Backcountry sites: An unlimited number of permits can be issued but only 63 spots have a metal fire ring. Fires are restricted to metal fire rings. Cost $14- for 1-6 people. Maximum number per site is 6.

Porcupine Mountains Backcountry Camping — Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park

Great for beginning backpackers and those who want a longer trip, the Porcupine Mountains offer 100+ miles of trails. Can make 2-3 day loops, or do in and out hikes. Beautiful views, old growth forests, waterfalls and rivers. Starting with the 2018 season, the backcountry campsites must be reserved in advance. Campsites have bear poles and fire pits. There are also a few cabins that can be rented, but don't allow dogs inside the cabins.

Beautiful and Accessible Backpacking

We made the trip up to the porcupine mountains in early May. The trees were still partially bare from winter and we even saw the last traces of snow melting! We camped at Mirror Lake and along the Big Carp River Trail. 
Mirror Lake:
Mirror lake is tucked between ridges in an almost valley-like area and hiking there requires a bit of ascending then descending small hills. The hike takes you through one of the largest stretches of old growth  forest in North America, which is beautiful. The trail is marked with blazes, although it was an effort to locate each successive blaze along the trail. Perhaps later in the season once the trail has seen more foot traffic, the path is more defined/easier to follow. Mirror lake offers an amazing way to view the forest and immerse yourself into the wilderness but it does not offer the iconic views of the Porkies. 

Big Carp River Trail:
Once the trail takes you up the mountain side, the trees start to break and you have an amazing view of the valley and old growth forest below. We hiked this trail along the cliff edge and found the perfect camping spot maybe 1/2 a mile down.  It felt like one of those camping sites you see pictures of but never actually exist in real life. We camped right at cliffs edge looking out into the surrounding Porkies and I swear it was real. 


Mirror Lake & Big Carp River Trail

The Porkies are my favorite forest to explore on the continent. The vegetation is so much more lush than what you find out west, and all the old trees seem to have stories. The panoramic view from the ridge above the Lake Of The Clouds is breathtaking and is my favorite spot to hang a hammock to sleep under the stars. I've hiked every mile of trail in the Porcupine Mountains and it feels like a new adventure every time I'm there. Deer, fox, coyote, hawks, eagles, brook trout and bear have been a pleasure to accompany me there.

Old Growth Forest. Frozen In Time.

This is a beautiful area to visit even if it is just for a day, but just a days visit will leave you wanting to comeback for more! The Porcupine Mountains is located in the Northwest tip of Michigans Upper Peninsula. There are multiple entrances depending on what part of the park you want to visit. One of the most popular sites in the park is Lake of the Clouds. I have never been fortunate enough to see it on a clear day in person so you may take your chances by cloud cover or the fog. There are campsites that do sit close to the lake but require a hike. This park offers many hiking trails that pass and cross numerous lakes and streams. If you are a backpacker this is an excellent place to go. I would suggest later August or Fall. The trails can be impassable at times during the late Spring and the black flies will disappear usually by August but they can stick around. Check trail conditions often!! You can either camp with your tent or rent cabins along the trail which are usually well kept, I can not say the same about the Yurt however. You should book these cabins or tent sites well in advance as this is a popular park. I prefer tent camping but on my week long hike I decided to rent cabins instead and I am glad I did. I did hike the second week of June and the trails were unkept and the tent sites were thick mud with not much of a choice but to sleep in the mud. The cabins do have wood burning stoves, beds and benches. You will have the occasional rodent but some of the cabins had traps in them and if you set one and catch one, you will be left alone for the rest of the night. I had set the trap and reset the trap twice in 30 seconds, after catching two and coming to the conclusion I could be up all night doing this, after the third trap I just left the rodent in the trap and it must have been a deterrent because I wasn't bothered the rest of the night.

I really can't say enough about this park even though my hiking experience was miserable given the trail conditions. It is a challenge to hike but with such a vast are of wilderness there is so much more to do. Near by is the Presque Isle River Campground and Scenic Area which shouldn't be missed either.

Camping Options Galore! A Deep Woods Experience

This state park is absolutely gorgeous and has so much to it. We stayed at a campsite on the Escarpment trail (ES-1) and it was absolutely gorgeous. It was right on a ridge, had a bear pole, a fire ring, and an ample amount of space. It was about a 4 mile hike through ridges, deep forest, hills, and valleys if you left from the Lake of the Clouds parking lot. If you left from the Chayboga creek lot, then it was about 1.75 miles of mostly steep inclines. Make sure to bring plenty of water with you, the closest water source is next to the Chayboga creek parking lot which is quite a hike if you are tired and dehydrated. 

In all this has been one of my favorite backpacking sites and recommend it to everyone. Keep in mind that you do have to reserve the backcountry campsites before hand! 

