Wilderness

Tom May

Here it is, November 7, at least 30 years since I've been to this park. It was fairly deserted, 44 ° and windy as a leaf blower! We drove to the last inch. Saw a lot and attempted a short walk, first into the wind then oppositely. I'm glad we did.. This is an interesting park. Be ready to drive a while! All closed up, but open to the drive. Go anyway. If it is full or otherwise, Straits State Park is just up 75 in St. Ignace a short piece!

Amy Linn

This is a truely wonderful campground near the tip of Michigan's lower peninsula. Surrounded by views of Lake Michigan, close to the dark park and a section of the North Countey Trail. Very close to Mackinaw City and Mackinaw Island. I stayed at the group campground and it was perfect! The outhouse were very clean and well kept, there was a water pump available, and a nice sandy beach trail leading to a beautiful little beach area.

John Harrison

A wonderful place to camp and hike. Get reservations early it fills up. Hike to Waugachance Point in the spring is a rare treat. Foliage is unique and great photo Ops of flowers. Fall is ominous and desolate. An interesting contrast to spring that is bursting with color and life.

Amy Russell

This was our first time here site 309. The bathroom was a few sites away, so convenient for us. The bathroom looks to be updated. It was clean. We really appreciated the dish washing station that they had! We happened to be there when there were game force winds, cold and cloudy. We were hoping to be able to see stars but it just wasn't in the books. This area is also very convenient to many touristy areas. We ride motorcycles and were looking forward to coming back to do some nice riding.

Barie Fetter

There are a few hiking trails heads at the campground. My favorite was The Red Pine trail head. I've never seen so many beautiful mushrooms on a trail before. It is a true hiking trail with pine needles covering the single lane dirt path. Several board paths covered with shingles over the marshy areas. A bench to take a break about midway through. I believe bikes are allowed on all of the trails but not certain. There is a three lane dump station so our wait was short. They notified us that is was almost 10:00 while we were at out camp fire but only on Monday night. They just reminded us that quiet time was approaching. We drove to the boat launch and walked our dogs down the beach for a couple of miles. The sites are a good size with some backing up to other sites and some backing up to the woods. My site was pretty level. They have an updated playground, horseshoe court and a large open grassy field for kiddos or doggos to run around and play. They have beach wheelchairs at the beach area for public use. Check in is quick and easy. They have you wait in your vehicle and pull up and wait for your turn to go and check in.

Christina Smith

Pines campground is not as close to the water as the others but still nice and with pine trees. Easy walk to trails and the beach. Dog area on beach is kind of small but it's nice to be able to take dog to beach. Trail 3 is beautiful. Take bug spray.

Ashia George

I enjoyed my stay in the Lakeshore section. It was a short walk from my campsite to the beach. During a nice bike ride, I saw the boat launch and picnic area. I was solo, but most were family campers. It felt safe and secure with staff doing regular roundabouts. Bathrooms were fine. The only downside were millions of dead fish flies in the water and shore line, but obviously that was out of our control. It was also a short drive to Mackinac City. Highly recommended!

MI_Tony

Great park. Few years ago it was all renovated. New roads, fire pits and bath/shower building. They even have a dishwashing station for the diehard tenters. We loved it. The beach is awesome and never seems that busy. It’s relatively quiet. Sites can be kind of tight, but that seems to be the case most of of Michigans State parks. I It’s a great park for when you like to do day trips up to the U.P. We visited Tahquamenon Falls, the Soo Locks, as well as the White Fish point and the Shipwreck Museum. (Great place for rock hounds) and even stopped at the Mackinaw Bridge Authority office and grabbed a piece of the bridge they happen to be selling.

truth4believers

I stayed for three nights at rustic walk-in 118 in early August 2024. I had to book the site six months in advance down to the second. This park in general seems hard to get a reservation anywhere and anytime, especially for any decent site. I chose a walk-in site, because I knew how crowded and noisy the Lakeshore and Pines campgrounds were from a previous visit. If you want a peaceful and quiet camping experience, try the walk-in sites. It was hard to find any information about the walk-in sites, and the park map online isn’t helpful. You’re actually right up against the Full Hook-up campground, and none of the sites are really private or require any long walking. None of them are actually lakefront sites but some simply have a distant view. It was about a 100-yard walk to the beachfront, and this section of the beach is relatively isolated. From the website photos and description, site 118 looked big, level, sunny, and grassy. In reality, it was uneven, very sandy, shady, and probably wouldn’t be spacious enough for two regular tents. I was camping alone, and there was only one small plot of sand to put my tent, which was still slightly not level. Site 119 was also very close, and there was a lot of foot traffic since my site was closest to the outhouse. Overall, the rustic sites were still much better than the others. It was mostly peaceful and quiet—no kids, no dogs, and nobody was rustic partying. It was a short walk to the Lakeshore campground to use those restrooms and showers. The park overall is very nice and one of the best state park I have ever visited. The beach stretches for miles, and the water was very clean. It was a very nice beach to sunbathe, swim, and relax. I walked all the way to the end of Waugoshance Point, which is a long and rocky beach where you can see distant views of Waugoshance and White Shoal lighthouses. It was a very nice journey. There are numerous hiking trails, but some of them were closed for repairs while I was there, although I attempted a few trails further away from the campgrounds. Cell phone service was adequate.

Art Beck

This is a beautiful campground with sites in the pines and on the lakeshore. I typically bring a travel trailer but decided to tent camp this November. The tent sites near the lakeshore are very nice. Some have great views of the lake. For me, the best part of this park is the numerous miles of hiking trails and the beach which has a dog-friendly section. The North Country Trail passes through Wilderness and there are many other trails for exploring. This campground has it all. From rustic sites (including a couple back-country) to modern full hookup.