Camping near Ottawa National Forest, 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.

The Union Bay Campground in the Porcupine Mountains is a beautiful campground on Lake Superior.  Our campsite was on the lake with a walking path next to the site that is accessible to other campers.  The campsite views were amazing.  

While we were camping the flies were unbearable.  Bug spray was no match for the flies, so we were forced to spend most of our time in the screen room.

The campground was close to all of the hiking in the area as well as some good beach for rock hounds.

Big Lake Campground is a great spot if you’re looking for a simple and peaceful camping experience. The facilities are very basic—vault toilets and no showers—but they are clean and well-maintained. Firewood is available for sale on-site, which is super convenient.

The real highlight is the beautiful natural surroundings. The campground is nestled in a quiet, wooded area, perfect for relaxing and disconnecting. There are some really nice hiking trails nearby, offering scenic views and opportunities to spot wildlife.

If you’re okay with minimal amenities and want to enjoy nature, this is a great spot. Perfect for tent campers and anyone looking for a rustic getaway!

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

Great location, and has the basics for the camping.  I was in site 44, and most of the sites in the "middle" were more of an open field with a couple of trees.  There were no real clear boundary lines .  If you are looking for a little more shade or tree cover, book a perimeter site.  This is also the first campsite I've been to where the fire pit didn't have a grill grate on part of it.  There is water on site, but it is the hand pump style, so it would help to have a large open container to capture the water.  

Cell service was really spot (can be a good thing when camping), and I wasn't able to pick up a lot of radio stations either.  Still nice to enjoy the quite dark skies.  Short walk down stairs to Lake Superior which offered some great sunset views.  

Lots of great hiking trails, and close to a lot of other fun attractions.  I would plan on coming back up here another time, and possible pick a different site after being here.

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.

We stayed here the 2nd week of October. They were actually turning the water off for the year when we left. We had the park mostly to ourselves. They water access is nice and it is right off a main highway, although it was not too noisy. There are some state park hiking trails access from campground, also. Facilities were pretty standard state park fair.  Sites seem to have plenty of room.

Very wooded and quiet camp area - only 3 sites total in this loop! Note that there is no cell service here or really nearby. Not an issue if you're prepared for that! Great that we could access hiking trails from camp! Great spot for exploring the Porcupines and also for some privacy compared to the modern campground in the park. Night and day difference and you can use the amenities which are like 5mins away

We love the area. Very nice people, well run campground. Staying on Lake Superior is almost always beautiful. Sunsets are amazing!! The sites are generous and partially wooded. Drawbacks, no laundry facilities, even in town. Stores, restaurants and gas stations nearby but expensive. (Though there is a dollar store) They do not take reservations, so it’s a gamble to just show up. You really have to be there, in person by 7AM to wait in line to get a site.

Overall, great place to stay!!

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!

Awesome little campground on the south side of the Porcupines. It’s in a convenient location to the hiking around the park. The sites are large, the campground is small (and quiet) and there’s even a creek that runs along the west side of the campground. We stayed in site 1. If you do cook using the fire pit grates, they do not have them here in the fire pits at this campground. You need to reserve sites and check in at the visitor center before you head to the site. I’d highly recommend this place to anybody in a tent especially!

They don't do reservations, but despite having 10+ sites available, they're holding them for people who may never come.

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!!

Excellent place to stop. Close to the lake. Great site. Peaceful. Reasonably priced

Some of the sites are wide open with no privacy. Ours was the last one available on a weekend in July. Beach is small, but nice. Priveys are clean! 5G service with Tmobile.

Would definitely come back!