Union Bay-Porcupine Mountains State Park is home to a seasonal campground that is available to visit from mid May to mid October. With a limited window of time, it’s well worth planning your trip in advance, as peak season can bring a gaggle of campers and tourists, making priority campsites difficult to find. The initial weeks of August are almost always packed, thanks to kids and college-students trying to camp before school starts again.

Subsequently, if you want smaller crowds but still want to enjoy the sun, try to reserve a spot during the latter end of August. This is also when the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival happens, giving you a great event to check out. Regardless of your needs, during camping season you can call the campground where staff will provide details on sites that you might not see at the Reservations Center or online. If you can’t find what you’re looking for online, give them a call! 

If you happen to forget a thing or two, there’s the Porcupine Mountain Outpost store right outside the entrance to the campground. It's open from May through mid October. There you can find souvenirs, camping supplies, and even clothing. You might find the occasional pre-made sandwich, but besides soft drinks and milk, there are no real groceries here. You’ll have to travel all the way out to Ontonagon (25 miles away) for groceries. That said, you can make the trip worth if you if you grab a bite to eat at Syl’s, a legendary diner famous for its repertoire of comfort food classics. 

The campground itself is moderately sized, with 99 sites available for RVs and tents. One of the draws to the campground is that all sites have at least 30 amp electric hookups available. One of the most common complaints here is due to the limited amount of pull-through sites, with many options too small to accommodate larger vehicles.

Porcupine Mountains State Park is uniquely known for its hybrid existence between contemporary and antiquated beauty. The park is extremely modern, thanks to the updated facilities and well maintained grounds. However, it skirts the line with a true wilderness feel, owing to the rustic touches, and charming yurt cabins, available for overnight accommodations as well. Whatever your intent to visit, there’s no mistaking the quant appeal of this Michigan state park.

Union Bay Campground — Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Great park. Explore 100 miles of trails and sleep under the stars. Love the sites on the water. Reserve early as it is booked during July and August.  Firewood available at outpost store just before you enter park. Be sure to stop and pick some up before you check in. It’s kind of a far walk when hauling wood if you are driving a motor home.

Gorgeous sunset and Sunrise in July. 

Campground Review:  This is a cool campground.  It is right next to the beach.  My tent was twenty feet from Lake Superior.  It was quite soothing to listen to the waves crashing on the beach all night.

The bathrooms and showers were modern and clean.  The grass was cut and well kept.  You can tell that the campground/park staff take pride in this park.  The State Park visitor's center is just a mile down the road and the area is full of rocks, cliffs, rugged trails, wilderness, and great views of Lake Superior.  If you don't want to stay in the campground you can always get a permit to camp in the back country.  This place is awesome, just keep an eye out for the black bears.

Gear Review:  As an active campground reviewer on the dyrt, I was given a five day emergency food supply from Mountain House.  At Union Bay I tested the Chili Mac.  It is pretty good.  It has a little bit of spice.  After boiling two cups of water in my GSI Pinnacle Soloist cookset, and then pouring it into the pouch, it is supposed to take 8-9 minutes to cook and rehydrate.

My advice, let your pouch sit for 15-20 minutes and make sure you stir it well.  If you don't you may get too much chili pepper in one bite or one of the kidney beans may not fully rehydrate.  You can purchase this pouch for about $8.00 at REI.

Mountain House Chili Mac gets 4 out of 5 Stars!  It had very good flavor.  The spice was just the right amount.  When I was finished eating I really wanted to make another pouch, a good sign that it was a good meal.  The spice after taste did linger so I had some apple sauce and that neutralized the heat.

TIP:  Make sure when you are eating any freeze dried food from a pouch, use a long spoon or spork, or you will get sauce all over your hand.  My suggestion is the Sea to Summit Alpha Light spoon for $8.95 at REI. https://www.rei.com/product/782241/sea-to-summit-alpha-light-spoon-long 

Ranger Review: Mountain House Chili Mac at Union Bay - Porcupine Mountain

The Porcupine Mountains are a great place to visit and offers a wide variety of types of camping. I would put Union Bay at the top of this of having the most ammenities of all the options. There are showers, plenty of spots for electrical hook-ups if that is something you are looking for and even a laundry room. The sites are nice and some of the lower numbered sites are situated right along the shores of Lake Superior. The biggest downfall is that the sites are pretty lose together. I saw plenty of tents, but they are really more made for Pop-ups. Overall I would stay here again especially since they do have showers.

