Looking for an adventure where you can explore Isle Royale National Park and then fall asleep in your tent? Find the best information on tent camping near Isle Royale National Park, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. You're sure to find the perfect tent campsite for your Michigan camping adventure.
Three Mile Campground is located on Rock Harbor Channel off of the Rock Harbor and Mount Franklin Trails. Boats can overnight at dock. Stay Limit: 1 night effective June 1 September 17 annually Shelters: 8 Depth at dock (normal conditions): 9 Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
Isle Royale's largest campground is located at Daisy Farm, in Rock Harbor Channel, off of the Rock Harbor Trail, Daisy Farm Trail, and Mount Ojibway Trail. Boats can stay overnight at dock. Ranger Station staffed seasonally. Stay Limit: 3 nights from June 1 Labor Day annually. Shelters: 16 Depth at dock (normal conditions): 9 . Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
West Chickenbone Campground is located on the west end of Chickenbone Lake, off of the Indian Portage Trail This inland campground has no boater access. Canoe/kayak access from the 1.2 mile portage from McCargoe Cove or the 0.2 mile portage from Lake Livermore. Stay Limit: 2 nights from June 1 Labor Day annually. Access: Foot/canoe/kayak
McCargoe Cove Campground is located in McCargoe Cove, on the north shore of Isle Royale National Park, off of the Indian Portage and East Chickenbone Trails. Boats can overnight at dock. Canoe/kayak access from Lake Superior or 1.2 mile portage from Chickenbone Lake. Stay Limit: 3 nights effective from June 1 Labor Day annually. Shelters: 6 Depth at dock (normal conditions): 7 . Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
Moskey Basin Campground is located in Moskey Basin at the west end of Rock Harbor Channel, off of the Indian Portage and Rock Harbor Trails. Boats can overnight at dock. Canoe/kayak access from Rock Harbor Channel or via 2.0 mile portage from Lake Richie. Stay Limit: 3 nights from June 1 Labor Day annually. Shelters: 6 Depth at dock (normal conditions): 8 . Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
Rock Harbor Campground is located in Rock Harbor on the northeast end of Isle Royale, off of the Rock Harbor and Tobin Harbor Trails. Additional fees for boats to stay overnight at marina. Stay Limit: 1 night from June 1 ___ September 15 annually. Shelters: 9 Depth at dock (normal conditions): 3___-12___. Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
Lane Cove Campground is located in Lane Cove, on the north shore of Isle Royale National Park, off of the Lane Cove Trail. The Lane Cove Trail can be accessed via the Greenstone Ridge Trail. Stay Limit: 1 night effective June 1 September 17 annually Access: Foot/canoe/kayak. No boat access.
Todd Harbor Campground is located in Todd Harbor on the north shore of Isle Royale National Park, off of the Minong Ridge Trail. Boats can overnight at dock. Stay Limit: 3 nights from June 1 Labor Day annually. Shelters: 1 Depth at dock (normal conditions): 2 . Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
Hatchet Lake Campground is located on Hatchet Lake off of the Hatchet Lake Trail. This campground is located near the center of the island. Stay Limit: 2 nights from June 1 Labor Day annually. Access: Foot
Washington Creek Campground is located along Washington Creek near Windigo on the southwest end of Isle Royale, off of the Feldtmann Lake, Minong, and Greenstone Ridge Trails. The Windigo Visitor Center, Windigo Store, and Windigo Comfort Station are all accessible from the campground. Boats can stay at Windigo Dock (average depth at dock 4'-20') or stay and walk .3 miles to campground. Stay Limit: 3 nights from June 1 ___ September 17 annually Shelters: 10 Access: Foot/canoe/kayak/private boat
Legend
After 50 miles of hiking Port to Port, it was so nice to grab a beer from the small store!!
Campground is right outside of the rock harbor port. There are bathrooms with flush toilets at the port and outhouses in the campground. There is a store with souvenirs and food items and beverages (finally got a much deserved cold beer after our 50 mile, 5 day hike across the island!). most sites had shelters and a picnic table was provided. You have to stay in the shelter unless not everybody can fit in there, and honestly the site we had would’ve been hard to pitch a tent outside. Getting to this campground later in the day, you may find that all the sites are taken and may end up sharing one of the sites without shelters with others. This site only allows 1 consecutive night stays due to it being popular with those just getting to the island and those preparing to leave the next day.
