Wilderness State Park

Ive been all over the US camping and hiking and this place is seriously in my top 3 state parks in America. Incredibly well maintained and a true gem. Savvy folks will get a cabin in winter and tent in summer.

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!

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.

We stayed in the rustic section for the second time. This year we stayed in site 119. The photos on the booking page are not recent so I included photos to get a better perspective of current status. Our tent faced the opening to the Lake which was BEAUTIFUL. We got to see the sunset each night. A couple nights we had great neighbors who seemed to have the same thing in mind that we did - rustic camping + peace and quiet. The first two nights we had a neighbor at site 118 who kept the radio going from 7:00AM - 8:30PM daily. Another night there were a group of rowdy teens on site 120 who were partying until 2:00AM. It is nothing we could control and we were still able to enjoy our stay. These sites are directly next to the RV sites but I couldn't hear generators or anything. The nearest porta potty is probably 4x the size of what you normally see at a festival or carnival. The floor is concrete. It was really clean and staff cleaned it each weekday morning. For the most part, there isn't a smell. There is a sign that states to keep the seat down to decrease the smell so most people followed this. There is a small window that lets in light but if you have to go at night, bring a light! We went hiking on the Nebo Trail, Wikenhs Trail and Red Pine Trail. This took us little over 2 hours. The Red Pine Trail has a bench 3/4 of the way through to sit and take in the view. We did not see anyone on the trail but there were a number of vehicles parked. There were lots of interesting mushrooms. We did not see any animals besides squirrels, chipmunks and small snakes. Overall I would surely recommend to camp here!

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.