The Porkies with All the Extra

Little Union River Yurt.

This was a walk in site about a mile from parking spot just down from park headquarters.

The hurt had two bunk beds, and woodburning stove, table and seating. A river right out back made for great water access. A woodpile and outhouse were also close. Great hiking close by and only a short drive to other attractions in the park.

Little Union River Yurt

Very pretty and clean. The views of Lake Superior are amazing. Lots of really nice hiking trails, rookie hiker and his lady here. Did the 5 mile summit peak loop fairly easily.
Bathrooms are nice, showers lack some 
water preasure
Dogs allowed on leashes and not in buildings.

Very nice camp ground. Amazing views of Lake Superior

This was our second time to this park and we stayed in one of the Yurts on the edge of the Union Bay Campground. Inside the yurt there are 2 bunk beds and a wood burning stove, along with a small table and chairs I believe. Outside there is a picnic table and fire ring - since we came at the end of the winter season, the campground provided some wood for us upon arrival. There is a food storage container outside as well so no bears try to break into your yurt.

We stayed at the end of April/beginning of May so the campground itself was not open meaning now access to water or restroom facilities which was okay for us. Additionally we were unable to drive all the way up to the yurt like you would in the summer time. We had to park outside the campground and walk across the entire thing with our stuff - we took 2-3 trips as we didn’t plan for this and packed as though we were car camping. The yurts are a great experience and perfect for a weekend away with friends.

The views of superior are amazing and just below the yurt you have access to the shoreline which is great to watch the sunsets on. Porcupine Mountain offers many trails, many of them longer backcountry trails, and some easier ones as well. It is a great park that I always love coming to!

An amazing experience!

Gorgeous scenery. Decent size sites.  Pretty rock landscape. Boat launch. Close to hiking trails. Paved roads.  The closer to the water you are the breezier it gets! 

Nice breeze off the lake

Any of the sites along the water (except 1-5) have lovely views of Lake Superior and access to the rocky front there.  We did use a public access to get to the water also.  The sites are not private and it’s very prone to flooding here.  I would ask them which sites usually flood before booking, especially if in a tent.  Multiple people had to move sites due to this after a storm.  

We had lovely camp hosts that had coffee and crafts for the kids. Bathrooms and showers were great.  There is also a boat launch within walking distance.  

There isn’t much near this park, but the camp store did have a great selection of necessities.  Right outside the park is a local family that makes food and I recommend the broasted chicken! 

Holy moly the flies are bad.  A screened area to eat and fly swatters are required.

gorgeous views, flooding issues 

Right on Lake Superior, best sites are often booked early- but the yurts are considered “back country “ even tho East yurt is next to a private parking spot and West is 70 yards away both with direct private access to Lake Superior

Clean, modern- not a lot of privacy- except the yurts - they are phenomena!

Our first night here there was a tornado watch so we decided to move our gear around and sleep in the car as not to risk any damage to our tent etc. One thing to also keep in mind is that if it is raining almost every site we saw at this campground was extremely muddy! Ours was awful. The next morning when we woke up we hiked the escarpment and summit peak. Due to weather conditions that’s all we were able to hike but the views were incredible and the hikes were fun! 

So much to do/see

Pet-friendly. Site was able to be reserved online for overnight tent camping - however, it was labeled a "day-use" or "group" area - not sure if this was a fluke or what. Beautiful site right on the shores of Lake Superior with amazing views. The campsite was really busy, the sites looked packed together offering little privacy. This site is tucked away in a corner so you only have one neighboring site. Flooding would be a concern if expecting rain.

