Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Keweenaw Bay, MI

Really did not like this campground at all and it was a very big disappointment. It is right next to a state highway that was way busier than I thought it was and was noisy all night long. You have to cross this highway to get to the Keweenaw Bay. The weekend we stayed there was apparently a "Christmas in July" festival complete with all the tacky decorations and absurd amount of lights. Camp sites were very close together with no privacy or wooded spots between. Bathrooms were meh and had small stalls, no ADA stalls and no ADA showers. I would not recommend this campground at all.

This park is located about 15 minutes from the town of Marquette and is a great alternative if you can’t get a site in the Marquette Tourist Park (which is closer to town and very popular in the summer). It is located off US-41 which is a major Upper Peninsula thoroughfare but set back about ½ miles so you don’t get road noise but it is still convenient.  The campground is located behind (and within walking distance of) a shopping area that has a meat market, grocery, gas station, movie theater, bowling alley, a few restaurants and a brewery (which has good, inexpensive beer and food). It is also located next to an RV dealer/service center/camp store which is convenient if you need anything. Nearby are some interesting museums including the National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and the Michigan Iron Museum.  You are only about 20 minutes from the town of Marquette which is worth a visit. 

The park and facilities are well-maintained. The restrooms were super clean as was the pool and all the grounds. The people in the office were super nice in helping us pick a site and with information about the area. The park has over 105 RV sites with varying services and some being held by seasonal people. There are lots of amenities (which we did not use) including swimming pool, hot tub, playground, basketball courts, and more. The pool was super crowded and noisy so if you don’t want to hear kids screaming, stay away from sites close to the pool. The park does not take online reservations so you must call them directly. 

We were assigned site #104 but could tell our motorhome was not going to get level in the site so we had to straddle the site and park partly in the adjacent grassy area. Luckily, the ground was dry to we didn’t make any deep ruts. Our site did have a nice shade tree on the patio which was welcomed because of the hot weather. The WiFi never worked at our site. We were able to get a clear view of the sky for our satellite television.

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

When we got close to the park entrance on MI 123 our GPS wanted us to go another.5 mile to the campground(CG) but a trailer was turning into a state park road so we followed. Good choice as this was the correct road that led to the gate where you register and checked in. The road the GPS was taking us to is currently only used as an exit from the CG. After a not-so-informative check-in, we headed into the park to find water. From the online map, we believed there was a water spigot near our site so we drove to the site only to find it was not a water hose assessable spigot. Then we headed to the dump station where we did find two potable water spigots on each side of the dump station. There was a permanently fixed hose coming out of the spigots, but the first one’s threads were worn out and wouldn’t stay screwed in. We had to wait for another rig to get fresh water and dump before we could move forward to the second one that did screw in so we could fill our fresh water tank. After that, we headed to site 110 that’s an easy back-in but only electric(50 AMP/30/20). The 100s loop is newer and it's big rig friendly with sites nicely spaced apart. Site 110 is probably the most spacious and private site in the CG as it sits in a little berm. Site 112 is nicely spaced, but you will get highway noise. Concerning RV sites in the main CG area, there is a separate tent-only area on the lake, and RV sites closest to the lake tend to be smaller in site length but we saw a couple of 36 to 40-foot 5th wheels with the tow vehicle parked wherever. In the 20 to 40 numbered sites that are not on the lake, we noticed larger class As and a couple of toy haulers. In the mid-30s sites across from the lakeside, large rigs were parked willy-nilly to make their rig fit. All the original sites are pretty much crammed in together but if you want to be where all the action is i.e. partiers and kids, this would be your area. When you get past site 40 there are 90-degree back-in sites of various lengths with most having a lot of trees and vegetation between sites giving more privacy. The 35ish-foot 5th wheels we saw in there, didn’t seem to care about tree branches scraping the roof. One note about the 41- 60s area is that the power boxes are behind every two sites and shared. Depending on how you are positioned on the pad, and where the power cord connects to the rig, you may need about 60’ of power cord to reach the power box. We also noticed on our walks around the CG that due to the poor to nonexistent cell signal here(1 bar on Verizon), people especially teenagers were sitting around talking to each other versus staring at phones. There were plenty of nearby trails to explore with the dogs, including a dog beach. McLain makes a great staging point to explore the area and take in Eagle River and Copper Bay attractions.

Our dd was excited that she could see the McDonald’s golden arches from our site! The campground is clean & well maintained. It was easy for us to park our 35 ft trailer because the sites are large & level, but also because there weren’t any trees along the campground roads. Our kids loved that there is a pool, hot tub & bouncy pillow! This is our 2nd time staying & both were because of its convenience to ‘civilization’ not to get away from it. This time we took the opportunity to enjoy the afternoon shopping in Marquette before heading to the eastern UP the next day for a week’s stay there. It is located in town, near a Camping World & just behind some restaurants, shops, a brewpub & a hotel, but the other sides of the campground are surrounded by trees/forest because it is the UP. A great campground if you want to explore the area’s history or natural beauty, shop in Marquette or if you are checking out Northern Michigan University’s campus (about 20 minutes away). Most sites are full hookup, they also have rustic cabins & a dog play area. I’m sure we will stay here again, as it’s a short trip for us, the kids love the amenities & I’d like to explore the area for more than our usual day trips.

General: 76 site (including five tent sites) campground stretched out on both sides of Lakeshore Drive. 50 sites are on the lakeside of the road with the remainder on the other side. Some have 50-amp electric, and some have 30-amp. No reservations are taken, and the campground appeared full when we were there on a Tuesday in September. It is located adjacent to the town park/playground/picnic area. The office is open 8 am– 8 pm and if you arrive after hours and are lucky enough to find a site, you use the pay station. 

Site Quality: Sites 65-70, located directly on Lake Superior are considered Premium. There are 12 other lakefront sites (not considered premium). Sites 39-44 are located directly on the road so road noise will be an issue if that bothers you. Sites are close together with no physical separation between them. 

Bathhouse: Was clean and well-lighted. Two pay showers were available.

Activities/Amenities: Wilderness trail (approx. ¾ mile), basketball hoops, disk golf, the beach, playground at the adjacent park plus a playground in the campsites across the street. 

We had stopped at the picnic area next to the campground, so I checked it out for a possible future stay. As long as we don’t get one of the roadside spots, it would be good for passing through. Probably would not stay here more than one night as we prefer campgrounds with more privacy. Also, not sure why ATVs would be welcome here – for us, the noise would be an issue.

A short drive from Houghton brings you to the shore of Lake Superior. McLain sprawls along the shore giving almost every campsite a beautiful view. Our site has a picnic table and even a couple wooden deck chairs looking towards the sunset. Every site has electric with water available at a few locations. There is a dump station near the trash bins. With the park stretching a couple miles you can get in a good walk along the paved camp road. There are a few extra trails to add some adventure. We found some that parallel the road and head to the beach - there’s even a dog beach! There are plenty of shelters and benches to find some personal space. Humans can walk down to the sand and sit by the beach (no dogs for most of it). Some folks put their kayaks in to paddle a bit. One drawback is the sparse restrooms. A centralized shower house is by the entrance. Vault toilets are around but you could have a bit of a walk. Tips: the entrance is earlier than google will take you so keep an eye open. Another camper told us to stop by the Jam Pot in the way north along 26. The monks make and sell a variety of things but Greg kept raving about the cupcakes. It’s nearJacob falls. We are stopping by on our way out tomorrow.