End of Summer Trip to Michigan

Thanks for all of the wonderful replies. I'm keeping copious notes and will continue to do so.

I should have mentioned that 2 years ago we camped and traveled the north and east sides of the UP from mackinac up to the Locks and down to marquette. We enjoyed it so much we are now planning this trip.

We are thinking of retracing some of our steps and going back up the the Lake Superior shores again.

Keep the advice coming its very very helpful.

If you're in the South Haven/Holland area you'll find the small towns of Saugatuck and Douglas worth a visit. There are plenty of small shops and arts related galleries there. We often stay at Van Buren State Park near South Haven and find it very good with a nice beach. A lot of people often fish from the piers in South Haven. There are also charters if you want to get out onto the big lake.

In the U.P. we like Brimley State Park west of Sault Ste Marie. The sites are grassy, there is a nice little beach where you can see lake freighters coming & going from the Soo Locks, and there is a small casino if you're into that. There are definitely sites large enough for your rig there.

In the U.P. I prefer the Lake Superior area over the Lake Michigan side, but the views along U.S.2 are very nice, especially where the beaches are. There isn't much down near Fayette SP, but it is pretty. If you really want to hike and sightsee you really need to get out to the west end and visit the Porcupine Mountains SP. Beautiful trails, waterfalls, rapid water fishing, etc. The Munising area is beautiful with plenty of waterfalls and short trails back into several.

If you like historic stuff, you'll like walking around Fayette. Be sure to visit the Big Spring, Kitchi-Ti-Kipi, between there and Manistique.

If you get to the western end of the U.P., you can camp at Porcupine Mountains SP. At the west unit you can hike up one side of the river, cross over at the bridge, and hike back down the other side while seeing 3 waterfalls along the way. The east unit features Lake of the Clouds and plenty more trails. Some folks even hike from the east end to the west along the shoreline, and tent camp en route. Another nice place to camp out that way is the Ontonagon municipal CG, right on the lake.

From the Mackinaw City area (I hope you are planning to visit Mackinac Island!!) I'd also recommend Tahquamenon Falls SP - nice CG there, electric hookups available. Popular spot - you may want to look into reservations. The shipwreck museum at Whitefish Point is well worth a day's visit.

A good CG at the Soo (Sault Ste Marie) is Aune-Osborn RV park, a county-run park. Not much to look at, but it's clean and the view of the big freighters going RIGHT NEXT TO the CG is amazing. Be careful in this area using your cellphone - you may get routed to a tower on the Canadian side & charged international rates! It's worth spending a day there, the boat tour thru the locks quite a fun ride.

Farther west on the UP, there are several good state parks to camp at. We especially liked the smaller (west?) unit of Indian Lake SP - not too many sites with hookups, and only pit toilets, but beautifully wooded and quiet; and McLain SP on the Keweenau Peninsula, in the western UP, is wonderful - right on Lake Superior. (We camped in these areas in September, so no worries about whether they'd be open.)

Order a MI. travel guide on line and look thru it. I go to any state's tourism site that we plan on visiting and see what they have to offer. Most have state park and other camping option listings in them. There is a plethora of things to see and do. We are formerly from MI. There's lots of casinos to park at too. Not sure how many accommodate RV's though.

You have to stop in the Mackinac area and go to the Island. Stay in St. Ignace and do a day trip as no motorized vehicles are allowed on the island. On your way to Tahquamenon and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore stop at Whitefish Point. The Edmond Fitzgerald memorial and the MI shipwreck museum is there. Have fun exploring MI.

The UP is beautiful, you will love it. I am no expert on places to camp there, but my daughter did go to Michigan Tech for a PhD some years back, so we made a few trips up there to visit her. The Painted Rocks are a must-see. Take the boat ride for sure.

Do also be aware that Labor Day to New Years day is the big snow season. Snow early in September is not uncommon along the shores of Superior.

Toddupton wrote:
Tahquamenon Falls State Park! Awesome!

Another vote for Tahquamenon. There are no shops anywhere close but they do have a good restaurant on-site!

Edit: you will need a Michigan Recreation Passport for access to State Parks.

When going to the UP, you will have to cross over the Mackinaw Bridge ( TOLL ) but the UP has many National Forests, with no frill type camping, No services. Have not camped up there in 10 plus years, but when I was younger, we would head up there ever few years. The kids really liked that.We would head up into Canada from the UP also. AH, Memories.

I'll second Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
I've also camped in Sault Ste. Marie, although I can't remember the name of the campground. Fished just south of the bridge at and old power plant for pink salmon in late August. You can take a tour of the Soo locks on the St. Mary river while you're there. My old man and I actually went across the border into Canada, bought fishing liscenses there, and fly fished under the bridge for salmon. Good times.

I can't make any recommendation for parks in the UP. We haven't camped there yet. We're going to try O.B. Fuller county park south of Escanaba this summer. We have family in Esky.

That said the area around Munising on Lake Superior is gorgeous. Painted Rocks National Lakeshore, lots of waterfalls, and just an overall beautiful area.