French Farm Lake Campground

7 authorized free campsites with many other spots that are not allowed to be camped in, but obviously are. Not very clean or maintained often. No facilities at all. Could be nice with a little maintenance and enforcement of the rules that are plainly posted but ignored. OK to stop and spend the night mid-week or off season but not really a place to spend extended summer weekend. There was at least one site with obvious long term home set up. Mid week, mid September only one site open at 2 PM.

There are 7 marked sites and all seem to be pretty big. We arrived around 5pm and found no open spots. We spent some time at the nearby Headlands International Dark Sky Observatory (which if you are in the area you should really check out). While there a family we had seen in the campground arrived and recognized our van and told us they had just left their spot so we headed that way and got the last marked site for the night. We van camp and wanted to explore the area so we filled out the permit paperwork and pitched our tent to mark our site. We then went around Mackinaw City and back to Headlands for a beautiful night sky filled with stars, the shadow of the Milky Way and evening saw about a half dozen shooting stars. We got back into the campground around midnight and there were people set up everywhere you could park a car off the road or pitch a tent. Most in sites marked for no camping. We even had a car with a roof top tent in the level site by our tent. Like I said though, the site ms are pretty big and it didn’t bother me a bit. Would stay again.

This place is beautiful. During the third week of October, I was the only one out here. It was absolutely wonderful-and so close to Mackinaw City! Despite Google maps trying to send me down the wrong trail, I found the campsites. Do not follow where Google maps tells you to go! Follow the signs for the North Country Trail once you turn onto French Farm Lake road. That gets you to the campground!
The sites are remarkably private, except sites 5 & 6 are right beside each other. But to give you an idea of how far apart most are- site 3 is a full 1/2 mile (wooded & hilly, no less!) from site 6! It’s a piece of paradise, and is this boondocker’s dream.

Stayed here Sept 15. I got the last open site, Which had some garbage laying around which I picked up. A few vehicles came by with boats going to and from the launch on French Farm Lake at the end of the narrow dirt road. Biked to a great little sand beach on Lake Michigan less than a mile away to watch an epic sunset. Coyotes howled for a few minutes at last light. Really a special place. And only a few minutes outside of Mackinaw city. Did I mention it was free!

This spot is beautiful, we got here at about 5pm and got the last marked spot (there are 6 and you can only stay in those areas). A few vans/RVs driving in and out. We didn’t bother with getting a permit as we stayed one night and we weren’t disturbed. I can imagine that if there had been a lot of rain some vehicles may find it difficult. The very end of the road is a bit rough and probably wouldn’t suit an RV, but it was fine in our van! Thunder storm overnight. Loved it, would stay again.

There are 6 marked sites and 6-8 unoffical sites (meaning they are not numbered sites). There are 2 locals that are set up for the summer. A permit is required, can pick at an office or they will send it via snail mail, not email. Saw a DNR ranger one day for a training day and nothing was said abt my unofficial camp site. Lake is up to 10' deep. Great fishing. Small swim area at the sandy boat ramp. Clear pine bottom hiking trail to the dam that can easily be done barefoot. Seen loons, great horned owls, mooreheads, plainbelly snakes, momma bear and cub. Couple areas have deep sand but the majority is easily accessible. Biggest I would recommend is a Winnebago Minnie. Most sites are for tent or van camping. Have a bit of traffic during the day. Nights have been very quiet. Only 2ish miles from Mackinaw City.

There are six designated sites and signage indicating to only park in said designated sites, but this place was beyond full on a weekday in mid-July, and there were a lot of people that had made their own space. Many sites looked like people had been there for eons. We were bummed we couldn't get a spot, but we sat down by the lake and enjoyed lunch before trying plan B.

It's been mentioned before, but the dirt road is one lane, the turnaround is tight, and there is deep sand in places. I wouldn't want to be towing anything much bigger than our rig through there.

Good, useable 4G speeds unboosted for Verizon and AT&T.

There is no signage about permits or registration, but it's a DNR-managed area (Department of Natural Resources), which likely means you need a DNR permit to camp here. There are multiple locations all over Michigan where you can obtain a DNR permit.

Our plan B, in case anyone finds themselves in the same predicament we did, was Kediwan Casino in St. Ignace, which is just across the bridge in the UP. It's no wilderness retreat, but at $15/night for water and electric plus free use of hotel facilities (pool, gym, etc), it's a pretty sweet bargain. We were in the area to sightsee and just needed a place to sleep at night, so this worked out really well.

too tired to drive farther so I piggybacked on the last site by the lake, parked and slept in my van, no one was in appearance at the site, although there was a tent placed there so I pulled off the drive and figured if anyone came knocking Id plead tiredness and tell them I was leaving in the morning and just wanted to sleep,,,fortunately no one came around, matter of fact no one came to this site all night,,,got to wonder where they were all night,,,
anyway,,,this place needs to allow more than 6 sites and warning to all the mosquitoes where AWFUL,! yOU CANNOT LEAVE UR SHELTER FOR FEAR OF BEING EATEN ALIVE.
BRING DEET
due to the bugs I would not camp there long term was ok to just crash over night
one more thing be cautious of where ur drive,,,very sandy and I almost got stuck!
some pig left 2 bags of trash near a tree by the lake,,why do others need to ruin things?

Camping here was an amazing treat. The location couldn't have been better. It was quiet and peaceful. You'd occasionally hear the freeway or a ferry boat, but it was pretty rare. And there were no man-made lights to be seen anywhere. Lake-side camping but near enough to basic things you might need. For a more in depth review and pictures, please see: https://middle-aged-gypsy-living.com/2017/05/14/free-camping-near-mackinac-bridge/

Note: The campsites and road are a combination of sand and dirt. When wet, the mud can be a little difficult to navigate, and possible to get stuck in. Also, while there was no sign indicating a requirement for a fee or reservation, we did find an old camp registration card on the campsite.