Looking for an adventure where you can explore Escanaba and then fall asleep in your tent? Find the best information on tent camping near Escanaba, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Escanaba's most popular destinations.
Newport's wilderness experience offers over 2,300 acres of forest on 11 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, 30 miles of hiking trails, and backpack camping as a quiet alternative to bustling Door County. At the far end of the Door Peninsula, Newport is also designated as a Dark Sky Park, a perfect destination for stargazing.
Newport State Park offers rustic, backpack camping for visitors. Camping is allowed in designated campsites only.
Newport has 17 backpack (hike-in) campsites, including one group site. All sites can be reserved. Campers must hike or bike in all gear and supplies. There are no carts available at the park. There are a few amenities at the sites, including a pit toilet, fire ring with flip-up grill, a lock box for food and a bench or two. Water is available at the park office or at a solar pump near the picnic shelter by Lot 3 (seasonally). There are no shower facilities at the park. All garbage must be carried out of all campsites.
$20 / night
Haymeadow Creek Campground is located approximately 11 miles from Rapid River. There are 5 medium size campsites, some with tables and fire rings and a vault toilet is available. No water is available at this site even though the map shows drinking water. Please be sure to pack out what you pack in, as there are no trash receptacles. Haymeadow Creek is a high quality trout stream. Anglers will be challenged to catch the wary brook trout. The well-marked Haymeadow Creek Trail from the campground takes you along a winding path, across small bridges, through a heavily forested area lined with many varieties of ferns and wild plants. The trail of approximately 1 mile leads you along the creek to a footbridge at the Haymeadow Falls rapids. A short 1/2 mile spur near the north trailhead connects you to the 40 mile Bay de Noc Grand Island National Recreation Trail, which is used for hiking and horseback riding.Link to Campground Map.
$20 - $22 / night
Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. Learn more: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/buy-and-apply/rec-pp
$15 / night
This Park offers a great swimming hole (no life guard on duty), A large Pavilion (with electric) for picnic lunches, Pitt Toilets, running water and of coarse great fishing on the Menominee River.
Four sites are available for over night camping, non-electric sites only for $10 per night.
$10 / night
The Indian River Campground is situated on a bluff overlooking the Indian River. There is a short trail leading down to the river. The campground is near the halfway point on the Indian River Canoe Trail, and is a convenient overnight stop for canoeists. Link to Campground Map
There are many campsites on the Munising and Rapid River/Manistique Ranger Districts of the Hiawatha National Forest. Many are located on inland lakes and are in a rustic forest environment with few to no amenities and no drinking water. The rustic environment offers a wonderfully serene and peaceful setting for your next camping experience. All of these sites are nestled in hardwood trees and pines. All of them are on small inland lakes, which offer a wide variety of fishing opportunities.
Visitors will be able to enjoy swimming, berry picking, and fishing at these dispersed campsites. Licenses are required for fishing in Michigan waters. Bruno's Run Hiking Trail weaves throughout the Ewing Point area, offering 9 miles of adventure for hikers. The trail is accessible at various locations, two of which are near the Ewing Point parking area. One section of the trail leads to Grassy Lake, while the other heads along the southeastern portion of McKeever Lake.McKeever Lake offers great fishing for musky, pike, bass and pan fish, and there is boat access in the parking area. Boats must be carried to the site by hand or through the water. Because the water is quite shallow, large boats are not recommended.
Ewing Point is a beautiful walk-in campsite located on the north side of the 132-acre McKeever Lake. The grassy site is 50 ft x 75 ft, surrounded by hemlock and cedar.
For local information, please call (906) 474-6442 or call (906) 387-2512 for general information.
$8 / night
Ranger
Nice tent site with a lovely view of the lake. The beach area is nice for wading, but the water was a little chilly in June. The bathrooms are clean and the showers are free! The people at the front desk are friendly and helpful.
The only reason it is not 5 stars is because the tent sites were just lined up in a field. It wasn't bad, but made it a little less comfortable.
