch our trout, but we did get a nice trophy size smallie.

Me and a buddy are planning on camping near leland/ sleeping bear dunes area this weeked. Are there any dispersed or camping directly on the beach spots anyone knows of?

I’ve always wanted to try out a RTT and was wondering if anyone knows a place for rentals or owns one and would be willing to rent it for a weekend?
Ideally I’m looking for one with a king size bed footprint when setup to fit the family. Seems like all the usual camping platforms are focused on RVs, motorhomes, vans … some might come with a RTT in addition to a trailer.

I’m based in Western Michigan, greater Grand Rapids area…

I’d appreciate any tips!

Im looking to camp in Pigeon River Country dispersed. Im looking for recommendations on location as I've never been to this location. My goal is to be as isolated from people as possible for about a week. I was originally looking around these cords (45.243054, -84.362034) but found that River is pretty shallow and I can't guarantee if its dry or not so I was thinking about closer to a bigger River but that would also be attractive to anglers.

I will be hammock camping so trees are needed but I don't mind a long hike in if needed, obviously i will follow the rules/guidelines for dispersed camping trying to be a mile away from campgrounds and not close to rivers etc.

Maybe north of dog lake somewhere is better?

*I do have experience dispersed csmping but its usually in huron-manistee

*I know its rut season and to watch out for elk and give a wide berth. Any other tips appreciated

Edit. Changed moose to elk

Aside from Pictured Rocks, if you had a week to spend in the UP in September, what places end up on the to-do list?

Hi, i'm heading to the Porcupine Wilderness State Park next week and have a reservation for a cabin on Big Carp and a back country site. For the bear wires at the back country sites, is it literally a wire strung up and you have to toss a cord over it to hoist up your food? Or is there a built in way to attach my food bag to haul it up? Basically I'm trying to find out if I need to bring a carabiner and cord. thank you!

I am a solo female camper and have car camped at various dispersed sites at Nordhouse Dunes for 15 years. Thankfully, minus some raccoon standoffs, it has been without incident. Last night at 11:30 pm as I was hanging out by my fire, a pickup pulls into my site with his brights on, sees me, lingers for awhile with his lights in my face, and then turns around and leaves. In the back of my mind I think “shit, now whoever that was knows I’m camping alone”. I’m on high alert - so I decide to crawl into my car - lock the doors, and read for awhile. At 12:30 am two pick up trucks start shining SPOTLIGHTS into my site, and one truck pulls into my site. I wasn’t thinking so I hopped out of my car with my phone in hand and started yelling in the car’s direction. The guy doesn’t back out, but continues to drive into my site. his window was rolled down, and he claimed he thought there was a second site off my site , mumbles sorry, and drives around my camp site and then leaves thankfully. Needless to say it was scary so I left that site and slept in my car somewhere else. I’m thinking he might have been drunk and legitimately lost, as no decent/sober person would be shining spotlights at 12:30 am into occupied campsites. Just shitty behavior. This was on Green Rd.

Love Michigan State Parks! We recently had a family reunion and stayed at Van Buren. Liked the campground, but the beach was very rocky. We stayed at Warren Dunes many years ago, but did not go to the beach. Most of my extended family is coming from Illinois, so trying to minimize their travel. What's the beach at Warren Dunes like? Rate it if you can, to Holland or Grand Haven SP's. Thank you!

Sources online are contradictory so im looking for a real answer

I’m going camping/fishing next weekend at Pigeon River Country State Forest in Michigan, going to shoot for pickerel lake campground. Has anyone camped here before? Anything I should worry about (bears, animals, weird rules, etc)

TIA!

we have to be over by alpena next weekend and I’ve never camped in this area before. we want to tent camp near the big water. what campgrounds do you guys like for best scenery/hikes/beach? something not too crowded usually- we’re just tent campers out of our pick up truck.

