Best Glamping near Houghton, MI
Searching for the best camping near Houghton, MI? Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Houghton. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Houghton camping trip.
Searching for the best camping near Houghton, MI? Enjoy the scenic camping, fun activities, and sights and sounds of Houghton. You're sure to find the perfect campground for your Houghton camping trip.
$25 - $50 / night
"The campground was almost empty, so we had anything we wanted, and majority of the options were on the lake!"
"Found this place to be very welcoming."
"My family could not find anywhere to stay and this was the very last campsite on the map in the state of Michigan. We thought F it."
"Right on a lake. We were site 44 it rained a lot. But it didn't flood the site. So that was a bonus. Bathrooms were outdated but we'll kept."
"Spent the 4th of July here on site #5. Grounds are very clean and well maintained. Sites 7,8,9,10 have the best water views."
"Great site overlooking Lake Superior. Need to walk over highway to get to water. Very orderly and great Park Manager. Family & pet friendly with awesome playground."
$20 - $34 / night
"Nice campground right on Lake Michigamme, variety of sites (tents, cabins, electric hook-ups), big clean beach, showers."
"The bathrooms and showers and generally always nicely maintained as well, and there are plenty of both. The bathrooms do tend to run out of soap and toilet paper at busy times."
$20 - $95 / night
"Some sites are more tucked away in the trees which makes you feel more secluded. The CG was never anywhere close to full when we were there. Lots of rustic cabins being built."
"No electric & water hookups. 3 his/hers vault toilets; clean. Potable water near campground entrance. Campground, cabins & trails are still under construction."
"General spots: Varies from right up next to each other to odd shaped spaces that have extra room and trees.
Our site: 40."
"On the shores of Independence Lake, just south of Lake Superior, sits this gorgeous, sparkling clean county park with a well-managed campground."
"The Michigan State Forest Campgrounds continue to delight us. For $15 a night you can experience camping like I did as a child – simple, unelectrified, and in beautiful outdoor locations."
"Way off the beaten path but the sites are HUGE! Quiet setting right on Big Lake. Probably my most beautiful site in the UP so far. Vault toilets and no shower. Very clean. Boat launch."
"Somewhat close to city beaches on Lake Superior. The bathrooms and showers are always clean. Nice pull through sites and full hookups. You can socialize or keep to yourselves."
"Nice fishing on the Ontonagon River and big marina close-by. Porcupine Mountains just minutes down the road. Nice selection of books and DVDs to borrow too. Great play area for kids."
"Big boulders in road/trail.
What to expect:
- Park and walk/hike/canoe/kayak in. No motors on lake.
- First few sites near the boat launch are about 1/4 Mile Walk in and are close to each other."
"The Michigan Recreation Passport Solar does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas."
"Beautiful lake, great swimming area, secure, full hook ups. Very helpful we came in late night- they left reservation info in the mail box for us."
"My family and I took a 3 week vacation to visit Michigan. We stayed at a few different campgrounds, and did lots of hiking."
Nice campground right on Lake Michigamme, variety of sites (tents, cabins, electric hook-ups), big clean beach, showers. AT&T was okay, ended up using it for internet over Starlink, which was spotty due to trees. Son had a good time skateboarding and using the playground. We've stayed twice now and likely will again. I did notice the AED was missing from the beach house/laundry area....otherwise it seems accessible.
We stayed at Van Riper State Park three times during June and July. The park is always clean and well-maintained. The bathrooms and showers and generally always nicely maintained as well, and there are plenty of both. The bathrooms do tend to run out of soap and toilet paper at busy times. Dogs are not allowed on the beach but also cannot be left unattended in your site. The rules are heavily enforced in this park. Park staff will ask you to move vehicles if you have more than two, and you will be asked to turn music completely off upon quiet hours. This is not the place to go if you want to party.
Sites 15 and 17, as well as several other sites along that side of that loop, now have a wooden fence at the back of them, so they are not as large as they appear in the photos online.
We have stayed in sites 14, 90 and 93. We travel with a 34’ trailer.
Site 14 is narrow but manageable. It is well-shaded by large pine trees on the site. Site is entirely dirt. There are trees to hang hammocks or clotheslines in.
