Widewaters Campground

This is a larger campground for the area. Sites are located around one loop. 3 sets of vault toilets are evenly spaced. Sites are decently sized and have shade.

The boat launch is down another short road so traffic doesn’t come through camp. Hiking trails can be found right from camp which is a feature we look for.

Stopped for a night to camp and canoe around the Fish Lake area. There’s a really cool little camp spot on one of the islands. Next time we’ll definitely be packing for a stay out there. Very clean and quiet.

This campground has no running water, so no showers or anything fancy so if you like having those amenities this is not for you, but it takes you into the wilderness and into the beauty of the remote forests of the Upper Peninsula.  It is a peaceful and quite campground with a lake and a river, and beach it is away from everything the stars at night really shine here.  The caretakers and really cool and nice people.  What made it for me though was just the fact that it was away from everything and gave you a break from reality and society and just took you into nature.  If you like getting away and roughing it, then this a great campground to pitch up your tent or camper and having a relaxing trip.

This is a small (35 sites) heavily wooded campground in the Hiawatha National Forest and makes for a great place to camp where you can get away and be surrounded by nature, yet you are only a dozen miles to the town of Munising. There are no hook-ups for RVs but the campground has pit toilets, drinking water, and trash receptacles. The campground has some sites that can be reserved on recreation.gov and there is a self-pay for first come, first served sites. It seemed like most of the campers where locals who came on the weekends to get away and fish (there is a larger boat launch just ½ upstream from the campground).  

There is a great feel to this campground because sites are well-spaced and the trees not only provide shade but privacy. The other thing that is really nice is that the sites are very long so you feel tucked away in the woods. There is also a boat launch in the campground which was perfectly convenient for launching our kayaks. I decided to take my dog with me in the kayak for a paddle on the Indian River but that got cut short because the black flies were so pesky. Now I see why so many people have screen rooms to protect from the flies and mosquitos that are so legendary in the Upper Peninsula. 

One of the many hikes we did was the Bruno’s Run Trail. The trail is a 9-mile loop that winds through the woods and takes you by various lakes (which was much appreciated by our water-loving dog). It is used by mountain bikers but we only saw two other people while we were hiking. There are many hiking, paddling, and fishing opportunities in the National Forest to take advantage of. When we were there in July the mosquitos and flies were pretty bad so make sure you have plenty of insect repellent or screen rooms if you plan on being outside. The town of Munising is about 15 miles away where you will find restaurants, stores, fuel, etc. Also, in Munising is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore but we found so much to do in the National Forest which was much less crowded.