Best Cabin Camping near Big Bay, MI

Along our travels in Michigan's Upper Peninsula from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore west to the Porcupine Mountains, we stayed at Van Riper State Park campground.  We found this campground located along U.S. Hwy 41 about 40 minutes west of Marquette MI. The Park sits on the west shores of Lake Michigamme.   Van Riper State park has both a Modern and Rustic campgrounds along, with hiking, biking and ATV trails.  There is a fine sandy beach, and playground.  At the beach there is a concession stand.  The park offers areas for boating, kayaking, and jet skiing, and fishing.  To book or check into either campground you must stop at the park office.  A Resident Recreational Passport is required or a charge of $11 will apply for each vehicle without one.  The park office also has firewood, ice and even ice cream for sale. I recommend to get your firewood from another local area, the bundles are $5 but are very small bundles like 3 or 4 pieces.  They also offer kayak rentals the price on those was decent.  $10 for a 2 hour kayak rental.

We stayed in the Modern campground.  There are 147 sites and 2 Mini Cabins.  Sites are equipped for tents, trailers and RV’s up to 50’.  There are free wifi by the restrooms, flush toilets, showers, drinking water, sanitation station, electric hookups at each site along with a fire pit and picnic table.  The daily price of sites is $22 - $24 and $49 for a Mini Cabin.  We stayed in site 92 that is located right next to the restroom/showers. Which was great having young children with us who seem to need to visit the restroom numerous times. This site is more for a trailer or a RV being the ground is hard and full of rocks.  We all used air mattresses so that wasn’t much of an issue.  We did take the time to remove any sharp rocks from where our tent was being placed to make sure no holes were made in the tent or mattresses.  Sites are very open and non private.  There is a host site that has information on activities around the park and neighboring areas.  They also offer activities for children to do.  

A short distance from the modern campground is the rustic campground.  There are 40 sites and a Camper's Cabin available. This campground offers vault toilets, and drinking water.  I did find out that for $2 per person for a day you can have access to the showers at the modern campground.  The daily price of these sites is $13, and $86 for the Camper’s Cabin.  These sites are equipped for tents, trailers and RV’s up to 30’.  There is no electric hook ups.  

During your visit to the park there are lot’s of scenic, historic, and recreational sites to visit.  A few miles from the park is the location of where Iron ore was first found in the Lake Superior region.  There is a Iron Industry Museum.  Lake Michigamme offers lot’s of activities for those visiting.  If you are really looking for a awesome adventure not too far from camp, you can drive an ½ hour west on Hwy 41 to the “Grand Canyon” of Michigan, this gorge and waterfalls are located along the Sturgeon River.  There is access to the North Country Trail here as well.  The Canyon Waterfall and Gorge are just breathtaking.  It is a 10 minute hike along the river from the parking area to the Canyon falls and gorge.  You can hike further in if you wish and discover the rapids area along the river.  We did not venture this far having small children with us.  Can’t wait to return on a adult trip to hike further along the river.  

I give this Campground a 5 star review, it is a great place to take the family on vacation.

We stayed at Van Riper State Park three times during June and July. The park is always clean and well-maintained. The bathrooms and showers and generally always nicely maintained as well, and there are plenty of both. The bathrooms do tend to run out of soap and toilet paper at busy times. Dogs are not allowed on the beach but also cannot be left unattended in your site. The rules are heavily enforced in this park. Park staff will ask you to move vehicles if you have more than two, and you will be asked to turn music completely off upon quiet hours. This is not the place to go if you want to party.

Sites 15 and 17, as well as several other sites along that side of that loop, now have a wooden fence at the back of them, so they are not as large as they appear in the photos online.

We have stayed in sites 14, 90 and 93. We travel with a 34’ trailer.

Site 14 is narrow but manageable. It is well-shaded by large pine trees on the site. Site is entirely dirt. There are trees to hang hammocks or clotheslines in.

Site 90 is on a corner by the propane tanks. It is a large site. It does have some roots and low spots. It is partial grass. It has nice shade and is adjacent to the bathrooms. There are trees to hang hammocks or clotheslines.

Site 93 is a large site that backs up to a small grass/tree buffer. It is across the road from the bathrooms. It has nice shade. There is a place to hang a clothesline but not hammocks.

Pros: Clean, well-maintained park

Quiet

Lots of playground equipment

Bike/scooter pump track

Excellent beach area

Lots of green space

Hiking trails

Wood and ice available for purchase at the entrance

Laundry is available; one washer and two dryers

Very kid and pet friendly

Cons: Park website has out of date information, specifically that there is no longer a store on the beach, nor are there kayaks/SUPs to rent

The Water Warrior Island is no longer in the lake

There are very few sites with buffers between

It is sort of far to the beach and laundry from the modern campsites

No non-reservable sites available

Van Riper State Park is a must-visit if you’re traveling through Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  It’s popular year-round, although camping is only open between May and October. Stop for the day to hike the trails and go for a swim, or stay a week and enjoy the sunsets and serenity.

The state park covers both sides of the highway with the campground and day-use area on the south side and a huge section of trails and wildlife viewing areas on the north.

