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Dispersed Camping

Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite

Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite is located near a lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, surrounded by forested terrain. Temperatures range from lows of 10°F in winter to highs of 80°F in summer. Nearby attractions include Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Hiawatha National Forest, offering opportunities for hiking and exploring nature.

Description

USDA Forest Service

Ironjaw Lake is located in the heart of the Ironjaw Semi-Primitive Area, which is managed for both motorized and non-motorized uses. Our management efforts seek to provide for quiet, peaceful recreation opportunities in a semi-primitive setting. The campsite is also located on the trail system of the non-motorized Pine Marten Run Trail, which is open to hiking, mountain biking and horse back riding. The campsite at Ironjaw is a pull-through site that also features a tent pad situated on a hill overlooking Lake Nineteen. This site is suitable for only one family with a small trailer. There is limited turnaround space. A primitive toilet is located across the road. There is no drinking water available at this site. The swimming area is poor. The boat access to Ironjaw Lake (62 acres) is down a steep hill but the surface is firm. Turn-around and back-in space at the base of the hill is very limited however, and 4 wheel drive vehicles are recommended. Parking is restricted to a small area located at the top of the hill. Ironjaw Lake is one of the better fishing lakes in the area. Crappie fishing is excellent in the spring. The lake also contains northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill and bullheads. Horse camping is allowed at Ironjaw Lake.

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Location

Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite is located in Michigan

Detail location of campground

Directions

From the Intersection of US-2 and Forest Highway 13 (about 14 miles east of Rapid River) drive north 18.7 miles on Highway 13 to County Road 440. Turn right (east) on CR 440 and drive 4.6 miles to FR 2733. Turn left (north) and drive 1.3 miles to the parking area.

Coordinates

46.15816437 N
86.55515882 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site

Stay Connected

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

Site Types

  • Dispersed

Features

For Campers

  • Reservable
  • Toilets
  • Pets
  • Fires

DISPERSED CAMPING

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.


PERMIT might be REQUIRED

We curate permit requirements across the US for our PRO members. Try PRO to see if Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite needs a permit.


Reviews

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2.5

out of 5

2 Reviews

Reviewed Aug. 24, 2020

Awesome Site

Great site located between two lakes. In response to the previous review, your best directions will come from locating the site on your GPS (in our case Google Maps) and dropping a pin. That took us straight to the location no problem. Totally legit dispersed camp site. Will definely be going back. Because the access to both lakes is near the camp site, we did encounter vehicles driving by, maybe 2 a day. It is the end of the road though so no one was driving to fast and it didn't cause any issues.

  • Review photo of Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite by Ben L., August 24, 2020
Reviewed Jul. 3, 2020

My nightmare

The site only gives you coordinates that are actually an hour away from the site. There is no real address to get there. We pulled in pretty late, had a rough long drive so we got to where we thought it was at around 11:30 pm. Then we can’t find the site, so we go to the website and it gives us strange directions to somewhere an hour away. As we drove out there, we lost all service, were on dirt roads and we were miles past any signs of civilization. We started to get a strange feeling but we trekked on. Suddenly it gets very foggy and spooky looking and we all debate turning back, but still we keep going. Finally, we turn onto the road that it is on, just a ways down, and the stop sign is filled with bullet holes however we haven’t seen a single sign of people out there. We keep going and finally decide this all seems like an elaborate ploy to lure campers in and kill them. We decide to turn around and end up in some weird abandoned summer camp, still around thirty minutes left on the road to get to the actual site.  We decide there are far too many creepy signs pointing towards this not being a good idea then as we leave and get service back, we look up the site and realize there are zero reviews at all. The site doesn’t exist on google except for these camping sites, with the same two photos only on every site and zero reviews. As we are driving away, we get an email at one am saying “hello your site is still empty, please enjoy your stay” as if there was someone waiting for us at the site even though it was a remote site with no formal check in. How did they know we were not at the site yet? And what are the chances they email us right as we turn around? I’m glad we didn’t end up staying, we all had a horrible gut feeling and I suggest no one else stay here either. Nothing about it seemed legit or safe.

Month of VisitJuly

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Are fires allowed at Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Ironjaw Lake Dispersed Campsite?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is good, AT&T is unknown, and T-Mobile is unknown.