Van Riper State Park

This campground is crowded! Sites are very close together, people park every which way and very close to the really narrow road through the sites. Makes it very hard to navigate with our big rig. We had to have people move their cars to get around the loop and to get into our site. When it rains there is lots of mud and puddles at the sites. People are not considerate of quiet hours. There is no designated off leash dog area and dogs aren’t allowed at the beach. This is just not my idea of a relaxing place to camp.
The sites are flat and the hosts pick up trash and clean up sites daily.
Michigan also requires you to buy a recreation pass to be in the park so in addition to the $31 per night it’s $39 for the annual pass (non-residents).

We stayed two nights at Van Riper, but really they were just overnights with a trip to Copper Harbor in between. Although we did not make use of the park's amenities we were impressed. Neat, clean and spacious with plenty of elbow room. If you plan on camping with friends or family, the sites on the inside of the loops are back to back and a great way to be close. Sites on the outside of the loops were nicely forested and surprisingly private. We had originally reserved site 145 but found it to be a bit muddy but the check-in staff was very accommodating and let us move to 11 without any problem. Bathrooms and showers were neat and clean. Would definitely stay there again.

Upon arrival around 1PM to this amply-treed campground we were informed that we would have to wait until 2PM to check-in. It is always hit and miss with these early arrivals but the Porcupine Mountains had become wet overnight and we decided to take a chance and cut out early, drive a hundred miles to Van Riper, and see if we could get into our reserved site #73. We did luck out sort of as the site is on the back edge away from the center restroom, playgrounds, and the beach. The only negative were the speedboat people camped behind us, their yapping little dog, and all the decorations.

The park boasts of several trails in which to hike but the problem was the forest service did not maintain them. Overgrown and tight which made us opt out early. The bicycle trails were paved but a bit too hilly for my comfort. The park is obviously centered on fishermen and beachgoers.

The shower rooms were clean and operable. Our site had electricity. AT&T cell service was great. The dump station was a two-sided operation. Fresh water was drinkable. Cost per night averaged $31. Dining in the area was as expected, regional fare and unhealthy. Nearby Ishpeming had little to choose from so we resorted to eating a meal at Buck’s.

Right on Lake Michigami, we had a view of the lake because the ranger suggested our reserved site was not very level; #41 was. Typical MI campground, power only, but dumpstation and water available as you leave. The sites are not too close, and the vegitation is mostly tall trees, so somewhat open. On 9.13.21, we were too early for the really good gal color. We had 6 OTA TV and 3 bars of Verizon. Champion is a don't blink-type of town. The closest community of any size is Ishpeming, MI where there is an IGA grocery and a neat, free iron mining museum. There's lots of space, beech and play ground equipment as well as biking trails and boat launch here.

Van Riper is a really nice state park! About 120 sites, all with at least 30 amp service, some with 50 amp ($3 extra per night), clean and large bath & shower house, laundry facilities, two lane dump station, huge playground, beautiful beach on Lake Michigamme, plus a 40 site rustic campground on the south end of the park for those who don't need electricity (or don't care to have it). Careful as some sites will flood during heavy rains (most sites in the 60s had standing water, we started on 62 and moved once there was appx. 2 inches of standing water on the site after a day long rain storm). Despite that, the amenities are great, the people are too (guests, host, and employees). On a normal summer, they also have Water Warrior Island, a giant inflatable water obstacle course for a fee, just didn't have it this time due to COVID. 30 mins from Marquette and all that has to offer, and a little over an hour to Houghton. We will be back again next summer, what a nice park!

Popular Michigan State Park. Easy check-in, reserved online 6 months prior. Family friendly with playground, beach, water playground, boat ramp, dock, kayak and SUP rentals, snack bar. Large sites, but no spacing/privacy. All sized rigs and tents accommodated. 147 Electric only sites (mix of 50 & 30 amp), 40 rustic (no hookups) sites for tents & small rvs; only one central restroom with showers. Drinking water available at dump station. Need Michigan Annual Pass, $33 for non-residents.

Following a beautiful drive along the shore of Lake Superior, with a stop at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, we ventured further west to beautiful Van Riper State Park on Lake Michigamme. There are 2 campgrounds, one "Rustic" with 40 sites and the other "Modern" with 147 sites. We opted for the "Modern" with electric hookup (water was spaced throughout the campground). Sites are well-spaced, fairly level grass and dirt with plenty of space between campers, but not a whole lot of privacy. Each site has a nice picnic table and a fire ring. Firewood is available at the check-in as well as ice. We arrived at 4:30pm on a Monday and there were lots of sites available. Very friendly person at the desk gave us a map and told us to take a drive through and pick a spot from the many available. We picked #43, forested on one side and close to the beach. We were disappointed with the road noise at first, but it quieted down at night. Also train tracks nearby with a train arriving at 7 pm and another at 7 am so it didn't bother us during the night. Just steps from our sites was a stairway down to the lake and we experienced a beautiful sunset the first night. (See Photo) The swimming beach was a short walk from the site.
The sandy beach is beautiful, and there is a bath house, benches and a playground. There are some nice nature walks and wildlife viewing areas. We liked it so much we decided to stay an additional night and set out on our bicycles and were able to find a nice 17 mile ride down a quiet logging road across the highway toward Clowry and back again. It was great fun. We would definitely stay here again! We camped at Van Riper State Park in a 25' Motorhome.

This is another excellent Michigan State Park. The roads are paved. The spacious, shady sites are grass/dirt mixture due to the high use. Lot of families here and pretty much every spot is taken on the weekend. Sites have 30 amp power with some having 50 amp. The beach is pretty much what everyone comes here for. It's sandy and the water much warmer than any of the Great Lakes. Big playground for the kids. If you are in the area, I highly recommend this park. GREAT Verizon 4G service and 6 OTA channels, with NBC and Fox being the primary networks.