Best Campgrounds near Iron River, MI

Winter camped here, was a nice spot pic nik table, fire ring, wilderness toilet. There is hiking trail access from campsite,but no water access to butternut lake or it would have been 5 star. There is access down the road.Did get one bar of cell (cricket) full with 20 foot ant. Note I've been through here in summer and the road is gravel very dusty from traffic.

As of this writing, 2024, they have recently installed new showers and flush bathrooms. I live near this campground, so I have stayed at almost every site in the park. If you cant have or don't want a lake site, site #4 is the largest. It is almost 35 yards across the front. Trees are growing back, but not many mature trees on the East of the park. There is a really nice beach area adjacent to, but not in the campground. It is a nice short walk. Each site has electric hookup, and some sites have more than one box.  Not much ambient light in this park, so it is great for viewing stars and Northern Lights. This  park also is situated near the ATV trail, and has access to the 160 mile Blue Ox trail system.

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

We stayed for 3 nights. Lovely old and second growth trees. Bear and Wolf precautions, please. Hiking was good, fishing was good.

You get a relatively flat site, fire ring, a picnic table, hand pump for water and vault toilets along with a beautiful clear water lake. There's a boat launch and firewood for sale. Reservations need to be made and paid online even if your fcfs. Cell phone and data are okay. There is tire noise from Highway M.

Very few folks around in September!

Honeymooned here in 1975. The location on the lake is beautiful. We camped here many times over the years. In tents, VW campers, trailers until about 20 years ago. Got a Sprinter RV this year and we're camped here now.

Two sites on lake some distance apart. Sand bottom on shore, picknick table and fire ring. No fee for camping can stay 14 days.

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

Small primitive campsites right on lake pine in a beautiful area. The site are adequate and nothing negative to report. Host was super friendly and came up to welcome me. Picnic table down by lake so you can sit while watching the sunrise. $15/night unless you got a park/forest senior pass then 50% off.

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.

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 stayed at site 2 in the first loop on White Deer Lake. Site 7 on the water seemed like it would be a good site too, although there were steps on site 7. Site 1 and 2 had a trail between them that would make for a great double site, but they're each private enough that neighbors wouldn't be a bother. Site 2 had about 4 steps down to the tent pad that was easily large enough for our 10 person tent, the ground there mossy and grassy. The rest of the site by the picnic table and fire pit was lightly graveled. The fire pit deep and the removable grill grate perfect for the burgers and steaks we had while there. There is a single stall vault toilet for the white deer loop which was a little unfortunate as many times during the summer weekend, it was occupied when I walked over. Still it was stocked with TP, clean and spacious for a single stall. White Deer lake had a nice swimming beach area, the trail around the lake had many sandy access areas that my husband enjoyed some shoreline fishing. He caught a 9 inch bass and some panfish. Mosquitos were present, but not the worst I've ever experienced, the biting flies were plentiful, but stayed away with the help of a thermacell. Overall, we had a great weekend and would come back.

Lake Cunard campground was designated a "Quiet" campground several years ago - one of only two in the 18 different Northern Highlands American Legion state forest campgrounds. That means no "noise producing devices", including generators, radios, TV's, video games, guitars, etc. No means none. Prohibited. It's good to know this before booking a reservation!

Also note that the posted rules for ALL campgrounds read, "At no time may a person engage in.. boisterous, unreasonably loud..or conduct that tends to cause a disturbance" - defined as " interfering with another person's enjoyment of the forest". 

This transition in 2019 was perhaps difficult for long time visitors at Cunard to adjust to. However, the quieter experience there has become a favorite of many who appreciate the peaceful atmosphere. 👍 It is an older, more rustic property - and could use some updates (ie new toilets), but if you're looking for that serene Northwoods experience - Go!!

I love it here! However, as the camper above mentioned, probably not a safe place for anyone that is alone. it is free and therefore attracts vagrants. Cell service is 1/10 But it is beautiful and clean