Legend
most of the sites were large enough for at least 3 backpacking tents. Water source is a nearby stream that may be dried up depending on the time of year. Water was high enough for us to filter but not able to avoid scooping up some sand in the process. Outhouse in the campground, no picnic tables but fire ring provided.
Legend
I remember the hike in from the greenstone ridge trail being quite steep, meaning you will start the next day’s hike with about a half mile uphill. Primitive sites with no fires allowed. Outhouse in campground. We were able to put our hammocks up for a bit by the lake to relax and enjoy the views.
Legend
Some sites with shelters and some sites without. The squirrels here are fearless and will try to steal your food or garbage when you are sitting right there. Campground was a little difficult to navigate due to some flooding on the trails. This was my favorite campsite out of all the ones I stayed at on the island. No fires allowed in this campground. Picnic table provided at most if not all sites.
Had the pleasure of seeing a fox near the dock while filling up a filtering bag.
Legend
Primitive site. Most sites have room for a couple of backpacking tents if you are hiking in a small group. No fire rings or picnic table. I believe there was an outhouse in the campground. I believe this is one of the lakes that periodically has algal blooms. When you get to the island off the boat, the ranger goes through everybody’s route and itinerary with them and will let you know what water sources may be dried up and what water sources are going through an algal bloom so you can plan your water sourcing appropriately.
Scout
Как большой поклонник азартных игр, я всегда в поиске новых увлечений, и недавно открыл для себя классный ресурс. Если вам интересен спорт и ставки, рекомендую заглянуть сюда: www.gorodpavlodar.kz/News_105640_3.html. Этот сайт предлагает много полезной информации, включая аналитику и прогнозы на матчи. Я сам часто использую их рекомендации, чтобы повысить свои шансы на победу. Отличная платформа для тех, кто хочет быть в курсе всех последних новостей в мире спорта. Особенно советую тем, кто увлекается ставками на футбол. Проверьте сами, уверен, не пожалеете!
Scout
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
TravelerWe 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.
Legend
This is a lovely campground on Isle Royale - none of them are terrible (let's face it - you are on a gorgeous island that's basically untouched!), but this one is a little larger than some with more shelters than others.
Shelters - they are first come first served. If the campground is uber full, the policy and expectation is that you consider sharing with others, especially if you are a party of one or two. Not a bad policy and courteous, for sure. But this didn't happen when we were here. Each shelter is four sided with the front side "screened in" for bugs. This is lovely in buggy weather! There are also boards all over the inside (parallel to the floor around the walls) that are great for hanging and airing out wet items. Each one had a picnic table and trees and was a very short walk to water and a toilet.
Tent pads - there are separate tent areas that are away from shelters, for the most part. Nothing is "close" here so there is quite a bit of room.
Group - there are three group areas. If using group areas on a normal basis, you must have a group reservation and groups of more than 6 require this in advance. Three group areas all near to each other but with nice green buffers in between and a toilet to share between them.
Toilets - not fancy but offer privacy. Small wooden shelters with a metal toilet and a pit. **NOTE: they do not provide TP - you must take your own** They don't smell like roses (what pit toilet does?) but they allow privacy and no need to dig a cat hole. Bonus win win.
This is one of only a handful of camps on the island that has a fire pit! It's a shared fire (not one for each site) with picnic tables nearby and a lovely view of the water. Only collect downed wood (no bigger than your wrist) to burn.
As others have mentioned - there is a very nice dock here since a boat comes a few times a week with passengers. This is a "stop" for drop offs from the mainland (you must book this boat in advance to get here). So it's a great place to chill in the breeze, do a bit of yoga stretching, dry your socks, enjoy an evening coffee or fall over after hiking - lol.
