Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground

Just a one-night stop on a Sunday in mid-September so the campground was sparsely populated. We enjoyed this mostly clean, spacious, dark and very quiet forest setting so much, the lack of electricity and cell service was a minor inconvenience. It would have been nice if the prior occupant of our site appreciated it enough to not leave trash in the fire ring and strewn about the site. As always, we leave no trace, even if it was someone else’s. The nightly rate reflects the NPS Senior Pass discount. The regular rate seems pretty steep for dry camping.

We reserved our $10 site with a Federal pass on line and when we got there we decided it was not a convenient spot. The great camp host we had helped us relocate to a more favorable location. During our stay it rain half the time there and did not have the opportunity to experience the full area. The streams and lakes were all at very high levels and mosquitoes were active. The camp grounds were very nice and we would consider returning in the fall. Note: the road In from highway 2 was closed for repair so you had to access the camp from Land O Lakes from the south. If the sky was clear you could get 2 bars on Verizon at the top of the hill above the boat ramp

Both previous reviews are accurate. This is a very nice campground and park. They have a canoe launch and about 8 lakes that you can portage from one to another and camp. They have a map with the portage distances between each lake. Many are less than 100 yards. On a Thursday we saw 10 or more people setting out in canoes and kayaks for overnight camping trips on the lakes. The lakes are different sizes from small to large. The whole camping/day recreation area is paved. There are around 15 or so electric sites and the rest are non electric. There are pit toilets and flush toilets on one of the loops. There are showers at the day use area but they are closed due to covid 19. There is a 9 mile hiking trail around Clark Lake if you need a long walk. There are some steep hills in the park on the roads that will give a bicyclist a work out. This is just a very nice National Forest park. There is a dump station in the park.

We had a nice stay... all the sites are shady and some are not suited for large rig. Our 5er is 35' and we had to request a different spot because the access roads are very narrow and have ditches on either side. Some of the better spots were too short for our rig and truck. Lots of shade so we had to run our genny once during our 6 nights there. Positives... bathhouse has been remodeled and is nice, sites are paved, and the wild rasberries were plentiful when we were there. Negatives, just lots of mosquitoes! Bug spray and citronella candles helped but we still got chased inside a couple of evenings.

We live in the UP but have not spent much time at Sylvania. However, I do think it's one of the best kept secrets. It's like a mini experience of the Boundary Waters - same principle. Clark Lake is large and beautiful and there are many camping sites accessible from Clark Lake and the subsequent lakes through portages. The Main Campground has all been paved in the last year and is really nicely done in 4 loops of about 12-13 sites in each. There are nice wooded barriers between each site giving adequate privacy. All the loops have great old forest woods around the periphery. They have wonderful showers and flush toilets (mostly) and a great swimming beach. It's hardly used though.Mostly it's used as a day use for canoeists or for those that come in and go out for a few days at a time to camp on outer islands. It was a bit buggy as we have had a late spring/summer here in the Upper Peninsula and they haven't gone yet; but a little good bug spray did the trick. We have our own canoe but there is an outfitter (Sylvania Outfitter) just a few miles down the main road on Hwy 2 that has everything you need for canoeing or camping or backpacking including trips. The campground is 4 miles off the main Hwy 2. We had no cell service there but we only have a small track phone. There is a day use pass rate of $5 or $20 for the season. We have a senior pass for National Forests so we paid just $10 for the season pass and $8/night for the site. A great bargain. If you like beauty and quiet Sylvania is the place for you. Also there are many walking trails.