Last minute Michigan

Dog Trainer wrote:
You will have no problem finding camp grounds in the UP.

Perhaps, but if you want a nice campground with some form of view, you better make reservations. I know the two most talked about in central and eastern (munising and soo) are usually packed in August and I have seen campers turned away from both.

you might geiveMackinac Mill Creek Campground just outside of Mackinaw City a try. We go there every year and its pretty nice. sites can be a little cramped but at the time you're going it shouldn't be too bad.

Dog Trainer - I agree with your statement.

I would add that for some UP campgrounds, ONLY on the weekends, it is smart to get a reservation anyay, just in case.

This is because some of them actually do fill up with local residents on weekends. I have met people who reserve the same site at the same park for several weekends every summer, and have been doing so every year, going all the way back to when they themselves were kids camping with their parents.

You will have no problem finding camp grounds in the UP.

We stayed at OB Fuller CG in Bark River last August. It is a county CG on Lake Michigan a little south of Escanaba.. We loved it. We had no trouble getting a campsite with no reservation. Called a couple of hours before we were arriving and got the site over the phone.

The area around Lake Gogebic in the UP offers several state, county and town campgrounds, as well as the Ottawa National Forest and Sylvania Wilderness area (Clark Lake campground offers a shower house, but no electric). Some of these are reservable.

More info for Ontonagon area

The Michigan State Park reservation site is very helpful.

Just keep in mind that a map provided of the state campground it will likely say that the map is not to scale.

That is because the campsites are wherever the trees ain't. So a roadway that looks to run in a perfectly straight line might actually be an "S" curve and sites that look to be right at the water's edge might be further away and even have no view of the lake at all.

No big deal, but I have avoided sites that I thought were too close together based on a map only to find out that this was not even remotely the case.

As stated, late August is a good time, but be sure to avoid the Mackinac Bridge area around Labor Day weekend. There are a LOT of tourists in that area for the annual Labor Day bridge walk.

My preference would be northwest lower Michigan and areas along Lake Michigan. In fact, we're heading up that way in a couple of days for about 10 days. We'll be camping at Orchard Beach State Park in Manistee and then heading up to the Sleeping Bear Dunes area. The Leelanau Peninsula (the little finger area just west and NW of Traverse City is my favorite area).

There are some nice state parks along the Lake Michigan shoreline from South Haven (Van Buren State Park) to Manistee. They do get busy, especially on weekends throughout the summer.

We don't have a lot of experience with private campgrounds along the lakeshore, but click on RV Park Reviews.com below and you can search for some that might work for you.

http://www.rvparkreviews.com/regions/Michigan/

Here is link to Michigan state parks.

Michigan state parks

The last week before the week of Labor Day weekend wouuld be your best bet along the lakeshores because many people are back home regestering or registering kids for school, in practice for Fall sports, buying clothes for the school year, etc. Usually some openings in several of the lakeshore CGs. Avoid the week and weekend of Labor Day as there is annually 50,000 to 80,000 at the Straits are for the annual Big Mac Bridge Walk and it's a ZOO in the whole area as we'd done the 5 mile bridge walk a couple times in the past. If you know when you will be coming and where, get a reservation especially if earlier in August. There are so many parks to choose from that meet your wants! Always cool on the east side of Lake Michigan. Normal is 80 for a high daytime and 60 for a low at night in the L.P. along Lake Michigan and there's always a breeze coming off the huge lake that is like natural fresh air A/C thanks to wide very deep and cooler then the air Lake Michigan. Perfect weather and temps for play and sleeping! The big lake in the West Michigan area is always about 72-76 degrees in August and perfect for a dip or stay in for a long time. 75 and 55 in the U.P. near the lake but it's warmer on the west side of Lake Michigan buy 5-10 degrees because the air passes over more than a thousand miles of humid heated land.