I have never seen so many mosquitos in my life. You open the door to your car and are immediately…read moreswarmed by 100s despite wearing deet. The beach is beautiful, but I would not recommend simply because of the mosquitos alone as you can't leave your tent or RV. Nowhere to check in which was confusing as well and no cell service.

Great campground. All national park campgrounds at Pictured Rocks are now 100% online reservations…read moreso all the comments here about people stalking for sites are no longer relevant. Reservations can be made at recreation.gov six months in advance. Very poor if any cell service. The west "generator free" loop was mostly all tent campers and apart from wailing children, very quiet. Pit toilets, running (cold) water, and garbage bins (ignore what recreation.gov tells you). Short walk to the beach from every site; many sites are right above the beach.

Miner's Castle is a nice gentle hike for folks who aren't big hikers, with an upper viewing (in my…read moreopinion the better of the two), and a lower viewing point. Parking is limited, so we circled until someone left; bathrooms were more plentiful at the Miner's Castle than at National Lakeshore, but they did have some there as well. We loved the beach at the National Lakeshore; clean sand and the beautiful, Caribbean-like waters you expect from Lake Superior. Water is cold, but was so refreshing after a day of hiking and sun! Miner's Castle is a one and done spot for us, but we will definitely be back to the beach at the National Lakeshore!

I didn't visit Miners Beach, but Miners Castle is a must-see! Finally, I got to see in person the…read moreview that the vast majority of Pictured Rocks photos are of and it definitely didn't disappoint! You can view Miners Castle from an upper viewing deck and a lower one. The upper deck is only 250 feet away from the parking lot, the lower deck is about 1000 feet further and all downhill, meaning a pretty extensive uphill trek on your way back up that definitely gets the heart pumping. Both are highly worth it since the lower deck gets you literally a few feet away (you could say...a *stone's* throw away...heh) from the Miners Castle rock formation, which is very cool, but the best view - the classic view - is from the upper deck. Loved it! Very cool-looking bathroom set of buildings as well in the parking lot, alas they were closed so I wasn't able to see how they were inside haha.

I loved my time at the beach here. It was situated right across from the little Au Train community…read morearea, and provides gorgeous views of Lake Superior and its surrounding area. There is some grassy areas, but it's mostly just a very large plain of sand and a bit of driftwood. There is some elevated sand, miled dunes, and just endless amount of beach to walk and stroll. The only downside is that it's oftentimes foggy and cold near the water, but it makes for a very magical beach stroll that way. Great place, worth a stop if your driving by.

Beautiful sand and view with free parking! The river access makes for warmer swimming ‍ water and…read moreis very clean! Bathrooms too!

Leaving early:/ really beautiful spot and access to the lake but wow they need to do something…read moreabout the deer flies. we were getting SWARMED, probably around 20 flies attacking and biting us so we are sadly leaving a day early and finding a hotel 30 mins away. Also they clean the bathrooms around 8:30-9:30am so we had to run downtown to use a bathroom. overall really beautiful but pls spray the campgrounds WOW

