Best Tent Camping near La Pointe, WI

Big Bay State Park is on Madeline Island in Lake Superior and is one of the Apostle Islands. The only way to arrive is by ferry boat. It is pricey to bring your RV. Ours is only 26 feet but we had a bike rack and two bikes that brought our total length to 30 feet. If you are a tent camper and traveling in your car, it will be about $27 for your car and$16 for each passenger round trip. www.madferry.com   

The first thing about Big Bay State Park is your RV is on a ferry boat. The ferry is very organized but small and depending on the time of day and day of the week you may need to wait for more than one ferry to depart. Once you get to the park, it is quiet and filled with natural beauty. The campground has both electric and non-electric sites. We visited in mid-July and it was cool and breezy and we did not need our air conditioning. There is no dump station at the park. There is a dump station at the airport about 5 miles away where you can dump. 

This is the first WI State Park I have seen with hose hook up on the water stations. There is a drinking fountain, bottle filler and hose hook up on each water station and there are many of them through out the park. We were able to fill our RV from the hose hook up. There are 60 sites with 7 walk in sites. All sites are well spaced and have a newer picnic table and fire ring/grill. The park is very well kept with 8 trails in distance from.1 to 4 miles. The Boardwalk trail that follows the bay is flat and has many interpretive signs. It connects to the Big Bay Town Park. The beach was not crowded when we visited mid-week and views of Lake Superior where breath taking. When you arrive by ferry you are in the town of La Pointe. There are restaurants, shopping, a laundromat, bike, moped and canoe/kayak rentals. It is six miles from La Pointe to Big Bay State Park.

Pretty nice campground that you have to take a 20 minute ferry from the mainland. Then you drive through the small harbor town to the campsite. Nice, clean showers and bathrooms. The tents sites are spacious and they're only a 10 or so minute drive from La Point. The island community is full of restaurants and art galleries. We went in July and were able to go to a film fest and do yoga on the beach. These amenities may not be at the campground, but staying on the island gives you access to them. By the main office, there's a trail that goes down to the beach where you can rent canoes and kayaks on an honor system.

We camped at Presque Isle in the Porkies for a long weekend in October. The color change was amazing! This campground is rustic with only vault toilets and no hookups. There is a section that allows generators during certain hours of the day, a non-generator area and a few walk-in sites. There are a few sites which are along the cliff side looking down to Lake Superior, we were lucky enough to reserve one of those, site 2. It was a very large site, equipped with the standard picnic table and fire ring. Many of the sites back up to the woods, which were smaller and a little soggy while we were there. This campground is one of two in the park, Union Bay is the other more modern campground located right on the lake. The sites there are much smaller and crowded. I prefer the more remote Presque Isle campground by far. Less amenities but far less people. The hiking throughout this park is unparalleled in its beauty. The campground is close to the Presque Isle river trail which is waterfall after waterfall. The park has a ski lift we rode to check out the views from the top of the mountain, as well as an 18 hole disc course. It’s the hiking and rugged beauty of the area that is the main attraction, especially catching the fall colors surrounding Lake Superior.

If you're a person who loves waterfalls, then I recommend you don’t miss this campground.  Presque Isle Campground is located at the southern edge of the Porcupine Mountains State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.  This campground has bluff overlooking Lake Superior, there is a walkway and stairs that take you down the bluff to the shore.  Walking distance from the campground is the Presque River you can hike along and see all the beautiful waterfalls this river has to offer.  This is a Rustic campground that has vault toilets, and hand pump drinking water. The campground, restrooms and surrounding area’s were kept very clean. There are 50 campsites that are equipped for tents, trailers, and RV’s.  Each site has a fire pit, and picnic table.  There is no electrical hook up, and part of the campground is generator free.  Six of the sites are walk in sites, there are parking spots for these sites, you park and walk in a little ways to your site.  I recommend a site that is located on the outer sides of the campground loop.  They are larger sites and more privacy from your neighbors.  Inner loop sites are closer together and open.  Be prepared for mosquitoes and blackflies.  Blackflies bite, and bug spray does not affect them.  I found keeping a hand towel or fly swatter moving around me helped keep them away.  They are more active when it is humid, and down by the water.  These flies seem to be common up here along the shore.

There are many things to do around the campground close to your site and others are a little bit of a drive from your site in the Porcupine Mountains State Park.  If you like to stay close to your camp, you can hang out on the beach, hike along the Presque Isle River and discover the Manabezho Falls, Manido Falls, and the Nawadaha Falls.  Also the Lake Superior Trail and North Country Trail are right by the campground.  These trails will connect you with other trails in the Porcupine Mountains.  The Porcupine Mountains have lot’s to offer anyone stopping to visit.  We took and day and seen The Lake of the Clouds, and Summit Peak.  They both are gorgeous areas to explore.  

