Bay Furnace Campground

After staying at Tahquamenon Lower Falls Modern Campground, I thought nothing could top that one…..well, this one did! A phenomenal CG, right on Lake Superior! Definitely go to the beach at night. It’s great to swim in, but even better stargazing, and if you’re lucky to have the Northern Lights active, it’s a great place to see them!

We also took our kayaks and kayaked Lake Superior. We picked a calm day and it was absolutely lovely!

If you can get one of the sites on the water do it, but they are small and tight. The rest of the spots are pretty spacious and private. I loved walking to the beach and seeing the Bay Furnace up close.

Definitely take a Picture Rocks Cruise and stand in the back on the lower deck. You’ll get the best views there. Stunning scenery! You can also take a cruise to Grand Island, Duck Pond Eatery has them right next door and you can even have lunch!

There’s so much to do in Munising, By George Brewery is amazing and has live entertainment on the weekends. Muldoon’s Pasties are a must, definitely get one of the fruit pies as well! Go to Earl E. Birds for some fantastic chicken! Falling Rock Cafe and Bookstore has amazing ice cream. Try to get the Macinac fudge ice cream….yummmmm!

Avoid Foggy’s Steakhouse. Not only was the food ice cold, the service is pretty bad. They really only want locals there. Spend your money somewhere else….

Reasonably well maintained camp on the lake Superior. The stars at night down on the beach are 'out of this world'. Most spots are challenging for solar power. Decent dump station, free to guests otherwise $10.

Plenty to do in the area. Nearby Froggys restaurant has good (but pricy) steaks and killer fast WiFi. (200x10)

A Michigan UP favorite.

Really enjoyed our stay at this campground as we worked our way up the Michigan side of Lake Superior and the UP. We wished we could have gotten one of the sites that backed to the lake but these were already taken. The lake was a short easy walk from our site. Very quiet and clean area. Liked the history we learned about Bay Furnace iron production and the fire that ended it. Great area!

The campground (CG) was easy to find and our RV GPS took us right to the CG entrance. There is no formal check-in so we headed to site 44, which had our name and the dates of our stay. But, that’s when the fun started as we tried getting into this dry camping site. The road is fairly narrow, the site had trees to avoid on the sides plus above, and there were trees on the other side of the road limiting our swing for our 39’ fifth wheel and F450, about 60’ total in length. It took some doing and adjustments but we got into the site. The site is very nice but mostly shaded so our solar panels were not going to work. We expected this factor and brought our 2000W Honda generator. Currently, we have four lithium batteries and charged them mid-morning morning and then in the early evening before bed as quiet hours are 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. For the most part, sites are decently spaced with vegetation between sites giving a sense of privacy. However, in this CG’s beautiful setting, you still get quite a bit of highway noise. The highway noise does settle down during the night. Like the last place we stayed, Tahquamenon Falls, this CG filled up each evening, with an even mixture of RV and tent campers. Three are no shower facilities here but the very clean vault toilets are placed periodically throughout the two loops. There is potable water at the dump station and spigots periodically within the loops. We got 1 to 2 bars on Verizon with the best signal in the morning. The picture rocks boat cruise is well worth the money. Get there about an hour early so you can be one of the first in line to get a seat on the right/port side for the best picture opportunities. The cruise runs up the rocks on the right side, slowing down for photo ops, and then on the way back, quickly does the left/starboard side. You cannot stand up or move around on the upper/uncovered deck when the boat is in motion.

Great Boondocking campground. The sites are spaced far apart and plenty of shade. Didn't try the pit toilets as we are self-contained. Tall pines in a forest/beach area. Some sites have trails to the beach, if yours doesn't, then there is a trail located next to the Camp Host's site. Really beautiful area and we would come back if the weather was cool.

There were mosquitos, so be sure to have some good repellent.

The road coming into the campground had many deep potholes, capable of causing damage, so take it very slow! Once in, the sites were spacious with brush between to screen the view into the next site. There are multiple water spigots around the campground as well as fresh water and rinse water spigots, with threaded connections, at the dump station. Vault toilets only with no showers which was not a problem for us since we use our own facilities. Traffic noise from Hwy 28 is persistent and at times significant.

It’s just a short walk to the lakeshore and an interpretive site of the ruins of the historic Bay Furnace. It was very cool along the lakeshore in mid-September but this would be a great location to escape the heat of summer. Just a short drive to the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore park/overlooks and beautiful hikes.