Lower Falls Campground — Tahquamenon Falls State Park

This was a really nice spot with clean bathrooms and showers, quiet, and close to some nice hiking and scenery.  The sites are fairly small and close together, but overall the campground was pretty quiet.  If traveling with a group you could get some sites together and it would work out really nice.

We stayed at the Hemlock campground near the Lower Falls.  The campsites are so close to one another, with absolutely no privacy/buffer.  I am used to camping at parks in Wisconsin, where there is generally more brush and understory plants and sites are better spaced out.  We were there on Saturday and Sunday nights, and the campsite was packed with people; an army of kids riding bikes and scooters, and some teenagers driving an RC car all over.  Lots of dogs, but thankfully they all seemed well-behaved.  I was shocked with how quiet it was after sundown.  I was expecting there to be some loud and obnoxious people, but everyone seemed to be respectful volume-wise.  

Aside from the awkwardness of being so close to other campers, the site itself was nice; flat, pine needle/dirt base.

The bathrooms were alright.  Showers were limited to 3 and always busy.  Water fluctuated between warm and mostly cold.  I did read that the bathroom/shower building is going to be replaced next year, which will be wonderful for future campers.

We bought firewood from the park's dispenser near the entry building.  It seemed wet and did not burn very well.  The second night we purchased our firewood from Gene's Tahquamenon General Store, just down the road, and it seemed to be better quality.   The general store looked nice inside, with all kinds of useful items for sale.

While we stayed at Tahquamenon Falls SP, we visited both waterfalls, which were beautiful and easy to get to.  Bathrooms at both falls were large and clean.

We also made a day trip to Whitefish Bay to see the Shipwreck Museum and hang out at the beach.

We wanted to get dinner in Paradise our second night, but the two food trucks that we originally wanted to check out were closed.  (Sub shop in town was also closed when we tried to stop by at lunch time)  We considered eating at one of the two sit-down restaurants in Paradise or driving to the brewery by the Upper Falls, but we didn't want to wait very long or spend that much money.  We ended up going to Eddy's food truck across from the Wheelhouse.  Food was alright, prices were fair for a food truck, owner was super friendly, and there was a nice little seating area off to the side.

Overall our camping experience at this VERY popular park was good.  If I were to camp there in the future, I would be sure to make my reservations much further in advance in order to get a site on the outer edge (or try out the rustic campsites).

I camped in the area around the falls as a kid, and have fond memories of it. Nothing prepared me for camping near the river mouth. You want the old part of the campground, right on the river, with no electricity. The sunsets are magical, and are happening right in front of you. Simply the best experience short of backpacking. It is a short walk to the newer part of the campground where there are flush toilets. That just keeps everything in the old part very quiet.