Island lake (MI)

Show on map 989-826-3252 sm.fs.hmnf@usda.gov

Mio Ranger Station, 107 McKinley Road
Mio, MI 48647

Overview

Island Lake Campground is a popular campground and picnic area featuring a swimming beach marked with buoys on the 58-acre Island Lake. Located on the southern edge of the Mio Ranger District of the Huron-Manistee National Forest, this site is a short drive North on M-33 from Rose City, MI. This site is gated in the off-season. Island Lake Brochure and Map.

Recreation

Water Activities: Island Lake is a popular location for swimming, fishing, and non-motorized boating. The water tempurate is cold with a maximum depth of 25 feet. Anglers can expect to catch sunfish, perch, and bass. Visitors can carry-in kayaks, canoes, and other non-motorized watercraft a short distance from the day use parking area to day use beach.
Hiking: There is a 1.25 mile loop trail that departs from the campground. A spur trail off the main loop connects Island Lake Campground with Loon Lake Day Use Area.
OHV Riding: Nearby M-33 trailhead provides OHV riders with access to the Mack Lake Motorized Trail System and the Bull Gap Hill Climb Area . Additionally, a large majority of Forest Service roads are open to OHV use. Please refer to the motor vehicle use map (MVUM) to understand which roads are open to OHV use.

Facilities

The campground provides handpump wells for drinking water, several vault toilets, and trash collection services. The embedded day use area also provides visitors with picnic tables and grills. Campsites at Island Lake have paved parking pads, picnic tables, campfire rings, and lantern posts.

Natural Features

Island Lake is a small, sheltered lake. It's namesake Island is visable from the day use area. Several of the campsites offer views of Island Lake through the trees. The forest around the campground is mixed hardwoods with many wildlife and waterfowl viewing opportunites.

Island Lake and the surrounding landscape are the result of glacial retreat and showcases some of Michigan's geologic history. While retreating from Michigan, glaciers left behind a pattern of broad ridges, called moraines. A chaotic arragnement of deep circular depressions and winding ridges, the Island Lake campground and Island Lake nature trail takes visitors through part of the West Branch Morraine.

Contact Info

This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (989) 826-3252.

Charges & Cancellations

All reservation changes, cancellations, and refunds are managed through Recreation.gov.

Camp site features

Across 17 camp sites:

Pets allowed: all 17 sites
Longest RV: 70 ft
Largest party: 8 people

Directions

From West Branch: Travel east on M-55 for 5 miles. Turn left and travel north on M-33 for 16 miles. Turn left and travel west on Loon Lake Loop Rd. for 1 mile. The site is located on the left.

Stay Limit

Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.

Reviews

1 review

3 stars

Jim N

Loop:Island Lake

Site:

Reviewed 4 months ago

Campground was pretty well maintained, no host on site. Only 17 older site some had moss on the asphalt, so you can tell they weren't overly used. Beach was slightly overgrown. Bathroom was clean. Water from spigot was good and had a lot of pressure. Sites were designed back in what appears to be the fifties as all of them were on the smallish side. First time I saw split parking pads, which made it kinda nice to create a private area. This was okay as we are 23 feet long. All sites had NEW handicap style picnic tables. Very few "level" sites for trailers, as campground located in a glacier moraine area. Some ravines / holes as deep as 60 feet in the nearby area. Island lake is such a hole, it is fed from an underground artesian spring. Fishing opportunity is best from boat or kayak as there were very few areas to get close from public land. As I use a mobility scooter this made for no opportunity for me to enjoy fishing. Even though campground was on a lake with a lot of cabins and cottages it was quiet and peaceful. Never saw any USFS personnel or law enforcement. Lake does have an HOA patrol that came through on a side by side to check on the campers. Campground is wedge shaped between private land. No public launch site except for what you can carry to the swimming beach. Swimming beach was about half of the lake front, rest being treed area. Quiet campground at night for the first 2 nights. Then of course rude and noisy campers came in on the third night. They were so bad that we left a day early.

Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

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