Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Grand Marais, MI

Blind Sucker campground made our August of 2017 camping trip enjoyable and unforgettable. Our rustic camp site was located right on the North Country Trail which was ideal for morning hiking and adventuring. Also, there is access to Blind Sucker flooding where you fish and kayak. This campground was approximately a 35 min drive from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and only 25 min from Grand Marais (an awesome little town right on Lake Superior).

This was our first campground experience with our RV. Not being sure what to expect but we really enjoyed our stay. We had a back in site, very close to the bathhouse which was nice and clean. Cleaned daily &closed for cleaning between 9-10am. Our site was right across from Lake Superior with beautiful sunset and sunrise views. There was a dog park for dogs to enjoy. Location is in the town of Grand Marais so you are a 10 minute walk into town for stores & dining. Very quiet campground, perfect for relaxing. Long staircase leading down to the beach. We will definitely be back.

Blind Sucker Campground deserves a visit just for the funny name alone. This campground is located in Lake Superior State Forest off County Road 407 about 13 miles east of Grand Marais. The gravel road leading here has some pretty bad washboard sections that will rattle your teeth and some potholes that would swallow your car, but hey, this is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and a little off the beaten path. 

Nothing fancy here. This is a great little rustic campground with 32 non-reserveable sites (all on a first come, first served basis) buried under trees set on a lake. The shady sites are suitable for tents and small RVs and makes for a nice place to rest and relax. When we visited, there was only one other camper as this campground is not as popular as Blind Sucker #1 and the nearby Lake Muskallonge State Park. There is potable water from a hand pump and vault toilets which much to our delight were clean, stocked with toilet paper and didn’t smell even on warm days.

The lake has a pathway going down the lake for a short hike or for bank fishing.  We were set to go for a walk and cast a line until the bothersome black flies changed our plans. There is also a 6-7 mile trail that passes through the campground for a longer hike and connects to the   There is a boat launch but other than that, there are no amenities. If you are looking for a place to swim where you don’t have to worry about leeches, just across the road a short distance away is Lake Superior. The lake is perfectly refreshing and the beach was completely empty of people which made for a great place to hang out during the afternoon.

Other camping options in the area are Blind Sucker #1 and Lake Muskellunge State Park (where you can pay for a shower and purchase firewood). Grand Marais has a small market, gas station, hardware store, and some restaurants. Grand Marais is also the eastern end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and a great place to explore. Dog owners – be warned that Pictured Rocks NL is not very dog-friendly and they are allowed in very few places and just a couple of short trails.

We stayed here one night last summer on our way to Wisconsin. There are a few dispersed sites throughout the forest. They are just clearing or pull offs without any facilities. This is deep forest with sandy roads. The site was just a few miles from pictured rock national seashore. Of note the road from Deer Park and Grand Marais is a rough washboard road. It can be driven in a car without clearance but presents a risk for passenger vehicles with heavy loads. We were awoken by local hunters running their dogs through our site. They had a huge caravan of dog vans and made quite a commotion in the woods. If your looking for a free site near Grand Stable Dunes this does the job.

Abundant beauty in the UP. Hike a little or a lot. Ride on a boat or paddle a kayak. So many ways to enjoy the beauty. There are several short (less than a mile) walks to gorgeous waterfalls. If you are more ambitious and able hike the Chapel Falls Loop. Feeling lazy, sit on the beach at Grand Marais and walk the little town and grab ice cream. The NTC runs 42 miles through the National Lakeshore if you are up for a multi day backpack. Lodging in Munising and Grand Marais, primitive camping in between.

Right on Lake Superior and the North Country Trail! Also, it is just moments from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Marais. Our pup loved running on the beach.

Gorgeous primitive sites in Pictured Rocks. No cell service for many miles. We stayed at site 19 lake side. A large private site with many trees. A short walk behind our site lead to a gorgeous overlook of Lake Superior. Great location near all of the beauty of Pictured Rocks. Campground had pit toilets, water, and lots of bear safe trash cans. There is no shower so bring your camp soap and shower or wash up in the lake. We picked up wood near Grand Marais, but you can find it for sale coming in from Munising too. Summer south winds may bring the stable flies. We had real problems when hiking and they were annoying at our site as well. If you have a screened in pop up, bring it. Be sure to check out the natural wonders but also the adorable town of Grand Marais. We hope to be back in fall when the flies may leave us alone.

