Little Bay De Noc

We were by ourselves on the first loop site #6. Short walk to sandy beach. (Less than 25-30Yds). Deer in camp when we arrived. $21/night. 1/2 price for those with senior National park pass. Nice fire ring with grill and picnic table. About 1/3 of the 38 sites are first come, rest reservable. Only 2 other campers in area end of September. Could fish, swim or do boating from the site. Need gen if you want electric. No dump station but private campgrounds close and perhaps would let you dump for a fee. Several trails. Lighthouse at end of peninsula about 11 mi away. Fairly level sites. Tent pads with pine needles. Big rigs likely would fit but very narrow and tight squeeze. Length and slides not an issue as sites are large.

Went here on July the 4th weekend. Because another site I had booked fell through after arriving. Nice spacious sites and relatively quiet. It’s mostly geared towards R.V. Campers though. You can tent camp if you want. But be warned of the R.V. Campers and generators. First two nights my girlfriend and I stayed. Everything was good. Then came the guy with the trailer next door. Nice trailer but crappy jobsite type generator. Definitely not what you want for a campsite. The first day we figured he was just using it to setup. The second day he ran the generator and was nowhere to be seen until 10 at night. He shut it off just before the campsite host showed up. But the camper himself was nowhere to be seen. Overall it’s nice and you do hear some traffic from across the bay. Not overwhelming though.

Further than we thought it would be down a peninsula is a wonderful forest campground. There are 2 loops (they show up as different campgrounds on google maps). Back by the highway is a little store in case you need an ice cream.

The campsites are among tall trees. The road winds around so you feel like you are not around other campers. There is some variation in the sites but most looked wonderful.

A boat launch and picnic area can be found. There is an interpretive trail to hike with some good information. For another trail, head back to the highway and a few miles down the forest road on the other side and you’ll find the trailhead. In fact take some time to explore those forest roads too.

You can hear a bit of the industry in the area but the beautiful setting makes up for that.

Although there is plenty of solitude and some nice trails in the area, it just didn’t quite do it for us. Maybe because the last four campgrounds we stayed at, two National Parks and two State Parks, were so nice. For RVers, no dump station, no water fill, no electric, but the sites are huge.

Sites are large and easily accessible. Private and close to the lake. Bring lots of bug spray!!!!

We have stayed here twice, once planned once in last minute toward end of season. Clea, quiet, no electricity typical NF campground with pit toilets

Vibe: Woodlands getaway setback deep in nature with access to Lake Michigan beach. 

Cleanliness: Above average. 

Facilities: Minimal 

General spots: Huge sites with good amount of space and trees between them. Some back up to the lake. 

Our site: 23. I couldn’t believe how deep it went back. 

Noise: Quiet. 

Cell signal(Verizon): No signal on the way to camp, but happy to have 2 bars at our site. Even did some streaming, but the signal did fluctuate a lot. 

Other: We saw a porcupine hanging out in a tree and eating leaves, deer and a turkey. Peninsula Point Lighthouse is about 10 miles south of the campground entrance but a pretty drive and neat to explore the grounds. Looks like an excellent place for sunset watching.

We stayed four days at the Little Bay de Nock, which does reservations and first come first serve camping. and we feel it was well worth the money spent!  If you want showers, flushing water bathrooms, and other amenities you may want to look elsewhere but those who are okay with a bit less or "roughing" it a bit more this is a fantastic campground. 

Pros:

• Clean and neat campsites!  Seriously they did a great job with the sites!
• Large drive ins for those with multiple vehicles or campes! Ours was seriously massive. 
• Fair to decent spacing between most all sites. Some are VERY private!
• Gorgeous views at the beach!  Especially those camping at the sites in the Twin Springs loop!  Just absolutely amazing sunsets to be seen from those sites. 
• Low bug count!  There were still bugs to be had and some deet is a good idea but seriously with a little breeze on some days the bugs were hardly to been seen or heard!  
• Well sheltered site from storms.  We had two thunderstorms come through and our site keeps us well buffered from the worst of it. 
• Nice beach and swimming area!  Decently clean and bathrooms easily accessible.  
• Quite location, but not too far from common Vacation destinations like the Painted Rock shoreline (1 hr) or Mackinac Island (2-2.5 Hrs) 

Cons:

• No showers.
• Vault Toilets. Some are nice and clean whereas others are VERY full and need to be emptied soon.
• No real amenities such as firewood for purchase, that we saw.

Nice campground, well kept, and large sites. Good connecting trails. No hookups or "real bathrooms" but you do have access to drinking water. Fairly private along a dense forest. No cell service. Great water access!

Good walleye, panfish, and bass fishing spot. Peninsula Point Lighthouse is a great little area attraction to check out.

Little Bay De Noc, Lake Michigan access with a pier. Only a few campsites, but includes group fire pit, playground and proximity to Pictured Rocks, 1 hour. Lots of hiking and great motorized non-motorized off-road trails.