Kingston Lake State Forest

I loved my two nights here! Very quiet and a close, easy drive to the Pictured Rocks hikes I wanted to do. Spots are large and spaced out. Campground is first come first served, $15 a night + Michigan recreation pass. Vault toilets were okay. Well water available in the campground.

We didn’t stay (too buggy/too muggy near a lake) but very picturesque for cooler season camping. The water has a lot of tannic acid in it (rust color) so didn’t think getting in the lake would be enjoyable; not from the color but from not being able to see into it. Call me weird. Make a reservation, it is pretty; and looks to be quite cozy for fall camping.

This campground was a wonderful surprise to stumble across after staying one night at a nearby campground that was so buggy it was unbearable. This campground still had its fair share of bugs, but not nearly as many as Blind Sucker in early July. It was very quiet and peaceful here, with so much wildlife very close by - deer, birds, snakes, beavers, foxes, and coyotes. Supposedly there are bears in the area, but we didn't see any. This campground is somewhat close to a lot of other cool things to see in the area, like waterfalls and Pictured Rocks. Highly recommend, bust make sure you leave no trace and respect the environment. I would hate to see such a beautiful place's ecosystem harmed by human overuse.

Plenty of sites! Arrived at 1 pm Sunday and there were about 7 sites to choose from. By about 5 pm, they were full. Gorgeous lake with easy access for kayaking, fishing, or letting the pup swim! Nice fire pit and picnic table. Also attached to a trailhead of a 4 mile hike to Lake Superior (one way).

The water is more like a pond but the campsites are nice. Lots of vault bathrooms. All the campsites have a view of the water. Campground is close to pictured rocks.

This campground was stunning and got very quiet at night. LOVED it and will definitely return.

We traveled over 8 hours on the hope of grabbing a spot here early on a Friday. Our plan was to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Our diligence was rewarded, as we arrived around 11AM and had our pick of the litter. Every site has water access and is picturesque. This was a fantastic place to stay as a base camp to explore the National Park just to the North.

The water from the pump at entrance to the campground was quite cloudy and brown. Though locals insisted it was fine to drink we opted to purchase water to supplement what we had brought from just down the road at the General Store. Also filter treated water from the lake which was quite refreshing.

At night, the lake gave back the heat of the day and became shrouded in a wonderful mist. Truly spectacular to behold with the stars above.

This is a nice state forest campground that is only $15/night and literally every site has waterfront view. It's a rustic campground with pump water (very high mineral content) and vault toilets. It also has a picnic area and boat launch. A huge bonus is unlike all of the national forest campgrounds in the area, no reservations are required.

We arrived late after finding several other campgrounds already full. To our surprise we still found a spot right on the lake with great access. The campground was super quiet despite being about 3/4 full.

Have stayed here now 2 years in a row and loved it both times. We've been lucky enough to stay at a site with great water access both years and the way the geography works out, it seems like the majority of these sites are either on the water or right across from it. Being that it is in the forest, there is plenty of privacy with a lot of tree cover from site to site if you need it. It's a solid no frills campground that I will definitely continue to visit.

Our first night in the UP, we drove around for what felt like FOREVER trying to find a camping spot. We ended up staying on a small patch of grass between a hotel and a campsite for $10. We got out bright and early the next day to find a spot and lucked upon a great site on Kingston Lake. It's fairly small and private, with gorgeous views of the small inland lake right from your tent. When we wanted to go fishing, we could easily drag the kayak down to the water no matter what part of the day. We stayed there for the rest of the week. Great rustic campground with water pumps and outhouse style bathrooms. We only paid $13 a night!