Best Tent Camping near Rudyard, MI

love this campground. when tent camping prepare for windscreen when cooking. beautiful sunsets amazing night skys

Wooded tent camping spots on the water :) Decent water to wade or swim in. The best part though… the view! Beautiful view overlooking the water and the bridge. Such a spectacular site to wake up to and go to sleep admiring beyond the campfire. There are a couple trails to check out and this park is near to many attractions and restaurants (within minutes). Definitely a place to visit again!

I took my wife here in 1981 when we were dating. Tent site along the beach drinking Stroh's beer. Beach is still as beautiful as I remembered. Park facilities are a bit out of date but nice and quiet. We took our maiden voyage in the RV we just bought to remember tge old times. Brimley nice small town with good whitefish dinners at Cozy Inn. Pickles goid bar too. Visited shipwreck museum on Whitefish point which was good.

Arrived here late after finding no sites at Mouth of the Two Hearted. Found an excellent tent site that comfortably accommodated 2 tents and a sleeping hammock. Site also had beach access so our kayaks could launch easily. There seemed to be to be a decent number of fishermen in the morning, but our own fishing attempts were unsuccessful.

Bodi Lake trail looked interesting, but my feet were killing me from hiking Taquamenon earlier that day, and we were eager to get back to 2 Heart. Looking forward to coming back at a future date to try it out.

I stayed at Bodi Lake on 9/23/21 in site 11. It was a nice secluded site not far from the vault toilets and quiet which is always a plus. The only downside to my stay and a warning to those who may be planning to visit is that it rained heavily and the site flooded very quickly. I've camped other places in the rain but this was the worse I've experienced in terms of flooding. Not knocking the campground in any way, just saying that if you are tent camping and rain is in the forecast, maybe don't pick site 11. I can see why they don't, but it would be nice if the SFC's had raised tent pads like some other campgrounds.

Rustic, well pump water, vaulted toilets. There are 23 campsite all within close walking distance to the water, bug spray is a must.

We have camped here for 7 years and look forward to coming back each year. We do camp on non-holiday weekends to avoid crowds. This camp ground is always fairly empty. In seven years we have seen maybe a total of 9 other sites occupied. 

There are hiking trails that have some beautiful scenery (bring bug spray) and a beach front that is just amazing. Depending on the water level there is plenty of beach and great for a day in the water.

Perfect place for tent camping but it can also accommodated small to medium RV/campers. 

This place is great for relaxation and getting in touch with nature.

This campground is beautiful any time of year I have camped there many times before. There are great private tent sites as well as larger sites for groups. The facilities were modern and very clean! There are water and electric hook ups for campers and RVs. Short hike to the beach with the best views of the bridge! There are many campgrounds within the state park so getting a spot is relatively easy any time of the year. The UP is known for is breathtaking fall colors so I highly recommend aiming for peak color week to have the best experience. Make sure to dress for variable weather, it can get cold in the UP even in the middle of summer, and it can start snowing in early October so be prepared for anything!

This is one of our favorite state parks for just hanging out. We prefer the Lower West campground due to proximity to the water and views of the Mackinac Bridge.

This place can get very busy and the sites are quite varied in terms of size, shape and how unlevel they are. Some sites offer a lot of privacy but others are more open. The sites right along the water are spectacular, but note they do not have electricity.

If you have a van or truck camper, note that even the tent sites have electricity available, so consider those if the RV sites are full.

The Lower West campground isn't the quietest campground but the views and atmosphere make up for it.

Also note there is good cell service for Verizon and Google Fi (2 to 3 bars LTE with decent data speeds).

 We stayed for one Monday night on our way to the Porkies. 

This is an established campground. The sites are tight, most have no bushes/trees. We were lucky on our right side to have some privacy. The perimeter sites back into a chain link fence that has a view of the woods. This is on both sides of the campground. 

The bathrooms/showers were clean. The showers had 2 large lips to step over. My mobility challenged husband had some trouble. 

The best sites are 26,27,28,76&77. These sites are right by the beach & have great views. 27 looked like it didn't have electricity & might be a tent site. Strangely, 26 & 27 were empty the night we were there. 

The beach is small & you can swim there. There's no pool. There's several swings & benches to sit & look at the water. There's a game room by the store.

I did like this campground. It reminded me of what camping must have been like in the 50s/60s. A retro feel to it.

This very popular state park is a real winner due to its gorgeous remote location, sandy beaches, and crystal clear waters along the shores of Lake Michigan-- located just southwest of the iconic Mackinac Bridge. The sunrises and sunsets alone are worth the price of admission!  And, we lucked out to be camping during a meteor shower, one of the best we’ve ever seen. We laid out on the beach and watch the night sky for hours. 

All of the sites have electric hookups and are rather packed together, so there is literally no privacy between them if it’s a busy time of the season. The sites along the lakeshore are the best, and have direct beach access, but you need to be the early bird and make a reservation the morning that they open up. The campground hosts do a great job of keeping this park very clean. 

