Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Hiawatha National Forest

Small, remote campground, located on a nice size inland lake in Hiawatha National Forest. Close to Au Train, Munising and Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. Great "primitive" campsites with lot's of room, and shade. For those who want showers this is not the place. This campground has vault toilets, and water pump at the entrance. Otherwise almost rustic experience. There is a boat launch. Not sure about rentals, but you can definitely bring your own boat or a kayak, to experience the lake. Few nearby hiking and biking trails. Drive up to Pictured Rock Lakeshore for some amazing trails and Lake Superior beaches. Hiawatha National Forest offers tons of trials and lakes, spend the day wondering through the woods and discovering hidden lakes. I consider Upper Peninsula in Michigan the hidden gem of the Midwest. You have to go and experience it at least once in your lifetime, especially if you live within 500 mile radius...

Bay Furnace Campground is a pretty campground in the Hiawatha National Forest but it is filled with loads of voracious mosquitos. It was so bad that campers had to wear mosquito netting just to walk about. Other than that it is a very pretty campground.

For Astronomers this is a Bortle class 4 site with an SQM reading of 21.44 mag./arc sec2. We only stayed one night, there were lots of trees, and lots of hungry mosquitos so no observing for me.

There is no phone access via verizon or att.

City run campground on lake superior. Beautiful views, sandy shore. Most sites have water and electricity, some have sewer hookup. Some walk in sites on the shoreline. We camped on site 5. Pros:

1. Huge, wide open site, no trees.
2. lakefront site, great view.
3. great spot to base camp, near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Grand Island National Recreation Area, and the Hiawatha National Forest.
   Cons:
4. water and electric are far apart,meaning I had to run 55' of electric cord and 75' of water hose in opposite directions to hook up.
5. no buffer for strong winds off lake superior
6. highway is very close to the campground, noise is constant
7. some sites are low and flood after rains

Only 5 sites at this campground. When I reserved through the NF website, they didn’t even have an accurate map to display how the sites were laid out.

Sites 1, 2 and 3 are all decently spaced apart. Sites 4 and 5 are seemingly connected for double reservations.

Plenty of trees for hammocks and level ground for tents. Fire rings with griddle on each site.

There is no running water or shower house. Bring your own TP for the outhouse.

All sites sit along the lake with easy access to the water. Not a great lake for swimming as the bottom is very muddy and mucky.

Tucked just far enough away from the nearest “town”, Steuben- which only has about 8 homes along the road. Steuben is nice place to drive through and has a small convenience store. Prices are a little expensive, but take into consideration the desolate location.

Great campground and one of my favorites in this section of The 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.

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.

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.

The main attraction in Munising is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. If you can’t get into the campgrounds in Pictured Rocks this site is a good alternative due to its proximity (three miles) the downtown and the entrance to the park. The campground is located right on Lake Superior so some of the sites have great water views and you have access to the lake for swimming and boating. Waterfront sites are great but when we were there it was really windy as the north winds were blowing hard off the lake.

This is one of those parks that really fills up in the summer, so book early (which you can do online). The park has 127 sites that are a mix of tent, water/electric, and water/electric/sewer and it seems like sites are placed haphazardly and are close to your neighbor. In some ways, the quality of your stay depends on your site. When we were there it had rained the day prior and some sites were really wet and muddy making it hard to go from your car to camper. The park is on M-28 so it is easy to get in and out of but means that sites along the road are noisy as this is a heavily traveled road. 

There is a little store in office that sells wood for $7 but we found it cheaper down the street. They advertise free WiFi but we were never able to get a good connection so we gave up and used our Verizon hotspot (which worked well).

Our intention was to put our kayaks in the lake and paddle around Pictured Rocks NL but upon learning how dangerous that can be in our recreational kayaks we opted for a sunset boat cruise instead. This was a good option and we loved the narrated 2 ½ - hour cruise. Unfortunately, it was completely overcast and the cliffs were not as colorful as they would be if the sun had been out. There are lots of waterfalls in the area and since there had been lots of rain prior to our visit they were pretty spectacular. Definitely plan on spending time hiking in Pictured Rocks NL but beware there are lots of restrictions on where dogs can go (basically just developed areas like parking lots and campgrounds). The nearby Hiawatha National Forest is a great place for hiking and paddling. Another paddling option is the Au Train Canoe Trail which is close to the campground and has a public boat launch.

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.

Rustic campground with 46 sites for tents or RVs up to 40ft. Vault toilets, two well hand pumps with potable water. Waterfront and non-water front sites available on a first come, first serve basis. No reservations. Beach area and water access. Open year round. Pet friendly.

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.

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!

Great campground!

Book early to get a spot. It’s clean, quiet and caters to riders. It has a shower building, 2 washers and 2 dryers, restaurant, store (only open certain hours), ice, dump station and 91 octane fuel on site. There is direct trail access from the property, and they provide a free ORV hand washing station and air for tires. There is free WIFI for guests and you can also purchase a faster internet speed. I love that the campsites are not on top of each other and there are trees between the neighboring campsite. They cut tress branches to clean open spots for RVs. Most sites have water/sewage and 30 or 50amp service. There is a dog run in the back of the property for small dogs.

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.

Not our favorite campground but will do in a pinch, plus the price was very reasonable. 

Not too far off of 101, easy paved drive, just a little winding. $8 for camping, and the America the Beautiful and other Interagency passes are honored here and is half off with a pass. 

This is a campground of just a row of sites with a driveway down the middle. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon in early August and found a spot, but it was more busy than we expected it to be. Very open and zero privacy at each site. No clear boundary between sites. Fire pits and picnic tables throughout. Campground sits along a creek and is surrounded by trees which is nice. Lots of sun during the day here. Water spigots, dumpsters (no recycling) and pit toilets available. 

Bonus…wild blackberries! We picked a bunch right behind our spot. 

There is a camp host on site that had firewood for sale and were a bit surprised to see people actually lighting up big campfires when restrictions exist. Recommend the creek side as another road runs along the campground which was quite busy. 

Access to creek is entering from outside the campground or though someone else’s spot. 

Very weak/ non existent cell service. But weboost helped a lot. 

BE AWARE: Loose dogs……literally all over! We only stayed one night because of this alone. Everyone had multiple dogs and at one point there was a wild dog ruckus near the water that went on for a while!

At least according to my buddy, that is. We (two couples and our two dogs) stayed at Minerva Lake four nights, from June 17 until June 21, 2022. The dispersed site was large enough for our two tents, a privacy tent, three tables, a chuck box, and plenty of seating around the fire ring. The site is adjacent to a boat ramp, but only one fisherman showed up all weekend. We did get a few other four-wheel visitors, mostly folks exploring in their side-by-sides. USFS personnel paid us a visit the day after a strong thunderstorm, just to make sure we were ok. And we're fairly certain we had a couple of bears pass us by while we were relaxing by the campfire. If not bears, something else certainly set the dogs off! Mosquitoes were not the worst we've experienced, though they did pick up in the early mornings and evenings.

We stayed at Petes Lake Campground from June 10-16, 2018. We enjoyed the large site of 3A and were traveling with three dogs. There are clean vault toilets and water available. There is no wi-fi or cellular service here. There is a nice beach and pier to enjoy the clear lake.