Best Campgrounds near Houghton, MI

The Michigan Recreation Passport Solar does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas.

Hancock campground has LOTS of RV sites as well as some really nicely hidden/shaded tent spots. You can walk down to the beach as well as some hiking trails nearby down the road. Also, it’s about a 33 minute walk to some restaurants and shops in town. Clean, heated restrooms. As of October 2024 when im writing this, their dryer is out of order, so laundry unavailable. Campground attendant is very nice as well

Van Riper State park has very unlevel sites with no water and 30 amp service. Unacceptable with today’s campers. Time to update Michigan

We are not a big state park fan as, in Michigan, there are very close sites and tons of noise. This one was relatively quiet. The site were the standard Michigan close but the campgeound was t full and there many options to choose from. The lake is real nice and the beach area is clean, spacious and it has a general store that has firewood for sale. We first reserved a rustic site, then changed to an electrical hook up site after arriving. The ranger was very accomodating.

This place is way off the beaten path. Long dirt road to get back here. There are tent sites all along the beach front to watch the sunset and pick rocks. Most sites are fairly level. I feel like we got one of the only ones that wasn't but I'm not real picky. @ramblinsmurf

We love the area. Very nice people, well run campground. Staying on Lake Superior is almost always beautiful. Sunsets are amazing!! The sites are generous and partially wooded. Drawbacks, no laundry facilities, even in town. Stores, restaurants and gas stations nearby but expensive. (Though there is a dollar store) They do not take reservations, so it’s a gamble to just show up. You really have to be there, in person by 7AM to wait in line to get a site.

Overall, great place to stay!!

We come up every year for the meteor shower, and every stay is a great one. New shower rooms, and huge dog park are awesome!

I’m a very simple camper used to having space and quiet…this was not the best time to pass through for an overnight. I arrived and the campground was so loud with people and kids shouting. There is zero privacy (they pack you in) so be sure to get a spot along the edge where you’ll at least have trees. I was very surprised and grateful how respectful everyone was of the quiet hrs…other than snoring and some traffic it was quiet. On a positive, the pit toilet was really clean and spacious. And the ranger at check in was so nice.

We really liked this campground mostly for its location and beautiful beach on Lake Superior. It has a long driveway that is gravel and all of the campground loops are also gravel or sand so it can be a little dusty. The lake shore sites have beautiful, full views of the lake but just know that many sites will be a tight fit for larger rigs. We have a 26' travel trailer and stayed in the newer loop a little ways away from the beach. It didn't bother us as it was easier to park and a very short walk to enjoy the beautiful sunsets this campground is all about.

They don't do reservations, but despite having 10+ sites available, they're holding them for people who may never come.

Several spots in this rustic stop. The spot was amazing. Got to see a beautiful sunset and sunrise fun to watch bikers cross from the river and even saw a sea plane land on the beach.

I can hear my neighbors talking at their campsite from mine. We are packed in here like sardines.

Beautiful area, though. Caught a rainbow just as we were setting up camp. And they had wood and ice.

Very nice n open for pulling in and doing dispersed camping, nice overview of the lake from the hill , quite too, fire pit made of rocks

Really nice and level site(62) just a short walk from the beach. Really clean and well kept state park. Hiking trails are plentiful. Centrally located on the Keweenaw Peninsula allows time for exploring many sites this location has to offer. Too bad the “Gitch” washed away some of the lakeside campsites, hopefully they rebuild soon! My family will definitely come back!

DO NOT BRING A STANDARD CAR DOWN HERE! Road was incredibly rough and no cell service. That being said, risking my lifted 4WD SUV was well worth it. I may have forgotten to get a permit. Oops. There’s a large turnaround at the end of the road with spectacular views. I turned left at the outhouse and found a similar spot. Flies and mosquitos were abundant but didn’t kill my vibe. Make sure to check the weather before you go. If it had rained overnight, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it out.

Great spot on superior

City run operation. Close to downtown Hancock. A few sites right along the canal. Variety of site configurations - from remote tent pads to open areas that permit families to set up camp units close together. Limited sites that have sewer, water, and/or electric.

Older well established state park. Has high usage in summer. Being older, many lots in modern area are close together. Decent restroom/shower building. Poor wifi reception.

Really nice state park and campground. Sites are $30/night, and they all include 30 and 20 amp power. Dump station and water fill is available at the west campground entrance. You also need to pay a $11 daily state park fee, unless you have the $39 annual pass. The fee gets you into the state park area, and the fort was worth exploring,  it's really nicely set up.

There are two separate campgrounds, east and west. We drove through the east one first and immediately hated it. Sites are open, no division between them, kids running around everywhere, big groups of people, just overall chaos. So we went to the west side and liked it much better. More tree coverage (which was fine because there’s power and we didn’t need the sun for our solar panels), sites had way more division between them (though far from completely private). There were still lots of kids and big families on this side but it was overall so much more quiet and pleasant. 

If you’re in an rv and levelness is important to you, then I’d really try and not make reservations, but pick a site when you arrive. Some sites were completely level, some were fixable with levelers, and a few were straight up on a hill. Though the campground has lots of trees and narrow roads, we saw some huge class As and 5th wheels rolling through- there are a bunch of massive pull through sites here that made it easy for them I’m sure. 

No cell service in this entire area but there’s free wifi at the bathrooms, which weakly reached our site that was several spots away from the bathroom. Nice free hot showers that run like normal (no button to push every 10 seconds). Trash bins but no recycling (Michigan is surprisingly bad at offering recycling!). Host set up is very nice, with a ton of brochures and info and free coffee every morning!

Twin Lakes MI SP: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 2-3 (A very clean campground, but old facilities, currently. A huge facelift in 2024 is being touted. New paving, new bath/shower rooms,and pavilion are coming. Shutdown during some of 2024 is anticipated. ) Price 2023: Usage during visit: 30% mid week Site Privacy: Poor Site Spacing: Poor Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Seems quiet Road Noise: Right along Hwy 26. Some sites back up to the Hwy. Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes Generators: Not needed Bathroom: Flush and pit Showers: Yes Pull Throughs: Some. Most are back in. Cell Service (AT&T): Very good Setting: Some tree cover in between the highway and Lake Roland Weather: High is I low 80s Host: Real nice young and helpful men manning entry booth Rig size: Large rigs Sites: Lakeside sites are the premium here and the only sites that would seduce me to visit. Good stop over place while

We ended up at this campground sort of on accident- it’s way out of the way and the road there isn’t the most pleasant (it’s mostly paved but in very poor shape). There was absolutely nobody there, other than day use visitors to the creek. 

Lots of bugs attacking us as we walked around. 

No trash service here- pack out your trash please. 

This is a state campground, but it feels like a standard USFS campground. It’s a self pay situation, no host or rangers nearby. Being that it’s a state campground, you pay the $20 camp fee, and then another $11 per day state park fee (unless you have the $39 annual pass). The state park fee feels like a money grab in situations like this. I can see if there’s an actual state park with other activities and facilities that are connected to the campground, but this is literally just a campground, with no amenities other than a vault toilet. Hmph. $31/night is way, way too much for what you get here. 

Zero cell service in this entire area. The road got worse driving east across the bridge past this campground, so if you are like us and wanted to take the scenic route along the coast to Marquette, I’d recommend not doing that unless you have a beefy vehicle and don’t mind all the bumps.