Because of all the cool things to do and see at this park, we honestly didn’t sit around much during the day. We hiked, biked, swam, snorkeled, and paddled our hearts out. We made it out to the most remote islands that are part of the park and even found Petoskey stones along the shores. Some of the finest Lake Michigan paddling we've done! 

We can’t comment on the bathrooms and there were simply too many people at this campground for us to feel comfortable using them during a pandemic, so we set up our own portable shower and toilet tent and it worked just fine. We would highly recommend this option to others who don’t have a bathroom in their camper or are tent camping. 

The closest “real” grocery store is in Mackinaw City, about 30 minutes away. But, Mackinaw City is a total tourist trap, so I’d avoid going there unless that is your thing. There is a small general store for snacks, ice cream, ice, and adult beverages about 4 miles outside of the park.

As others have said, if you like a campground off the beaten path, this is it. We live in the UP and use this campground frequently for day and overnight use.

Most visitors will likely head east on m-134 stop in Cedarville to grab provisions, gas and a snack there are a couple cute stores a bakery and ice cream in town. 

The road to the campsites once you turn off m-134 is gravel/dirt and a bit windy, we usually tent camp so I am unsure how it feels to drive a trailer down it. Being so far off the road makes it a very quiet campground. 

Bring cash or check and fill out your self-serve registration and pay for the site and if needed your Recreation Passport which is required. 

Outer loop sites will keep you in the trees, sites closer to the water have trails that lead to the beach but access to the beach is reasonable for all sites at this campground. Plenty of sandy area to lay out and the water is clear and shallow. 

Vault toilets, dumpster and hand pump water along with fire rings and picnic tables are the extent of the amenities at this campground, but if you come prepared it is more than enough. 

On clear nights make sure to make your way our to the beach for some of the best stargazing!!

Drive-in first-come first-serve camping through the Department of Natural Resources, this was my favorite place in Michigan's upper peninsula so far to tent camp. It offers a variety of twenty or so spacious sites for different camping needs - groups, RVs, or private. Multiple paths through the woods reveal sandy beaches and crystal clear water on Lake Huron.

We showed up to near max capacity on a Thursday night  and were lucky to grab site 14. Plenty of dead trees were to be found in the surrounding woods for firewood. However, while our camp site was clear and covered in pine needles, the edge and woods were packed with poison sumac - which we were warned about on the information board. Standing water was to be found in the woods around each site, which made for pretty thick mosquitoes throughout the day and evening. With a good campfire and bug spray, I felt able to deal with them.

The sandy beach was beautiful and so peaceful! Small rocks in the shallow water make it slightly uncomfortable wading in, but once you get past the small grouping of rocks, it's very sandy lake bottom to swim and play on. You can hear the lake waves hit shore from your camp site in the morning and it's a wonderfully relaxing sound to wake up to.

Multiple vault toilets were well stocked with toilet paper. A large dumpster is available for trash. A pump is available for water, although I did not test the quality of it and used my own bottled water. 

In the town of DeTour Village, a 10 minute drive from camp, you can find ice, bottled water, a grocery and a couple of restaurants.

I loved my time here and would absolutely return.

Lime Island Recreation Area is located in the St. Mary’s River at the very east end of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It sits in the middle of the river with Canada on one side and Michigan on the other. Raber, Michigan is the nearest shore town, 2 miles across the river. The only way to reach the park is by boat but there are no designated ferries, so the only way to reach it is by using your own boat or finding someone in the area with a boat willing to charter you and your gear. Non-motorized boats are not recommended due to the many freighters and choppy water conditions.

Overnight accommodations include six cabins that can sleep between four and seven guests each, as well as 10 tent sites on wooden platforms that look out over the river. The park is a favorite among fishermen, couples, and large families who like to rent out all the cabins for annual reunions. 

A boat slip comes with your reservation. The island has limited electricity (solar-powered only) and no running water. Portable toilets are provided and there is a pump for a potable-water well. Cabin guests need to provide all their own gear, including sleeping and cooking supplies and equipment.

Approximately 7 miles of hiking trails traverse the island, providing guests the chance to wander, explore and possibly encounter wildlife. With so little human activity you never know what you’ll find.

One of the favorite pastimes of guests is sitting and watching the large Great Lakes freighters pass by at all hours of the day. They pass so close to the island you feel you could almost touch them. It’s quite a sight!

There's a ton of history on the island, some of which is still visible. According to the Michigan DNR, “Lime Island provides a significant representation of early 20th-century industrial and maritime history. The coal dock, fuel storage tanks, Quonset hut with bunker, fuel heating and pumping equipment, other supporting buildings, and scattered industrial equipment, provide a complete picture of the island’s use as a ship refueling depot. The schoolhouse, superintendent’s house (that was brought to the island by dragging it across the frozen river), cottages, and fruit trees remind visitors of island life for the workers that supported the depot.”

It's not an easy state park to reach, but if you can find a way to get there, the seclusion should make for some great camping on the tent platforms (or hanging out in the cabins if you're into that sort of thing.)