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Water

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People

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Facilities

Established Camping

J.W. Wells State Park Campground

24 Reviews

About

State Park

Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. Learn more: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/buy-and-apply/rec-pp

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Location

J.W. Wells State Park Campground is located in Michigan

Directions

From jct CR-G 12 & Hwy 35: Go 1 mi S on Hwy35.

Coordinates

45.39539264 N
87.36731255 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Boat-In
Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group
Cabins
Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

Market
ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Firewood Available
Phone Service
Reservable
Showers
Drinking Water
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Sewer Hookups
Water Hookups
Big Rig Friendly

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Reservations

(800) 447-2757

Eric S.

Guide

Reviewed Feb. 25, 2024

Great, clean,and grassy campground!

Great views of Lake Michigan! Beautiful sandy beach just a short walk away! Really nice playground for the kids. Overall, one of our favorite places to connected camp!

Site17

Month of VisitJuly

Stacey N.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 25, 2023

A lovely stopping point!

Again, we stayed here for one night on our way elsewhere. We have to come back and make it our destination next time. Clean bathrooms… excellent camp hosts. Weekdays in the fall.. so quiet and peaceful.

Site138

Month of VisitOctober

Stacey N.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 27, 2022

Camping on the lake!

Beautiful park with lots of options to camp lakeside. Many sites are very close together, so if privacy is important… choose wisely. Wonderful camp hosts had hot cocoa and coffee to share… great for a cool morning. We happened to visit during the Halloween celebration weekend… so it was overrun with kids. Not a deal breaker at all… but I think we may have chosen a different park had we known. Neighbors next to us really enjoyed themselves… maybe a bit too much! All said… we would camp there again… but only if we can get a lakeside site.

Site24

Month of VisitOctober

(10) View All

Michael A.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 24, 2022

Good campground

Nice state park campground with grassy, but tight sites. Located right on Lake Michigan. Very nice beach. Showers were okay, but always seemed a little dirty

Month of VisitSeptember

Jaime N.

Ranger

Reviewed Aug. 20, 2022

Amazing trails and lakeshore

Had the best time staying in a very large and warm cabin

Sitewashington cabin

Month of VisitSeptember

(10) View All

Sam S.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 14, 2022

Laid Back Forced to Relax

Simply because of the location, you are basically forced to relax and slow down and take it easy. There are some hiking and biking trails, and the water is OK for kayaking, but it is not near anything, so we had to make do with what we had. The park is a very nice state park with typical sites, nice bathrooms and showers. The beach at the south end of the park is very nice as well and we spent a lot of time there. The big bonus to being here was the amazing star gazing at night with very clear views and little transient light to spoil the night time wonder.

Site28

Month of VisitOctober

Mark

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 27, 2021

Super Tight Sites

We don’t have a big rig by any means, and felt super cramped during our stay. It certainly takes some skill to get your rig parked which was evident by the person right behind us that practically was looking in our trailer the whole time since he had no room to maneuver and finally gave up trying. Doubt we would go back unless we were able to get a site right on the lake.

Month of VisitAugust

Scott S.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 12, 2021

Great Park on Green Bay, Lake Michigan

One line of sites is right in the water. Like all the Michigan SP we’ve been to, getting a big rig set on the site takes a bit of skill. Should have wonderful sunrises.

Site85

Month of VisitSeptember

Jerold H.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 21, 2021

Parking lot by the lake

Stayed for 5 nights. The third party computerized reservation system gave our site to someone else. Fortunately, we were put into a first-come first-served campsite right on the water which is a major upgrade. All of the sites (except for a few paved handicapped sites) are grass. Perimeter sites can be muddy. Interior sites can have enough slope that the trailer A-frame is on the ground in order to level. Electricity is reliable. Restrooms are immaculate. Showers are nice. Dump station with fresh water is clean and works well (2 bay).

My main complaint is a common, almost universal complain - people are right on top of one another. We have a truck camper 6 feet from our screen room with its AC on high and a very "fun" family sitting right outside our trailer on the other side. The "infield" is much worse - seems like each site has multiple vehicles and space is so tight that they are stacking kayaks. Family groups with clustered sites. Seems like a kennel as well with dogs everywhere. On the plus side: very little music being played, people were respectful, dogs well behaved for the most part without unattended barking dogs, people stayed quiet in off hours. The park itself is small with no biking trails or significant hiking trails. Not a lot of birdlife. They do have a nice beach which is a draw for families. We enjoyed our stay overall. We would return only if we had a waterfront site for a max of 3-4 nights. Off season would be better than summer.

Site46

Month of VisitAugust

Laura B.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2020

Beautiful views... great breeze off the Lake

We got a great spot with some amazing views and the lake breeze kept most the bugs at bay. Clean (and free) showers available for campers and a nice playground for the kids... rocky beach by the campsite but a long walk/short drive to the sandy beach... kids had a blast. Some sites don’t handle the rain well, but they don’t oversell in case people need a different spot. Lots of space, lots of fun...

Nick W.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 18, 2019

Clean, Scenic sites

This was our first experience at this park in the southern section of the western part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Many of the sites are just feet from Lake Michigan. We listened to the waves all night long. The park is very well maintained and clean. We checked in on Labor Day just as the majority of campers were leaving. The individual sites are grassy with many trees throughout the campground. The restrooms/showers were spotless and constantly maintained. While this was our first stop, it won't be our last. Being that close to the lake is wonderful.

Month of VisitOctober

(4) View All

Christine W.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 10, 2019

Wonderful park

It was a clean, busy park. We had a nice shaded site along the woods great for tent camping. The bathrooms are kept up nicely, the only downfall of the trip was the rain and our leaky tent!!

