When is a good time to go camping in UP Mi

travelnutz wrote:
bid_time If you are not aware, several campgrounds are open all year in the U.P...

Yes, I was aware, Thanks. But Tahquamenon Falls is about 250 miles (Houghton) from where I am going in February.

Brevort Lake is where we were confined to our RV the July 4 weekend because of mosquitoes. You can also get swimmer's itch from the lake.... we got that on another stay. It's a shallow lake and lots of ducks/geese.

As usual, warm, hot cool, cold weather departure from the averages can and does happen about anywhere on the planet Earth. No one can tell what it will be like at the time you are actually there in the future. Crystal balls don't even have that capability.

We live and have lived for 75 years in West Michigan on the lakeshore straight across Lake Michigan from Milwaukee and summer is in full force normally by mid May but the water in the lake is still too cold for swimming. Usually plenty fine by the 4th of July. Conversely, still fine for swimming in October as that huge volume of deep water is slow to warm but also slow to cool.

Same for Lake Superior but is always a lot lower on average water temp than Lake Michigan mainly because it's 300 to 400 miles farther north and this also has a big effect on the air temps in the U.P. in the early summer and again in the fall. Each has to decide what's for their liking! AS for the U.P., it's gorgeous 12 months each and every year, has been and will always be!!!

While summer and the heavy tourist season starts in mid May where we live, It doesn't really start heavy until July 1st in the U.P. due to air and water temps and the added late spring fly and mosquito hatchings till usually July but still very pleasant weather and water plus insects lacking going strong till mid October until after the colored leaves fall and then virtually no insects until the next spring warming. What that means is that the best season for tourism in the U.P. is shifted about one month later in the calendar year from the southern Lower Peninsula. There's no specific date to give when it's the best but rather simple guide line averages which only apply to those who want specific average factors and conditions to be expected. People are so different and what they do and want are even more varied. This applies to every one of the 50 states and Canada also. Noticed it also in our many trips to Mexico too and yes, Europe and South America also.

Not strange at all as the snowbirds etc don't flock to the south in summer either as it's brutally hot and humid then. So many of the Southern residents flock to the north in summer and we have them by the thousands here all summer.

Personally, we truly "hate" hot weather/temps over 85 F tops and especially with a high humidity level and would run or drive fast away and not just walk away from it and we sure aren't alone! Dead air is another as a reliable nice breeze is so important but certainly not having constant winds of 12 MPH or higher. Pampered old farts we are but we sure do like it!

theoldwizard1 wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
We were up there last july right after the 4th. it was COLD! I would say late July and August is your best bet!

If you are anywhere near Lake Superior and the wind is blowing out of the north, it is COLD !

Yep, we were in Munising. we were there for 4 days the week after the 4th. We left Hayward WI and drove there in the rain non stop. it rained for the rest of the day and night. It was 47 when we arrived and it warmed up to 59 our last day there! the day we left it was mid 60`s. I checked after we got home and the weather got really nice a week later it was in the 80`s!!!! next time we go (and we will) it will be late July or Aug.

But even with the bad weather we still enjoyed the area.

Parrothead Mike wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Parrothead Mike wrote:
I've been swimming in Lake Superior in July and have found it perfectly fine and I've also found it extremely cold. If it's a warm summer the water will generally be swimmable.

So have I, off of a large dock on Isle Royal (Boy Scouts). Jumping in took my breath away so bad it was hard to get back to the ladder !

Parrothead Mike wrote:
If you're along the Lake Michigan shoreline you'll find the water great, especially after the 4th of July.

The area along US 2 west of St Ignace has some of the most beautiful pristine beach you will find anywhere in the world. They used to allow overnight "parking" in some areas along there, but I think they have stopped that. I don't think there are any campgrounds along Lake Michigan in that area.

One place I want to check out is Brevort Lake. There is camping there.