Site 90 is on a corner by the propane tanks. It is a large site. It does have some roots and low spots. It is partial grass. It has nice shade and is adjacent to the bathrooms. There are trees to hang hammocks or clotheslines.
Site 93 is a large site that backs up to a small grass/tree buffer. It is across the road from the bathrooms. It has nice shade. There is a place to hang a clothesline but not hammocks.
Pros: Clean, well-maintained park
Quiet
Lots of playground equipment
Bike/scooter pump track
Excellent beach area
Lots of green space
Hiking trails
Wood and ice available for purchase at the entrance
Laundry is available; one washer and two dryers
Very kid and pet friendly
Cons: Park website has out of date information, specifically that there is no longer a store on the beach, nor are there kayaks/SUPs to rent
The Water Warrior Island is no longer in the lake
There are very few sites with buffers between
It is sort of far to the beach and laundry from the modern campsites
No non-reservable sites available
This was a last-minute stop for us because we didn't want to stay at the campground we had originally intended. I found it here on The Dyrt, but bypassed it for another campground option. However, when we drove past the roadside sign, my husband said he wanted to check it out. And we're so glad we did!
When we pulled in, we were told to use the telephone to call the host and they would come and help us out. So when we did, somebody drove up and gave us our choice of spots. The campground was almost empty, so we had anything we wanted, and majority of the options were on the lake!
some of the spots are closer together so there's not a lot of privacy, but the side of the campground we were on had lots of buffers between the sites in the form of pine trees. each site had a gorgeous campfire ring made out of stones pulled off of the beach. It's a red Rock Beach! The bathroom was in a little house, but it had its own shower and looked like something from a log cabin. Not at all like a campground bathroom! there was another shower house at the opposite end of the campground which had similar decor. There was also dump station and fresh water easily available. not to mention the laundry house! Two washers, two dryers, and a sink for scrubbing plus all of the laundry soap and dryer sheets you needed. It was just payment on the honor system to use them. Very reasonable!
there was no electric hook-up at the site we were in, but we didn't need one. However, they were available.
Great little find in Michigan!
Overall, this is a good option for coming near Marquette, especially if you have a trailer, a family, or are looking to post up for a bit.
Pros: The campsite has a lot of amenities that are easily accessible. Each site has a table, a fire pit, potable water nearby and most have electric hookup. The beach area for swimming in Lake Independence is nice with a pavilion, volleyball, and ping pong nearby. You can launch your boat or fish from the dock. The views are beautiful.
Cons: It's a crowded location that doesn't offer a lot of privacy. At 2am we were woken up by a boat coming back in from the water blasting it's music while the whole crew was loud and obnoxious.
This is a well run,clean campground in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was easy to access and right off the main road, no four wheel drive necessary.
The campsites are large and there are a few sites near the lake (We recommend 113).There is a great playground, the summer of 2018 it hosted an inflatable water park which was a riot!
The water system is getting redone which will remove the orange color in the showers (which would otherwise be very nice). The water was not drinkable due to high arsenic but a large container of potable water was available. That is the only thing keeping this campground from being a 5.
The lake was a great temperature and very swimmable. Quiet hours are all the time so it was very peaceful and enjoyable. Ask the rangers for a listing of moose sightings outside of the campground.
Would definitely recommend for visitors in the U.P.
Vibe: Mix of retirees and families.
Cleanliness: Above average.
Facilities: Average.
General spots: Varies from right up next to each other to odd shaped spaces that have extra room and trees.
Our site: 40. One of the odd shaped spaces that had extra buffer room and big trees for shade. It was at an intersection at the camp and traffic was pretty steady during the day.
Noise: Mostly quiet. Kids played well after dark in a parking lot across from us, but quiet hours didn’t start until 11 and they were never a problem.
Cell signal(Verizon): Full bars. I streamed a movie (Anatomy of a Murder...see below).
Other: You can swim at Independence Lake right at the camp. If you want to swim in Lake Superior, Squaw Beach is about 10 minutes away. Ate the Lumberjack Tavern and found out about“Anatomy of a Murder” and that it took place at the tavern. Turns out the couple involved had a trailer at the campground.