We stayed at Black River Harbor Campground last week, in a year that the water supply was never turned on due to Covid. Nevertheless, we had an amazing time. We stayed in one of the many first-come-first-served campsites (which seemed to be available late into the afternoon, but filled most nights) and enjoyed a large site, separated by a pretty dense forest in between our neighbors. We had easy access to nicely maintained vault toilets, and had there been water available this year there were plenty of spigots—no hand pumps here. The fire rings were solid and had cooking greats on each one, and the picnic tables in many cases were new. If you are heading here during the wetter season, know that the ground will likely be soft, but every site we looked at had some effort taken to make sure it stayed dry.

The real gem of this place is the location. The Black River Falls are an astounding bit of Michigan scenery just minutes away by car. We decided to take a 7 mile out-and-back hike that brought us past five of the falls—each one far exceeding the expectations of this downstater. Next door to the Black River Falls are the Presque Isle Falls (though next door still means about an hour drive due to following the valley roads). The Presque Isle Falls are part of the Porcupine Wilderness State Park, and are gorgeous and even more accessible than the Black River Falls.

Beyond hiking we had a great time hunting for agates on the beach and enjoying the marvelous spectacle of Lake Superior, including its unpredictable weather!

Big Bay State Park Campground, WI: (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer) Ferry Ride: $110 round trip with a 17’ trailer Overall Rating: 3.5 Price 2023: About $20 to $30 Usage during visit: Very full Site Privacy: Loop 1 - 29 Great site privacy. Loop 30 -60 some good sites. The overall privacy not as good. Site Spacing: Loop 1 - 30: Great. Loop 31- 60: Good Site surface: Gravel Reservations: Yes Campground Noise: People noise while here. Road Noise: None Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Some sites Sewer Hookup: No Dump Station: Check out the campground map . The dump is on the way to the airport.
Potable Water Available: Yes, at the bathrooms Generators: Not specified. We used a low noise generator. Bathroom: Clean pit toilets and flush toilets in the showroom.
Showers: One centrally located.
Pull Throughs: Mostly, if not all are back in. Cell Service (AT&T): Sporadic Setting: In a pine forest Weather: Highs are 70’s Bugs: Some mosquitoes. I think they are decreasing. Have bug spray if you hike. Solar: No Host: They are short a host Rig size: Rigs I’ve seen are under 35’ Sites: The sites in Loop 1 - 30 is the best loop, are most all very private. Loop30 - 60: Not as private. Site 42 has no under brush between site and parking for tent walk in sites. Other than that, pretty good. Sites 48, ad 50 are the absolute least private sites. Trailer sites in Loop 30 - 60 are generally not as deep and thus less site privacy than Loop 1 - 30. (35 - 41 are walk in tent sites,)

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.

Spent a couple of nights here recently and really enjoyed the solitude. Trails are all marked and the proximity to the lighthouse was nice. Weather was cool and varied between clear and partly cloudy with a light rain for about an hour one morning. Site is on a relatively open, low bluff that overlooks Lake Superior to the South and has fire ring with grill grate, half a picnic table, a locker for food / gear, latrine and tent area padded with wood chips. Trees on site were perfect for my hammock. Waves crashing below site were calming and put me to sleep both nights - was much like beach camping in my home state of California! I did not hike the surrounding trails much as this was more of a short reconnaissance trip for future visits. If you plan on swimming be sure to bring water shoes! Pebbles/rocks are tough on bare feet.

While there I also took the opportunity to scout backpack site 1. This site has same amenities though it is more sheltered by trees. There is a short path that leads down to the water’s edge and a little swimming cove that could be cool for shallow rock diving. Large, flat granite formations for sunning yourself as well. Either site is awesome and Split Rock I’ll definitely be back!

My friend and I went camping here from October 19th-21st (which happened to be during an unseasonable cold snap- I'm talking 20 degrees at night with a bit of snow, but that's neither here nor there). The first night we lucked out and though it was cold, there was virtually no wind.

We chose one of the campsites nearest to the parking lot since we had a lot of cold weather gear to lug and my friend was new to camping. Even though it was close to the lot and there weren't really leaves on the trees anymore to offer privacy, the park was quiet and we only heard people when they would walk directly past our campsite.

The proximity to Lake Superior and the view was absolutely gorgeous. We gasped when we got to the site because it was so beautiful! In combination with how quiet it was, it really made for a worthwhile stay.

The tent pad was flat and covered with woodchips. Tent pad was elevated, with a wooden bench built in. The site was cart-in, which made loading in and out a breeze. Going uphill to the parking lot was a bit of a pain, but it was a short enough distance that it was just fine. There was a sizeable metal bear box for food. The vault toilet was a short jaunt up the hill and had plenty of toilet paper in stock.

Because it was off-season, the campground building with flush toilets/showers was closed, and there was no running water for the campground. (During the regular season, water is close by at the parking lot.) There was water available on the side of the Trail Center Picnic Shelter.

I am looking forward to returning to camp here in a bit warmer weather!