Ranger
Hike/bike in tent camping along the lake shore of Lake Michigan. Beautiful natural beaches with multiple parking areas for even just a day trip. The Door County Peninsula is full of activities and neat little shops/boutiques nearby. This is also a dark sky area with gatherings during lunar events without light pollution.
Traveler
Tent camped here on may 30th. Very quiet with some sites right on the lake. About a 7 mile gravel road to get here from the main road.
Scout
It was a clean, busy park. We had a nice shaded site along the woods great for tent camping. The bathrooms are kept up nicely, the only downfall of the trip was the rain and our leaky tent!!
GuideOn a last minute camping trip to Michigan, we were looking for places that didn't require reservations, so I felt very lucky and happy to find tent sites available at this campground on a Sunday afternoon. Nearly every spot for RV camping was occupied. Of the eight or so tent sites available, only two were occupied.
We were given our choice of tent site and settled on site 5 because it was the furthest from all other sites. The grass was solid enough to drive our car across, but there were several questionable spots of swamp we had to be careful to avoid. Site 5 sits next to the playground, which looks like it hasn't been maintained in years. The foliage around the lake was too tall for us to be able to see the lake from our tent and too thick, plus the swampiness of the land, to be able to walk through to access the lake.
A nearby boardwalk was damaged and blocked off to foot traffic. The paved drive within the camp site was where everyone seemed to be spending their time, riding bicycles or roller bladeing in circles.
Four or five showers are available on site, with separate flush toilets for men and women. Firewood was available for purchase, as well as ice and vending machines.
The showers were great to have. However, with no easy access to the lake, not much of a view, being very crowded and catered towards RVers, I would only stay here again if I had no other options, as a tent camper.
Guide
Enjoyed the campground. The site was clean and just enough privacy from the other sites. Only one complaint was there was no designated tent vs RV sites. Generator for two days and nights was not what we were looking for being in tent camping.
Traveler
Went on a week long trip through the U.P. This was our first stop coming from Detroit. We had a tent site. Showers and bathrooms were clean. Was about 5 minutes outside Munising. Great place to stay if your planning on visiting pictured rocks. It’s right on the lake too with boat rentals if you just want to hang around your campsite. Friendly staff. Laundry facilities. Only thing we didn’t care for was tent sites were kinda right on top of each other. But had larger sites for RVs and electric hook ups. Again just stayed for the one night to jump to the porcupine mountains.
Traveler
This was one of the most beautiful campground tent sites ever. We had forget-me-nots on our site it was big enough for our extra large tent and we had the sound of frogs to serenade us at night.
Ranger
This is in the middle of Door county, centrally located for exploring all Door County has to offer. We were tent camping and our site, I forget the number, as it was years ago, was perfect. Had shade for our tent, and sun as needed. Hung up our hammocks and read books as we listened to the waves crashing.
GuideThis campground is more for families. There are RV sites and tent sites. Laundry is available as well as as all store. The management is wonderful, friendly, and the showers always have hot water.
Guide
I wanted to give 2 out of 5 stars but felt that would be unfair since we only experienced one campsite area, South Nicollet area. Very crowded, basically all RV's with families, we were in ear shit of crying babies and dogs with small dog syndrome! If RV'ing is your thing, this might be 5 out of 5 but for tent camping it's incredibly loud and crowded. Virtually no privacy beside maybe a couple spots. I've heard Tennison bay campsites are more secluded? Maybe that's the way to go, so book in advance, and go for campsites in the outer circles of the areas! I'd recommend hitting up eagle trail early before it gets busy, very unique trail but bring ankle support lots of rocks. And rent a canoe/kayak lots of great views. I can def see coming back to PSP but only for a day pass. I'd pass on this one if you prefer tent camping.