This place is a garbage dump. I highly recommend finding another campground to camp in the UP, out…read moreof all the places I went camping in the UP. This place is the worst. So where do I begin, first off Its overcrowded, I mean, the campground owners must be desperate for money because they have this place packed, you can pretty much smell your neighbors farts your so close to the next camper, They pack them in here like sardines thats for sure. And garbage all over the place, the beaches I am sure at one time were pristine, but this place contributes to the trash on the beach and blowing all over the place, most the trash cans were full and the facilities are disgusting. Flies all over, worst I have seen then anywhere else in the UP. I went to go use the showers and they both sucked, the small one, was filthy, I don't think they clean them on the weekends, and the showers don't have any curtains, in any of them, so going to shower with grand kids is difficult at best, and the roof of the inside of the building is covered with dead flies and moths and spiders crawling all over the place, and it looks like they painted over them in an attempt to make it look nice. Made me want to vomit. My grand kids could not be convinced to use this one more then once and I will never come back to this campground again with them, and on that note the other shower building looks nice, but its a joke, whoever spent the money to build this thing got took, when you walk up at night the lights are literally shorting out making a buzz noise like the whole building might catch on fire, then when you go inside it looks really nice and new, but that is deceiving! The shower is ridiculous, its big enough to wash an elephant, and the water pressure is a joke, you got room in the shower to have a party with a full on DJ but there is no water pressure, I feel like this may be a gay bath house of some sort, based on some of the drunken riff raff we saw in this place. Why so much room for activities??? Worst part the drain was plugged or slow and the water pooled in half of them, so you literally standing in some one else waste water while it feels like you're getting pissed on and again did I mention that there is no water pressure. The only plus side of this whole place was the view, it's pretty nice when you dont have a million people right in front of you. So much traffic, I thought I saw a sign that said no ORV's but thats all I saw was people with loud smelly exhausts on off road vehicles cruising thru at all hours of the night and day. Terrible. Do not recommend.

Based on other reviews we got lucky when it came to bugs...I do't recall even using our bug spray…read moreand we didn't have any issues. We visited the first week of September, so maybe we just got lucky. My husband talked me into biking the west rim, then cutting down the middle of the island back to the ferry. Around 20 miles. Our rental bikes were a bit tough to use with not much padding on the seat and gears that were difficult to use. My husband's chain came off at one point. The good news is that we made it in just over four hours - I was so worried about missing the last ferry at 6pm, but we actually caught the 5pm ferry. I would love to visit the island again and stay over night so we don't have to race a clock. The bike trails are tough! I'm a decent bike rider, but trail riding is tough for me. I actually was okay for the first 12 miles, but my legs and rear became sore, making the last eight miles tough. I'm super glad that I was able to complete the ride, and once again had we gotten an earlier start and didn't have to worry about catching the ferry back I think I could have relaxed and not been as worried about having to push my bike up and down some tough and washed out trails. The views on the west rim were amazing! I actually wish we would have just turned around and retraced our steps instead of going down the middle of the island to get back, which is mainly a dirt road for atvs. We will be back to explore some more and work on our bike skills!

This was my second time back on the island and I'm still blown away at the beauty! You just can't…read moreput it into words and seems like you are in n a completely different state! I will say it is not an easy hike or bike ride depending on your preference! So please keep in mind age and/or physical health! I've always biked the island and takes around 5 or 6 hours depending on number of stops you take! This is a must see if you are in Munising with a day to burn and you like being physically active! Arrive early so you can get signed up, information filled out and you bike (if renting) and ferry service paid for!

The trail if you are up for it, is good. It's lengthy and windy and many ups and down…read more Definitely good for sneakers or hiking boots, maybe even a hiking stick for some leverage on the inclines. Make sure as with any walks or hikes, bring water to keep yourself hydrated. As the walk will leave you parched as you go up and down small hills. It's good either way to get some fresh air, not the urban air either. Happy hiking and see cool stuff! You can drive close to by the Sand Point, Miners Castle other stops along the shore.

One of the most beautiful places in Michigan, I highly recommend both the shorter hike to Miners…read morefalls and the longer hike on Chapel loop. If you don't hike, I recommend driving to Miners castle. I am a local and I hike the Chapel loop twice a year because the views never get old. I go in early Spring and late Fall because it isn't as crowded then.

Beautiful Place - Easy to get to and not a very long walk. There are stairs, but it's not…read moredifficult. Views were gorgeous. It was a nice day but there were not a lot of people here.

