Pete's Lake Campground

Be Warned!!!

The campsite is great but the General Store nearby is very shady and is likely scamming tourists!

There is a guy at the General store 5 minutes down the road from Pete's Lake that will rent you a boat to take out on lake Superior if you like. He doesn't put his stuff online or do reservations.

During a busy season like when we were there, it felt like we were in luck to find a rental at all. But that's what I believe they want you to think.

We rented a large pontoon to take out on to Superior, not too many questions asked, it was all very easy and the return went well.

However, a couple days later, we got a message from the rental guy saying that we damaged the front of the boat and that there was exposed metal that could hurt a child (what?). He then billed our credit card an extra $150 for repairs to a front plate that he said was dented up and had popped out.  He said that we'd lied and if we had told him about it he'd have only charged us $50.

This struck me as odd since I had no reason to think we had damaged the boat in any way. It caused me to look back and check our photos that we took on the boat. It turns out that the front plate had already been all bent up and popped out of the sides and screwed in with metal screws when we rented it.

It really seemed like he had everything pre-planned and he even stated that he knew that the front pops out easily (as though it had sustained damage many times before) and that he had a standard fee for it. We're convinced that he's running this scam to get extra money out of vacationers with a part that is already damaged on the boat and trying to make them feel like they're in the wrong.

We are disputing the charge but he placed it on the card before talking with us.

The campsite is great though! Lots of stuff to do nearby and very clean. Some interesting characters around but we didn't feel like our stuff would walk away so chalk it up to Summertime in the UP!

Petes Lake is a great campground tucked in the Hiawatha National Forest. The campground is located about 15 minutes south of Munising. We stayed in Munising at a private RV park for a few days before discovering this place and fell in love with it. The campground has only 41 sites but because they are well-spaced and heavily treed you have some privacy and don’t feel cramped.  If you want a campsite right on the water, look at sites 4a and 5a.  Sites 7a and 8a are walk-in tent sites having lots of privacy. There are plenty of sites that are long and level enough to fit large RVs you just have to be mindful there are lots of trees. The main roads in the campground are paved and wide enough to maneuver. Campsites have no utilities but there are vault toilets and potable water.  Picnic tables and fire pits are at each site and you are allowed to collect firewood from dead and downed trees (which I love since I am a campfire lover).  Be aware that there are only two vehicles allowed per site and you will be charged $6/vehicle/night. Since this is a National Forest campground, senior pass holders get ½ off camping making this a bargain at $9/night.

For the outdoor enthusiast who is looking to get away and enjoy the outdoors this place is great. It is set on the 190-acre Petes Lake where you have a swim beach, boat launch and fishing piers. We spent a couple of hours paddling the lake which was very peaceful. Running through the campground is the Bruno’s Run Trail – a 9-mile trail traversing the woods and around small ponds. This was a great trail except for some pesky bugs that started annoying us as we heated up. Our dog loved the hike because we passed a couple of ponds letting her cool off and get a drink. We only encountered four mountain bikers during our hike which was nice compared to the crowded trails in the nearby Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.  

We would definitely come back to this campground and it would be a 5-star if it had hook-ups for our RV.