Monocle Lake Campground

This is a very nice National Forest Campground on the lake. One side of the campground loop has paths to the lake and there is a nice boat ramp with sandy beach. There is a nice walking trail.

The sites are very private and really big once you pull in your site. There is not a water fill or dump station but there is a water spigot for jugs near the entrance in the middle of the loop across from the dumpsters.

This is close enough to drive to Sault Ste. Marie for a day trip. The cheapest fuel is nearby in Brimley.

We stayed two nights then moved to Bay Mills Casino RV Park for laundry and full hookups to recharge.

Standard east coast style FS campground. Nothing special. Big sites. Some semi-private. Food scraps and garbage in brush around site. Power boats and jet skis on a very small lake. Sandy beach fun for kids. Extremely loud music past quiet hours. Possibly from private boaters rather than campers. Unsure, but not a place we would stay again.

Nice campground. Sites are spread nicely apart, but not completely private because the foliage is not dense between sites. Campsite was large and easy to back the trailer into it. Site was level but it did have a slight rise to get into it. Lake has a nice sandy beach with a beautiful sunset.

Restrooms are vault toilets that are well maintained. Water was good.

One note of caution - in the middle of the night, two people walked through the site and between the truck and trailer. So while you’re far away from civilization, you are not far away from people.

If you need reliable cell service, head over to the Iroquois Lighthouse, just a mile from camp. You’ll get decent service from the Canadian side of the lake.

28 July - 4 Aug 2020 Another nice campground. Its about 5 miles to Brimley and 15 miles to Sault Sainte Marie. Monocle Lake is a nice sized lake that had 6 or 7 boats pulling tubes on the weekend. There are about 10 sites along the lake and several small beaches to swim from. There is also a larger beach and recreation area 100 yards from the campground. There is also a shallow boat ramp. Bay View campground is about 6 miles away and is right on Lake Superior. But if it is windy or cool, Bay View gets cold real fast. We rode bikes and did several hikes in this park.

This is a beautiful campground dug right into the forest with paved road and very large sites. We own a 34 ft 5th wheel and towed a boat behind that without any difficulty maneuvering through the campground. There is a boat launch for small boats. This lake is small.

We had heard there was good fishing here but there wasn’t. In fact on the weekend there are boaters waterskiing and the lake gets a bit rough because it is smaller. The water is clean and clear great for swimming on the sandy beach that extends the length of the campground and a large beach at the day park. There are hiking trails, concrete raised fire pits, and a table.

If you like the casino there is a large Indian run casino nearby. The town of Brimley is small but the camp is about a half hour from Sault St. Marie, where you can view the locks, and hop over to Canada, or shop and dine in terrific restaurants. The city is older than the United States. There’s lots to do and learn here.

There is also a scenic drive called the Lake Superior Circle Tour that will take you to many sights like Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured Rocks etc.

In nearby Brimley is also the Point Iroquois Lighthouse which is very pretty off of the St Mary’s river (I believe) and into the mouth of Lake Superior. There is a beautiful board walk that leads to a narrow beach which is sandy but also has beautiful stones and rocks.

But when you arrive back at camp you are nestled away in the woods in a quiet little paradise again. They have vault toilets that are kept clean, and a camp host drives around on a golf cart to take fees, and do the cleaning. If there is ever any problems in the camp she does not hesitate to call the local police who will drive through periodically. But we never heard a peep. The camp was not full and is a rustic campground. You may run generators during day hours and it might be difficultt with solar because of the shady area. The back ins are 30 to 50 feet with a couple pull through spots and some 75-80 feet. They are nice and deep for big rigs.

It is dog friendly and we took our dog down to the water to swim. I’m not sure about at the day park though.

Cell service is sketchy but be careful in this area if you do not have international coverage because you will bounce off of Canadian towers. I had to call Verizon to get fees removed when I realized where my connection was com8ng from. I’m used to this living in Michigan but if you are not familiar with the area you can call your carrier and have them block 8nternational roaming so that you aren’t charged.