Best RV Parks & Resorts near Ottawa National Forest

8/26-9/1/22- Free camping! There are vault toilets and hand-pump well drinking water in several places, and picnic tables and fire pits at each camp site. The sites are well maintained, clean, and reasonably flat. I tried self registering, but there was nowhere to sign-in. About 11Am the next morning, someone came by to register us. 2-bars Verizon 5G, and 2-bars AT&T 4G. 

We rolled in about 10pm and drove through the western loop sites 1-22, pulled into the first pull-through site(W5) that we could easily get our 34’ fifth wheel into and went to sleep. In the morning, I walked the loop and found several others that we could fit(now that it was light out), and we moved over one site to W6. Site W21 has a lake view and a large loop in front of this back-in site that would be super easy to navigate for a big rig. Sites 11 and 12 were really close together but had a good views of the lake as well. Later, we drove over to the east camp site that all seemed to have lake views, and sites E12 and E13 are surrounded on 3 sides by water, a turn-around loop, and more sunlight for solar powered rigs. I didn’t think to check cell signal while there. 

The towns of Watersmeet and Conover had the cheapest diesel fuel. The Wild Turkey Bar& Grill in Conover, WI had fabulous smoked meats, and there is a great little hardware store in Conover as well.

Twin Lakes MI SP: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 2-3 (A very clean campground, but old facilities, currently. A huge facelift in 2024 is being touted. New paving, new bath/shower rooms,and pavilion are coming. Shutdown during some of 2024 is anticipated. ) Price 2023: Usage during visit: 30% mid week Site Privacy: Poor Site Spacing: Poor Site surface: Blacktop Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Seems quiet Road Noise: Right along Hwy 26. Some sites back up to the Hwy. Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: Yes Generators: Not needed Bathroom: Flush and pit Showers: Yes Pull Throughs: Some. Most are back in. Cell Service (AT&T): Very good Setting: Some tree cover in between the highway and Lake Roland Weather: High is I low 80s Host: Real nice young and helpful men manning entry booth Rig size: Large rigs Sites: Lakeside sites are the premium here and the only sites that would seduce me to visit. Good stop over place while

We are on site 22. Very spacious have room for our 20ft TT and could have put up a large screen tent but there is a big dip in the site which caused a huge puddle where we would have placed it. Nice view of the lake can see at least part of it from almost anywhere in the camp. Picnic table and fire ring on every site. There are several full hook up sites (water sewer electric). There are a few pull through sites. Some of the sites (the ones a crossed from us) have a huge dip right at the edge of the site to get in out of the site that can cause some issues with low sitting vehicles. Hosts were very friendly and informative, offered some scheduled programs through out the week and free coffee and doughnuts Saturday morning at the host site. DNR staff almost always available. Serves as a great base point to see probably hundreds of water falls. Some are located just down the street from the campground. Mordern shower clean and had hot water and restroom, clean but toilets are a little tricky to flush...doesn't seem to have enough flushing power. Verizon phone works great... hotspot from Verizon phone works great as well. there is also some WiFi available from somewhere that works but doesn't work(cuts in and out) not sure if it is the parks or a nearby place. The roads in the campground are narrrow but manageable. The park is located on a main highway (41) so you get the noise from the traffic on the road...sometimes this noise can make it hard to have a quiet conversation with those in your camping party....it quiets down some at night but still a lot of noise. Also train tracks runs along the back of the campground which can be quite noisy. We've been here almost a week and have heard only one train(we aren't here a lot during the day we are out exploring). Nice day park across the road from the campground. Located about 30 min. From Houghton (and a Walmart) and about an hour drive to the porcupine mountains.

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.

This campground is located just off the Sturgeon River in the Ottawa National Forest and is first come first serve with no reservations. From speaking with a local who frequents the campground, it is usually quiet with few sites actually in use at a time; it seems this year (2020) there have been more people out camping, though, so getting there earlier is better to ensure finding a site. 

It is rustic -- there is no water pump, but there are pit toilets in the center of the site. If you don't bring enough water the river next to most sites can provide drinking water with the proper filtration. The national park website says there are 9 sites, but only 7 are actually available. My best guess is the MIA sites existed in the central part at one time. 

Two sites can fit a camper, but they also happen to be the sites with the best view of the river. The remaining sites are tent-only due to a set of rocks blocking off the sites so vehicles do not drive in. From what I could tell with observations, 4 or 5 sites are either right on the river or have a short trail to get to the river.

The locations are sparse enough that the only thing really heard from other campers is the occasional shutting of a car door. The soft sound of the river drowns most noises out. Each site has a fire ring, most have a grate on the ring, a lantern hook, and a picnic table.

This is a larger campground with a good mix of seasonal and weekend campsites. The majority of the weekend campsites are located near the prime activity locations; the pool, playground and lake areas. There are full sun and full shade sites available. The Shady sites are amongst the evergreens, so they tend to be sandier. The full sun sites are all grass. All of the sites have a gravel pad to park on; the exception to this are the lakeside sites which are concrete pads. There is a camp store and a good sized bar & grill. The weekend we were here it rained non-stop, so we did not get to use any of the available canoe/kayak/fishing boat/pontoon boat rentals. We did make ample use of the mini-golf, playground, and heated swimming pool though. The pool was warm enough that even the non-stop rain did not cool it down enough to be uncomfortable. The seasonal campers I met and talked with were all friendly and did not have the “why are you here” attitude I occasionally come across when staying at seasonal heavy resorts. I did see several people fishing in the rain and pulling keepers out of the lake to be cleaned and cooked. They were fishing from the docks. Our kids are 7 & 10 and they were never bored. There were a couple trails within the campground that were good for nature hikes. If it were a little closer to home, this campground would be on the shortlist of places to have a seasonal site at.