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
On the shores of Independence Lake, just south of Lake Superior, sits this gorgeous, sparkling clean county park with a well-managed campground. Wasn’t expecting much, so was blown away by the facilities for the low price. Lots of site options: non-electric, with electric only, with full hookups, walk-in or boat-in sites on the water, as well as a couple cabins. Sites are nicely spaced apart, but not much privacy between them. We chose the site right by the boat launch, which definitely has the most privacy when it’s not boating season. Lots of deciduous trees, making the fall truly glorious!
The campground was about 10% full upon arrival, and everybody left before we did, so we had the place to ourselves. Did we mention how much we love fall camping?!? Bathrooms and showers are clean and well maintained and spread out throughout the campground.
Tons of hiking, mountain biking, and water sports of all kinds around. Nice boat launch facility, as well as special place to launch canoes/kayaks. A large picnic pavilion with stone fireplace sits right at the waterfront. This is a reservation only type of place (with a $3 nominal fee), but the website allows you to book for the same day, and there is decent cell service at the campground. Win win!
Stock up in Marquette before heading out here as there is only a small gas station convenience store across the road from the campground, as well as a small café and laundromat.
Along our travels in Michigan's Upper Peninsula from the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore west to the Porcupine Mountains, we stayed at Van Riper State Park campground. We found this campground located along U.S. Hwy 41 about 40 minutes west of Marquette MI. The Park sits on the west shores of Lake Michigamme. Van Riper State park has both a Modern and Rustic campgrounds along, with hiking, biking and ATV trails. There is a fine sandy beach, and playground. At the beach there is a concession stand. The park offers areas for boating, kayaking, and jet skiing, and fishing. To book or check into either campground you must stop at the park office. A Resident Recreational Passport is required or a charge of $11 will apply for each vehicle without one. The park office also has firewood, ice and even ice cream for sale. I recommend to get your firewood from another local area, the bundles are $5 but are very small bundles like 3 or 4 pieces. They also offer kayak rentals the price on those was decent. $10 for a 2 hour kayak rental.
We stayed in the Modern campground. There are 147 sites and 2 Mini Cabins. Sites are equipped for tents, trailers and RV’s up to 50’. There are free wifi by the restrooms, flush toilets, showers, drinking water, sanitation station, electric hookups at each site along with a fire pit and picnic table. The daily price of sites is $22 - $24 and $49 for a Mini Cabin. We stayed in site 92 that is located right next to the restroom/showers. Which was great having young children with us who seem to need to visit the restroom numerous times. This site is more for a trailer or a RV being the ground is hard and full of rocks. We all used air mattresses so that wasn’t much of an issue. We did take the time to remove any sharp rocks from where our tent was being placed to make sure no holes were made in the tent or mattresses. Sites are very open and non private. There is a host site that has information on activities around the park and neighboring areas. They also offer activities for children to do.
A short distance from the modern campground is the rustic campground. There are 40 sites and a Camper's Cabin available. This campground offers vault toilets, and drinking water. I did find out that for $2 per person for a day you can have access to the showers at the modern campground. The daily price of these sites is $13, and $86 for the Camper’s Cabin. These sites are equipped for tents, trailers and RV’s up to 30’. There is no electric hook ups.
During your visit to the park there are lot’s of scenic, historic, and recreational sites to visit. A few miles from the park is the location of where Iron ore was first found in the Lake Superior region. There is a Iron Industry Museum. Lake Michigamme offers lot’s of activities for those visiting. If you are really looking for a awesome adventure not too far from camp, you can drive an ½ hour west on Hwy 41 to the “Grand Canyon” of Michigan, this gorge and waterfalls are located along the Sturgeon River. There is access to the North Country Trail here as well. The Canyon Waterfall and Gorge are just breathtaking. It is a 10 minute hike along the river from the parking area to the Canyon falls and gorge. You can hike further in if you wish and discover the rapids area along the river. We did not venture this far having small children with us. Can’t wait to return on a adult trip to hike further along the river.
I give this Campground a 5 star review, it is a great place to take the family on vacation.
Frequently Asked Questions
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Houghton, MI is Sunset Bay RV Resort and Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 10 reviews.
TheDyrt.com has all 12 glamping camping locations near Houghton, MI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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