Fort Wilkins Historic State Park, located in the northern tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, features a modern campground, trails, a historical fort with a living history program, two 1860s lighthouses on Lake Superior and much more.

Visitors will enjoy a quarter-mile of rocky Lake Superior shoreline, Lake Fanny Hooe and a quarter-mile of sandy beach on Lake Manganese.

The park features a restored 1844 army military outpost, including 19 buildings, with a living history program provided by the Michigan History Center. Visitors can experience a look back at life on the northern frontier during the mid-1800s and a time when soldiers were stationed in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 
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

Fort Wilkins Historic State Park — Fort Wilkins State Historic Park

Things I love about this campground: sites with easy access to private lakeside swimming, clean restrooms with Wifi and laundry, the fort is an interesting piece of history to explore, and the conglomerate formation rock beaches of Lake Superior are just a picturesque 5-minute hike through old pine forests. The sites are pretty compact in the east campground (though definitely not the toughest I’ve seen), but the west is more spread out.

Side note for those with sturdy shocks and off-road tires on their car, the nearby road to Horseshoe Harbor offer a short hike to a blissfully private and peaceful beach. Worth checking out!

Love it

With running water and nice sized campsites, this campground is a must. Bring a bike; there's a nice path that connects Fort Wilkins to the town of Copper Harbor, and there are a few restaurants and shops to check out. I love the Harbor Haus! Be sure to go for a dip in the harbor, too. The only trick is making sure you reserve ahead of time to snag a spot. The best times to go are July/August, weather-wise, but these are also the months when the park is most crowded. 

The busiest weekends are the Keweenaw Trail Running Festival and the Bells Mountain Bike race weekend. I wish the summers were longer in the Keweenaw, because it's such a magical place! 

Great location and excellent facilities

These campgrounds lie at the the end of route 41, 2000 miles north of Miami. This park is pretty much what you'd expect. Geared towards family with all of the amenities including wifi. Copper Harbor is a very small town supported by tourism. A destination spot in the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The surrounding areas have great hiking, waterfalls and views of Lake Superior. The campgrounds are also home to an historical military outpost as well as one of the first lighthouses on Lake Superior. 

End of the road

The camp staff was very friendly and the view of Lake Fanny Hooe is absolutely beautiful. The showers and bathrooms are modern and kept very clean. The fort is also free to enter and within a short walking distance from the campground down a trail along the lake. 

Fort Wilkins State Park, MI

I spent two nights in Fort Wilkins during August of 2016\. The weather was beautiful, not too hot during the day, cool for sleeping at night. There is a plethora of things to do in the area, I highly recommend a visit to the Fort in addition to heading out on Lake Fanny Hoe in a kayak or canoe. The bathhouse was small, but the showers were indoors instead of the usual outside entrance. They also provide free wifi from the bathhouses. The park staff were all wonderful, including the actors at the Fort. I loved it so much I'm coming back again this summer!

August Short Visit

We visited sight unseen and were pleasantly surprised! The sites were well maintained and clean. Every day after checkout I saw park employees policing up left behind rubbish.

The sites are smallish, but I didn't feel like we were on top of one another. We lucked out with good neighbors.

There are modern toilets and hot showers as well as a laundry facility if needed. The camp host was a wealth of information and a great resource.

Could have cared less about cell service, so I have no idea if it was available.

I do recommend camping on the lake side - bugs weren't too bad except in the evening.

Great family spot.

Go to the very top of the UP!

The Keewanaw Peninsula is a really neat part of Michigan and definitely deserves a visit. The whole way up to Copper Harbor is full of history and worthy places to visit. Copper Harbor sits at the tip of the peninsula and if you want to camp here there are really only two choices – the state park and the privately-owned Lake Fanny Hooe Resort and Campground.  Fort Wilkins is a pretty cool campground because it’s set among the Fort Wilkins Historic Complex and a great place to explore (especially with kids and history buffs) and learn about the areas past without even leaving the park. The grounds are beautiful as this is a well-maintained nineteenth century military outpost. Many of the buildings have been lovingly restored and are now exhibits beckoning you to explore and learn about life and operations of the fort.  

