Best Tent Camping in Michigan

Quiet campground with sites quite close to one another. This campground butts up to the heritage trail, which is 20 miles of hiking, biking, walking, or skiing fun. A short walk will get you to Lake Michigan and it’s sandy beach. Each site has a nice picnic table, a designated tent pad (if it’s a tent site) and a fire ring with a grill top. Firewood is available on site for $5/bundle, vault toilets are also available. No shower facilities. Lots and lots of poison ivy! Stay on the paths!! And tIcks! Stay in trails and out of tall grass or weeds. The tent pad is very compacted ground, definitely need a hammer or decent sized rock to pound in the tent stakes, and also definitely bring a sleeping pad or air mat. Tent sites are only $20/night, but you also need a National Park Pass, which is $20/1 week or $40/ 1 year, so be aware of that! Stayed at site 88, seemed to be a slightly more “roomy” site than others, as there were no neighbors behind us. PLUS thIs Is located very near to thw sleepIng bear dunes and natIonal lake shore!

If you're looking at getting into backpacking or unsure if backpacking is for you, Negwegon is a great place to start. First of all, each of the sites are only a mile or two away from the parking lot of the park. This gives newbies the chance to take a small hike in for that backcountry feel. Second, each site has a fire ring and picnic table... and a vault toilet. This means you get a few of the comforts of car camping but with beautiful views of Lake Huron and limited interaction with humans. Staying at Blue Bell, site #1, we were treated with Lake Huron just about 100 feet away from our campsite. We had the chance to check out site #3– for those that love sand, that is the spot for you.

As for the camping site overall, #1 is a great start. It is about 75 feet off of the trail, but in the fall, foot traffic was very limited. The wind provided us with plenty of fallen limbs and brush to start a fire. If you pack a hatchet, options are expanded to larger fallen branches. There are a few spots on the site to pitch your tent– with it being windy, we setup tucked in a flat area surrounded by thick evergreen trees that provided wind protection. Lake Huron is very clear and we filtered about 10 cups of water to drink throughout our stay.

Going in mid-fall, be prepared for that breeze blowing off of the lake, we came prepared for the cold, if you don't, you'll be miserable. Upsides of camping in the fall, limited to no bugs. We didn't have any issue with bugs and in fact, we saw no wildlife at all– even including a hike up past site #4.

It just so happened we were there on the very last night they were open for the season. And yet they still had over half the sure booked! It's a small campground, but very near the lake, and the coolest part is the old blast furnace (hence the name of the camp on the bay) on display. Mother Nature took it over, but you can feel the history!

A few spaces are actually on the water front with beach access, but one is taken by the camp host, the other two are reservable.... And they were reserved. But there were others, all within an easy walk of the sand. Ours was tucked in the woods, others more exposed, all with fire pits and grills and picnic tables. Even a hanging post of some sort. Drinking water was also a perk.

There is no electric and there are no showers, but vault toilets are centrally located. There is an adjacent park with more tables and grills. Even though there were a lot of RVs, we heard no generators the night we were there.

This is a forest service campground in the Hiawatha Forest. Sites are $20 each as of 2019.

Hurricane River Campground is a rustic campground located along the Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore. The campground is accessible from Au Sable Point Trial Rd, or by Hiking along the North Country Trail. Campsites here are first come first serve. This campground has a Upper and a Lower sections of campsites. The lower section has 11 sites and is close to the shores of Lake Superior. The Upper section has 10 campsites. Some Sites will fit trailers but some are tent only. There are a couple sites for handicap visitors. Handicap sites become available each day to the rest of the public after 6 p.m. if not occupied, they do ask that you leave the next day at your earliest convinces rather than the 12 p.m. normal check out time, so if a Handicap person does come looking for a site the next day early it is available for them to use. This Campground is Rustic and offers vault toilets, drinking water, and trash/recycling bins. And I did see 1 bear box for food storage. Each site has a fire pit, picnic table, and a lantern pole. Each site was separated from the next site by trees, so your sites were so what private.

Each section of the campground has a Kiosk that has a drop box for payment of your site, and information on weather and actives that are in the area, along with the campground rules. There are lot's of things do keep you busy around this campground. You are located along the Pictured Rocks NLS. You can take a 1.5 mile hike along the shores of Lake Superior to the Au Sable Light House stopping to see old ship wreck remains. There are lot's of hiking trails around including the North Country Trail that begins in New York and ends in North Dakota. You could also just spend the day hanging out on the beach, and checking out the small waterfalls along the Hurricane River. The beach and river mouth is located a short walk from the Lower section of the campground, if you are staying at the Upper it is a 0.2 mile hike through the woods to the beach.

If you are planning on staying at this campground I would recommend that you arrive early to get a site especially in the summer months. Be aware of other close campgrounds as back up in case the campground is full. Little Beaver Lake Campground and Twelvemile Beach Campground are a couple that are close by.

