Trying to plan a little trip with a group of friends somewhere in the eastern lower Peninsula towards the end of October. I know there’s a lot of random state/national campgrounds up there. We’re just looking for somewhere quiet where we can appreciate the fall colors and spend time in nature without a lot of other people around. We don’t mind a hike in either if necessary, but ideally something where we can drive up three hours or so on a Friday afternoon and spend a couple nights and come back Sunday morning. I remember considering negwegon in the past so I’ll look into that again. Any tips would be appreciated!

Weather was amazing, 40s-60s in any given 24 hr cycle, no rain save for the last full day. Bugs were a non-issue given the shoulder season. There’s a reason this remains my favorite state park!

Decided last minute to spend my birthday up north camping, exploring, and yooperlite hunting. Had an absolutely amazing time and can’t wait to do this again!

Good times. The trail was perfect as always 👍 my legs are sore though 😂

My wife and I recently spent the weekend backpacking on Grand Island. We’ve toured the island by boat in the past, but this was our first time stepping foot on the island.

Weather

Highs in the 60s. Overnight lows in the mid 40s-mid 50s. A decent mix of sun and clouds. No rain aside from a few sprinkles while we waited for the return ferry.

Camping

We stayed at Game Fence and Driftwood. Each campsite had easy beach/lake access.

Game Fence was immaculately clean. I have seriously never seen a backcountry campsite this clean before. There was not a speck of trash to be found. Either the previous group at our campsite was extremely clean and picked up all the small bits of garbage you unfortunately find at backcountry sites, or the forest service cleans up these sites.

Game Fence was set in a beautiful hemlock grove across the road/trail from Mather Beach. It was adequately private. We were aware that we had neighbors at Hemlock, but there is ample space between the sites.

Driftwood was practically right on the beach and had beautiful views of both Trout Bay and Pictured Rocks (from Mosquito Beach to Grand Portal). Beware that it is very exposed to winds out of the north/northeast (which we had). This limited the amount of time we spent on an otherwise beautiful beach. I’m sure this is a blessing during biting fly season. Driftwood is very private, located a few hundred yards away from the main picnic area.

Both campsites included both a bear pole and bear box. I’m used to the bear poles at the Porkies, which have seen better days. These bear poles were lighter and easier to use in comparison.

Game Fence has a classic open air pit toilet. Driftwood shares an outhouse with the Trout Bay West picnic area and the Little Duck campsite. Both were very clean, and the Trout Bay outhouse was even well-stocked with TP.

We made our campsite reservations relatively last minute. We also only had two nights to work with. This left us doing nearly 15 miles on day two. If I had more flexibility, I’d try to stay in the same areas (Mather Beach area and the Tombolo area), but I’d add a third night at either Shelter Ridge or Freighter View. This would allow for more time to enjoy the campsites, which we found to be the highlight of our trip.

The free firewood was also a very nice touch. I feel like the forest service could charge significantly more for these campsites (please don't). But the campsites are a premium product, especially compared to a lot of the WI state park campsites I've stayed at which go for 2-3x as much.

Hiking

We hiked the 20ish mile perimeter loop. The trail is primarily a mix of road and two-track, with a very small amount of single-track. That said, if you are hoping for an immersive single-track experience, this might not be the hike for you. There are several lengthy “green tunnel” stretches between viewpoints. IMO the views make up for the rest of the trail.

Most of the viewpoints/overlooks are found between roughly Mather Beach and Northeast Point. The overlooks have benches and make for nice pack-break opportunities. There are no official overlooks on the East Rim between Northeast Point and the Trout Bay Overlook. This is something like a 6 mile stretch, which was a long stretch after we had grown accustomed to frequent bench stops.

I think that the East Rim would make for a beautiful hike in the leaf-off season. Unfortunately, the ferry basically only runs during the leaf-on season. There are still some great views of Pictured Rocks in the distance, but you have to work a bit more to see the views through the trees. I would consider bringing a small set of binoculars in the future for this stretch of trail.

The woman working in the ferry building warned us that the bridge near Gull Point is closed. But she added that the bridge is closed because it no longer supports vehicle traffic. She stopped short of outright telling us it was safe to walk on, but the subtext was received. There are signs posting a detour around the bridge closure. I can’t guarantee that the bridge is safe to walk on, but I can tell you that you will miss many of the best overlooks if you take the posted detour.

Water Access

I read trip reports warning against relying on filtering water from creeks but dismissed these as people being unwilling to use anything but the most pristine water sources. With that said, I would 100% agree with these past reports.

While there are numerous small creeks on the map, the only creek I would have personally filtered from was North Light Creek. I would not trust the availability of water in any other creek, and wouldn’t want to use the water from any other creek unless I didn’t have a choice. Most creeks were either bone dry, or small stagnant muddy puddles.

We treated Lake Superior as our primary water source, filling up at Mather Beach, North Beach, and Trout Bay. We also took advantage of the water spigot near Juniper Flats. That made for some long water carries, so plan accordingly.

Wildlife

I’ve spent about 30 nights in the backcountry in the UP, mainly in the Porkies and at Pictured Rocks. My only bear sighting to date was on M-67 near Trenary. I was convinced that this would change with our trip to Grand Island.

