Bay Furnace Campground

We chose #29 as it was unshaded and we need solar & Starlink & the weather is fairly cool. Could survive using generator & hotspot-but why?

Friendly & helpful hostess. We arrived w/o booking and lucked out on FCFS. This also let us book a day or two at a time, and avoid the $8 fee for online reservations. Conveniently the ‘America the Beautiful’ pass got us 50% off.

Water spigot provided water. Dumpsters scattered. No elec. Apparently there is a dump station - have not investigated

Really nice USFS campground, one of our favorites. Some sites are reservable in advance and some are FCFS, but if the reservable ones are free when you arrive you can still take the spot. 

The sites are nicely marked with incoming reservations, so we were able to get a spot and pay for two nights up front. Cost is $22/night. Vista Recreation runs this campground, so checks are to be made out to them. Host on site. 

Vault toilets and trash dumpsters (no recycling) here, as well as a dump station and a potable water fill, which I don’t think I’ve seen at a USFS campground before. That was a nice surprise. 

Really easy access off the main road. 

Good ATT service, Verizon showed two bars but service was very slow. 

Sites are well spaced apart and have varying levels of privacy. Some are more out in the sun than others, so if you need sun for solar there are some sites that would work. Spots # 9 and 10 are the primo lake view sites - wow. Lake beach access is easy, especially from the 1-28 (i believe) loop. This loop is also more tree-ed and green than the 29-50 loop. 

Sites are mostly level or at least fixable with levelers. Overall, amazing campground!

Host here did a great job keeping everything tidy and clean. Great views with just a short walk to the bay. The Bay Furnace stone building was interesting feature of the park. You can hear highway in a distance but you can tune it out. Campsites are large and fairly private. Vault toilets were clean and had air fresheners. Sign says campground closes Oct 7th for the season We stayed Sept 27&28 2023 Hardly any bugs.

Bay Furnace Campground is a pretty campground in the Hiawatha National Forest but it is filled with loads of voracious mosquitos. It was so bad that campers had to wear mosquito netting just to walk about. Other than that it is a very pretty campground.

For Astronomers this is a Bortle class 4 site with an SQM reading of 21.44 mag./arc sec2. We only stayed one night, there were lots of trees, and lots of hungry mosquitos so no observing for me.

There is no phone access via verizon or att.

The campground(CG) was easy to find and our RV GPS took us right to the CG entrance. There is no formal check-in so we headed to site 44, which had our name and the dates of our stay. But, that’s when the fun started as we tried getting into this dry camping site. The road is fairly narrow, the site had trees to avoid on the sides plus above, and there were trees on the other side of the road limiting our swing for our 39’ fifth wheel and F450, about 60’ total in length. It took some doing and adjustments but we got into the site. The site is very nice but mostly shaded so our solar panels were not going to work. We expected this factor and brought our 2000W Honda generator. Currently, we have four lithium batteries and charged them mid-morning morning and then in the early evening before bed as quiet hours are 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. For the most part, sites are decently spaced with vegetation between sites giving a sense of privacy. However, in this CG’s beautiful setting, you still get quite a bit of highway noise. The highway noise does settle down during the night. Like the last place we stayed, Tahquamenon Falls, this CG filled up each evening, with an even mixture of RV and tent campers. Three are no shower facilities here but the very clean vault toilets are placed periodically throughout the two loops. There is potable water at the dump station and spigots periodically within the loops. We got 1 to 2 bars on Verizon with the best signal in the morning. The picture rocks boat cruise is well worth the money. Get there about an hour early so you can be one of the first in line to get a seat on the right/port side for the best picture opportunities. The cruise runs up the rocks on the right side, slowing down for photo ops, and then on the way back, quickly does the left/starboard side. You cannot stand up or move around on the upper/uncovered deck when the boat is in motion.

50 sites most can be reserved but 20 are walk-up. Beautiful location with a small beach on the shore of Lake Superior. Very close to Pictured Rocks. Very clean vault toilets. Dump and potable water free to campers, otherwise it's $5.

We love minimal campgrounds so my review reflects that. We camp in our self contained van and don’t require hook ups or many niceties😉 Pit toilets were very clean and pleasant. Water and trash available. 22$/night. Mix of reservable and frost come first serve sites. We got here about 2pm and got the last site available on a Friday night. Lucky us. Beach access is just a short walk away and some special sites have direct beach access! Close to the town of Munising with all the things you need.

