Andrus Lake State Forest Campground
Madalynn L.
Reviewed Jul. 29, 2021

Nice campground, but busy

We camped here for a couple days in mid July. They had sites big, small, on the lake, and off so something for everyone. Only thing is that it fills up fast. The first night we drove through late and every site was full, while we were there we found most were full not long after checkout (2pm). Our site was nice, not right on the lake but a short walk. When we went the mosquitos were insane as the sun went down. If you went by the water they would instantly swarm you. If you had a smoky fire going early you might be safe, but there's no guarantee. They seemed immune to bug spray and everything citronella. We could have sworn we even saw one fly straight out of the fire itself, so we wish you luck. There are blueberries everywhere if you come at the right time, in the campground and much of the area around it. We were told there's actually a blueberry festival in early August in the town closest to it (Paradise, MI). It's not all that far from the falls and whitefish point also. It has vault toilets and a water pump, no electricity and very little to no cell reception. You must also have a recreation passport to camp here, regardless of where you're from. If you don't have one you will have to pay an additional fee to purchase one at the time of your registration. For in state residents it was $17 (+ nightly fee) and they would mail it to your house, can't remember the out of state cost unfortunately. Quiet hours from 11pm-8am, $15 a night, no reservations, pet friendly (we found this out by hearing the dogs barking at every passing stranger, as they do). There's a campground host as well, we found that most campgrounds in the UP have them. In the middle there's a public beach and picnic area, we didn't use it but it looked nice. We went fishing once for a few hours and caught 5 bass between the two of us all about 12in, so if you're looking for some good fishing you might be out of luck with this lake. Also, you have to take a dirt road to get there as you do with many places in the UP, so heads up on that. I was worried about scavengers, but we didn't end up having any problems with them. We were careful to throw out any food packages before bed, but we kept our food in a small tent and that didn't draw anything in.

Site7
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Andrus Lake State Forest Campground by Madalynn L., July 29, 2021
  • Review photo of Andrus Lake State Forest Campground by Madalynn L., July 29, 2021
  • Review photo of Andrus Lake State Forest Campground by Madalynn L., July 29, 2021
  • Review photo of Andrus Lake State Forest Campground by Madalynn L., July 29, 2021