Brian H.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 9, 2019

Nice place large

For a modern campground it’s clean nice beach grassy campground clean showers and restrooms playgrounds for kids horse shoes Plus 22$ a nite with electric we stayed in # 33 nice view of the lake not obstructed by other campers

Scott N.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 7, 2019

Great isolated tent spot

We stayed at rustic site 151, about a mile from the main campground. This site has easy lake views and multiple lake access points.

Camping area was clean and large. Has space for two large 6 person tents easily.

Surrounded by trees with a path to the lake. It is very quiet and peaceful.

Mary T.

Legend

Reviewed Jun. 19, 2019

Such a great Campground

This is a great campground not just because this was the first campground park I worked on but because after 40 years it is still great. Most of the sites are beautiful grass sites, when we were there it was rainy so some of the sites where a lake. So if you didn't get a bayside site you could have a lake side site. Great place to tent cam. They have a nice beach but no life guard. They have a a lot of items for kids and families, such as the beach, basket ball court, hiking trails and great playgrounds. If you are a walker they have some great trails. Just up for a day the picnic area is super.

The bathrooms are clean and well kept up.

The employees are very friendly and helpful.

I love that you can look up at night and see all the great stars.

We went to Menominee to see the launching of a Navy Ship from Marinette Marine and that is something you don't see everyday.

Enjoyed the craft fair for all the campers the weekend we were also there.

Such a great camprgound.

Site71

Month of VisitJuly

(11) View All

Anna G.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 29, 2019

Great location, beautiful scenery, electric sites for camping and peaceful

We love it here! Stayed right on the water, tent style, quiet, big nice bathrooms, and easy check in

Tracie S.

Guide

Reviewed Apr. 25, 2019

Water smelled aweful

Water was gross and stinky from ships pumping their bilge.

Dennis A.

Guide

Reviewed Dec. 27, 2018

Campground on Lake MI

This is the last Michigan State Park Campground as you are heading south and entering WI.

Beautiful views of the Lake looking east and south to Washington Island and Door County Peninsula. Nice stream and playground for kids to play in and on. Mostly grassy campsites so things get a little wet after heavy rains. Most sites have electricity and water.

Month of VisitJune

Pete W.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 11, 2018

nice and quiet campground on the water.

some sites are low, so water flows to the site on rainy days. there are some trails you can walk, there is a ball diamond for kids and a small court for basketball. there is also some nice cabins and areas for tents. you can meet a lot of really nice people here.

Sitesite 42

Month of VisitSeptember

Kathleen T.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 3, 2018

Camping right in the water

We always make a point to stay at least one night here when passing through the UP. We stay at site 40 but all the spots along there are in the water. There is a tree line though and a small drop.

It is a quiet campground and everyone is very friendly there. Great playground for the kids the only problem is it is far away from really anything and the gas station near by charges and arm and a leg for food.

Month of VisitJuly

(4) View All

Lora Y.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 29, 2018

Great camping on the lake!

Wells State Park definitely has a lot to offer! It’s right on the lake and has a beautiful beach. There are events for kids to keep them entertained, especially on holiday weekends.

Month of VisitOctober

GA J.

Guide

Reviewed May. 7, 2018

One of my favorites

Fantastic.. group cabins available.. great for big family outings. But great facilities and camping sites. You can fish Lake Michigan or swim off the beach or hike the park.

Month of VisitAugust

(5) View All

Sally H.

Traveler

Reviewed May. 8, 2017

Tailgate camping

If you like a party type atmosphere, this is the place. Super busy with lots of activity and tons of people. There is no privacy - it's more of a tailgate party that you sleep at. The playground was nice and clean, the grounds were well kept, the showers were pretty clean too. I only give it three stars because it's like camping in a parking lot. And to me, that's not really camping.

Augy P.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 21, 2015

Michigan Upper Pensinsula/Lake Michigan Waterfront Camping

We got our new Marmot Tungston 4P tent so I took the wife and kids on a quick weekend trip to J.W. Wells State Park campground in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to test it out. I found J.W. Wells by searching for waterfront camping along Lake Michigan. There are plenty of state and national parks along Lake Michigan but not many where you can pitch your tent right along the waters edge like J.W. Wells. It also happened to be the only site within 4 hours drive of Northbrook, IL (N. Suburb of Chicago) with such close proximity to the waters edge that I could find.

The site itself is tucked right along the Green Bay coastline about 1 hour drive north of Green Bay, Wisconsin. There is a main campground for tent and RV but we chose to stay at 1 of 3 rustic tent sites a little north of the main campground. The campground was well maintained with picnic tables for each site, firepit, and a nice well groomed plot of grass for us to pitch our tent and setup camp. The main campground has showers and a playground right in the middle.

The view from our site was majestic, especially watching the sun rise over the horizon of Lake Michigan. The sunrise was the pinnacle moment of this trip. And that's really the only reason why I gave it 3 stars. The campground itself and the views are incredible, it's just that there isn't much to do around these parts. There are a couple short trails for hiking or ATV's and the Cedar River about a mile north of the site which I assume has some fishing and boating, but that was about it. The only other activity we found was to drive 30 mins north to check the small harbor town of Escanaba. Really not much to see or do there either.

I probably wouldn't recommend this campground for families or persons looking for lots of activities or places to see and visit while camping. It's great for a simple quick getaway with a great view to just sit around camp and relax.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does J.W. Wells State Park Campground have RV hookups?

According to TheDyrt.com, J.W. Wells State Park Campground has water hookups and sewer hookups.

What is the max vehicle length at J.W. Wells State Park Campground?

J.W. Wells State Park Campground allows vehicles up to 50 feet.

Are fires allowed at J.W. Wells State Park Campground?

Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at J.W. Wells State Park Campground, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

Does J.W. Wells State Park Campground have wifi?

No, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, J.W. Wells State Park Campground does not have wifi.