Scout
While this is a full amenities campground, one end was mostly reserved for tent camping with well spaced sites which were backed up by the woods. We felt right at home in our tent, and the campground was exceptionally well maintained and the atmosphere was calm and pleasant. While not totally rustic our end was well suited for the quieter more laid back tenting enthusiasts
Scout
My wife and I have tent camped here multiple times and love it. We typically go mid to late September and there are very few other campers. We love the quite peacefulness. The lake is great for a relaxing canoe or kayak. We talk about going back every time we go camping.
Scout
The best new campsite in Door County! The campsites themselves are picturesque and they have amenities galore from power, to wifi, to even a great dog walk. Highly recommend to anyone looking for an RV or tent site and will definitely be coming back again!
GuideThe customer service at this campground is impeccable. Bathrooms are always amazingly clean. Small camp store has all the basics. Playground for kids. Campsite was very clean. Tent sites have lots of mosquitoes, so be prepared. Cabins and yurts also available to rent. Couldn't have asked for a better experience.
GuideI have stayed in this campground twice now and have loved it both times. The campground staff is super friendly. Location is beautiful. Bathrooms are great and always clean. Mosquitoes can be annoying in the more secluded tent sites. Get up in the middle of the night, the stars are amazing here! I will keep coming back here.
Guide
This probably was one of the cleanest campgrounds we ever went to. They have everything from full hookups to rustic tent sites. Each site has a huge permanent firepit. RV lots are large and private, Lots of trees and there is a constant breezy that comes off of Lake Michigan. The only downfall is, it's more expensive than your typical campground. $40 - $60 range for the RV sites. Although $60 dollars, you can get your own private beach front lot. Bathrooms and Laundry room are super clean. You also get cable. Restaurants, shopping and a brewery are all within walking distance
ScoutJust needed a nice campsite for one night after traveling from Traverse City headed to Marquette. Made a reservation and booked a lake view site. The campground was really clean and the people were really friendly who worked there. They were dog friendly and everyone camping around us were really friendly as well. We were tent camping and there was plenty of space for more than 3 tents. We would definitely recommend this for family's as well as people like us just passing through. Great lake view and 10 minutes away from Kitch-iti-ipi "big springs".
Scout
We had a change of plans at the last minute and were in a pinch to find somewhere to stay. We got the last tent site at Fish Creek Campground and we are so pleased with how our plan B turned out. Super clean campground with great amenities/convenient shop and the staff is wonderful. If you’re looking for a laid back place to sit by the fire you’d love it here!
Traveler
This reservation only campground was well kept and close to amenities in Gwinn like their city park and diners. The full hookup sites were well marked but not a lot of shade and septic hook up was far back. There is a dump site on premise so we utilized that. Tent sites are well shaded and secluded from each other. Tenants were amazing and hiking trails were beautiful. The weather was too cold to swim but the beach area would be nice with warmer weather.
Ranger
This is one of the nicest private campgrounds we’ve been to. There’s an abundance of sites to choose from - heavily to lightly wooded, pull thru, back-in, full or partial hookups, and tent sites are available. Although some sites are rather close together, the fact that they are so wooded makes it feel more like a state park. The facilities, although older, are clean and well kept. The location is central to most everything in Door County. We will definitely return when we come here next.
ScoutYou don't mind fireworks all the time and compressed camping with the people that use it for partying all night. There's pedophiles and meth cooks that take over part the grounds for a majority of the summer because it's free to camp. So BE MINDFUL OF YOUR CHILDREN (reason for the review)! You'll definitely get what you pay for in the upper peninsula and if you don't pay you'll hang out in a gypsy camp most likely. Tent camping is a bad idea (too noisy all hours). Otherwise when it's not like that there's decent fishing and water sports to do. If it's empty it's very nice.
ScoutThee best camp ground ive been too to date!! The bathrooms are AMAZING compared to others, everything is new and well maintained. Theres a park, game room, adult lounge, amazing trails and all breed of dogs are welcomed! They have a dish washing area by the bathrooms and they make sure soap and cleaning supplies are there to use. We tent camped the first night but then a Yurt came up and we snagged that for the next 2 nights with the kiddos. Its fall so its wet out but the beauty of the surrounding area is something to enjoy while not at camp.
