Canoe Harbor SFCG

My wife was going with some people fishing at Wakely lake just East of Grayling and they were staying at Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground. At first I was a bit nervous of taking the camper, as some of the SFCG are not big enough for a large camper. But there was no problem here, the campground is set up in a big loop and most of the sites are big enough for a 30+ foot camper. It is a primitive campground so no power and only hand pump water wells. If you get off at Exit 251, which is 3 miles south of Grayling, there is Charlies Country Corner truck stop. They have fresh water fill (no cost) and they also have a dump station ($4). So this makes a convenient fill/dump station that is only about 15 miles from the camp ground.
The campground has a trail that leads down to the river, since it was a hot day the kids and I put on life jackets and just floated down the river, it was fun and refreshing. The campsites are big, there are sparse to heavy trees depending on the site you select. For $15/day you can't beat this site. The place has 50+ sites so we did not have problems finding a large site (that was easy to back into). There is also Kneff Lake campground about 4 miles before this one. They offer paved pads on the upper loop and has a swimming access on the lake. If we went up again I would like to stay here to see which of the 2 places I would prefer.

Monocle Lake National Forest Campground

Monocle Lake, is part of the Hiawatha National Forest, and is about 20 miles West of Sault Ste. Marie. The campground is set in a dense hardwood forest and situated on Monocle Lake. The lake itself is nice to swim in, but gets deep in a hurry, there is a small beach at one end. There is also a hiking trail that runs by the lake and into the woods. This is a nice location and is near by several other cool things. You are only a mile from Point Iroquois light house. The light house is retired and is now open to the public, you can also walk to the beach and watch great sunsets over Lake Superior.
Cost is $14 per day. It is primitive so no water or power. They do have some pressurived water faucets, so we just took 6 gallon water jugs to fill up the camper. About 2 miles away is Bay Mills Casino, and they have an RV park there where you can can dump your tanks for $10, they also have fresh water fill. Or Brimley State Park is about 7 miles East of the campground.
While we were here we also discovered Bay View campground about 10 miles further west. This is another National Forest Campground, but it is RIGHT on Lake Superior, I think this is going to be our destination for next year.

Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground

Reedsburg Dam State Forest Campground [LINK to DNR site]
Aug 5, 2010

We stopped here on the way to the U.P., it was getting late and we decided to stop before it got dark, and wasn't sure I could make it to Grayling before the sun went down. We stopped at Reedsburg Dam last year so I knew it was big enough for our 33' camper. It is really a nice campground, there are several sites right on the lake, and you can walk down to the dam for fishing.
It is a State Forest Campground, so it is rustic, no power, bathhouses or running water. They do have outhouses and hand pumps for water. Cost per night is $15, with a self registration station when you come into the park. The campground

North Higgins Lake

This year we bought a new camper in May, a 33' Coachman with bunkhouse in the back. It is a great camper with ~way~ more room than the previous one. This was our first road trip with the new camper. We made our annual trek to North Higgins. This is a great park with mature forest and a beautiful lake, we alway have a great time here and this trip was no different. This year we had site 160 in the corner of the loop and we liked this as it was not as busy. The park was maybe 2/3 full, I was surprised it was not busier on a nice weekend.

Lower Tahquamenon Falls

The Upper Falls get all the attention, but I am big fan of the Lower Falls. You can get much closer to them, and it seems more impressive to me. The Lower Falls also has a gift store and a sells ice cream, there are restrooms here also. The coolest thing about the Lower Falls is that for $12 you can rent a row boat and row over to the island that is in the middle of the falls. Once on the island you can walk around it and see the falls close up and from a different perspective. We really enjoyed doing this and I *highly* recommend it.
The Lower Falls and Upper Falls are connected by a walking path that is 4 miles (one way). Just follow the boardwalk at the Lower Falls and keep going. After a while it is just a trail. It is rough in places and wet being near the river, but it is very cool. We did not go all the way to the Upper Falls, but it is nice to walk around the river, there are many smaller falls and rapids and you can go right along the river. The banks and river bed are all solid rock, so you can step to the edge of the river and it is sooo cool! Each morning we were here I took a long walk along the river and I think it was the highlight of the trip.

Tahquamenon Rivermouth Campground

 
As you head up M-123 you will first come along Lake Superior and you will pass the Rivermouth campground. This is about 15 miles from the falls. This has a modern and rustic campgrounds right on the river. We stopped here and did some fishing. The river is nearly as wide as a lake here, and in fact we say a powerboat go by. We went through the rustic side and it looks nice, large open campsites right on the river, it is beautiful. Although, unless you really wanted to be here, I will go the extra 15 miles and stay at the falls campground.

Upper Taquamenon Falls

 
This is the second largest waterfall East of the Mississippi and it is a site to see. Set deep in the woods. From ther parking lot it is about a 5 minute walk to the edge of the river and you can see the falls in the distance. I walk down to them gives you a great view over looking te 50' drop. There are a lot of steps here.. you can walk down about 100 steps to the brink of the fall and stand over looking the waterfall. You can also go the opposite way and walk down even more steps and walk along the river. There is a long wooden walkway that seems to go on forever. It was getting toward dusk when we go to hear so didnt stay long, but woud like to explore this further in future trips.

As you come into the parking lot there is a gift store and brewery/resturant here. This site was originally a lumber camp and the resturant is named for that. As you walk down toward the falls there is a new outdoor center with a case with a mounted wolf and coyote and some information on native animals and plants in the area. There is also a modern restroom next to it.