Extremely rustic campground. Only 10 sites available on first come first served basis. Set a few miles off the beaten path, a great spot for fishing, kayaking, canoeing & swimming. No cell service available. Ross Lake is beautiful. There is pump water & toilets available. My favorite thing about this campground was listening to the haunting loon songs over the lake at night. I will definitely go back. The lake is set right between Munising & Grand Marais.

My party stumbled upon this campsite over Memorial Day Weekend while exploring the UP. We were so happy to have found it, and to our surprise there were many open spots despite it being a holiday weekend. We stayed after hiking around Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. I later mentioned this place to a friend and she said her family has been trying to keep this campground a secret for years, maybe I shouldn't be reviewing it lol.

It is close enough to Grand Marais for any amenities you might need, and less than an hour from the mouth of the Two Hearted by way of dirt road. Great excuse to kick the truck into 4x4!

The camp sites, though in the forest, are steps away from Lake Superior. When leaving in the morning we stumbled upon a black bear sow and her two cubs in the middle of the road. Pure Michigan goodness! One of my favorite camping experiences in all of Michigan. :)

Hurricane river Lower is a beautiful well kept campground. The sites are very spaceous, especially the ADA site we had during our stay. The only draw back we had was the enormous fire ring that even if you were in a wheel chair, you could not feel the heat from the fire. It was very chilly when we were there in the first week of July, but we had the pleasure of seeing the northern lights!!!There are paths in between all the campsites to either the main road or up to the upper campground. The main campground road is also attached to the lighthouse trail/road and the parking lot to visit the day use area and swim at Hurricane River. The camp host was very friendly amd greeted us upon arrival. As far as closeness to sights, we were 2 miles away from the Log Slide on the Grand Marais dunes, 4 miles away from Twelvemile beach and campground, 37 miles to Munising, 12 miles to Grand Marais and there is limited cell service unless you are close to those 2 cities. There are pit toilets located at the end of the campground road, just before the dumpsters that are bear proof. There is no electric, but generators can be used in the lake front lots, but not the back lots. The quiet hours were 8pm-8am and everyone adhered to this which is hard to find these days.

Campground is fairly close to Grand Marais and the Au Sable Lighthouse. Nice trails around!  The Grand Sable visitors center is a nice stop for some additional ideas of what to see in the area- friendly service. Grand Sable Lake is another fun little place to check out.  You will not be bored since so many great sites are so near- within a bit of a hike or a quick drive. 

Wooded sites make for some feeling of seclusion. We were in an area where generators were not allowed so night time was quite peaceful.  Nice amenities here too :)

This place is always packed but we were lucky enough to find a free spot on a Saturday afternoon. Grand Marais is very close if you need gas, firewood or an awesome burger from the best burger in Grand Marie (can’t miss these).

All spots in this campground are on the side of Lake Superior which is a short walk away. All campgrounds have a fire pit and a picnic table. Restrooms are available if you’re brave enough as well as refuse site for trash and a water pump.

Campsites are very close together.

Bugs, speally flies are a pain in the behind but this is always expected. I think a cooler weather camping would be preferrable.

Sunsets are incredible at the beach, water is very cold but its worth a dip. Lots of beautiful rocks. If you’re into rocks, bring a blacklight you may be lucky enough to find yooperlites.

Just a heads up, the slower you go on those county dirt roads the more you’ll feel the rattles, so speed up and volume up.

Rustic campground along the shores of Lake Michigan. 23 sites. Hand pump for water available. Beautiful spot on Lake Michigan with no signs of life for miles down the beach. Pets are welcome. Fire pits are available. Seven sights are along the lake. Six mile drive down a dirt road to access the campground. The road is usually in good condition. It is well worth it. An extremely peaceful and beautiful place.

This is one of many small rustic campgrounds in the state forest along Lake Superior east of Grand Marais. A gravel road leads you into the park where the first thing you notice is a 1,000 – acre lake great for fishing (bass, pike, perch), paddling around, or simply enjoying a nice water view. Some of the camp sites are right on the lake and are well-suited for a tent or small trailer. 

