Best Tent Camping near Iron River, MI

Great little campground. It's small, clean and quiet. You self register for check-in, there's a bathroom building with 3 stalls and two showers(women) and hot water. We purchased an RV site($20) even though we were camping in a tent so our truck and trailer would fit and it comes with water and electricity at the camp site. Each campsite comes with a picnic table and fire ring. The ORV Route is right outside the campground entrance and you can ride to the trail. You can also get ice and gas at the gas station in town by taking the alley. We stayed again in 2020 in Our RV. They have 4 pull through sites with full hook-ups;$25 a night. 50/20 amps, high water pressure.

Tent camped here on may 30th. Very quiet with some sites right on the lake. About a 7 mile gravel road to get here from the main road.

Host was very accommodating when we needed to plug in our boat. The moss-covered old growth forest provided an excellent tent site & entertained our 2 boys under 8 until they tired. The swimming area Was under kept but we still enjoyed all day. Overall our Saturday- Monday visit was very pleasing.

Nice campground with all the basics of a National Forest Campground. The sites offer each site a fair amount of privacy. They are all suitable for trailers and tent camping as they provide a level tent pad in each site.

I'm only giving 4 stars because the campground is about a mile from the lake. However, the distance from the water does help with the mosquitoes.

Fire rings have grills, and there are wooden picnic tables.

Lac Vieux Desert is a big and beautiful lake with excellent fishing! Although we didn't do great, others did. This is the headwaters of the Wisconsin River.

This is a small simple campground with lovely lakeside tent sites among rather dense trees. If you walk east you’ll find a sandy beach to splash in. You can also find a long nature trail and a connection to the interstate North Country Trail. Excellent birding, including sandhill cranes, and wildlife. Pit toilets and seasonal water is provided. There are no reservations but you should be able to get a spot year-round.

I have been coming here for 5 years. Every Year there is improvements made to increase the wonderful experience of camping and just when you think it cannot get any better they add a event or service to make it all more relaxing experience. 

There are miles of ATV and Side x side trails down the road, We spend the whole day riding and never see it all and they are well groomed.

The fishing is great both from your kayak, boat or the shore line. 

There are very clean porta johns,  a large grassy area for play and volleyball court.

A large Children's play area .

The owners and fellow campers are always available to lend a hand and the area has much history especially across the border in and around Iron Mountain Michigan.

Swimming and the sound of children playing fills the air.

For those who want a more rustic experience there are tent sites that provide that.

I Highly recommend coming and enjoying the Tranquil Vista Experience and if your like me and my family and friends it will become your summer destination.

This campground in Felch is a rustic campground, with two outhouses and a water pump for potable water that sits on Gene's Pond. It’s a gorgeous campground, with a boat ramp and fishing dock on the lake. We’ve camped here twice now, and love the remote location — it’s pretty far back in the woods and ideal for anyone who really wants that northern Michigan/remote experience. At night, you can sometimes hear wolves in the distance. We had the campground to ourselves the first time, and th second time there was only one other camper. We tent camped, and while the outhouses were clean, the one nearest our campsite was out of toilet paper. Luckily we had our own. There are only a handful of campsites. Maybe 12 or 15 total? And all of them are well shaded with good privacy, a picnic table, and a fire pit. The only downside to this campground is the horrid water. It comes from a cistern (I imagine) and has a hand pump. The water is awful. Cloudy and foul tasting, stale and full of minerals. The second time we camped there we made sure to bring our own water. The fishing was great in Gene's Pond. My hubby caught some bluegill in the lake that we cooked up for dinner. It’s really a beautiful spot, not far from Felch or Sagola for supplies, and near some great brook trout fishing on the Ford River. We'll definitely go back.

Campground has some pretty great facilities.. flushing toilets and running water throughout the campground (although not potable when we visited this June). Also has a pretty great beach in the campground as well as one just a few minutes outside of the campground. Both beaches are sandy & great for swimming especially considering most of the lake is pretty rocky, especially in the campground area. Lake has quite a few crayfish in it, but the fishing is pretty good, too - catch-and-release only for the smallmouth bass to help keep the crayfish population in check, but it can be fun to catch the bigger smallies the lake produces. Very clear water in the lake, I was able to see down 20+ feet to see the bottom and scope for fish, etc. Sites and campground overall is clean and well-kept; we ended up switching sites this year due to other campers with loud dogs & generators running all night (against campground rules, but wasn’t enforced by the host), but it’s still a family favorite to go to. Decent cell reception as well, for those who need to stay connected. also, only about a 10-15 minute drive from town of Iron River which has a few nice stores & an ice cream shop :)

I will be totally transparent and say I definitely prefer rustic or dispersed campsites.. however, I always give state parks an honest chance.

Baraga State Park... I have tried. Ohh, have I tried to like you over the years.

However, this is the WORST example of what a Michigan DNR campground can be. They squeezed in WAY too many sites in this place. You can hear the campers next to you fart in their sleep.

Not even a stones throw from US-41 makes for constant road noise... and sites that have been submerged in water a day following rainfall. You always see campers here moving their tents, RV’s, etc... to drier portions of their sites.

The only reason I give this TWO stars is because of the well-kept and nice bathhouse.

I stop here solely to shower during my travels. I will stay on the side of the road before I set up camp here again.

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.