Campsite #30

We absolutely loved camping at Union Bay! There were a lot of people, but they aren’t so close that it’s annoying.  There’s electric at all the modern campsites, as well as the typical picnic table, fire pit combo.  While the site itself was sort of small (ours was not suitable for anything other than tents) I actually enjoyed having all our stuff close by.  When you stay here, don’t forget to put your trash in your car!  We didn’t and we’re visited by a pretty sassy raccoon 😂 The sunsets on Lake Superior were amazing, and we even saw an awesome storm coming in that ended up just being a lot of wind.  Short drive to tons of hiking trails, including the Escarpment trail which is one of the most amazing hikes in Michigan.  If you’re hungry, there’s a great diner in Ontonagon that has amazing pizza and breakfast!  Totally recommend and will definitely be back!  (ps prepare for black flies, deet doesn’t even scare the little vampires and they are literally everywhere.  I recommend bringing a good anti itch stick/spray)

Crowded, but for great reason

The big thing about this campground is the size of it.  Positioned on a hill like feature, It has an hill-top section and a bottom of the hill section.  Some of the sites at the bottom are a little rocky, so not great for tent camping, but for campers this would be an ideal location for it overlooks Lake Superior.  The top section is great for tent camping for it had an abundance of grassy sites.  This is a very picturesque campground and one that is a great place to call home for a multiple day adventure to the Porcupine Mountains and has amenities such as showers and restrooms.  It really takes you away into nature and provides a unique view of Lake Superior from a beach of stone.

Great Base for a Weekend of Exploring the Porkies

The campground itself is clean and has large sites on the back row, smaller sites on lake superior, and average sized sites in the Center.  There are many hike in sites available for tenters, and also hike to cabins and yurts.  The hiking is in the mountains and mostly point to point.  Be prepared to hike some distances with steep climbs and descents, and uneven footing.  At the visitors center they have suggested levels of difficulty and numbers of hours for various hikes posted on the wall.  I recommend a little research before starting  your hike.  We loved the lake of the clouds ridge hike and the presque river water falls hikes.  Beautiful sites and peaceful hikes. Often there was no one else around.  We found we had the sunsets at lake in the clouds all to ourselves.

Hiker's Dream

Beautiful family campground on the North ashore of Lake Superior. It has RV, tent and back country sites as well as cabins and yurts for rent. Many amazing hiking trails and beautiful waterfalls to explore near by. Campground has large clean bathrooms and showers and a nice camp store. It is also pet friendly and has WiFi,  but no playground.  We stayed at site 82 which had a partial view of the lake and backed the tree line. It was a nice site. I gave this campground 4 out of 5 stars because some of the sites were a little too close together but overall a great campground and we will be back!

Beautiful family campground

I absolutely loved campsite 28 in the Union Bay Campground. You sit right next to Lake Superior overlooking the water! Between you and the water is a beautiful large rocky beach area that spans the shoreline for miles. Especially because you also get a wonderful view of the sunset as well. At night we laid out on the rocks and watched the stars! All night long you hear the waves crashing into shore. It was so peaceful. 

It is hard for me to look for other campsites at different campgrounds because of how much I loved this spot. This site is hard to beat!

Not to mention how beautiful the rest of the park was. Mountains, waterfalls, and thousands of acres of forest. I will be coming back for another visit.

Best View Ever

We tent camped. It’s crowded and it’s close quarters but it’s the Porkies and it’s what we expected. Screaming kids, barking dogs, loud partiers, RV’s that never shut their lights off and those light obscure the night sky views...this park had all of that. We expected it and unless you are early or late in the season, you should too. Our site had a major flood and the mud afterwards was pretty intense. The storm was predicted to be so bad that the very kind Park Ranger came by to go over the take cover procedure just in case. Some people had to move sites because of the flooding afterward. They were accommodated. On the other hand this park has magnificent trails, a really nice camp store with souvenirs, wood and ice cream. The walk to the lake was short and Lake Superior was as majestic as ever. The bathrooms were as clean as busy bathrooms could be. People were adhering to state mandated mask wearing  rules. I love the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park so this was a fine but average place to rest my head after enjoying the park.

It’s was a standard stay at a State Park

You can't beat the Porcupine Mountains if you're looking for wilderness experiences in Michigan. Union Bay is a nice campground to use as a base camp for lots of day hikes in the area. 

It can be busy and weekends are louder with kids, dogs, loud neighbors, etc , just like most state parks. Weekdays tend to be quieter even when busy. 

