Established Camping
Bay Furnace Campground
About
National Forest
Hiawatha National Forest
Overview
Bay Furnace Campground is located on the south shores of Lake Superior, near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Favorite to many, the campground is centered to various waterfalls, as well as other sightseeing attractions, including boat tours and visits to Grand Island.
Recreation
Fishing in Lake Superior is best by boat. There is no access to the lake at Bay Furnace, but there is a boat ramp approximately 10 miles west, at AuTrain, and in Munising. Anglers can enjoy a variety of lake trout and salmon fishing. Visitors can access the popular Grand Island via a 10-minute ferry ride or by private boat. This scenic island is a favorite for hiking, mountain biking and exploring. Various boat excursions are offered near the campground at an additional cost, providing a great way to explore the crystal clear blue-green waters of Lake Superior and view the stunning natural rock formations.
Facilities
The campground offers multiple reservable single sites for tent and RV camping. Additional campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Each site is equipped with tables and campfire rings with grills. Accessible vault toilets and drinking water are provided. A day-use picnic area is also available at the campground, located near the lake shore. Multiple tables, drinking water and accessible vault toilets are included.
Natural Features
Visitors can enjoy the scenic views of Lake Superior, with its spectacular sunrises, sunsets and occasional northern lights displays. Amid forests of deciduous trees, some sites overlook the lake while others are near Furnace Creek.
Nearby Attractions
Boat ramps are available in Munising, less than 5 miles from the campground, or at AuTrain, which is about 10 miles away.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiGood
- VerizonGood
- AT&TAvailable
- T-MobileGood
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Phone Service
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Sanitary Dump
- Pull-Through Sites
- Big Rig Friendly
LegendFabulous USFS campground
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!
GuideNice Clean 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.
RangerNear the Shores of Gitche Gumi and Lots of Hungry Mosquitos!
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.
Location
Bay Furnace Campground is located in Michigan
Directions
Bay Furnace Campground is located in Alger County, about 3 miles west of Munising on Highway 28, at the village of Christmas, across from the Kewadin Casino.
Address
P.O. Box 171
Munising, MI 49862
Coordinates
46.4383333 N
86.7083333 W