We came here after seeing the sign a couple days before. We states off at a park closer to Escanaba…read morebut the water was dirty and smelly. This park has 2 clean porta potties, ample parking, a playground, covered eating area, and a nice beach. Highly recommend!

Beautiful beach tucked away with nice little pull off spots and picnic tables to have your little…read moreslice of the beach. The "park" isn't really much as far as play equipment, just a swing set but who needs that when you have the beach.

Cool Spot, Must Hike Down After Catwalk!…read more Really beautiful waterfall, nice clean water and once you get down to the water line at the fall there was no one there when I went. It was cool because you actually felt alone in nature for once at a waterfall. You can also take the little trails up from the walkway to get onto the old railroad bridge which is now a snowmobile bridge and you can see good views as in my pictures that are shown. There is a nice walkway and the catwalk over to the falls under an old railroad bridge. Go ofc the right where the trail is and carefully climb down to the water. If you just go down the cat walk and that is it you won't be able to see you too much. It's important to navigate down but if you have physical limitations or any worries about climbing down the dirt hill you should not attempt it.

This was such a nice surprise!…read more For being right off the highway, I wasn't expecting much, but this ended up being one of the funner waterfalls in the U.P. It had a steep walkway down the mountain that is a fun workout to get down to, then back up, and you can get a great view of the bridge and waterfalls from down there. If you walk up only twenty feet or so from the main pathway, you end up on the bridge overlooking the falls-both great sites.

This is a well maintained campground. We got a campsite under the pine trees. The campsites there…read moreare spaced well apart. No noise from other campers, although the railroad runs a couple hundred feet behind the site. You hear the train rumble by, but they don't blow the whistle. Because it is shaded there is no grass, so it can get muddy when it rains. I didn't care for the fire rings they have there. They are too tall, about twice the hight of most. You can't really see the fire in the pit. They don't have a grill grate either so you can't use them for cooking. This is a nice campground, but does have a few drawbacks.

Pioneer Trail Park is not a place for Glampers, but it's a great place to park your trailer or tent…read moreto unwind a bit, stop for the night, or use as a home base for fishing, paddling, or hiking in the area. The grounds and most notably the shower facilities were very clean. The staff was friendly, and I had no noisy neighbors. I camped in the primitive section, as I didn't need water or electricity at the site, though the sites in the more developed section had those. That section was much more full than the primitive area where I was. For my site I paid just 15$ a night, less than some state or national forest campgrounds that don't have showers or flushing loos. My camp overlooked a side channel of the Escanaba River. A large marsh dividing that channel from the main flow gave me concerns about mosquitos, but I saw very few. The tradeoff for this is some ambient noise. The highway is nearby, and there are some industrial facilities in the area from which you can hear some rumbling and clanking throughout the day. Escanaba seems to have a lot of train traffic, since I don't think I went 5 minutes without hearing a train whistle somewhere in the distance. There is actually a track running directly along the primitive camping section, though only a couple of short trains went by on it while I was there. Not a place for solitude and silence, though there are plenty of those available in the UP. If you want a few more amenities and proximity to some city pleasures, this is a great place to stay.

Beautiful place!! Highly suggest to anybody looking to sightsee! Cute little gift store as well.read more

Located right on Indian Lake and home to Kitch-iti-Kipi is Palms Book State Park. This state park's…read moremain attraction is Kitch-iti-Kipi and I find it to be a relatively small park outside of that freshwater spring. I can imagine that most people come here just to check out the spring as there is a separate entrance directly to the parking lot for Kitch-iti-Kipi. Granted, I didn't take the time to explore the rest of the park, but just looking at the map, I could tell there were one or two more trailers, but other than that not much else. We were camping at Indian Lake State Park, so after visiting Kitch-iti-Kipi, going out on the raft and back, we headed back to our campground to hike the trailers at Indian Lake State Park.

Located at Au Train Bay on Lake Superior and off Michigan Route 28, this woodsy rest stop was…read morewelcome as there really isn't much going on in this part of Michigan. With the onshore breeze, it was a nice spot for a rest and to look out over the lake. It is also pretty with the trees. There is plenty of parking, picnic tables, charcoal grills and a restroom. Take the walk to the actual Falls, though as Scott Z points out, there really isn't very much to it. A historical marker points out the history of Lake Superior and some of the earliest settlement and fur trading that passed through. [Review 17925 overall - 329 in Michigan - 1446 of 2022.]

Possibly the UP's most accessible waterfall. If you know what you're looking for, you can see it…read morefrom your car as you drive past. Look for the "Scott Falls" road sign on the southern side of the road. The waterfall is teeny tiny. About 10 feet tall. It can be easily missed through the trees. But it's maybe 25 feet south of the curb. If you want to walk to the waterfall, it's safest to go in the summer. Park at the rest area on the north side of the road by the lake. This rest stop is seasonal. So it's not only a matter of the building being closed during the winter and early spring, the snow in its parking lot isn't plowed making it inaccessible. The waterfall freezes in the winter. It was a big popsickle as of late March 2018. And the path to it is covered in snow in winter. But in warmer months, you just climb down a ditch, hop across some rocks in a tiny creek, and you're there. The waterfall is cute, and you can walk under / behind it. A fun 5 minute break. And it's family friendly. Just be very careful on this 65 mph road as a pedestrian. Don't expect too much. The waterfall is quite small.

