Best Equestrian Camping near St. Ignace, MI

There are four choices when camping at Tahquamenon Falls State Park: rustic and modern Rivermouth, Hemlock, and Portage; this review is for Portage. Portage is the most popular campground, due most likely to the closeness to the lower falls. We arrived on a Sunday in September and it was almost, if not entirely, full. The other campgrounds had more availability. Easy access to the lower falls via a boardwalk and then you can continue on to the River Trail leading to the Upper falls (where there was a brewery!). This is a challenging hike but if you go in the summer months, there is a shuttle. There is a gift shop and snack bar with delicious ice cream. I was impressed with the cleanliness of the bathrooms and the shower rooms. Michigan State parks earn extra marks for their recycling: paper, plastic,aluminum, and best of all - propane canisters. I wasn’t sure what “returnables” meant so it might be good to explain. Sites were generous in size but the interior ones did not have any privacy separation, the only reason I am giving this a four star rating. Try and snag an outside site for more privacy.

This beautiful state park is a stunner during the fall colors! Located just outside of the town of Paradise on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It has all the amenities of a state park such as: spacious camp sites with plenty of room for larger RV’s, fire rings, picnic tables, super clean bathrooms and showers, nature programs, a playground, and a camp store. The campsites vary from rustic to those equipped with electricity to camper cabins, depending on your needs.

There are miles of hiking trails, gorgeous waterfalls, fishing boat rentals, paddling/canoeing opportunities, large picnic areas for groups and more. In the winter, they offer snowmobiling and cross country skiing.

Camp site fees vary, but keep in mind that non-residents pay an additional $9 per day for use of Michigan State Parks.

We stayed in site 38, in the Lower Falls- Portage campground. It's an open area which is  shaded. We had 30 amp and access to drinking water on site. Verizon was able to bring in 3G, at best. Bathroom/Showers were about 200 feet from our site. They were extremely clean, even though it was rainy and muddy. As for the rain, our site didn't have standing water, but it was mainly dirt, which was a challenge not to track in our rig. Bring a rug or at least a mat! Nice big fire pits. There is a guy that drives through the park frequently, selling firewood for $5 a bundle. From our campground, it was a short hike, down to the lower falls, store and restaurant. if you make the loop around the lower falls, it's about 3 miles and half of it is through some amazing woods. You can also hike to the Upper falls, that's about a 4 mile hike, one way. But as a reward, there is a Brewery, restaurant, store, big deck with fireplace, at the entrance of the Upper falls. If you truly want to camp to get away from TV, Internet, phones and the daily grind, this place might be for you.

If you love the outdoors and love being surrounded by nature and getting lost in tranquility, this is it! Beautiful, breathtaking Tahquamenon Falls! As beautiful as it is green it is even more beautiful as you can imagine In the fall! This place has it all! There is a lower falls area and a upper falls area to this park separated by about 5 miles. You can drive to either end with a short walk after parking or you can take the North Country Scenic Trail for a relatively easy hike from one end to the other! I suggest wearing secure shoes or boots for this hike. There is a shuttle service available if you decide to hike and need a ride back to the other section. You can rent canoes or kayaks at the lower falls if you desire more adventure than just hiking. The views of the Upper Fallsalls are jaw dropping while the sunset of the Lower Falls is breathtaking. These are the second largest falls East of the Mississippi next to Niagara Falls with plenty of viewing available as well as a 90+ stair climbs and descent to get almost an armslength from the Upper Falls. There is camping availability at both ends of the park. I prefer the lower falls as it is less crowded even though most of the campground is open sites. The Upper Falls does have a restaurant, brewery and souvenir shop. I suggest keeping your gas tank full given you never know where you may end up site seeing and gas stations are not abundant. If you come from the West you will be fortunate to pass through the Moose capital of Michigan in Newberry, but if your lucky enough you will see one of the parks very own Moose. I suggest making a trip North East of the park taking hwy123 East to N.Whitefish Point Rd up to the Great Lakes Shipwrecked Museum. This is somewhat of a tourist trap but a sight to see and abundant information and history. The bell from the famous Edmund Fitzgerald sits in the museum and with Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" playing in the background give you a sense of erienes. If your up for a little more adventure pass up to the Northwest and hit CR 412 and check out Crisp Point Light house. I suggest a 4 wheel drive vehicle as it is a lot of dirt and bumps, but if your into light houses you won't be disappointed with the sight and story of this beauty! There are many more lighthouses in the area but this one is special.

We stayed here on the very last night they were open this season. The staff was very friendly and they actually had campsites that were more private then almost all the Michigan state parks we have stayed at. It was a bit pricey for camping $40 for a pop up truck camper with only electric and water. 

They have hot showers that were clean and looked taken care of. They have a  playground, playroom and a pool. None of this was open during our visit but I imagine in the summer it is all going strong and the kids have a blast. My one complaint was it is pretty close to the road and during a heavy tourist season it could probably be pretty loud.

The Tahquamenon Falls State Park is gorgeous! The campground that we visited was the one by the river mouth. The campground is well maintained, the toilets and baths - clean. The camp sites are situated in the middle of a river bend and the area is very picturesque. The town of Paradise is close nearby and one can find almost anything in the very well stocked stores. The river has a couple of waterfalls upstream from the Rivermouth Campground - the Lower and Upper Tahquamenon Falls. Other sites of interest nearby are the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, the Point Iroquois Light at Bay Mills on Whitefish Bay. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Mackinac Island are also fairly close (a couple of hours away driving distance) in case you need to enrich your experience. The area is also pierced by the North Country Trail. A very refreshing hike for us was the hike between the Upper and Lower Falls. A nice reward at the end of the trail is a small brewery with some interesting beer selection. The whole area is very beautiful and despite the gloomy weather it was a memorable experience.