Camping in Upper Pennisula of Michigan

Auen-Osborn campground in Sault Ste Marie. Not a fancy place but it's right on the water with those huge lake freighters sailing by. We had a great time there.

We are planning a similar trip in July an August. It is safe to say that electric spaces are sparse. My DW started in April and spent weeks on the internet and phone finding campground spaces. She searched the state, county and private CGs.

Since school usually do not start in Michigan until after labor day, their tourist season runs through August.

Sorry I cannot give you any specific CGs, but they were just too few and far between for us.

Obviously you want to start with Reserves America to check out the state parks, after this it is the Good Sam list and a lot of phone calls.

Going in August might work to your advantage.

Good luck.

We go to the UP very often and have for over 50 years now and there's hundreds of CG's with electric at the site including the State Park CG's. Both public and private owned have. A lot of them have water hookups at the site and sewer also. In the state parks they do not have water hookup at the site but all have dump stations and fresh water also. 91 octane at the gas pumps in the UP is just as normal as in Indiana. So is diesel and we have both gas and diesel vehicles that tow. Lots of good grocery stores and restaurants too.

The UP is a very busy place with RV'ers and campers during the warm months until about the end of October. Tahquamenon Falls upper campground at the Lower Falls in the northern UP is open year around and with electric. There are 3 modern very nice large CG's in Tahquamenon Falls State Park alone. No water in winter though as it would freeze. Very busy with skiers and falls visitors in the winter. The UP is not as desolate as people seem to think but there are no real big cities over 25,000 population. 300,000 people live in the Upper Peninsula. The UP economy is based highly on tourists and RV'ers.

When the kids are back in school, the retired folks flock to the UP and especially for the fall colored leaves time as they are gorgeous up there. Usually about the last week of Sept till mid Oct. We've have seen several CG's up there totally full in the fall but certainly not all are and reservations are not needed or taken. Most of the state park CG's in the UP close in mid October but it varies according to the weather.

The UP is vey long and I don't know where in the UP you 2 are going so hard to recommend particular CG's.

Cross over into Canada if you can and camp at Pancake Bay Provincial Park . Incredible . Canadian money too , cha ching :)

Munising Tourist Park Campground is on Lake Superior with lake front sites (actually its on a bay). they have sites with water/electric and FHU, even water front. very close to Pictured Rocks. plenty of places to get 91 octane just about anywhere!

rbpru wrote:
...It is safe to say that electric spaces are sparse. My DW started in April and spent weeks on the internet and phone finding campground spaces. She searched the state, county and private CGs...

Every State Park CG in the UP has electric sites; and I have never heard of a Private CG that didn't have electric also. Water is an entirely different story but all that I have been around have access to water for filling your onboard tank; and I have camped extensively in the UP for 15 years.

We personally do not care for water hookups at CG sites because your holding tanks (black and gray) are the same size whether using your onboard freshwater tank water or the CG water hookup and almost always fill much faster with hooked to CG water as conserving is not very important. When the holding tanks are full, you still have to go to the dump station anyway if you don't also have sewer on your campsite. So what do you actually gain? That's why an RV even has holding tanks built in!

Most Michigan State Park CG's and NP CG's in Michigan have very nice new bath houses and are usually very clean and friendly to use. Besides, you pay for their use anyway with your campsite fee whether you use them or not! Using them during the day or for showers keeps all that water out of your onboard holding tanks and we can stay on a CG site for a week to 10 days min before needing to dump them by supplementing with CG bathhouse facilities.

Just a few very nice CG's in the UP of the many up there:

Straits State Park at St Ignace

Brimley State Park at Brimley

Tahquamenon State Park west of Paradise - 3 large CG's

Indian Lake State Park just west of Manistique

Fayette State Park south of Garden - Snail Shell Harbor restored history site

Fort Wilkins State Park at Copper Harbor

Union Bay CG at Porcupine Mtn State Park

Lake Gogebic State Park west of Watersmeet and north of US-2

Van Riper State Park west of Ishpeming on 28/41

There's not one state park in the Upper Peninsula that we haven't camped in more than once! Many of the city etc and private CG's also.

Gobs of other nice public, city, county, casino, and private CG's as it depends on where you will be going in the UP. On the coasts or inland, east or west and what you want to see or do. Far too much up there in the UP to see or do in even four+ 2 week long trips. Like anywhere, hookups beyond electric vary a lot.

If you make it through / near Manistique, be sure to stop at Big Spring State Park. It's not a camp ground, but has some room for trailer parking. It is near the Indian Lake campgrounds.

It's a deep water spring fed pond that's a stunning shade of blue. Most of the lakes and rivers in the UP are very yellow / tan colored, this one really stands out. You can take a raft out into the middle of the pond and watch the huge fish swimming around some sixty feet down.

FWIW, the Upper Peninsula in driving is about 400 miles long east to west and 230 miles south to north and there's so much to do and see. Heck we live 100 miles north the Indiana state line in West Michigan on the shoreline and driving to Ironwood in the Western UP is an another approx 600 mile drive crossing the Straits into the UP. That's farther than driving to Nashville TN from our home and we'd still be in Michigan. Very deceiving in thinking.

travelnutz wrote:
FWIW, the Upper Peninsula in driving is about 400 miles long east to west and 230 miles south to north and there's so much to do and see. Heck we live 100 miles north the Indiana state line in West Michigan on the shoreline and driving to Ironwood in the Western UP is an another approx 600 mile drive crossing the Straits into the UP. That's farther than driving to Nashville TN from our home and we'd still be in Michigan. Very deceiving in thinking.

I was amazed how many miles I put on driving to Copper Harbor and back.

The UP is truly a different state from lower Michigan.