As you enter there is a self-pay station as this park is not staffed and sites available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Campsites are $13/night but since it is managed by the Michigan DNR so you need a Recreational Passport. If you are a non-resident the additional daily cost is $9 which can make this quite expensive for a rustic site. All 13 sites have picnic tables and fire pits. There are some tall trees for shade but there is not a lot of privacy between sites. There are vault toilets (which were clean and did not smell), water pumps, and trash receptacles in the campground.

A boat launch and a few parking spots is available. The concrete boat launch was super easy to get our kayaks in and out and would be suitable for a small boat too. When we visited there was nobody in the campground except a plethora of black flies. The Blind Sucker Pathway leaves from the park and is a 7-mile trail that runs over to Lake Superior.

Overall, this is a nice little campground on a lake. Some sites are in a wide open area so there is no privacy or shade but the lake sites are super nice. Gravel roads lead into the park but they were in good shape.

Twelvemile Beach sits along a foredune of Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, an intensely remote stretch of shoreline with Grand Marais to the east and the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to the west.

As you pull in, you find the entrance road winds through a white birch forest. I've been to Twelvemile in the spring, summer and autumn and find the forest enchanting with every season. The road takes an abrupt left turn and runs parallel to the Lake, unseen until now. This begins the loop that is Twelvemile Beach Campground.

There are pros and cons to both lakeside sites ($16/night) and the wooded sites ($14/night) across the road. Bugs, wind, and the freshwater gales ol' Gitche Gumee likes to toss up should all be taken into account when choosing a site, but it's safe to say that a lakeside site is always preferred in my book. They run along the dune ridge with sweeping views of Lake Superior and the constant breeze helps keeps bugs at bay (usually).

Sites are generous in size and quite private, especially if you visit in spring and autumn. Access to the beach is plentiful and the North Country Trail actually cuts straight through the campground. Poison ivy has never been an issue for me here. Sites are first come, first served.

If you're visiting during the summer season, get there early and catch sites in the morning as people leave. It sounds extreme but it's well worth the effort (you'll thank me when you're swinging in your hammock as the poor souls who arrive in the afternoon drive through, again and again, hoping for an opening.) I can't recommend Twelvemile Beach enough. Getting there is a journey, but the destination will become one of your favorite places on earth.

Camped here In August 2018 for a few days. The bathrooms and showers were clean, although they seemed to close them for cleaning at random times that were never consistent. The vault toilets should have hand sanitizer dispensers. The sites were neat enough with fire rings and some have electricity. The amount of goose poop was unreal though. You have access to Muskallonge Lake in the campground, and there is Lake Superior access not too far down the road, there is a trail from the campground. You can bring your ORV here, but are only allowed to ride in or out of the park, no stopping, not even to drop someone off to buy ice. The sites in Sections 2 and 3 were woodsier than Section 1 where we were, but not all have electric hookups. Booking on the MI DNR website was easy.

We used the campground as our base to go to Munising to do the Pictured Rocks boat tour about 2 hours away, go down through Newberry and across the Seney Stretch unless you like washboard dirt roads, Oswald's Bear Ranch, and Tahquamenon Falls. We took our Kawasaki Ranger out to the Crisp Point Lighthouse. The black flies were bad at the light, a worker said it was because the wind was coming from the south at the time. We had enough Verizon service at the campground for texts, but not enough for much else. The front ranger station provides Wi-Fi. There's a little store for supplies in Deer Park not far down the road. The nearest full grocery is in Newberry about a half hour away. The road between Grand Marais and Muskallonge is not paved, but I believe they are planning on it

One of my favorite places to rustic camp! Sites are first come first serve, planning arrival for certain days and times is required so you can land a site. Hiking is the best part of pictured rocks, bring the right shoes and lots of big spray so you can enjoy Mother Nature’s beauty. No pets are allowed which is a bummer but understandable. I’ve seen bear while driving through the park both times I’ve camped in pictured rocks, so they’re definitely around!