Many sites are quite close together and there isn't much privacy in those.  Some sites have odd sizes and shapes so be prepared to adjust your rig on the site to get best placement and be level (back in vs. sideways, etc ). Also consider having leveling blocks with you. 

Sites in bottom loop offer great views and access to Lake Superior. But even the upper loops are a short walk to awesome shoreline and amazing sunrises. 

Bathrooms are clean and showers have good design, although shower heads could use some maintenance. 

Staff working the office seem to really know their stuff about hiking the area, so check with them for ideas in addition to the Visitors Center. 

If you want the wilderness feel of the Porkies but modern amenities at the end of the day, this is the place.

Note that cellular service can be extremely weak if you don't have a booster.

Beautiful park, busy campground

This was our first time camping in Michigan and we loved being so close to Lake Superior. We're used to MN state parks, so we found the campsites in MI to be a bit small and too close to each other. The fire ring for the site behind ours was very close to the bed area of our camper. Our spot was campsite #98. There's not a lot of shade or vegetation between campsites in that row, but it was easy walking distance to the modern restroom/showers and Lake Superior. Next time we would like to camp along the lake. The trail around Lake of the Clouds was well worth it!

Beautiful park with easy access to Lake Superior

Union Bay is the only “modern” campground in the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness, offering around 100 fully-reservable, electric sites with access to a modern bathroom and shower house. The lakeside sites, as you can imagine, are the most popular and spacious, and most often booked 6 months in advance.  If you come after leaf season, you can have the place to yourself.  However, the winds off the lake can be powerful and the numerous campsites on the upper level offer a bit more protection, if somewhat more cramped. 

  

The boat launch is right next to the campground, if you plan to get out onto the big lake. The outdoor adventure opportunities in the park are endless, from hiking, biking, and paddling in the spring through the fall to skiing and snowshoeing in the winter.   But, bring your muck boots if you come in the fall or spring, as the trails and campground is wet and full of mud.

  

As a designated wilderness, motorized recreation is not allowed within the park, so your walk in the woods remains undisturbed. Backpacking is very popular here and backcountry camping sites are numerous, and reservable (get your permit at the Visitor’s Center). The park offers cabins and yurts, some of which are only accessible by trail which and heated by a wood stove making a winter adventure more attractive. There is also a downhill skiing area located within 3 miles of the Visitors Center. 

  

The bathrooms at Union Bay are modern and comfortable with individual unisex shower units accessible via an outside door. The laundry room has 1 washing machine and 2 dryers(be sure to run the dryer on high). Water is available at several spigots throughout the campground, and the sewer dump station is right on the way out of the campsite to take care of that business when you leave. 

  

Be sure to drive or hike up to the Lake of the Clouds overlook and trail network. The glacially carved escarpment offers a priceless view of what the locals call “the Porkies” and makes the long drive to get here worth it. 

  

The closest town of significance to Union Bay is Ontonagon, 18 miles away, so plan ahead with supplies. Just outside the campground is a small, privately run, campstore where you can get ice cream, ice and a few other food items, and lots of tourist trinkets – just look for the oversized black bear.

Mountains in Michigan?  And, on the shores of Lake Superior?  Amazing!

I stayed here when the weather was not in my favor...it rained. With that, we had the greatest time hanging out at our campsite. It was a little slick on the site with all of the mud, but it made for fun stories. Close to the park and hiking trails. 

Up in the clouds

Our site was large and easy to back into. Restrooms straight ahead with laundry available. WiFi spotty - can access at visitor center- stop there first to get hiking info. Lake of the clouds on left of entrance down the road - must see. Lots of hiking from there. Lake Superior hike not worth going on too far from lake. Enjoyed our stay.

Great Camground

Site 38 backs up to the new playground
This was one of the largest sites
We absolutely loved it, easy to see kids at the park and still enjoy the campsite. 

Make sure to check with ranger katie she offered events for the kids to attend, almost daily. 

Electric only 
Fill up with water before entering the campground 
Dump station near entrance 

Bathhouse was nice and cleaned often.

Boat launch near entrance had a dock with picnic table, beautiful view and good fishing spot. 