The campground is sandwiched between Lakes Fanny Hooe and Superior so either way you choose you have water. Lake Fanny Hooe is a long, skinny (and deep) lake that’s great for paddling, fishing, or just gazing at. The sites are pretty close together so you may get to know your neighbor like it or not. The park is full on weekend in the summer and for holidays so book early and expect crowds. There are two loops the “east” and the “west.” The west loop seems to have more trees and a little more privacy and wifi. If you can score site #10 it’s the best. Some sites have 50 amp while others are 30/20 amp with fire pits and picnic tables. Water spigots are scattered throughout the campground and there is a dump station available.  Some really nice amenities are the fort for exploring and learning, a large playground for kids to play, pavilions for groups to gather, on-site laundry (not very common in state parks), and water access. Definitely bring a fishing pole and watercraft if you have them. 

This area is a launching point for those wanted to visit Isle Royale National Park and draws many outdoor enthusiasts with its mountain biking trails, water activities, and hiking. When it is summer, Copper Harbor comes alive with outdoor activities. Numerous outfitters will rent gear for you to explore the area and enjoy the summer months. We loved that there are numerous trails skirting the grounds that make a nice walk. Nothing strenuous but nice to be able to stretch our legs and give the dog some exercise.

Worth the Drive to the Top of MI

Campground east is pretty but a lot of the sites seem uneven. The fort is really interesting. 
Lots of mtn. bike / foot trails.
Dog friendly campground and fort. Although dogs are not allowed in buildings.
Showers are nice, great water preasure. 
Horseshoe bay is pretty, wouldnt take a low riding car there especially if it rained recently. 
Brockway mtn. drive is really pretty. get a really nice biew of all copper harbor.



Good views and fort. Sites uneven

This park is one of the best I have visited in the Nation! The scenery is unspeakable beauty. Situated on the very tip of Copper Country in Copper Harbor, Michigan and the beginning of U.S. HWY 41 that makes its way all the way to Florida! On one side of the park you have views of the vast Lake Superior and on the other is breathtaking views of Lake Fanny Hooe. This lake is beautiful especially on a clear day and seeing the reflection of trees that line the lake can take your breath away. The grounds are well kept and restrooms and showers are always clean. The park offers plenty of hiking but the area is known for it's mountain biking! This is a common sport here, you will lose count the number of mountain bikes you see, they take it seriously here. On the park grounds is an old Army fort from the Civil War era. The buildings of this fort are immaculate and very well kept. This is a self guided tour and should take an hour or more to complete depending on how much you want to learn. During the Summer months they do a reinactment of the era with a firing of the cannon every morning. For those familiar with Michigan, I would say it is similar to Fort Mackinaw on Mackinaw Island, except this is free and just as good if not a more personal experience. The only downside I have about this park is the size of the campsites are a little small for my liking and when full, campers are on top of each other and this is another mostly open campground with little if no trees sperating campers from one another. There are shops, lodging and restaurants down the road. I can say I have not been impressed with any of the restaurants but I don't rate my campgrounds based on what's available to eat, I just point it out to give a general review of the area. Copper Harbor also offers one of two shipping docks that give you a ride to Isle Royal National Park, the other is in the Houghton/Hancock area which you pass on the way into the Penninsula. Taking the trip from Copper Harbor saves about 2 hours to the Island. These trips should be booked well in advance! Enjoy riding up one side of the Peninsula and driving down the other side for a drive only made for movies! Stop for ice cream, shop for jam, and drive through the paved block downtown Calumet. While in Calumet check out some of the most historic bars for good drinks and food as well as stories from the bartenders as they do a excellent job explaining the history of the bar!

Beautiful Lake Superior and Free History Lesson

What a beautiful place! The campground is a bit crowded, but completely worth the minor inconvenience of space. Some of the sites are quite small and a few maybe shouldn't be sites at all due to terrain, roots, etc.. The bathrooms and showers are very nice. There are many trails for hiking and mountain biking nearby. It's just a short walk to the Fort from the campground. The kids had fun touring the buildings and grabbing an ice cream at the gift shop after. The campground is nestled between Lake Fanny Hooe and Lake Superior and is just gorgeous. 