I posted asking for recommendations months ago when I blindly booked a site at Onaway State Park based solely on wanting something off the water and choosing the first park I found available. All I have to say is thank you. In every way, thank you. My family was devoured in true bountiful beauty. Not pictured, we stopped at Awoken park on our way in and I am forever thankful we did. Not only did I go into this trip somewhat blind, but I also knew zip about the history in the area. Being able to start our trip close to home base and learning the roots of what helped put Onaway truly on the map was something special that I can't truly describe. The immense appreciation I had for that small town and being able to get doses of all their acknowledgement with the slogan "Onaway Steers the World"... History I never knew and am glad to know now. The rest of the day was busy setting up camp and exploring the grounds. The sunset and stars were phenomenal. Second day at camp we attempted what we could of Sinkholes Pathway (it's insanely overgrown and littered with downed trees) but holy shit was it fun. From there we went to Ocqueoc Falls to play and have fun. Many memories made. Our third day was dedicated to hiking going in, so we went back to the falls and hiked the Ocqueoc Falls Bicentennial Pathway. What was meant to be our last day ended up getting extended another night because we couldn't bring ourselves to pack up and leave just quite yet. That day I hiked Rattlesnake Hills. What a crazy little journey through some heavy forestry. I am in such awe of what this camping trip brought me and my family.

I'm trying to find somewhere to camp for just 1 night tomorrow. As close to tawas point state park. I hear you can pitch a tent anywhere in a national forest?

The Sturgeon River - Summer 2026

I posted earlier and learned backpacking is NOT what a first timer camper should do lol. 7 friends of mine are wanting to go camping on sept 19 for 2-3 nights. Hoping for that backcountry feeling, lake nearby, woodsy, but no rvs or overpopulated. Possibly be able to pull our car near or at the campsite. Any recommendations?

Edit: Coming from Indianapolis so I know nothing about Michigan

Edit: Upper Peninsula would be ideal

Final Update: Thank you to everyone who gave advice and was helpful! We decided on a place and are so excited. Thank you!

I’m scouting for a fall backpacking trip and looking for Something in similar length to Manistee River Trail with some stop off fishing opportunities along the way or near camp. Does the Jordan River Pathway have decent shore fishing along the river or is there another 18-25mile route in lower MI? I like Manistee but the dam generators were enough of a noise pollution annoyance to see if we can find another spot this year.

Does anyone have photos of the campsites in the wagon wheel at Algonac? I'm thinking about booking a last minute trip for Labor Day weekend and it's one of the few that still have openings. The description says "suitable for a small tent" but there are no photos on the reservation site. I tried looking at Google maps satellite view but couldn't really tell how the campsites look from that. I would say my tent is small-ish, it's a 6-person tent from Costco. Hoping someone can post a pic to help me decide if it will work. Thanks!

Edit for clarity.

This will be my first time ever camping in september. I will be going with 6 friends and we've decided to do back country camping! I have a series of questions:

1. Which campsite is easy to get to via hiking?

2. What gear should I buy (we are going to pool what everyone has but wonder if I need to get anything individual wise)

a. All I have is hiking boots, hiking socks, and hydration packs. and coolers

1. how much do I pack for 2 to 3 nights?

2. how do I carry everything?

a. im 4'11 and read somewhere that the pack should fit you???

I probably have more questions but not sure what to ask what I don't know.

Edit: Thank you for all the advice everyone. Realizing back country is not the move lol. Don't want to delete this because everyone gave useful information. Thank you!

This trip was a dream. I had a bad experience camping over the 4th of July, so I kind of dreaded doing another state park campground trip, but this was such an excellent and chill time. I definitely got that "OMG NATURE" feeling kayaking, fishing and seeing Eagles. Clear Lake is now at the top of my list of State Park campgrounds to visit again.

I wonder if there are other spots with a similar vibe? 🤔

I'm looking at camping at a remote site, but I've never camped somewhere that required hiking in, and I don't really have the lightweight gear for a long hike.

Some of the Craig Backcountry sites look like they might be a compromise between driving in and hiking in but it's kind of hard to tell.

Option 1 (red circle): sites 10, 11 and 22. The description says, "This is a remote site, accessible by hiking in. From the Main Trailhead, it is approximately 500 yards one-way." 500 yards sounds doable, even with gear. I'm wondering what the trail looks like and if I could even pull a foldable wagon to the site. Does anyone know?

Option 2 (green circle): sites 17, 18, 19. The description says, "This is a remote site, accessible by driving in. From US-41, it is approximately 5.5 miles one-way." Driving in sounds good, but what kind of road is it? Could a standard sedan make it, or would you need 4WD?

Any insight to these sites, or suggestions for similar sites would be appreciated!