• Crystal clear lake superior is accessible by stairs near this campsite. Beautiful rocks to explore. When we went, the stairs were damaged and not open, though we were able to use them anyway. 
• Potable well water is available along the hike in to the site, about .5 miles from the Hemlock campsite. We didn't expect this, and could have left our water filtration set up at home. 
• Free firewood is provided right near the entrance to the campsite. We had no idea about this, and it was a great surprise. 
• Fire ring and benches were at the site.
• There was a bear box and pit toilet provided for this site, too.
• The hike in is flat with some nice views of Lake Superior along the way. 
• We didn't have too many problems with flies or mosquitos this year. It's been a very dry year, though.

This campground is in this system ( the Dyrt) like 3 times under similar names, and I just want to be sure you all know how great it is! This is a first-come-first-served campground, so get there earlier in the day if you want a site, even on a weekday. There are rustic bathrooms, no flushing, no sink, nothing. No showers available here, either. However, it is so close to Glen Haven, Glen Arbor, Empire, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The location is truly fabulous. You are able to take a short walk down to Lake Michigan from your site. The sites are hard packed ground, dirt, rocks...so bring a mallet or hammer to pound in your tent stakes! I would also advise a sleeping pad or air mat for this same reason. The tent pads are nice and level though, which is awesome. It rained quite a bit over night when I stayed, so I’m thankful for the level ground. There is LOTS of poison ivy on location, so stay on the trails!!! Sites were only $20/night but you also need a National park pass which is $20/week or $40/year, so be mindful of that. This is also an “Active Black Bear Site,” so everything with a scent—clothes, candles, etc., must be stored in your vehicle. No, we did not see any bears while we were there. Everyone was very friendly, and the campground was so much more quiet than anticipated. It was very peaceful and serene. Firewood is available for purchase on site through a wood vending machine basically, so have $5 bills on hand. Stayed at site #88

Campground Review: What an adorable little “backcountry” camp in the middle of Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore. Just 1.5 miles on a very easy sandy trail from the parking area at the Lake Michigan shore is this 6 site campground complete with a reasonably clean pit toilet and group cooking/campfire area with bear box.

Each site has a bit of privacy as they are well spread out from each other and have a good deal of space for multiple small tents, though no tent pads which could be a drainage issue. Nicely wooded, so lots of shade, but also lots of mosquitoes in the late spring/early summer months...bring your bug spray! The trail to the beach is just about ¼ mile across the dunes from the campground.

We ran into a group of young girls from a nearby summer camp who were experiencing their first “backpacking” adventure. They were adorable and having a ton of fun, but if you are seeking to get away from kids and tourists, be forewarned that the kid's camp nearby uses this area throughout the summer months.

In addition to this campground, there are endless options for activities in the area from dune climbing to all types of water sports to cycling to wine tasting to gorgeous sunsets! Lots of good eats in the village of Empire and Glen Arbor as well. The Village Inn in Empire has amazing pizza and Boonedocks in Glen Arbor has good food and fun music on the deck. Don't miss out on Cherry Republic's fun treats, too.

Backcountry permits of $10 per night are required from the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitor’s Center.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I was able to test the Klymit Motion 60 Backpack while camping at White Pine. My husband was in the market to update his old backpack when I won the May camping review contest from The Dyrt. I spent some additional money and purchased their top-of-the-line backpack for him to enjoy.

What we like most about this backpack:

• Super lightweight and comfortable…a mere 2.7 pounds. His old backpack weighed at least 2x as much.
• A few well-placed, exterior pockets make organizing and finding things much easier than one large dark tunnel of stuff. The two small hip pockets (one of which doubles as the air pump for the back comfort bladder) is large enough to hold a pocket camera or phone. The brain pocket has a clever diagonally placed zipper that makes accessing your stuff much easier. There is a secret dry pocket in the brain for keys, phone, and wallets. The large and very accessible pocket on the back is great for snacks, lunch, cameras, maps, or anything you want to get to regularly. It too has a diagonal zipper. The two somewhat stretchy neoprene pockets on either side are large enough to hold fuel bottles, tent poles, sleeping pad, water bottles, or a hammock.
• The air frame bladder adds rigidity to the pack and lifts the bag off your back for air flow. This bladder can be pumped up and/or deflated while the bag is on your back to change how the weight of the pack is distributed between your shoulders, back, and hips.
• Multiple compression straps help you can fine tune the backpack for your comfort and gear placement. Also, there are 4 straps on the hip belt to help distribute the weight on your hips.
• There is a Velcro loop strap in which you can hang your water bladder inside the pack, as well as 2 slits for the hose to come through.
• The pack is made from nylon and silicone impregnated nylon, making it durable and relatively waterproof. The zippers open and close easily.

Some concerns:

• My husband was used to carrying a pack with a bit more volume, so found it a bit of a challenge to get everything he usually carries inside. With newer technology and lighter, smaller equipment, we look forward to the challenge of pairing down what we really need.
• The only other concern is possibly puncturing the air frame bladder, but patching should be as easy any repairing any sleeping pad.

Product Link: https://www.klymit.com/motion-60-backpack.html

Product Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLq7TQPzPa8&t=8s