Worth the trip!

The camp is located on Lake Fannyhooe, and next to the historic Fort Wilkins, and just down the road from beutiful Copper Harber. Has bathroom, campstore, trails, power hook up, and lake acces. Only downside is the camp is REALLY packed tight for most the sights.

Amazing Place & Amazing History

You are in the middle of the best of both worlds. On one side you have Lake Fanny Hooe and in the other Lake Superior. Both offer a great place for water fun. The lake is great for fishing.

You will also find a nice quiet trail around the camp and a short drive to bigger bike trails. The camp has good size spots and lots of trees, a park for kids to play in and you are next to the Fort! Great place for history and fun.

If you walk to town, about 1.5 miles, you will finds many local stores with lots of character, good coffee by the lake where the old fish market used to be and don't forget to stop at the Brickside Brewery.

Easy drive to other beaches, don't forget to look for agates!

Take 26 to Eagle River to The Jampot monastery, the best place for jams and pastries.

Simple with the comforts of home

This campground/state park was absolutely incredible! There’s so much to do between the old fort, seeing the lighthouse, or swimming in the quiet inland lake. The campsite was close to others but felt private with lots of trees surrounding us on 3 sides. Absolute favorite place to camp, and will be back many times in the future!

Awesome campground and state park

I've been coming here for over 25 years- It's a home way from home. A lot of rich history and historical site. The outdoors here is 2nd to NONE. 

The Best

Some sites had trees with good shade others were in the sun.  Most of the sites overlooking the lake were roomy.  The fire pits were clean, and the bathrooms were clean.  Lots of hike and bike paths, connecting to bike trails in town.  Easy and more challenging routes. It is a Mountain biker's dream.  The map of copper Harbor's  bike trails with rated levels of difficulty is worth the 5$ and available at the camp store. The inland lake is calm and serene, great for fishing and paddlers. The Fort is interesting for those who like early settlement history.  During the summer there are student reenactors at the fort to share with you what life was like.  Friendly warning to those who want to drive to the peninsula top. Unless you have lifted 4 wheel drive the old logging roads that go there are impassable.  It's best reached with hiking or mountain biking.  We could not get there in our Subaru.  The locals are all very friendly and are happy to help with directions and warnings.  One local told us they have even had a few few jeeps tip over on the back roads.  

Nice sites overlooking the lake

I was so excited to venture all the way up to copper harbor and stay at Fory Wilkins State Park... The camp ground is extremely nice, beautiful setting smaller sites. Bathrooms are outdated but worked. Nice that they had wifi near the bath houses. Staff was friendly and the wood was great for fires. We left early due to so much rain. If it wasnt 9 hours away from home. We'd come more. Site 16 

Way up yonder

Gorgeous spot, a lot of things to do. Bike rides would take you to old buildings to tour, a mile from town, and some trails to gorgeous spots on Lake Superior. Only bad thing was no real sandy beach for littles- so make sure you bring water shoes. 

So many things to do

Nice campsites but kind of close together

Tip of copper harbor

Really nice campground. You have oaths to both lakes and hiking all around
 

 Very nice and clean

Our experience at Fort Wilkins/Copper Harbor started out great. We rolled in to the campground headquarters with no reservation. The guy working in the office was fantastic, he even highlighted some campsites we might want to look at. We stayed in the west campground in site 133. It was about like most campsites at Michigan state parks, modest amount of room. The great thing about this site was biking and hiking were accessible right from the campsite. The bathrooms are a bit outdated, but were super clean and in good working order. There is very little cell service in the area, but the bathroom has wifi if you need to check in with anyone. 

  

Eat, Sleep, Ride and Repeat!

We really enjoyed our stay here!

Beautiful area, many things to do int area. However, the camping is a bit tight.

Fort Wilkins State Park

You drive forever on a long, narrow spit of land jutting out majestically into Lake Superior only to arrive at this campsite built around a tiny little “lake” instead of on the shores of THE lake. 
Such a disappointment. 

