Best RV Parks & Resorts near Republic, MI

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.

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.

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.

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.

Great little campground. It's small, clean and quiet. You self register for check-in, there's a bathroom building with 3 stalls and two showers(women) and hot water. We purchased an RV site($20) even though we were camping in a tent so our truck and trailer would fit and it comes with water and electricity at the camp site. Each campsite comes with a picnic table and fire ring. The ORV Route is right outside the campground entrance and you can ride to the trail. You can also get ice and gas at the gas station in town by taking the alley. We stayed again in 2020 in Our RV. They have 4 pull through sites with full hook-ups;$25 a night. 50/20 amps, high water pressure.

We stayed at Bewabic State Park in a 34’ trailer. We stayed in site 61 which is a narrow site at the bottom of a small hill and on a corner, which made backing in tricky. The site was very nice and had buffers all around, with only a neighbor to one side. We chose 61 because on the map it appeared close to the bathrooms and park. It is close, but only if you walk through a fairly grown in path. The only park we saw consisted of a swing set and a slide. Loops A and B have some hills and tight corners, making them more convenient for tents or smaller trailers. Loop C would be best for larger units. The park has many C-shaped pull-through sites.

It is a fair distance to the beach from the campsites, and most people seemed to drive there, as the road is decently hilly. The beach was very small, with a large grassy hill behind it. The hill was unfortunately COVERED in goose poop, which was disgusting. You cannot have dogs on this beach, but the Canada gooses sure are allowed. The bottom of the lake was kind of slimy in places. We did not get cell service at our campsite. You could get sparse service at the bathrooms at the start of loops A and B, or at the entry.