***Be aware - there are leeches in the lake. We attempted to splash off a bit and noticed them.***
Oh yes - the camp fox. He/she is a regular here. We saw the fox many times. Not afraid of people, will steal your stuff (including shoes) so be careful, tie your drying shoes to the picnic table, and do not feed the wildlife. But it it a beautiful specimen of an animal!
Ranger
We ended up staying 5 days at Three Mile and day hiking from there. Shelter 10 was available on the 2nd day and it was just as amazing as it was when I was here last. This time we even had a camp fox!
Legend
After a long first day of hiking it was a wonderful surprise to have water just paces from the campsite. Not up or down a hill, just a handful of steps from the tent. Great for weary feet!
The campsite sits just off the trail - literally. But this loop of the island isn't hiked a lot, so it's very quiet with little traffic (at least in May when we went). The site we had was #2 and it was perfect for a tent (very flat pad) had some hammock trees, had a stone to set your cook stove on out of the wind (thank you for whoever put it there!), a bench that faced the water for watching the sun or just enjoying your coffee. An outhouse (three sided with a full front door for privacy) was just about 20 yards away - again on flat ground. **note - bring your own TP**
There isn't anything about this site that we didn't like. It was flat, it was close to water, it was near the outhouse but not too close and even in the early spring, there was plenty of space between sites for privacy, even without foliage on the bushes yet. The proximity to water made it easy to grab a bag to filter or use it to gently wash up without soap (a good cold foot soak was great!)
Love everything about this location.
LegendThe RV park, lodge and casino, and a gas station/store are on a reservation with convenient access to the ferry that takes you to Isle Royale. It is conveniently located three miles away. There are standard and premium sites. The premium sites have a better view of the marina and the lake.
When it is not foggy you can see Isle Royale. The sites and bathrooms are just average. The hookups all work well, but the fire pits and tables are fairly old and the maintenance of the park is just ok.
TravelerMcCargoe is one of the most beautiful campgrounds on the island. I have heard that it can get busy due to the dock, but when I stayed there it was quite peaceful and solitary. A loon was swimming in the cove and we came across a cow moose just south on the trail.
TravelerNot my favorite campground on Isle Royale due to its size and popularity. There's a good chance you won't get your first-choice site, you can end up quite far from a water source, and some open meadow can make you feel closer to other groups. Still beautiful, has fire rings, has a shelter/pavilion, just not as secluded as others.
TravelerThree Mile may be one of the closest campgrounds to Rock Harbor, but it's actually more secluded as Daisy Farm seems to be the more popular destination for the first night. Try to get a spot next to the lake, but if you don't, the shelters in the woods are also great. Either way, spend some time sitting on the rocks and soaking your feet in the cold Lake Superior water.
LegendGiven that there is a relatively large dock here and a concessionaire ferry comes through here several times a week, there can be a lot of traffic. That being said, there are nice tent sites and some really cool tent/cabin structures. It wasn't super buggy while we were here so being in a tent was just fine. There are some nice open, rocky, sunny spots that are nice for sitting and enjoying the view. Be advised, there are quite a number of waterfowl that frequent the area so treat your water well, in fact the Park Service recommends treating your drinking water in two ways (ie. filter AND boil, chemically treat AND filter, some combination of two). The water is refreshing but there are leaches in addition to abundant bird poop. All part of the experience I suppose!
Legend
We visited in August so the bugs weren't bad, almost non-existent really. These spots were well spaced and while impacted, had a nice pine duff layer on the ground which was nice for sleeping. The view of Todd Harbor was beautiful and we enjoyed sitting on the rocky beach in the evening. The area is well shaded and there was a large group fire pit in the middle of the campground area. Super quiet spot with several tent sites and a cabin type tent, but it was occupied when we arrived. Sites are first come, first serve but permits are issued to insure that there are sites available. I would definitely recommend this spot.
Legend
The sites are right on Lake Desor which is lovely. The downside is that they are very impacted and the iron rich soil has a tendency to stain everything, especially if it's damp but oh well. The water, while easy to reach and treat, tastes pretty horrible even mixed with coffee or something else. Totally fine to cook with and didn't make much difference with food but something to be aware of. The sites are kind of close to one another but there is a fair amount of vegetation between the sites. The privy was clean and nice to have access to. Our site was large enough to accommodate two, two-person shelters and have a little kitchen area. Definitely not the best spot we stayed on the island, but beautiful none-the-less!
