Hiawatha National Forest

Show on map 1111111111 hiawathanf@fs.fed.us

Directions

Supervisors Office: 820 Rains Drive Gladstone, MI 49837 Phone: 906-428-5800

Reviews

Hiawatha National Forest campgrounds are widely appreciated for their beautiful, spacious, and often private sites with scenic lake views and access to natural attractions like hiking, kayaking, and fishing. Visitors frequently praise the cleanliness and maintenance of facilities and restrooms, as well as the helpfulness and friendliness of campground hosts. Many enjoy the peaceful, secluded atmosphere and various recreational opportunities. Recurring challenges include poor road conditions with potholes, significant mosquito and insect presence during certain seasons, limited amenities such as potable water, showers, and electricity, occasional noise from nearby highways, generators, or other campers, and limited or spotty cell service. Some campers note issues with signage, enforcement of rules, occasional maintenance problems, and variable campsite privacy and cleanliness.

Beautiful and spacious campsites with lake views

Clean and well-maintained facilities and restrooms

Helpful and friendly campground hosts

Access to hiking, biking, kayaking, and fishing

Peaceful, quiet, and secluded natural surroundings

Poor road conditions and potholes

High mosquito and insect presence seasonally

Limited amenities such as water, showers, and electricity

Noise from highways, generators, and other campers

Limited or inconsistent cell phone service

2,551 reviews

5 stars

1,675

4 stars

528

3 stars

171

2 stars

1 stars

Abrianna S

Campground:Grand Island National Recreation Area

Loop:Grand Island Recreation Area

Site:

Reviewed 24 days ago

We completed the full outer loop in early October and absolutely loved it! It was my husband's first backpacking trip and he said he's hooked. We stayed at Hemlock on the West Rim which was a lovely site just inland but with beach access across the trail for a gorgeous view of the sunset. The next night we hiked around to North Beach for lunch and then camped at Driftwood site on the East Rim. There were incredible views of the sandstone cliffs around the island throughout our entire hike, and the fall colors were in peak form. All in all, it was such a wonderful, memorable trip that we are already talking about making it an annual adventure :)

Mollie C

Campground:Chicago Lake Campsites

Loop:Chicago Lake Campsite

Site:

Reviewed 24 days ago

#3 camping spot was absolutely beautiful! Large and right on the water. We were there mid October and no bug issues. It is not a drive through as noted on website. We have a little 20’ RPod trailer and had to pull in, back up several times to get turned around so that we could easily pull out when leaving. Very hard to find the camp spot! There is no signage other than a little #2 on a tree with an arrow pointing left. #3 and 4 are also on the left. We found out the hard way!

Dane A

Campground:Bay Furnace Campground

Loop:Bay Furnace Campground

Site:

Reviewed a month ago

Loved this campground! Just far enough outside of Munising for the night sky to be amazing, yet close enough to be in town in a few minutes. Wonderful, spacious campsites.

Mary C

Campground:Colwell Lake Campground

Loop:Colw

Site:

Reviewed a month ago

Beautiful park and well maintained and spacious campsites.

william g

Campground:Bay Furnace Campground

Loop:Bay Furnace Campground

Site:

Reviewed a month ago

nice fall semi-rustic campground

Lindsay C

Campground:Grand Island National Recreation Area

Loop:Grand Island Recreation Area

Site:

Reviewed a month ago

I have hiked the Grand Island Loop twice, and I really love it! If I lived closer, I would make it a yearly ritual. It's not super difficult. There are only a few ups and downs. I have hiked it counterclockwise both times, gone 11 miles up the east rim on the first day and stayed at Preservation Point, and then hiked the 9 miles on the west rim the second day. To make it a little more leisurely, you could break it up into 3 days. It's very people-y on the southern half of the island, but it gets more remote and peaceful on the north side and sunsets at Preservation Point are stunning!

Keep your options open

Watch for a matching campsite across monitored campgrounds in Hiawatha National Forest.

Popularity: Very quiet

Busiest in November, when about 14% of guest capacity is reserved. Based on 4 years of reservations.