General store to the left when you exit the campground 

Back in town about 20 minute drive they had a grocery store Pats and dollar general. This is the nearest gas station, make sure you are full before exploring the parks. 

Easy trails: 
Lake of the clouds - 5 minute drive 
Summit peak- 15 minute drive
Presque isle - 25 minute drive ( three waterfall options here) 

All had a lot of stairs but worth it 
Our 5 and 3 year old did ok, we did end up putting the 3 year old in a carrier. 

Water front sites are beautiful but all rocks, when you turn left out of the campground and head towards town there are several pull offs for beach access :) 

Sprint service was ok, hit and miss 

Flys were not bad when it was windy, little annoying some nights but we kept a fan running under the awning and it seemed to solve the issue. 

We went end of August

 

Kid friendly 

Vibe: Family summer time fun. 

  

Cleanliness: Above average. 

  

Facilities: Nice, well kept. Individual locking showing rooms! 

  

General spots: Varies a lot. Near the shore, there are spots with some tree barriers and shade. Up on the hill it’s more like a grass parking lot. 

  

Our site: 61. Steps from the lake. Not a deep spot, but big enough for us and had trees on three sides. Electric hookup was way off to the edge. Bring a long cord(more than 50 feet). 

  

Noise: Just happy kids playing and the sound of waves on the lake. 

  

Cell signal(Verizon): Almost none. Phone messages updated once or twice at night. 

  

Other: They told us on check in that there has been a lot of bear activity at night, so keep your food stored and campsite clean. Firewood and some snacks are available at the state park store just up the road. Camp is a great spot to hang out or explore the Superior coast or Porcupine Mountains.

Great camp to start our Great Lakes tour

I have 3 stars because we reserved a spot on the lake. Great view. All the sites are jammed together with little privacy. One wash house with 4 showers(shared by both sexes)  for entire campground. 
Crowded with tons of dogs, that seem to bark non stop. Off leash along rocks barking at people. Wish people would be a bit more respectful with their dogs. 
Understand this is one of the few campgrounds in the Porkies with electric hookup. We did a lot of day trips so that made up for the crowded camp sites.

Crowded and tons of dogs

We car camped here before heading in to backpack the Porkies for a few days. Staff was nice, and facilities were clean. Spots were pretty close together, and not very private. Our spot, site 25, had beautiful lake access! 

Great stop and stay…

It is an okay campground. Smallish sites. Had electric hookup. Dump station with water. Uneven sites. Some muddy. Had shower and laundry. Great location for the porcupine mountains. 

Good location 

Right on the lake. Rocky ledges made it very slippery, so no dip in the lake at the campsite. 30 amp service, but no water at the sites. Fill water tanks at the dump station. 
Plenty to do in the area. Took several day hikes with the family and the kids and dog enjoyed playing in Lake Superior at Presque Isle, about a 25 minute drive away, where they have a semi-sandy beach area and waterfalls. Did a pontoon rental for a day and enjoyed fishing on Lake Superior and taking a leisurely cruise up the Ontonagon River. 

It’s Lake Superior

**General:** The only developed campground in Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, there are 100 sites on three rows. If you reserve far enough in advance, you can snag a lakefront site. There are also two yurts and an ADA-accessible tiny house that can be used during the winter months as well. 

  

**Site Quality:** What you gain in lake views, you will sacrifice in privacy between the lakefront sites (but still worth it IMO). The first couple of sites in the first (top) row are wooded and have some privacy between them. The sites between rows one and two back up to each other and are the least private while the sites between rows two and three have some trees to separate them. Sites are on grass. A picnic table and fire ring complete each site. 

  

**Bathhouse:** Decently clean as were the showers. There was also a single washer and dryer, but the dryer was out of order when we were there. 

  

**Activities/Amenities:** Hiking! Although there are not many trails leading from this campground, you can drive to many other trailheads. The East and West trails bordering the Presque Isle River are worth the drive to get there, as was the lookout and Escarpment Trail by Lake of the Clouds. There was also a nice, modern playground, a little free library, and a hut with a plethora of games and toys. 

  

Although this campground was full, the staff handled it well (bathrooms were well stocked). Note you need a Michigan pass (daily or annual) to camp here.