Legend
There are two of these little beauties in the Windigo area so reserve early! The cost is pretty reasonable (was in 2021 at least) and the amenities are pretty extensive, I mean a full sized grill is provided! There is a small and very limited camp store in the area so plan on arriving with most of what you need. There is a small outhouse outside of the camper cabin but there are also really nice restrooms down the hill that have flush toilets, coin operated showers and coin operated laundry facilities. There are also a number of trails in the Windigo area, including the Miniong Ridge and Greenstone Ridge. We stayed here our first night on the island before heading across the island on the Greenstone.
There are two separate bedrooms, each with a set of bunk beds and a common area with a futon and small table. There is a picnic table outside and a nice Adirondack chair on the porch. The windows and doors have screens so you can get good airflow inside. The electricity is also nice and allowed us to charge headlamps and things prior to our backcountry adventure.
RangerBeautiful views and secluded sites but the air was a bit stagnant. Nice access to the lake for a dip but it seems if you want to fish, this is it. Our neighbor caught 3 pike and a walleye in about 45 minutes.
RangerIt’s a very popular and crowded site. Decent vault toilets but the dock and walkouts to the rocky beach make for easy access to the water. After hiking in from West Chickenbone, we were in need of cool swim as the interior of the island can be much warmer than the coast, not to mention the arid conditions throughout making it difficult to find water.
Having a shelter was a nice enough comfort. The place fills up quickly. It beat staying at Chickenbone but I’d prefer Moskey Basin or Three Mile.
RangerDropped in at Moskey Basin, hiked to Lake Richie then moved on to West Chickenbone Lake where we camped for our 1st night. 2nd day we made for Daisy Farm. The interior of the island can be quite a bit warmer than the shoreline for obvious reasons, so bare that in mind along the Greenstone Ridge Trail. For the 3rd night, we took it easy and found shelter 10 at Three Mile.
Incredible views of sunset and sunrise. A storm blew in and gave us an amazing show. Swimming off the remnants of the dock and such easy access to the lake made for a wonderful experience.
ScoutWe have been here five days and it has been great. We have what I consider the best site in the park (#12). We have a great view of the harbor and the lake. The sites are really spaced out. The grounds are not manicured (the grass under our picnic table is knee high). However, I was able to overlook that because of the peace and tranquillity and the great view. Last night we cooked some locally caught fish over a wood fire and today we were able to go to Isle Royale. The dock is five minutes away. I will be sad to leave tomorrow, but we will be back.
GuideThere was literally nowhere to camp in the area. The hotels were full too. And this was in the middle of the week! We stayed in a tent site right next to the marina. There was goose poop everywhere. It’s supposed to be first come first serve and the rules seem to change, a lot. The view was great, it was fun to watch the fisherman and be so close to the water. The shower was pretty clean and I did a load of laundry as well. I wouldn’t make this a destination and I was grateful to get the spot I got. they gave me a Wi-Fi password but it didn’t work.
GuideNice campground near lots of small waterfalls
Guide
One of the other reviewers listed out everything you need to know about this site, go read Matt's review. This is a great place to see moose
Guide
You can only reach this island by canoe/ kayak / boat. It's a 30ish minute kayak paddle to get to the dock of the island, then when you arrive, there are three camping shelters less than a quarter mile from the dock. The island doesn't have any trails The only camping sites we saw where the shelters. Fires are not allowed. The shelters are pretty big but they are first come first served.
Isle Royale National Park in Michigan offers a stunning backdrop for tent camping, with its pristine wilderness and diverse wildlife. Campers can enjoy a range of well-reviewed sites that cater to outdoor enthusiasts looking for adventure and tranquility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Isle Royale National Park?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Isle Royale National Park is Three Mile Campground — Isle Royale National Park with a 4.6-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Isle Royale National Park?
TheDyrt.com has all 37 tent camping locations near Isle Royale National Park, with real photos and reviews from campers.
