We drove up to Manistique on a Friday night; I was originally worried that we wouldn't be able to find a first-come-first-served site on a Friday, so I was mentally prepared to find another place to stay.   We arrived at 5:30 (if you're from WI, don't forget about the time zone difference!) and there were only three other campers in the three western loops.  I felt so relieved!

We stayed at site 72, which was nice and flat and a quick walk to the water and bathrooms.  Our site was so peaceful and we slept well.  I still can't get over how few people were there on a Friday in summer!

There are no flush toilets or showers at this campground, but if you needed a shower, you could go to the main park on the south shore.

We bought our firewood from a house south of the campground entrance on H455.  It was an amazing price ($5) per square of firewood, and they offered kindling bundles for a dollar.

The west campground is close to Kitch-Iti-Kipi.  After having dinner at Clyde's in Manistique (great burgers!) we visited the Big Spring.  It was almost dusk and the park was still relatively busy.  I'm glad we went at that time of day; I can imagine how crowded it must get during mid-day.  The spring was awesome, and riding the raft out and back was fun.

I would highly recommend the West campsite.  It was so peaceful.  Close to Kitch-Iti-Kipi, a short drive into Manistique, and just a little over an hour drive to Pictured Rocks.

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).