We stayed on the water front side, which was pretty nice. Water was really clear and not unbearable as far as the temp. The sites on the water side are all sandy and in the pines are cement pads. The only drawback I have about it is the bathrooms are dirty.
The name says it all, you are pushed back deep into the wilderness. That's what makes this park great! Your surrounded by Lake Michigan and trees. There are so many trails and shoreline to explore and the campsites are always impressive.
This Memorial Day we stayed at the Sturgeon Bay cabin and were not disappointed. From the cabin it is just a quick walk down to the shore line. (Though this spring it was QUITE wet and we were glad we had boots to trek through the mud to get down there.) The kids loved checking out the pitcher plants along the path and searching for frogs.Firewood was plentiful and we had no trouble finding enough wood to cook over the fire pit. There is also a grill if you prefer to cook that way. The cabin sleeps five (two bunk beds and one single,) and has a stove in case the nights are chilly. There is a picnic table outdoors and a nice table indoors if it happens to rain. There's a vault toilet, a water pump, no electricity, and no cell service. It was perfect! If you want to get away for a few days, this cabin may be for you.
First time camping in a MI State Park, what a huge disappointment. Stayed here three nights and three nights at McClain.To start with staff are less then welcoming, they check you in but that is about it. No warm and fuzzy here.There is no water hook up at sites and only 3 shower stalls for all the campers in loop sites 1 - 75 (that is three unisex shower stalls for well over 140 people) and the same arrangement exists on other 2 loops. You are unable to adjust water temperature, it is what it comes out as and you have to push a button several times to complete the shower. There was a line to shower at 10:00pm and stalls did not appear to have been cleaned in months and with the constant use no telling what was growing.The camp sites are on top of each other. We are talking a camping parking lot. Not a lot of bushes or shrubs to buffer between sites. The only trees are at the edge of the site by the loop road which only serve to make it difficult to back into site. The worst part is the kids.........the camp ground is a free for all, with out of control kids everywhere. Right now it is 11:30 pm and kids are still yelling, screaming and running around in campground as I type this. No body enforces quite time! Rudest Campers I have ever encountered.I stayed here one night on way to Isle Royal and two nights on the way back a week later, What a huge disappointment. Nobody appears to manage this campground which is a huge shame as it is located right on the beach of Lake MI.
Was a bit disappointed in the fact that dogs were not allowed on the beach. However, the camp site was nice, albeit a bit dirty. The views of Lake Michigan were nice and there were plenty of hiking trails available.
Be sure to buy your groceries in town before you come out this way. Once you are here you will really enjoy the lake and the view and all the nice people.
You cannot beat the location of this campground if you love the beach and nature trails! It's a beautiful setting and the sites are quite large. The rangers are very helpful in pointing out good trails in the area. The only critters we worried about were the food stealing seagulls :) And their Book Nook was a great place to grab some games for a rainy day! Only downside is the showers open up to the outside and therefore are bug infested. We made the mistake of trying to shower in the morning and were horrified by the showers...mosquitos, moths, water bugs and spiders everywhere. Even after being sprayed down ("cleaned") there were lots of bugs! Another traveler gave us a tip of showering around 4pm and that was a great idea! Mosquitos were bad on the trails, but not the actual campsites (other than the bathroom) so that is another plus! If they updated the bathrooms to inside showers this would be a 5 star campground.
Not the quiet place we'd imagined - considering its name - but it takes about 5 miles of winding roads through dense woods to get there. High concentration of people packed into our loop over weekend - less on weekdays, but still plenty (all those families out for their last summer camp-outs). Shower water temp and pressure were good, but sprays come out in wide, pre-measured bursts that might douse your dry clothes, if you're not careful. We chose this park with intention of visiting nearby Headlands Dark Sky Park, but Wilderness beach offered much easier access to lovely dark sky, too. Headlands features special sky events and lots of public activity all night long, so it just depends on what you're after - we may have missed out, but we decided to stargaze and attempt night pics on Wilderness beach, without the crowd or sky guides. Some GREAT beachside campsites here (probably reserved far in advance), but I love being surrounded by the bird and squirrel sounds that come with trees. And whether it is a legitimate concern or not, still happy to report: NO bear sightings.
Best campground I've stayed on Lake Michigan. We arrived there shortly after a storm without reservations on Labor day weekend. There had been a lot of cancellations, and the attendant said there were no lake side campsites left. After looking at the availability map I chose a site near the lake across from the playground/beach. The picture below was our view. Also not far from the dark sky park, highly recommend!
Miles of shoreline, deep forests, hiking trails and views. Doesn't get much better than this. This area is also home to the Piping Plover nesting ground so areas of the beach may be off limits during nesting time, no worries- there is plenty of beach area left. FYI, lots of bugs in early June.