Wonderful wooded sites and ours had a path to Lake Superior. Can be a little tight for big rigs. Best sites are reservable, rest are first come first served. No electric or water at the sites. A couple of water fill stations in the campground as well as at the dump station. Family enjoyed the sunset cruise to Pictured Rocks. Kids and dog had lots of fun playing in the lake, but it was cold. Lots of day hikes in the area with our favorite being a trip to the beach in the Pictured Rocks.

Whether seeking peace in the pines, group camping or lake side tranquility, Bay Furnace has it all.

Spent a few nights while planning next stops. Conveniently located within 15 minutes of downtown Munising, but felt far enough out. Nice access to the lake and fairly inexpensive. Hosts were very nice!

Stayed October 1-2, 2021.

Plenty of room at most campsites and sites were spaced out well.  Our site was partial shade with table and fire ring.  Level.  Vault toilet was clean.  Easy walk to get to Lake Superior beach.  Four sites right on lake, but would have to be reserved well in advance.  In general, would be quiet, but one night another campsite thought the whole county wanted to hear their music from 6 - 9 pm.  Fills up fast.

Water spigots and dump station was available.

We liked this campground. Sites were close but plenty of trees to help you feel spaced out. Convenient to Pictured Rocks, which is why we made this trip to Michigan.

A nice mix of FCFS spots and reservable ones. Large, rustic spots with a dump station and potable water available. Vault toilets.

The beach is exceptional, covered in glass from the old smelting furnace that used to be there. Close to pictured rocks and Marquette.

I caught this Campground on a night where the winds chilled it down significantly.

Still, it remained warm enough for an afternoon swim and I used it as an excuse to keep the fire going late into the night so I could see the full moon rise.

My site was spacious and the hosts were incredibly nice.

Also loved learning about the history of the Bay Furnace Ruins!

This campground is right on the lake but many of the sites are further back. Some do have water views. The road in is really bumpy, taking us by surprise. It forced us to go much slower than even on the usual forest roads. 

Many sites did not have much shade. They are sandy- which is better than being muddy:) Vault toilets and water are available. If you are heading back to explore the town of Christmas, and the huge Santa, there is an unexpected walking bridge across a gully for an added bit of charm. A separate picnic area is on the way in to camp. This was the good feature and had beautiful access to the lake.

This one didn’t have the right feel for us so we kept driving down the shore in search of another spot.

We stayed here two nights while visiting Pictured Rocks. We had a great site with plenty of privacy. East walking access to the.beach where we could sit and watch daylight escape.

We love the history of the campground with the bay furnace within the limits. Where they used to smelt iron in a 150 year old furnace is fascinating. The views are incredible overlooking lake superior, grand island and its smaller brother islands. Swimming beach provided and a smaller day use area is also a available. Camp ground has 53 sites. Most are reservations, however there are plenty of first come first serve sites here. No lake sites for FF. Drinking water is super clean and fresh and the privys are cleaned each morning and are kept immaculate and smelling nice. The privacy is good between sites however the crowd here isn't looking for privacy but more so close proximity to attractions. If you want serenity go elsewhere, which warrants my 4 star rating.

Many bugs here!!!

No showers! Porta toilets were “acceptable.”

Next to The Village of Christmas and directly across the street from Kewaden Casino (albeit a super small casino), this campground offers a nice access to Lake Superior as well as the Bay Furnace historical site, which has a short trail (maybe 1/4 mile) that winds around the remains of a blast furnace used during the Industrial Revolution to make pig iron.

On the beach, you might find some glass that is a remnant from that time...

They advertise that most of their 50 site loop is first come first serve but when we went, turns out that most of the “FF” sites have handwritten reservation plaques on them. Campsite host was a bit rude when I asked about it. There are maybe 10 actual FF campsites there.

We stayed at Bay Furnace in September 2019 for 3 nights. The campgrounds were pretty quiet and had open availability that time of year. These campgrounds had some of the best sites I've been to in terms of privacy, shade, and ample trees. Plenty of trees to hang hammocks and provide shade. Bathrooms are no frills (pit toilets). So close to the clean and pristine water of the lake, which is also an easy place to wash up. Checking out the historic bay furnace was fun, as was combing the grounds and beaches for leftover iron. We also spent a day biking around Grand Island, which was stunning. Northern MI is such a magical place!