Wonk wonk

We stayed at Ft. Wilkens after being on the road a week to get showers, do laundry and pack for a trip to Isle Royale. The sites are close together and there isn't much privacy, but yhe campground is clean and quiet, the bath house is clean and the showers are hot. 
We had site 8 on the outer loop facing the lake. 
There's a good general store in town and the campground is 10 minutes from the Isle Toyale ferry. 

Crowded, but quiet

It takes a long time to drive all the way up here, but it’s worth the drive!  Campground has lots of sites, and not much privacy.  But easy access and plenty of restrooms.  Laundry facilities are available. 


Remote

This campground takes a long time to get to but Copper Harbor is beautiful! It’s remote in one sense but the campground is full service with bathrooms, showers and laundry. There is electric at each site so it is popular with RVs and the sites in the East campground and not private at all. Our kids had a great time playing on the playground and we enjoyed touring the fort and swimming in Lake Fanny Hooe and Superior. There is a great network of bike trails in the area. We biked into Copper Harbor and out to Hunter’s Point where there is more hiking and beaches. Great location but wish the sites had more privacy. 

Full service but crowded

All notes are for the West Campground. We didn’t drive through the East Campground. 

  

Vibe: First blush seemed almost residential like, but it was mostly families on extended camping trips that had packed campsites. Friendly but a little rowdy. Teens drinking White Claws, pot smells wafting through and some camp rules openly flaunted. But no trouble making taking place. 

  

Cleanliness: Average. 

  

Facilities: Better than average. 

  

General spots: Sandy bare ground on most of the site. Not much grass. Most sites were packed, so they seemed small, but they may have just been because of all the extra equipment in them. 

  

Our site: 137. Two stones throw from the swimming spot on Lake Fanny Hooe. 

  

Noise: People playing games and cheering, but nothing too loud or obtrusive. Quiet hours were respected. 

  

Cell signal(Verizon): None. There is a picnic table by the swimming area between the two sections of the west camp that could get some very slow service. The town had no service either, but you could find some guest wifi, like at the marina just west of town. 

  

Other: Wish we had kayaks for Lake Fanny Hooe. Really nice lake. Lots of families use this as a base camp for a week of adventuring in the area. Lots of Lake Superior beaches and scenic overlooks near by.

Loved Fanny Hooe Lake. Camp not as nature-y as I like.

We stay at Fort Wilkins every time we are in copper harbor. The location is great, right on the bike trails and right between lake Fanny Hooe and Lake Superior, which is hard to beat. The camp store has great ice cream and a bunch of essentials if you need something.  There is laundry in the east campground for $2.50 per load each for wash/dry.  There are only two washers so you may have to wait. There is also wifi at the camp buildings like the bathrooms and store. The only downside is that campsites are very close together and there is no separation between the RVs and Tent  campers. It would be nice to have a tents only loop to keep things quieter. 

Classic state park 

Truly a northwoods destination. Nice sites near Lake Fanny Hooe. A little confusing that campers in the West Campground have to drive past their entrance to register and find firewood. $7 a bunch is a bit higher than other places. Bathrooms were mostly clean, but could use some updating. Last decent sized food store is in Calumet. 

Northern camping

We love visiting the historic fort &amp; the trail system through the park is great for a morning walk or to walk/bike to town. Some trees to maneuver around to park, but plenty of room for our 35 foot camper. There are a few in this area of the campground we fit in &amp; all of the west extension is big rig friendly, but we like how close this part is to the lighthouse overlook &amp; the bathhouse. We will continue to make this a yearly stay.


