Grand Marais Campgrounds

For state forest campgrounds along the Blind Sucker River and Lake Superior 14 miles east of Grand Marais via a gravel road, see after Deer Park.

Availability tip: All the National Lakeshore campgrounds here fill up on holiday weekends and between mid-July and late August. There are no reservations. Prospective campers are advised to arrive late in the morning or early afternoon, and to have alternate camping plans, including state forest campgrounds not in the visitor center information base. To scope out state forest campgrounds just south of Pictured Rocks, visit the DNR web site, www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails, click on Parks Map on left, then click on "Alger County." State forest campgrounds have big sites and typically scenic settings on water.

WOODLAND PARK
On-site park office after April 1: (906) 494-2613. burttownship.com (906) 494-2381 (Burt Twp. Offi
On a grassy, wooded bluff between a Lake Superior agate beach and a Grand Marais neighborhood, this popular modern campground has a playground, two shower buildings, a laundry, Wi-Fi everywhere, and a picnic pavilion by the distant softball field. 120 close-spaced campsites have 30 amp electricity, water, plus cable TV for an extra fee. No shrubby buffers between sites. Some paved drives. Rates are $24-$25/night with electricity and water. 15 primitive sites ($18/night) are off to the side near the water, 10 more are back in. No sewer hookup. Dump station on site. It's best to come in the morning in July and August, but there's overflow camping to accommodate demand. Grand Marais restaurants are an easy walk. To the west, a mile along the beach on the North Country Trail takes you to Sable River Falls and the west boundary of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The north-facing beach and the black skies of a very small town make this a fine place for stargazing and possibly seeing the northern lights late at night.

HURRICANE RIVER CAMPGROUND/ PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE
(906) 387-3700. No reservations.
Very popular. On the west end of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, at the Hurricane River mouth, some of the 21 shady rustic campsites are on the upper loop, on a high bluff above Lake Superior. Some are on the lower level, which fills up first. Both loops are a short walk to the beach, within earshot of the waves. In this mixed forest, privacy between sites is good. When possible, there's a campground host, but lack of electricity makes it hard. This campground is on the North Country Trail and closer to a town (12 miles to Grand Marais) than other National Lakeshore campgrounds. Shipwreck skeletons in the sand and the 1 1/2 mile trail to the Au Sable Point lighthouse are special attractions.

Twelvemile Beach Campground
(906) 387-3700. No reservations.

CaptPiper

Great Superior sites: Twelvemile Beach Campground

At Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore's largest campground, 36 shady, private rustic campsites are in a beautiful birch woods either on a ridge overlooking Lake Superior or down below on a bluff. Privacy between sites is good. A campground host is here most summers. The two-mile White Birch Trail loop goes up from the campground into an unusual stand of very large white birches. Twelvemile Beach is also on the North Country Trail.

BACKCOUNTRY CAMPSITES ON THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL/ PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE
(906) 387-3700
Of the 13 very popular primitive campsites in the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore, 4 are on the lakeshore's Grand Marais end: at Sevenmile Creek, near Twelvemile Beach Campground, between the lighthouse and the Log Slide, and at the west end of the Grand Sable Dunes. They are in great demand by hikers and kayakers. If you get a permit, you can line up a campsite. Phone for a backcountry reservation form or print it out from the web site: nps.gov/piro, then scroll to "Back Country Camping" and look for form. Return forms by fax or postal mail only. Credit cards, cash, checks accepted. Then within a day of your camping, get the actual permit at one of the Pictured Rocks Visitor Centers, in Munising or Grand Marais. Reserve way ahead for peak seasons. Reservations any time must be made at least two weeks before your trip. Group campsites are in greatest demand and get reserved first. Ask about winter camping.

On H-58, about 20 miles southwest of Grand Marais. 5 miles south of Twelvemile Beach. $15/night. Wheelchair access: some sites.

Just west off M-77, 8.5 miles north of Seney. $15/night. Now ADA wheelchair-accessible.