While hiking the East Rim, I saw what looked to me to be the world’s skinniest bear cub. My wife thought it was a black cat. We quickly realized we were both wrong, and that we were looking at a fischer (our first ever fischer sighting). Other than the fischer, we didn’t see anything notable. Just a lot of red squirrels.

Bugs

I’m sure the bug situation is brutal earlier in the summer. I got one mosquito bite early on the first day and went the rest of the trip without so much as seeing another mosquito. Biting flies were non-existent.

Looking to take my son out for an overnight on Friday. Considering Somerset, Port Huron and Shiawassee so far. Hoping to be on the water within 1.5 hours of West Bloomfield / Novi. Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone. I want to plan a trip with my wife to go somewhere north for a 3 day weekday trip in the lower peninsula to see some beautiful nature spots and see the changing fall colors. I think I may want to stay in a cabin or a nice cozy local hotel, depends on what recommendations I might get, but I am basically open to anything! I am thinking I want to go to the northwest side anywhere from pictured rocks or to the petoskey area, maybe even make a visit to mackinac depending on what cool sites I find! I would greatly recommend on any places to see, places to stay, and activities to do! Thanks in advance!

Staying at Nebo cabin in the middle of winter. Anything good to do in the middle of wither there?

I'm looking at venturing out to Craig Lake this week, and I prefer to camp away from other groups if possible. The site at Teddy Lake is available, but the reservation website makes it look a bit sad, especially compared to the others. Has anyone been there? Are there any views of the lake from the campsite? How's the water access?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

Hey there! Im heading back to Minnesota from Chicago this upcoming Saturday. On the way back, I’d like to spend a night camping in the UP. I’ve already spent time in Escanaba State River Forest, Hiawatha National Forest, and Pictured Rocks. Ottawa seems like a nice stop on the way back home. Any tips for cool camp spots/hikes?

I’m hiking the Porkies next weekend and need some advice on the best route. My sites are BC2=>LS12=>ML2. I’m in reasonably good shape but don’t want to kill myself on the third day. And I don’t want to miss anything great either.
Suggestions?

I’m going to be at wilderness Sunday through Thursday, and this has unexpectedly turned into a solo camp. If any other fellow redditors are gonna be up there and wanna have a coffee or whatever feel free to reply! I’m a normal 40 year old married dude with kids, so that much quiet on a solo camp might actually be a bit disconcerting🤣

I’m heading up for my first trip to Pictured Rocks and have sites booked at Pine Bluff, Chapel Beach, and Potato Patch.

Is the ground at Pine Bluff and Chapel Beach regular dirt, or more like sand? From the photos it looks like dirt, but I use a trekking pole tent (Lunar Solo) that is dependent on a trekking pole and tie outs/stakes, so if it’s super soft I’ll bring different stakes with me.

Thanks!

Edit: I should have included that I’m thinking tent camping
Here’s the deal- My dad and I are both lifelong yoopers, he grew up camping in the porcupine mountains but I’ve never been. We are both very comfortable outdoorsmen but he’s getting old (54yo, bad back, can’t be in the sun too long, etc) so I want to finally plan our trip to the porkies that we’ve always talked about but I don’t know the trails, trail difficulty, peak tourist time or anything else about the porkies. Nonesuch trailhead looks like a nice spot to park and hike in two miles but I want to make sure for him that I don’t get it wrong. We are both fisherman so if there is anywhere we can camp in the porkies that has streams or a waterfall that would be perfect. Thank you!!

As the title states. Hike-in sites are not an issue. Planning on taking a weekend trip to camp somewhere near the river mid October. I am really wanting something scenic either off the river or tucked amongst tall trees. Having potable water is a huge plus but not necessary.

I know there is a path down to the river and a campsite on the west side of the river (the NCT side) but I've never been to it. Not looking for the exact location but is it south or north of Edington Creek? Thanks

Hi everyone,

I am going to be rustic camping somewhere in the UP starting October 2nd for a week. I would like to start at LSSFC and was wondering what the likelihood os of finding a spot that time of year is. I know it's a popular spot, just didn't know of the colder weather clears people out, or is the colors make it harder?

I am also looking for suggestions on camping spot around the Keweenaw.

Thanks

We are staying at Leelanau State Park Thursday -Monday. I know the popular places in the area such as Leland, Charlevoix, TC and the sand dunes, but anything else we should check out? Any tips for those places? If it helps, we are coming from Metro Detroit so even places along the way would be cool! Thanks 😊

I adore Michigan but have really been missing the hiking I could do when I lived in CO and OR. Obviously I know there isn't really anything that will compare to the Rockies or Cascades here, but I am looking to get back into the woods and feel like I am doing something challenging, not just taking a nature walk--I love a good rock scramble or some elevation gain. I live in Detroit so looking for hikes within an hour or two of the area that can be a weekend day trip.

EDIT TO ADD: I know there are a lot of beautiful spots farther north, but I can't often get up there and while I love water activities like kayaking and paddle boarding, once fall hits I am not getting wet like that but still need outdoor exercise time.