Actually, there is a rustic campground right along US2 (on the lake side) just east of Brevort. I believe it's a state forest campground called Lake Michigan Beach. We camped there 4 years ago. Excellent beach there. Brevort Lake has a couple of campgrounds too. And another rustic campground is Hog Island Point a bit further west along US2 on the lake side.

There is a Federal campground as well, its on recreation.gov if I recall correctly. Its set in dunes, if you want waterside camping check out Straits SP.

theoldwizard1 wrote:

Parrothead Mike wrote:
I've been swimming in Lake Superior in July and have found it perfectly fine and I've also found it extremely cold. If it's a warm summer the water will generally be swimmable.

So have I, off of a large dock on Isle Royal (Boy Scouts). Jumping in took my breath away so bad it was hard to get back to the ladder !

Parrothead Mike wrote:
If you're along the Lake Michigan shoreline you'll find the water great, especially after the 4th of July.

The area along US 2 west of St Ignace has some of the most beautiful pristine beach you will find anywhere in the world. They used to allow overnight "parking" in some areas along there, but I think they have stopped that. I don't think there are any campgrounds along Lake Michigan in that area.

One place I want to check out is Brevort Lake. There is camping there.

Actually, there is a rustic campground right along US2 (on the lake side) just east of Brevort. I believe it's a state forest campground called Lake Michigan Beach. We camped there 4 years ago. Excellent beach there. Brevort Lake has a couple of campgrounds too. And another rustic campground is Hog Island Point a bit further west along US2 on the lake side.

We lived in Michigan and visited the UP often. I recall one July 4 weekend where we were confined to our RV because of mosquitoes.

I'd suggest the best time is late August/September.

Do you like to ICE FISH? Wexford County's Mitchell State Park is open year round and has great ice fishing on one side (walk right out onto the ice from your camper). On the other side, there's access to 1000s of miles of snowmobile trails... the cops are pretty laid back, you can drive your machine pretty much anywhere around town.

dodge guy wrote:
We were up there last july right after the 4th. it was COLD! I would say late July and August is your best bet!

If you are anywhere near Lake Superior and the wind is blowing out of the north, it is COLD !

bid_time

If you are not aware, several campgrounds are open all year in the U.P. and yes, we have been to them in January and February too and they have always been plowed including the individual sites. The Tahquamenon Falls State Park Lower Falls Hemlock CG for instance, has been open all winter and kept plowed with the electric on for over 30 years now since you'd mentioned Tahquamenon. The Hemlock CG unit is behind the check in booth and dump station about 2/10 of a mile and had been called the Upper CG unit at the lower falls for eons.

The lower CG unit (called Portage CG) down the steep curvy hill close to the lower falls (about a quarter mile walk) shuts down the bath house about mid October each year and we were there this year as usual for over 30 years now the day the bath house closed for the season and they drained the pipes. The Portage CG is still open after the bath house closes for another few weeks. There are several clean not stinky pit toilets with cement floors all over the falls state park and lots of flush ones too for winter use.

The upper falls road and huge parking lot is kept plowed all winter and the restaurant is open all winter too. Very busy place wirh constant vehicles with visitors and snowmobilers/hikers and cross country skiers. Even seen that huge parking lot full a few times in the dead of winter.

Lots of CG's are open all year in the Northern Lower Peninsula including the gorgeous Platte River CG, a huge CG west of Honor, MI on M-22 in Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore NP just north of the bridge over the Platte on M-22 and turn west toward Lake Michigan a couple hundred yards. Very modern nice tiled bath houses are heated and the showers have individual entry doors in the rear of the buildings. Very large paved sites in a beautiful woods setting. Also very popular all 4 seasons. Winter is first come first served. No reservation can be had.

The U.P. is usually plenty warm by July (70's to 80's) and by mid July, most of the flies are long gone. August and Sept very have few bugs or mosquitos but remember that that you are in deep woods in most of the U.P. so you will always have a few mosquitos here and there when in the deep woods but very few in the CG's etc. We never found them to a problem at all in our over 50 years of going up to and camping in the U.P.