Camped at Indian Lake State Park at the start of July and had a great time! This campground is…read morelovely and our specific campsite was incredible! We had our picnic table and fire pit up on the hill at the back half of our site, overlooking the water, and flat ground at the front where we could set up our tent. Absolutely loved it and would definitely book this same exact site probably again if I could in the future. There are a ton with a view overlooking the lake as well, but regardless of which campsite you get, you'll need to take the public access stairs down to the lake, stationed every few campsites throughout the campground. Great entry points for swimming, but not much of any beach space at these spots. The proximity of Indian Lake to Palms Book State Park was also a big reason why we reserved a campground here. Indian Lake SP is on the south side of the lake, while Palms Book SP is on the west side. Palms Book SP also is where Kitch-iti-kipi is, which is a Michigan gem that I have never visited...until now! The two state parks are under 15 minutes away from one another! Indian Lake SP also has a ton of access to the shoreline. The days we were camping didn't have the best weather, but there is plenty of access to the water to swim. There is not a lot of beach area, most areas we saw that were within the state park were 2-3 feet of beach max, so it isn't ideal for laying out. Plenty of boat launch sites as well! Other things to note: - The speed limit within the campground is 5 mph and strictly enforced. - Nearby town of Manistique for restaurants/stores/downtown shopping. - Also nearby, but more of a 30-45 minute drive is Fayette Historic State Park, which is a very unique state park to check out if your schedule allows. I wasn't able to make it out there, but it came highly recommended by a lot of UP friends!

This is one of my most favorite campgrounds. The view of Indian lake is quite beautiful. The water…read moreis amazingly clean, clear, and beautiful. The park is super clean, and it is very close to Kitch-iti-kipi, which is an amazing thing to check out. Very close to Lake Michigan as well if you want to jog over there. Love it!!!

So beautiful! It was snow covered today but still worth a…read moredrive through and stop at the gorgeous beach! We will certainly return in the summer.

Newport State Park is located toward the topmost point of the Door County peninsula…read more We stopped by on a day when we decided to drive the length of the peninsula. It actually had somehow escaped my attention that there are multiple state parks in Door County. I knew of and have visited and camped in Peninsula State Park but hadn't heard of Newport State Park. It's a beautiful state park with both beachy and woodsy areas. The coolest thing that i wished I'd known sooner on our recent trip to Door County is that it's been designated an International Dark Sky Park. Star gazing in the rich splendor of Door County? This is your spot.

To be fair, I've only walked far enough into this park to visit the lookout tower, and that isn't…read moretoo far from the parking lot. The view isn't much, other than you can see nothing but trees and fields. You might just barely be able to see the water, if you look in the right direction. In fall, it's stunning, but the rest of the year it's just ok. 10/2025

We were up in Door County for our anniversary and someone told us about new tower inside park. We…read morewent to the park and hiked around for hours, then assended the tower. The views were just awesome, we took the ramp and then again the stairs. We spent about an hour admiring the views from this vantage point. Try it and you will love it. I am scared of heights and I enjoyed the visit here.

In a whim, we decided to stay one night here to tour the historical landmark town. So glad we did…read more We got a site, #18, in a Thursday night, by making a request on the website. We have had luck with all the parks finding openings within a week or two of our travel (thought we tend to travel during the weekdays in the summer) The historical iron smelting village is fascinating. The state has done a wonderful job preserving the various community buildings, the iron smelting factory and some of the homes in the community. It is truly a loving, outdoor museum. Great information on signs and plaques throughout. We visited about two-hours before sunset on a Thursday evening. We rode to the historical village and were able to ride our back to the campground , after sunset. The village is bikable which is a great if mobility is an issue. There's a lot to see and it's spread out. Excellent photo ops around sunset. The sun sets behind the community area and the buildings can be nice "props". The sun also reflects off the rocks of the Niagara Escarpment which makes for a pretty photo. We biked the handicap road back to the campground. It's an easy and direct route between the two areas. There are clearings among the trees to get a wonderful, private view of the sunset. The trip is worth it simply to check out the historical community. What a gem in the UP. The campground was fun, yet busy and crowded for our tastes. Site 18 is good for a tent with some fairly flat grassy areas around it. The bro G bird behind and to one side of had RV's and were flexible about letting us spread into their site to find a good place for our tent. Similarly, the neighbors to our right, #20, camped in the bed of their truck. They struggled to find a level space and were concerned about mid with possible space. They parked partially on our site. It all worked out; we had great neighbors, but it was a bit of juggling. The fire rings can also be closer to a tent than we prefer. The washroom was close by and was clean. Small number of shower stalls to share with lots of people. Other sites looked larger and might have offered more privacy. The star of the show is accessibility to Lake Michigan. Wonderful sandy beaches. Lots of good walking, hiking. We would return to have more time to check out the peninsula. We had dinner at a fun restaurant in the water, not far from the campground (10-minutes): The Dock Grill & Bar. Nice people. Beautiful patio view of the water and good "bar food" options. The Shell gas station also has a mini mart with good meat and deli items, some grocery selections and frozen food.

Almost didn't go here as it was a little off our travel path. So glad we did tho. This place is…read moreamazing, old village with buildings intact and a great historical story. You can see the past while you're here. Great photo ops here as well. If you need to use a wheelchair, they have a wheelchair equipped for terrain that you can use, I thought this was amazing!