There are 147 sites in the modern campground, including some sites with 50-amp electric service, and there are another 40 sites in the rustic campground. Plus, there are two mini cabins in the modern campground if you don’t own a tent or RV. All of the campsites have a fire ring and picnic table.

One thing we noticed is that the sites at Van Riper are very large– so much bigger than many sites we’ve seen at other state parks. This means there is plenty of space for your trailer, truck, bikes, screen tent, kids’ toys, etc. without feeling like you’re infringing on your neighbor.

Another plus for the state park is the laundry facilities. Two washers and dryers are located in the restroom building near the beach.

Van Riper State Park is extremely family-friendly, with activities for everyone. There are approximately 5 miles of hiking trails on the north side of the state park. One trail provides a very nice overlook of Lake Michigamme and the surrounding area. Other trails run along the Peshekee River or through the woods and may even provide the chance to see the moose that live in the area. The trails are not difficult, but there is some elevation to get to the lookout. If you don’t want to hike the whole 5-plus miles from the campground and back, you can drive and park at the group campground and go from there.

A sandy beach awaits both kids and adults on Lake Michigamme. The lake is popular as it is much warmer than most of the lakes in the Upper Peninsula. A large, fairly new playscape is also located near the beach, as well as a swing set. One of the most unique activities is a bike pump track. This is the only state park that we saw that had one. It was very popular with the kids and is conveniently located between the campground and the day-use area. The lake is popular for fishing and if you have a boat you can use the launch in the back of the park. It also is a good location for kayaking.

We are on site 22. Very spacious have room for our 20ft TT and could have put up a large screen tent but there is a big dip in the site which caused a huge puddle where we would have placed it. Nice view of the lake can see at least part of it from almost anywhere in the camp. Picnic table and fire ring on every site. There are several full hook up sites (water sewer electric). There are a few pull through sites. Some of the sites (the ones a crossed from us) have a huge dip right at the edge of the site to get in out of the site that can cause some issues with low sitting vehicles. Hosts were very friendly and informative, offered some scheduled programs through out the week and free coffee and doughnuts Saturday morning at the host site. DNR staff almost always available. Serves as a great base point to see probably hundreds of water falls. Some are located just down the street from the campground. Mordern shower clean and had hot water and restroom, clean but toilets are a little tricky to flush...doesn't seem to have enough flushing power. Verizon phone works great... hotspot from Verizon phone works great as well. there is also some WiFi available from somewhere that works but doesn't work(cuts in and out) not sure if it is the parks or a nearby place. The roads in the campground are narrrow but manageable. The park is located on a main highway (41) so you get the noise from the traffic on the road...sometimes this noise can make it hard to have a quiet conversation with those in your camping party....it quiets down some at night but still a lot of noise. Also train tracks runs along the back of the campground which can be quite noisy. We've been here almost a week and have heard only one train(we aren't here a lot during the day we are out exploring). Nice day park across the road from the campground. Located about 30 min. From Houghton (and a Walmart) and about an hour drive to the porcupine mountains.

This campground was developed by people who love and use the outdoors, for people who love and use the outdoors! Inexpensive, clean, pretty and with campsites set spaciously apart this new campground feels like it’s been a part of the landscape for years. With nearby opportunities for mountain biking, downhill and cross-country skiing, road cycling, hiking and paddling on the big lake– or nearby smaller lakes, this campground is perfectly situated along the shores of Lake Superior to take full advantage of the best the “Copper Country” has to offer. 

The sites have the usual fire ring and picnic table, with some overlooking the pond centerpiece of the property. The pit-toilets are clean, well ventilated, modern (automated hand sanitizer, it's the little things!) and also beautifully constructed. The campground also offers several adorable yurts and bunkhouse cabins for rent, which can sleep 6 comfortably and heated by woodstove fires. You know they have done it right by the bike hanging hooks perfectly placed on the side of the cabin. They know their clientele. 

The quaint village of Copper Harbor,½ mile away, offers restaurants, bars, gas and a small grocery store as well as the ferry depot to Isle Royale National Park. With numerous historic sites within an hour’s drive, this makes the perfect getaway destination for history buffs as well. The Keweenaw National Historic Park has sites located up and down the peninsula. Right off Brockway Mountain Drive, the area is great for those interested in more motorized recreation as well. The view from the top, an easy 5 mile drive, is not to be missed.

Reserved a spot here as part of my cross country overlanding trip.  It was a basic electric campsite outside.  I drove into the ahem, campground and the first thing you see are a bunch of prefabbed cabins - pretty cheesy.  Went to check in at the lodge.  Small bar, and a beer cooler filled with no beer (lol).  The girl at front desk was very nice and informative.  She gave be about 10 pieces of paperwork and wristbands (really!  I’m just camping for the night!!!).  Then explained the myriad of rules in order to camp.  First o e was no smoking at your outdoor site!  Lol.  If she found ashes at the site, I would be charged a fine- lol.  I asked for my $$ back, but you can’t cancel.  What a joke.  If you smoke weeed, of if your campfire ash looks like a cigarette ash, you’ll get fined.  Avoid this place at all costs if you are vanlife, over landers or partake in the green stuff, this is not the place for you.  If your camping approach is Martha Stewart meets kohls, have at it!