TravelerWe got our new Marmot Tungston 4P tent so I took the wife and kids on a quick weekend trip to J.W. Wells State Park campground in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to test it out. I found J.W. Wells by searching for waterfront camping along Lake Michigan. There are plenty of state and national parks along Lake Michigan but not many where you can pitch your tent right along the waters edge like J.W. Wells. It also happened to be the only site within 4 hours drive of Northbrook, IL (N. Suburb of Chicago) with such close proximity to the waters edge that I could find.
The site itself is tucked right along the Green Bay coastline about 1 hour drive north of Green Bay, Wisconsin. There is a main campground for tent and RV but we chose to stay at 1 of 3 rustic tent sites a little north of the main campground. The campground was well maintained with picnic tables for each site, firepit, and a nice well groomed plot of grass for us to pitch our tent and setup camp. The main campground has showers and a playground right in the middle.
The view from our site was majestic, especially watching the sun rise over the horizon of Lake Michigan. The sunrise was the pinnacle moment of this trip. And that's really the only reason why I gave it 3 stars. The campground itself and the views are incredible, it's just that there isn't much to do around these parts. There are a couple short trails for hiking or ATV's and the Cedar River about a mile north of the site which I assume has some fishing and boating, but that was about it. The only other activity we found was to drive 30 mins north to check the small harbor town of Escanaba. Really not much to see or do there either.
I probably wouldn't recommend this campground for families or persons looking for lots of activities or places to see and visit while camping. It's great for a simple quick getaway with a great view to just sit around camp and relax.
Guide
Spent one night here with my dog. I was looking for a place to unplug and I sure got what I was looking for. Have to admit I was a bit out of my element for tent camping at this location. There were others camping at this site with RVs, a boat and off road vehicles. They were more prepared for the wilderness! They told me about a pack of wolves roaming around and how they would snatch up my pup if given the opportunity and my girl had a growl off with something in the woods that night. Might have been a wolf! Mosquitos were crazy and there were some giant turtles that seemed to be taking over the whole area. Beautiful view of the big lake.
Ranger
We only stayed here one night but the kids had a lot of fun, they have a lot of outdoor toys. There were kids everywhere.
Outhouse and showers were clean
Electric hook up
Filled water at dump station We stayed in site 10 it was quiet and away from the core of the noise
Friendly staff Seasonals were a little wild and loud, I like to have fun so it didn’t bother me much but they didn’t always watch the kids, only complaint.
6 minutes back into the town near the River is a little gas station / general store —- best Pasties!
Cabins available Rustic tent sites available
$48 after tax site 10 electric travel trailer site.
Scout
Beautiful state park with plenty of activities for all ages. We booked a same-day campsite over the weekend in August. That in itself in Wisconsin almost deserves five stars. Absolutely stunning views with miles and miles of hiking and biking trails, surrounded by beautiful lake Michigan coast line. Activities such as golf, plays and musicals at a rustic amphitheater, lighthouse lookout, gorgeous skywalk and a nice beach with incredibly large portions of ice cream for the kiddos.
2 star loss goes against the overhead trees not being groomed for a class A, plenty of tree knocks and scratches getting in and out of the camping area and even the main road. All the amenities restricted RV parking so as we were leaving the grounds we could not enjoy new discoveries found.
I would give Peninsula state park a 4 because of the beauty and awesome amenities; maybe even a 5 if We were tent camping; however there was overwhelming evidence that our Class A was an after thought so a solid 3 is my final review.
Tent camping near Escanaba, Michigan offers a blend of serene natural beauty and outdoor adventure, perfect for those looking to escape into the wilderness.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Escanaba, MI is Newport State Park Campground with a 4.8-star rating from 32 reviews.
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