This was our second visit…read more Our first was during peak season and it was PACKED, hot & thick with mosquitoes. There were a lot of unhappy children that weren't shy about vocalizing their displeasure. This time, it was cool out with light rain, empty of people & not a mosquito in site. The lower falls may make you question why you're here. The upper falls should help you remember. We trekked all over & enjoyed it. (After hours on a bike, the body was itching to be in motion.) The walkways are user friendly & I'd call it more of a stroll than a hike. No scrambles here. I'm not sure you could pay me to come back when it's busy but I would certainly come back around the end of September/beginning of October. The colors were just starting, too. So, if you're looking for that, it should be ready around the 1st week of October (?)

Only spent one night here. Very busy park for how isolated it is. Lots are on smaller side, but we…read morehad lot right by lake so privacy not much of an issue. Rained entire time we were there. Restrooms nice. The road to the nearest town is not paved, so going over to grand marais for a beer from the brewery is an adventure.

Wonderful campground fronting on Muskallonge Lake. Nice swimming beach. You can easily walk to Lake…read moreSuperior from the campground.

This place is a garbage dump. I highly recommend finding another campground to camp in the UP, out…read moreof all the places I went camping in the UP. This place is the worst. So where do I begin, first off Its overcrowded, I mean, the campground owners must be desperate for money because they have this place packed, you can pretty much smell your neighbors farts your so close to the next camper, They pack them in here like sardines thats for sure. And garbage all over the place, the beaches I am sure at one time were pristine, but this place contributes to the trash on the beach and blowing all over the place, most the trash cans were full and the facilities are disgusting. Flies all over, worst I have seen then anywhere else in the UP. I went to go use the showers and they both sucked, the small one, was filthy, I don't think they clean them on the weekends, and the showers don't have any curtains, in any of them, so going to shower with grand kids is difficult at best, and the roof of the inside of the building is covered with dead flies and moths and spiders crawling all over the place, and it looks like they painted over them in an attempt to make it look nice. Made me want to vomit. My grand kids could not be convinced to use this one more then once and I will never come back to this campground again with them, and on that note the other shower building looks nice, but its a joke, whoever spent the money to build this thing got took, when you walk up at night the lights are literally shorting out making a buzz noise like the whole building might catch on fire, then when you go inside it looks really nice and new, but that is deceiving! The shower is ridiculous, its big enough to wash an elephant, and the water pressure is a joke, you got room in the shower to have a party with a full on DJ but there is no water pressure, I feel like this may be a gay bath house of some sort, based on some of the drunken riff raff we saw in this place. Why so much room for activities??? Worst part the drain was plugged or slow and the water pooled in half of them, so you literally standing in some one else waste water while it feels like you're getting pissed on and again did I mention that there is no water pressure. The only plus side of this whole place was the view, it's pretty nice when you dont have a million people right in front of you. So much traffic, I thought I saw a sign that said no ORV's but thats all I saw was people with loud smelly exhausts on off road vehicles cruising thru at all hours of the night and day. Terrible. Do not recommend.

Terrible campground. Rude Camp-host. Sites are way to close together. Showers broken. Find a better…read moreone if your going to travel the distance!

Miners Falls is another great, relatively easy hike that can be done by all skill levels and I…read morewould highly recommend it as well during your Pictured Rocks trip, either before or after you make a stop at Miners Castle as well. Clocking it at 1.2 miles, it takes about half an hour to complete out and back. Miners Falls is way bigger and grander than Munising Falls, so it's definitely impressive and worth the hike out. You aren't able to get as close to it as you do to Munising Falls, you view it from 2 different viewing platforms across a wide river, but it's still impressive just the same. The hike is more intensive. It's mostly shallow, sometimes steeper in areas decline through forest on the way there, but that just means that you know the way back is going to be a constant uphill, which is a bit killer. Total elevation gain here is about 150 feet. Great part about this hike is that the trail is so WIDE, tons of space to walk and be distant from other people, not that this trail was even all that heavily trafficked by any means. When you get to the falls, the first viewpoint you get to really doesn't give you a good view. For both viewpoints, you are already looking down at the falls, and the first viewpoint, which is much higher up, is blocked by trees and at too high of an angle for you to appreciate much of anything. So it's imperative that you head to viewpoint #2, which is down one final series of steep stairs. From this viewing platform, you get a great, impressive view of the falls, get a moment to take pictures, catch your breath, before you embark on the not-so-long-but-sort-of-feels-long-because-it's-all-uphill journey back up to the parking lot. I was definitely breathing hard by the time I got to the parking lot, but it was a great, short hike to do! It really didn't hurt either that there was gorgeous fall foliage all along the road leading into the Miners Falls parking lot and spots of color along the entire hike as well. Can't be anything but happy when looking at fall rolling in! :)