ES-1 Campsite

I visited Porcupine Mountains 2 weeks ago. I parked at Lake of the Clouds and made the hike to Shining Cloud Falls with 35 lbs on my back. The hike was rough, you hike up and down the mountain with many steep stretches, travel through 3 rivers/streams. The site was beautiful and completely worth it. The water was clean for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and swimming. A mouse did somehow manage to get into my peanuts which were up on the bear pole and night and left us a surprise in a coffee mug left by the camp fire. We were also visited by either deer or moose at night. The second day we hiked to LS-16, the hike was better than day 1 though travel consisted of hiking long sketches on small pebbles. The site is directly on lake superior, we made it in time for a beautiful sun set. The water was crystal clear and great for swimming, cooking, and cleaning as well. This site is a shared site, important to not and we did not have a bear pole and thus had to hang food from the tree. The hike back to Lake of the Clouds was a straight up mountain venture. Incredible sites along the way. Total trek was about 22.5 miles. The park was dog friendly.

Destination Worthy Hikes

I did a 3 day/2 night hike during peak color, starting at the Lake Superior Trailhead. I was warned the Lake Superior trail was muddy when I checked in, and the ranger was not joking - I was grateful to have trekking poles to help balance on logs, branches, roots and rocks to try to keep my boots as dry as possible in the parts of the trail that were submerged. 

  

Campsite LS-14 had a lovely location on the lake, but was very muddy/previously submerged with water. It immediately abuts site LS-13. There was a wooden platform to put my tent on, but I had to bolster the corners so that it was big enough for my tent poles to have something to rest on. If I had gotten in before dark, I might have seen the small area near the trail side of the site that had higher, dryer ground. There is supposed to be a bear pole for these sites, but the group at the other site said there wasn't one. In hindsight, I think there probably was, away from the campsites, but since I had a canister, I didn't go looking for it after dark. The Lake Superior trail continued to be muddy until you got close to the Big Carp River mouth.

  

Campsite BC-8 was a big upgrade - very large site, a little patch of open sky over the fire pit, easy access to the river for water. The big trees provided good shelter from a minor storm and high winds overnight. This site is right alongside the trail, but separated from the cabin and next site by a good distance. The hike out from here up the Big Carp River trail to Lake of the Clouds is a somewhat longer trek with a bit of elevation gain, but nothing too intense in my opinion.

Beautiful at peak fall color!

We had a great hiking trip. Our first night we spent on the escarpment trail. Unreal to wake up in your hammock to this view. Bugs were really bad at LOC site but the escarpment and Little carp/LAke superior hikes were not bad and worth the bug battle. 

Great hiking trip!

LOC-4 is Heaven.

It's the type of site I feel like I don't even want to tell people about because I want to keep it to myself.

I discovered this site about 10 years ago and rediscovered it again this year.

It's the last site on the trail so you are completely secluded.  There is a fire ring and a bear pole about 100 yards behind the site.  The site is basically on a small stretch of land that goes out into the lake so you are surrounded by water on three sides of you with a great view of the bluffs and rocks in front of you.  There is also two trees that are perfect for setting up a hammock.  The water is calm and it is all sand going out into the lake and stays very shallow so you can walk very far out.

It's a lot of work to get there but it is totally worth it.  Pack light.


Backcountry Site

We stayed one night at LS-12. Loved this site. I knocked off one star since it took us a bit to find a good spot to hang multiple bear bags. One pole would have been amazing. Also, the fire ring was too full for a fire. It offered plenty of privacy and space for multiple tents. Plus the amazing and beautiful lake access! No bugs, and perfect temps in mid-October. 

LS-12

This site is a treat, falling asleep listening to Superior crash on shore was amazing. 

A serene getaway 

We visited with our dog the first week of October to catch the fall colors. After driving up from Chicago, checking in, and then driving to Little Carp River Road, finally ready to hike at 4pm. Parking lot isn't huge and all sites were booked that weekend but we were able to snag a spot. We took the Little Carp River trail all the way to the site, which was easy to follow, a good bit of up and down but nothing too difficult. Reservation site says 2.3 miles, we did closer to 3.5 by the time we arrived. LC-7 and LC-6 are close to each other but far enough away that you have some privacy, couldn't hear the other party chatting. Fire wood in the area was sparse, everything was damp. Bear pole was tough to find, follow the trail past the site, then a stump, at the second huge tree on your left, turn to your right and climb the hill.

  

Site has a fire pit, logs to sit on and plenty of level space to pitch tents. It is right on the trail, so you may see some traffic. Good coverage from old growth trees, enough hills in the area to find privacy for squatting, and the river is easy to access. If I had to choose between LC-6 and LC-7, would pick 6, it's up higher and further from the trail.

  

We hiked back the next morning, went to Lake in the Clouds and then Ontonagon for lunch. Visited Squeeze on Main for food and beer, place is brand new, looks nice, price reasonable, food was ok. Then the bar a few doors down for more beer, they had a good selection.

  

Then we drove to the Pinkerton Trail head, limited parking on the side of the road, but room enough on the end for a few cars when we arrived. Pinkerton was a pleasant stroll through the woods, lots of boards, dead falls, and mud, and it's a gradual descent. Met up with the Superior Trail 3 miles in, then went left to LS-3.

  

LS-3 is everything we came for - right on the lake, plenty of firewood, ultimate in privacy since no other sites are within at least a half mile, perfectly level spot for the tent and a built-out fire pit area. Highly recommend.