It just so happened we were there on the very last night they were open for the season. And yet they still had over half the sure booked! It's a small campground, but very near the lake, and the coolest part is the old blast furnace (hence the name of the camp on the bay) on display. Mother Nature took it over, but you can feel the history!

A few spaces are actually on the water front with beach access, but one is taken by the camp host, the other two are reservable.... And they were reserved. But there were others, all within an easy walk of the sand. Ours was tucked in the woods, others more exposed, all with fire pits and grills and picnic tables. Even a hanging post of some sort. Drinking water was also a perk.

There is no electric and there are no showers, but vault toilets are centrally located. There is an adjacent park with more tables and grills. Even though there were a lot of RVs, we heard no generators the night we were there.

This is a forest service campground in the Hiawatha Forest. Sites are $20 each as of 2019.

Bay Furnace was a quiet campground with spacious sites. This campground is definitely for campers looking to have an off the grid feel while being close to any necessary amenities. The beach was perfect for swimming and looking for rocks. With Munising just a couple of miles away there’s plenty to do.

We were looking for a place to camp near the Pictured Rocks that wasn’t an RV park and was reservable. We ended up at Bay Furnace. It’s very quiet, right on Lake Superior and not too far from all of the Pictured Rocks sites. If you don’t mind rustic, I recommend Bay Furnace. You Amy get closer with the Pictured Rocks campgrounds, but first come first serve makes me nervous.

This campground has trails from most sites that lead directly to the lake where there is a nice breeze so it reduces the bugs in the spring & summer. Due to the rocks, logs, and plants along the water it is difficult to “stroll down the beach” so you kind of have to pick a spot and chill. The place is full of small trails so if you like to explore, that is a plus. Some sites offer more privacy than others and there are only a handful that have a lake view. The outhouses were meticulously clean and well water is available. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a 15-30 minute drive, depending on how far you’re going.

Hands down the best campground near Munising, MI. Located in Christmas. You can find iron ore and beautiful stones here. Very peaceful and rustic.

We hit this campground at the end of our trip and we found it to be very relaxing. One bonus for us was that my wife had camped here as a child and had wonderful memories.

Located in Hiawatha National Forest on Lake Superior. We were on motorcycles & this was a spur of the moment pick for us but even though we arrived late in the afternoon we had a few sites to choose from. The sites offer plenty of privacy and are large and well maintained. Located on the southern Lake Superior shoreline, the beach area was fantastic & the water was clean/clear but cold as would be expected. perfect for a refreshing cool off in hot weather! There were waterfront sites, vaulted toilets, fire rings with grill tops. For those with Rv's there was a dump station as well. No electric or water hook ups available. Lake Superior access is a plus for us however it is not accessible by boat. Plenty of nearby stores, gas, food. Pictured Rocks is within driving distance and worth the trip.

what a beautiful temporary home. we arrived in the early afternoon then went over to Pictured Rocks Kayaking for an afternoon kayak trip (highly recommend!) and made it back before sunset. we reserved a spot in a loop off the lake and it was only a 5 mIn walk to the shores. not buggy at all, wonderful temperatures in late July, the super cool Bay Furnace ruins, and an all around quiet and relaxing place. wish I could have stayed for a week.

AMAZING views of Lake Superior available for all, but for the best experience aim for sites 9-11; watching sunset from your own ten just can't be beat! Firewood available for very good prices sold at campground; for $14 we got enough wood for 4 large, longburning fires. Wheelbarrow is available to take wood to your camp site and wood is cash only. Pit toilets only are available but that doesn't bother us at all. The Bay Furnace itself is very interesting and only a short walk from the campsites, but the beach with plenty of neat rocks and glass is a good way to spend a day.

Bay Furnace Campground right outside Munising, Mi and down the road from the Grand Island Ferry. Excellent views from the beach.

The Campground was quiet and just seperated enough from town to feel primitive. Pit toilets, picnic tables, fire rings and drinking water points ( don't be washing your feet !)

Enjoyed the beach, nobody there but campers. Water was "crisp" lol, another way to say cold, but refreshing. Sand and rocks and driftwood.