Best Equestrian Camping near Hiawatha National Forest

The U.P. has so much to offer if you're into the great outdoors. Jack Pine is a small campground in the Hiawatha National Forest. It's a big attraction for Quads and dirt bikes during the summer and I'm told snowmobiles, during the winter. Being that in the summer, it doesn't get dark until 10 pm, you can spend all day and most of the evening riding the trails. This year, the gnats were just about unbearable, but no fault of the campground (welcome to the UP). Camp Hosts Fred and Nancy, were extremely nice and helpful. The bar/restaurant on site, is a plus if you're wanting a quick bite or cocktail. They do have decent wifi throughout the campground, which is good because there was no Verizon signal. The cabins had Satellite, but they were in an open field, the campsites are in the pines, which may cause poor reception. They sell firewood for $5 a bundle. There's a small camp store, with a few necessities & ice. Bathrooms were clean, and showers were enclosed with a locking door. I would definitely stay here again, but I will bring my netted gazebo, to keep the gnats and flies at bay.

We stayed here on the very last night they were open this season. The staff was very friendly and they actually had campsites that were more private then almost all the Michigan state parks we have stayed at. It was a bit pricey for camping $40 for a pop up truck camper with only electric and water. 

They have hot showers that were clean and looked taken care of. They have a  playground, playroom and a pool. None of this was open during our visit but I imagine in the summer it is all going strong and the kids have a blast. My one complaint was it is pretty close to the road and during a heavy tourist season it could probably be pretty loud.

I have absolutely nothing but positive things to say. I am more one to frequent rustic and secluded campgrounds. I found this place on a whim years ago... and now JackPine has a special place in my heart.

When I need to truly rest my bones, this is my go to in this neck of the woods.

Clean and warm cabins, modern and rustic campsites, bathhouse, a super cool bar, cold beer, great food and nothing but exceptional and friendly staff. Not to mention... WIFI throughout the property. When you go to the bar- be sure to grab a JackPine Burger and fries.

I have traveled almost every corner of The Yoop. I have not found a campground (of the modern and resort nature) that nearly compares to this place. Not in quality of stay or the constant desire to return.

The site only gives you coordinates that are actually an hour away from the site. There is no real address to get there. We pulled in pretty late, had a rough long drive so we got to where we thought it was at around 11:30 pm. Then we can’t find the site, so we go to the website and it gives us strange directions to somewhere an hour away. As we drove out there, we lost all service, were on dirt roads and we were miles past any signs of civilization. We started to get a strange feeling but we trekked on. Suddenly it gets very foggy and spooky looking and we all debate turning back, but still we keep going. Finally, we turn onto the road that it is on, just a ways down, and the stop sign is filled with bullet holes however we haven’t seen a single sign of people out there. We keep going and finally decide this all seems like an elaborate ploy to lure campers in and kill them. We decide to turn around and end up in some weird abandoned summer camp, still around thirty minutes left on the road to get to the actual site.  We decide there are far too many creepy signs pointing towards this not being a good idea then as we leave and get service back, we look up the site and realize there are zero reviews at all. The site doesn’t exist on google except for these camping sites, with the same two photos only on every site and zero reviews. As we are driving away, we get an email at one am saying “hello your site is still empty, please enjoy your stay” as if there was someone waiting for us at the site even though it was a remote site with no formal check in. How did they know we were not at the site yet? And what are the chances they email us right as we turn around? I’m glad we didn’t end up staying, we all had a horrible gut feeling and I suggest no one else stay here either. Nothing about it seemed legit or safe.

We arrived on a Friday evening. We had a pull through site and a cabin booked. The pull-through sites are SMALL! (Cabins were basic.) If you happen to have a neighbor, you share campfire and picnic table space. Luckily enough, this place doesn’t seem like it’s ever THAT busy. There wasn’t much for the kids to do. They are all 11 and older and the playground was less than appealing to them. The pool was just recently opened and was SUPER warm. they also had a little game room and store. The first night we were there, a cabin-renter up the hill and his wife were arguing loudly and seem to be regulars at this place. While it provided entertainment in the otherwise quiet and boring campground- it was a little off putting when he started driving his truck through the pull through site next to us frequently like a mad-man. We eventually put stuff in the site to prevent this. The one staff member was friendly. We did venture out to see the falls, it was busy but worth the trip.