Where history & nature meet

This is a beautiful haven from the warmer temperatures with easy access to hiking and relaxation. We stayed in the west campground and extended our stay for a week+. The heat hit even just a few hours south. The northern point of Copper Harbor stayed in the 50/60s during the day with nights at 40. With 2-3 miles of hiking right from camp, we loved our stay. 
The campsites in the west have some trees between sites. Without reservations we took an open first come first served site. This let us extend the stay. 101 is an end spot which means less dog interaction for our reactive pup. However every vehicle drives by on their way in or out. We didn’t find this to be a problem at all. 
There were a few big groups - one very large group in the east campground and one on our side. This added in to the number of children riding bikes in a loop throughout camp. 
The historic fort provides some interesting history. 1.5 miles of hiking brings you to the small town. A country store has groceries. Anything more and it’s a drive back to Calumet. 
Don’t miss taking 26 so you can get some jams and baked goods from the monks at the Jampot - the sign says it’s only open on Fri/Sat but luckily two newlyweds tried the door and they were open. 
We will be coming back to this area in the future. 

Far north respite

We didn’t stay here just visited some friends here. There site was close to others but not to close. Camp store is very nice. Area is awesome, lots to do and explore. Beautiful night skies and northern lights. 

Nice campground. 

We stay here several times a year with our camper and tent. 

The bathrooms are a little dated, but always clean! The staff  throughout the campground &amp; Fort is always friendly and courteous. 

The campground host are always full of information and informative when it comes to the local attractions and places to visit. 

You are completely disconnected when it comes to cellular service &amp; that’s our favorite part. There is Wi-Fi, but it’s spotty &amp; only available around the bathroom area. 

Perfect Destination 

Have been here since a little girl (now 72) I will always come back. We no longer tent, so I cannot give a review for the East Compound but the **West campground is wonderful!!**  They are spacious and with trees between sites. The center is blacktopped surrounded by grass and trees. Grass sites are around the perimeter- they are still great. There is nothing better than to walk on the pier at night and star gaze. When you've lived in the city, that's a treat. If you're lucky you can pick Thimbleberries for breakfast (July). The park is well kept/clean.  We walk across the road to Lake Superior to let our dogs swim freely. (Did you know Lake Superior is naturally "soft water?} We have camped in the summer and camped in the fall - both equally beautiful. Looking forward to being there middle July 2023. Reservations are hard to get for RV's wanting a premiere spot! If RV-ing you pretty much HAVE to have reservations.

Stayed here for DECADES.

Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is a place of great beauty. We stayed on the west side campground (site 153) and found the nearby lake an lush green forest to be very beautiful.

For Astronomy this is a Bortle Class 2 site ( bordering Class 1) with an SQM of: 21.98 mag./arc sec2. Alas, i could not observe from this site as it was cloudy every night I was there.

There is no cell service over Verizon or ATT at the park. However, there is a nice town nearby (Copper Harbor) with  restaurants and gas. The restaurants had wifi so we could go there for internet access.

Gas up before you leave. The next gas is a very long way off.


Awe Inspiring Lakes and Deep Forest Beauty

Really nice state park and campground. Sites are $30/night, and they all include 30 and 20 amp power. Dump station and water fill is available at the west campground entrance. You also need to pay a $11 daily state park fee, unless you have the $39 annual pass. The fee gets you into the state park area, and the fort was worth exploring,  it's really nicely set up.

  

There are two separate campgrounds, east and west. We drove through the east one first and immediately hated it. Sites are open, no division between them, kids running around everywhere, big groups of people, just overall chaos. So we went to the west side and liked it much better. More tree coverage (which was fine because there’s power and we didn’t need the sun for our solar panels), sites had way more division between them (though far from completely private). There were still lots of kids and big families on this side but it was overall so much more quiet and pleasant. 

  

If you’re in an rv and levelness is important to you, then I’d really try and not make reservations, but pick a site when you arrive. Some sites were completely level, some were fixable with levelers, and a few were straight up on a hill. Though the campground has lots of trees and narrow roads, we saw some huge class As and 5th wheels rolling through- there are a bunch of massive pull through sites here that made it easy for them I’m sure. 

  

No cell service in this entire area but there’s free wifi at the bathrooms, which weakly reached our site that was several spots away from the bathroom. Nice free hot showers that run like normal (no button to push every 10 seconds). Trash bins but no recycling (Michigan is surprisingly bad at offering recycling!). Host set up is very nice, with a ton of brochures and info and free coffee every morning!