Open, level gravel sites and some concrete pads scattered throughout this pretty new campground. A few baby trees in the open meadow are trying to get started, but other than those there is no shade. We stayed in a full hook up 50 amp site, and experienced no power issues despite 2 days of freakishly high winds and scorching heat in the 90s. This is an immaculately clean and well run campground. Wi fi is ok for email and phone scrolling social media. The only reason we didn't give 5 stars is due to construction in the campground with dump trucks and beep beep beep of machinery backing up every day. Once they are finished and the shade trees grow this will be a premier campground in a beautiful area. Pets allowed on leash. Trash receptacles convenient to each area of the campground. Bath house with coin laundry machines.

Stayed here for 4 nights early July 2020. Social distancing had some sinks and urinals turned off. Seemed super clean. 4-6 tent only spots are in pretty good shade. All sites had at least water and electricity. Swingset and covered sandbox for kids. Volleyball net. I saw dogs and cats; we brought 1 dog. 

Cell coverage (AT&T for my family, Verizon for my friends) was pretty hit or miss at 0-2 bars at any given time. I could sometimes stream audio for an hour or two. Other times, it wouldn't do anything. Wifi was available, but it wasn't any more reliable than cell service down in the tent area. Service wasn't normal until hitting either of the east-west roads at the north and south sides of the UP that run along Superior and Michigan, ~8-10 miles north or south of the campground. We like limited to no signal, but realize some count on it, so try to always include it in reviews. 

Campground was pretty busy and the internal noise levels were fine, but you could hear vehicles (possibly cars as well as ATVs) racing off grounds in the night. I'm a very deep sleeper, so this didn't bother me, but I did hear it when I was awake for my nightly jaunt to the potty. My buddy mentioned it kept him awake for a while.

Went tubing with a launch from the grounds and got picked up by staff about half to 3/4s of a mile down river. My guests paid, so not sure how much, but perfectly nice little break from the heat for an hour. 

~20-5 minutes to closest spots to hit the beach, both of which were about 10 degrees cooler than the campground.

Visited the site in a winter storm. A little worried before getting on the wild cat road. Turned out no issue at all. Road is covered with heavy snow, no issue with an AWD camper van. Snow shoeing in the woods and alone the lake beach. Fantastic!

We camped here for a couple days in mid July. They had sites big, small, on the lake, and off so something for everyone. Only thing is that it fills up fast. The first night we drove through late and every site was full, while we were there we found most were full not long after checkout (2pm). Our site was nice, not right on the lake but a short walk. When we went the mosquitos were insane as the sun went down. If you went by the water they would instantly swarm you. If you had a smoky fire going early you might be safe, but there's no guarantee. They seemed immune to bug spray and everything citronella. We could have sworn we even saw one fly straight out of the fire itself, so we wish you luck. There are blueberries everywhere if you come at the right time, in the campground and much of the area around it. We were told there's actually a blueberry festival in early August in the town closest to it (Paradise, MI). It's not all that far from the falls and whitefish point also. It has vault toilets and a water pump, no electricity and very little to no cell reception. You must also have a recreation passport to camp here, regardless of where you're from. If you don't have one you will have to pay an additional fee to purchase one at the time of your registration. For in state residents it was $17 (+ nightly fee) and they would mail it to your house, can't remember the out of state cost unfortunately. Quiet hours from 11pm-8am, $15 a night, no reservations, pet friendly (we found this out by hearing the dogs barking at every passing stranger, as they do). There's a campground host as well, we found that most campgrounds in the UP have them. In the middle there's a public beach and picnic area, we didn't use it but it looked nice. We went fishing once for a few hours and caught 5 bass between the two of us all about 12in, so if you're looking for some good fishing you might be out of luck with this lake. Also, you have to take a dirt road to get there as you do with many places in the UP, so heads up on that. I was worried about scavengers, but we didn't end up having any problems with them. We were careful to throw out any food packages before bed, but we kept our food in a small tent and that didn't draw anything in.

This place was amazing. Very roomy and just beautiful. The camp host was horrible they would yell at us to slow down when we we under the speed limit. There dog was off leash and bit one of our dogs and one of our campers. They were horrible worst hosts ever!