Best RV Parks & Resorts near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

City run campground on lake superior. Beautiful views, sandy shore. Most sites have water and electricity, some have sewer hookup. Some walk in sites on the shoreline. We camped on site 5. Pros:

1. Huge, wide open site, no trees.
2. lakefront site, great view.
3. great spot to base camp, near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Grand Island National Recreation Area, and the Hiawatha National Forest.
   Cons:
4. water and electric are far apart,meaning I had to run 55' of electric cord and 75' of water hose in opposite directions to hook up.
5. no buffer for strong winds off lake superior
6. highway is very close to the campground, noise is constant
7. some sites are low and flood after rains

WOODLAND PARK CG: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Overall Rating: 2 to 3 , but location an be everything. Usage during visit: The half that is open is full. Site Privacy: None Site Spacing: Close Site surface: Grass Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: Seemed very low for sites so close Road Noise: Some sites are right along a city road. Through Traffic in campground: No - safe Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: Yes Bathroom: I peaked in to see that they are clean with flush toilets Showers: Yes. Private and clean. Pull Throughs: Most are back ins. Cell Service (AT&T): 1 bar Setting: On Lake Superior Weather: Very nice on first day of September. Rig size: Big rigs present Sites: The value of being here is that you can sit on supplied benches to gaze the lake. Best sites are those facing the lake. Still, site no privacy.

If you’re one who likes the thrill of winding backroads and wants to be away from all the noise and commotion of the city this is your spot. I took my friends on a loop through the UP this past June and they made me plan another one because they loved it so much. Bodi Lake Campground is off of a dirt road that is about 35 minutes from Tahquamenon State forest, 30 min from crisp point lighthouse (you can climb to the top and had a beautiful view), and about 2 hours from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. This campground is my favorite so far because it’s right on the lake which you are able to kayak, or canoe on, has beautiful sunrises/sunsets, and is very remote. This campground also includes fire pits, toilets, and is very spacious. You are close enough to your “neighbors” but still have privacy. There are no water hookups, showers, or anything larger than tents. This campsite is a drive up, FIRST COME FIRST SERVE because it is free. No reservations are taken. This campsite is run by an older couple during the summer months. They gave us a couple of brochures and are happy to answer any questions you have! They are the reason we found the lighthouse! Overall this is a GREAT place to stay and I recommend it to anyone and everyone!

Kingston SF in Pictured Rocks NP buffer zone. (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: 4.5. Looks to be on a piece of land that stretches out into Kingston lake. Price 2023: $20 Usage during visit: 3/4 full Site Privacy: pretty good Site Spacing: most sites are very well spaced. Site surface: Dirt covered Gravel Reservations: First come Campground Noise: Quiet Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No. Boat ramp is at cg entry. Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: No Potable Water Available: A hand pump Generators: ? Bathroom: Pit toilet. Clean Showers: No Pull Throughs: A couple Cell Service (AT&T): No bars Setting: Amazing lake setting. Weather: Partial sun o my Sept 2 visit Solar: Not for fixed panels Host: I didn’t see one. Rig size: 25’ max. Looks too tight for a big rig. Sites: Along lake or Water View: 1-7, 11- 16 , 8,11. All sites, I would be pleased with any site here. Not super private, but so many are right along the water and most of not all have a view of the water . Site 5 looks to have a water view from the campground road. But, it is the most private.

Nice little campground on the western end of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, about five minutes outside of the cute town of Munising. If you plan on going to Grand Island, this is the place to be. A typical campground with tent and RV sites mixed in. Level sites with picnic tables, fire rings, tent pads, and vault toilets. I didn't stay here long enough to need to find out where the nearest showers are. Next to the campground is a really nice picnic area on the lake with great views of the island. The night I was there a ranger came out and did a program on owls right from the beach.

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!

This park is a KOA property and just did not work for us. It is a typical KOA meaning it is packed with campsites, kids screaming at the pool, and where you get a “nothing special” overpriced campsite. The campground has rental cabins, tent sites, and sites perfectly suitable for RVs of any size. Some of the roads are a little narrow and there are some low hanging branches but nothing to prevent large RVs from staying here. A number of sites have full hookups with cable, some have electric and water, and some have no hook-ups. Tent sites set off to one side of the park which is not very close to the bathroom or you can pitch a tent on RV sites.

As for amenities, they are typical of a standard private park being heated swimming pool, horseshoe pits, playground, laundry and camp store. They advertise 440 aces with hiking trails but I never found hiking trails. There is one section on the east side that has old roads you can walk but I would not call it a trail.

Let me explain some of the things we didn’t like about this park. The bathroom situation was bad. They just did not have large enough facilities for volume of people in the park using the facilities. Even though they cleaned it daily, it got wrecked in no time because of the sheer number of users and discourteous campers. The laundry room was nice and clean but only had three washers and three dryers so you either had to wait or wash at odd times. The roads, as well as your site and patio, were dust and sand which made for a constant mess. Our site (#15) was not level and we just gave up after a while. I’m not sure if they limit the number of campers on an individual site (or police it) because the two spots across from us were always loaded with people. There is a dump station but only one RV can dump at a time and it is located near the entrance/exit which caused some traffic issues at peak use times.

The location of this park is good – you are only three miles from downtown Munising and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Just south of the park is the Hiawatha National Forest which is nearly 900,000 acres of beautiful woods, rivers, and lakes with plenty of recreational opportunities. Pictured Rocks Pizza made one of the best Pizzas we have ever had. A narrated boat tour to see the Pictures Rocks coastline is definitely worth the price.

Overall, we did not have a good camping experience and would not return. Alternative campgrounds are thirteen miles south in the Hiawatha National Forest or at the Munising Tourist Park three miles east of town on Lake Superior.