Best RV Parks & Resorts near Marquette, MI

This is a busy campground right on Munising Bay on Lake Superior. Reservations for the busy season need to be made months in advance, and even reserving 6 months before our arrival date, we got the last spot. We have a 22 foot travel trailer, so we can fit onto most any site, but this campground draws some huge rigs pulled by tractor trailers.

The people in the office are great. The beach on the bay is spectacular. Overall nice campground at a very good price.

But this is an older campground, and the electrical system can't handle the power draw from the big rigs. People at the end of the power line - beware! Bring your surge protector to protect your electrical system.

We were fine until day 3 where the temps hit 88 degrees, and the big rigs were running their double air conditioners, while we were running just our fridge, water heater and a fan. Draws about 6 amps. We didn't have enough power coming to our site even for that, and the surge protector shut everything down. Thank goodness it did it's job and protected the electrical system on the trailer. At one point the power coming into the site was only 98 instead of 120ish.

So while the big boys further up the line were running 2 air conditioners, we weren't getting enough power to run a water heater, fridge and a fan. We had to put our water heater and fridge onto propane and do without even a fan in 88 degree heat. Thank goodness our fridge and water heater can run on propane, and the lights work on DC, but the fan runs on 110, so it didn't work. 

The people in the office were apologetic, and they said we should have power when it cools down and there aren't so many air conditioners running. That was small comfort when we were paying for a 50 amp site for our 30 amp trailer, and we couldn't even run a fan. At least the surge protector kept us from damaging the trailer electrical system - we hope!

Van Riper State Park is a must-visit if you’re traveling through Michigan's Upper Peninsula.  It’s popular year-round, although camping is only open between May and October. Stop for the day to hike the trails and go for a swim, or stay a week and enjoy the sunsets and serenity.

The state park covers both sides of the highway with the campground and day-use area on the south side and a huge section of trails and wildlife viewing areas on the north.

There are 147 sites in the modern campground, including some sites with 50-amp electric service, and there are another 40 sites in the rustic campground. Plus, there are two mini cabins in the modern campground if you don’t own a tent or RV. All of the campsites have a fire ring and picnic table.

One thing we noticed is that the sites at Van Riper are very large– so much bigger than many sites we’ve seen at other state parks. This means there is plenty of space for your trailer, truck, bikes, screen tent, kids’ toys, etc. without feeling like you’re infringing on your neighbor.

Another plus for the state park is the laundry facilities. Two washers and dryers are located in the restroom building near the beach.

Van Riper State Park is extremely family-friendly, with activities for everyone. There are approximately 5 miles of hiking trails on the north side of the state park. One trail provides a very nice overlook of Lake Michigamme and the surrounding area. Other trails run along the Peshekee River or through the woods and may even provide the chance to see the moose that live in the area. The trails are not difficult, but there is some elevation to get to the lookout. If you don’t want to hike the whole 5-plus miles from the campground and back, you can drive and park at the group campground and go from there.

A sandy beach awaits both kids and adults on Lake Michigamme. The lake is popular as it is much warmer than most of the lakes in the Upper Peninsula. A large, fairly new playscape is also located near the beach, as well as a swing set. One of the most unique activities is a bike pump track. This is the only state park that we saw that had one. It was very popular with the kids and is conveniently located between the campground and the day-use area. The lake is popular for fishing and if you have a boat you can use the launch in the back of the park. It also is a good location for kayaking.

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.

Open, level gravel sites and some concrete pads scattered throughout this pretty new campground. A few baby trees in the open meadow are trying to get started, but other than those there is no shade. We stayed in a full hook up 50 amp site, and experienced no power issues despite 2 days of freakishly high winds and scorching heat in the 90s. This is an immaculately clean and well run campground. Wi fi is ok for email and phone scrolling social media. The only reason we didn't give 5 stars is due to construction in the campground with dump trucks and beep beep beep of machinery backing up every day. Once they are finished and the shade trees grow this will be a premier campground in a beautiful area. Pets allowed on leash. Trash receptacles convenient to each area of the campground. Bath house with coin laundry machines.

Little Beaver Lake CG, Pictured Rocks , MI : (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) I rate primarily based on desire for at least a moderate wilderness type experience w at least some camp site privacy. Cleanliness and care of campground are also taken into consideration. Overall Rating: 4 - sites are not large or deep, but the campground is along the lake .
Price 2023: $12.5 with America The Beautiful pass Usage during visit: 70% Site Privacy: Fair. Sites are shallow, but offer some privacy between sites. Except for sites 5 and 8. Site Spacing: Pretty close , but understory vegetation between sites Site surface: Sand/ gravel Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Very Quiet during my visit Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: None Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: Hand pump Generators: ? Bathroom: Clean pit toilet Showers: No Pull Throughs: Back ins Cell Service (AT&T): No bars. Setting: Along Beaver Lake. A few minutes, 3 miles, down a windy road from H 58. Weather: Sunny during my visit Bugs: I have experienced moderate mosquitoes in the after following a dip in temperatures. With increase in temp, they are becoming a bit more numerous. Solar: Movable panels possible for a couple sites. Host: No Rig size: Small. Sites. 2,3,4,6 all are on the lake. I would take any other site in this NP before sites 5&8

This campground is in Marquette, near Northern Michigan University. But once you're camped there, you won't feel like you're in one of the largest cities in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

The sites are generally spacious and they have a lot of options to choose from based on what rig you have and how you like to camp. They have tent sites that are non-electric, about 100 RV sites with just electric, and another 38 sites that have water and sewer hookups. They even have some sites that are pull-through. They also offer a dump station and potable water for folks that don't have the full hookup sites. 

The campground is adjacent to a municipal park that has a beach. The campground also offers sites that overlook Dead River Basin. The sites aren't paved, so rainy days could lead to some mud to deal with, but the nice stand of trees and the basin view can make up for it. There also are some sites that are tucked into the trees quite a bit for additional privacy. Because you're near a major UP city, you have access to plenty of shopping and services if you need them, plus there is great (Verizon) cellular service in the campground. The park wifi is a bit weak depending on where you are at in relation to the office, but we used our wifi booster and had smooth sailing for our jobs all day long. 

The bathroom and shower facilities seem older but also appeared to be clean and functioned well. There weren't very many showers, so if you need to use one you may need to wait for it. 

All-in-all a decent campground that serves as a perfect oasis in an area where there aren't any state parks to choose from. We also liked that when they close the office at night, they print out a map with all the reserved sites, so if you show up without a reservation, you can quickly check the map to find an open site. Then you just get some rest and register at the office in the morning.

We only stayed here one night but the kids had a lot of fun, they have a lot of outdoor toys. There were kids everywhere.

Outhouse and showers were clean

Electric hook up

Filled water at dump station We stayed in site 10 it was quiet and away from the core of the noise

Friendly staff Seasonals were a little wild and loud, I like to have fun so it didn’t bother me much but they didn’t always watch the kids, only complaint.

6 minutes back into the town near the River is a little gas station / general store —- best Pasties!

Cabins available Rustic tent sites available

$48 after tax site 10 electric travel trailer site.