Big Bay State Park Campground

Sites are fairly large and have lots of trees and woods surrounding them, though you may likely still be able to see your neighbors a bit and will definitely be able to hear them. You get a handicap picnic table and fire pit with grate at each site. Most sites are big rig friendly. Saw a motorhome so you can find something you will fit in and you can get on the ferry over!! There is one bathroom with showers and the rest are vault toilets. I recommend waking up early for the showers as they fill up around 8am to 9am. There is a hiking trail right out of the campground and biking into town is an option too!

I can’t speak highly enough of this park! We loved our site, behind we didn’t have any other campers just a wooded area. The island is teeming with life. Deer wandered all over. The lay out of our site was fantastic and very close to a trail for flush toilets/shower building. The island itself is magnificent and we were lulled to sleep each night by the sound of Lake Superior’s waves crashing against the shore. Never have I slept so peacefully in a tent. We plan to return every summer.

Stayed a few nights, extremely buggy. One had 2 ticks which was very surprising. Little to no cell service, I have us cellular. According to one of the locals, cricket works the best so far. Bring your own food, most restaurants close early.

Walkin #38. Walk in sites are nice and decently spaced and wooded—for walk in sites. My major issue was they are too close to the pull in sites and garbage cans. It could be very loud. Water was a bit of a hike and bathrooms were not convenient. Walk in sites are located in a lower, more wet part of the camp—standing water, cat tails, mosquitos abound. Lots of mosquitos. I think because it’s on Madeline island it also attracts a weird melange of people: they were obviously the families there, and then there were the hippy hikers there, but then there was also party people. Overall, I would go back to Madeline Island for a day trip. I would not however take all the time and effort and money and hassle to camp —let alone stay—on the island again. It’s just really isn’t worth it.

This is a great place for hiking, swimming, and kayaking. I loved the swimming beach it’s so clean and big that can never be too crowded.

The campground is clean and the sites are fairly large. The bath house is kept clean and the showers are hot. The beach in the state park is absolutely gorgeous with access via a nice boardwalk through the forest and along the beach. The only thing peeventing me from giving this campground 5 stars is that quiet hours were not enforced. There was a group playing loud music way past midnight when we were there.

Big Bay State Park is a perfect place for your summer vacation. You can camp with a tent or RV at Big Bay State Park. Don’t forget to look at the cost of the ferry over if you’re bringing your RV. It can get expensive depending on length, but still a better deal than renting an air bnb. Easy walking trails and cliffs to jump off. There are a lot of fun places to visit on the island. Definitely recommend bringing a car if you’re planning to tent camp, the park is far from town.

We love Big Bay State Park. Great hiking, easy camping with kids, and the sites themselves are very private and quiet. Easy to back in our 31-foot Class C and still had a lot of room in our site to stretch out, cook and for the kids to play. 

Also worth noting that if you're worried about the ferry, they can accommodate just about any vehicle that can go down the road. We had no problem with our Class C getting on and off the ferry, and in fact we had a dump truck behind us on both legs, so there's plenty of capacity for big vehicles. It was around $200 for a round-trip with the RV, two adults, two kids under 6 and a dog.

You need to hop the ferry (about 60$ round trip for car and 2 people). Once you arrive there are plenty of shops and restaurants to kick off your stay. We had site 49 at Big Bay state park and the tall grass throughout the park was a bit disapointing and the ticks were pretty bad. But the beach and the point were fairly bug free and we spent most of our time there. Cliff jumping, swimming, boating and hiking trails this park has a lot to offer.

First trip in the campervan. Beautiful setting, great hiking, beach is massive and pristine.  Did some kayaking and SUP. Campsites all had a picnic table and fire ring. Camping "in the forest" feel.  Amazing star-gazing at night. Biked around the Island but enjoyed most of time spent at campground.  

Bring the mosquito repellent.  They are off the charts bad!

We were visiting the Apostle Islands last summer when we stopped at Madeline Island and found Big Bay State Park! 

We didn't camp overnight here, but we did hike around through most of it and it was wonderful! The trails were well maintained and the view of Lake Superior was gorgeous.

It is definitely a ways out there as you have to take a ferry in and all - but well worth the trip if you are in the area!

8/23/19-8/25/19 #3

It takes a ferry to get here, but it is a must see!  Lake Superior is beautiful, and the campsites are nice and private.

Take the ferry to Madeline island and spend a weekend away from it all! Rent scooters to cover the whole island in a fun way!

Remember to use bear safety! It’s their home, not ours!

We visited this park in October - there was some rain !! - the owls were wonderful.  Taking the ferry across works easily, there was firewood at the park - There were plenty of sites to choose from in Oct.  (and sort of fun for us - it's a "new" campground in that the current picnic area used to be the campground - kind of like a field with the sites around the edge) Now the campground is lovely with pretty private sites in the woods.  Again the hiking is really nice, and access to the Lake is along a sand beach as well as a boggy boardwalk parallel to the shoreline - Getting ice for our cooler was a little iffy in October as the main options in summer were closed by but a local bar sold us a bag of their ice and all was good.  In addition to the hiking the State Historical Society runs a site on Madeline Island centered around the fur trade of earlier times.  Limited hours.

Sites were generous in size and most had trees for privacy, however there are only 60. Pit toilets but only one bathhouse with showers situated between the two campgrounds. Only two sinks and showers and when it is busy, this is not enough (I waited more than once to wash my hands). Boardwalk along Lake Superior leads to Big Bay Town Park, the other option on Madeline Island. Both are about five miles from town, easy to bike to but not walkable. Quiet hours were not enforced when we were there -there was a loud party going on across from our site that lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. Recommend you take a boat ride to explore other islands.

I wish the ferry ride was cheaper, but great place to bike and camp. We were able to get a decently secluded spot as well.

A beautiful campground. Small but has some decent trails. Lovely to walk by the waters edge and skip rocks.

We rolled the dice. Late spring Wisconsin weather made its presence felt, but we were undeterred. Its hard to be disappointed when faced with the spectacular views of the Apostle Islands. Kayaking was out but hiking was definitely in. A bit a solutitude on the trails was so rewarding. We chose a walk in site vs the drive in site and honestly we couldn't have made a poor choice after a nice walk through the campground. We will be returning for the kayaking of course and another camp in Big Bay is a given!