Okay so here is another decent/worthwhile waterfall to visit within Pictured Rocks National…read moreLakeshore. This is Miners Falls. And...it's really easy to find and hike to. From the trailhead it's a 0.6 mile walk along a gravel path. And the 0.6-mile stroll to Miners Falls takes you throughout an incredibly pleasant and tranquil forest setting. Even before I arrived at the falls, I was grabbing pictures on the walk being immersed in lush green trees and vegetations of the woodsy outdoors. Miners Falls is about a 50-foot waterfall that's one of the more majestic flowing falls you'll find in the small town of Munising, Michigan...and Munising is sort of the host town of Pictured Rocks NL. In Munising, you'll discover a bunch of other scenic waterfalls like Alger Falls, Chapel Falls, Munising Falls, Mosquito Falls and Horseshoe Falls to name a few. You can plug all these waterfalls into Google Maps on your phone to specifically locate them. Cell phone reception in Munising works just fine. Now, one of my issues with this Miners Falls and I know I'm nitpicking...is that once walk the 0.6 mile...you can only view the falls from an observation deck. And...this overlook platform had guardrails installed as high up as your waste. So...when trying to take optimal photos of Miners Falls for yourself and or family...you're sort of held hostage to these guardrails. It's sort of like you're being photobombed by a stranger but instead it's really the tiny platform and guardrails that taint the experience. Most visitors here at the overlook were taking selfie pics, which for myself...isn't worth the time. So, I gladly took a picture or two of Miners Falls before returning back towards the trailhead. I guess just in the end I'm a narcissistic person and I want myself in every picture to officially claim that I've "been there, done that", lol. Oh well, this miniscule platform vista point and the guardrails were out of my control. Here was another frustrating aspect... I was visiting back at the end of May 2021 and the parking lot and hike to the falls were pretty busy. In fact, it was congested enough to the point that there was a crowded line of people just waiting to step onto the observation area. And because the platform barely allowed tourists to step foot on it together at one time, the wait was about 10 minutes to get that photographic memory. Wow I thought to myself...this is a popular part to the Pictured Rocks NL area. And just a side note...when I was here this past summer, it was free to explore and hike to all the waterfalls. But for the 2022 travel season, starting on March 1, there'll be a $10 fee for visitors which will eventually over time get raised to $25. So, yes...people are coming. National parks, monuments, lakeshores, state parks, hikes and trails are all getting busier each year. Be prepared for maybe eventually losing that true essence for being outside in the heart of nature. Tourists are coming in droves and it's not stopping anytime soon. Anyways...finally, I got my time at the overlook deck for a quick couple of photos before yielding to the people behind me. Miners Falls was pretty impressive when looking down upon it. I just wished that the hiking path continued down towards the base of the falls because in my opinion...there's nothing like looking up at a scenic waterfall as the prime attraction within a scenic backdrop. Welp...lol, sorry for all my venting. From here at Miners Falls, I continued onto Munising Falls, about a 9-mile drive away. And yeah...once again, Munising Falls was simply a 0.5 mile walk each way to and from an observation deck, but at least the platform there allowed more space to accommodate tourists. Lastly, although I never found true fulfillment from the viewing platform looking down at Miners Falls, I still enjoyed the hike through the forest and simply getting a chance to witness another waterfall here at Pictured Rocks Lakeshore in the UP - Upper Peninsula of Michigan.