Porcupine Mountains State Park

[kacee]

Has anyone ever camped here? We love the more remote areas (but with the relative security and conveniences of a state park!), hiking with our dog, and are thinking of spending several days here, probably late July. We have been all over the lower peninsula; our favorite park is Wilderness S.P. on the Mackinac Straits. Any advice? Thanks!

[A2SuperCrew]

We LOVE camping in the U.P. but have never been as far west as the Porcupines.  

I can recommend Muskallonge Lake State Park up on Lake Superior.  We've camped there several times, and always enjoyed it.  Also Indian Lake State Park is another place we have enjoyed in the U.P.

Happy Trails!

[Kelly]

We spent a week there last summer and really enjoyed it.  The campground itself isn't what I would call remote.  It's wide open ... but the rest of the park is phenomenal!   We had a site in the row farthest from the lake ~ they back up to the woods and are wider than the other sites.  The rest of them are pretty much on top of each other.  

We would definitely go again ~ and stay longer!!

[ForestCreature]

One of our favorite spots! There is enough hiking to keep you going for weeks! From easy to very difficult.

The Porkies offer you options, the CG Kelly stayed in or the Presque Isle Unit. Presque Isle is primitive, no ele etc.. the sites are open, but much larger than the other CG. Presque Isle CG sits on a bluff, the river with several falls is great easy hiking from the CG..downfall is the beach is what feels like 300 stair steps down.

The biggest bonus at either CG is if you get lucky you can witness some of the most spectacular sunsets there are.



The smaller outpost CGs are mostly too small to get the PU in on the sites.


Bring a screenhouse, the flies can carry you away sometimes.

[kacee]

Great photo, Marcy! "Wide open" is not what we usually look for in sites, so I will try for one in the back row (I appreciate that tip). Are the flies always bad on Lake Superior? Our one experience camping on Superior was in the mid-90s at Brimley SP, when we had to keep our dog inside during the day as she was one giant welt from fly bites. Is it just on the beach or also on the trails ... I forget. Thanks, everyone, knew I could count on you guys.
Kacee

[Kelly]

We had bad flies for two of the days ~ then the wind shifted.  Can't remember if they came from the south or the north.   They only really bugged us when we were eating, so we ate in the trailer more than we usually do.  They didn't seem as bad when hiking or moving about.  

Just outside Silver City on M-64 is a sign for Bonanza Falls.   Check them out.  They aren't big or flashy, but my kids (and other peoples' dogs) had a great time climbing on them and playing in the water.  It was one of those places we kept driving past and finally stopped at.  It was one of the highlights of the trip for my girls.  We all jumped in with all our clothes on and then laid on the rocks to dry out.

The road through the park to Presque Isle was closed for construction when we were there, but we did make the (long way around) drive and spent a day there.  Well worth the drive ~ we all had a great time and hiked to all three waterfalls in that part of the park.

[ForestCreature]

We left one time (we've been to the porkies about 4/5 times) because the flies were so bad at the site. So really it's a crapshoot with the flies.  

There are lots other places to go  and camp all over the UP so we just up and left that day, headed to the Sturgeon River Gorge area..best decision we made!

Like Kelly said tho, they're usually not  so bad hiking around.

[SkipP]

We had bad flies for two of the days

And the rest of the time, they behaved themselves?
:sombraro:

[A2SuperCrew]

The black flies can be pretty bad up there.  If the wind is off Lake Superior, the flies disappear.  If the wind is from inland (south) the flies can be terrible.  When they are bad, they do seem to be worst on the beach.  We've been chased off the beach many times.  We were even chased out of the Seney Wildlife Refuge when we rode in on mountain bikes through a back gate one evening.  It's a wet area, so lots of flies.  You never know when flies will be bad, but they seem to thrive in early summer.

[Kelly]

And the rest of the time, they behaved themselves?
:sombraro:

:J   :J   :J   :J   :J  You should post more often, SkipP :p

[mklawz]

Looks like I'm late to the party.   Haven't checked in in a while.

We went to the Porkies on a 4th of July weekend about 4-5 years ago.  To say the black flies were 'bad' would be the understatement of the century.  They were so bad we packed up and drove home a day early.  But we were tent-campers back then and didn't have the benefit of a screen shelter.   Apparently that year was some kind of a cyclical infestation, I was told anyway.  Ironically, when we got back home to Chicago there was an article on the FRONT PAGE of the Chi-Tribune about how bad the flies are where we just came from!!!  

I think the Presque Isle Campground is much better than the Union Bay.    UB was all wide open, no shade.   Presque Isle wasn't very private either but at least it was shady.  We got VERY lucky and got a site up on the bluff over Lake Superior.  It was just a small view between some trees but you could hear the water lapping up.  It was nice.   I think those sites were first come first serve.  

Great  hiking thru-out the park.   I'd love to go back someday.   Maybe they'll find a cure for the black plague, I mean flies by then....

[kacee]

Thanks, MKLAWZ! I made reservations for the Union campground, but on the advice of another member, got the back row, which apparently is more private. We'll see how that works out. We had a bad experience with the flies at the eastern end of the UP (Brimley SP), a dozen years ago or so. BUT, hope springs eternal! We are going toward the end of July, and the flies are supposedly the worst late spring. We have camped for years and years at Wilderness SP on the Straits, and have had only a couple of years where we were attacked by flies.

Anyway ... can ANYTHING be worse than our Midwest winter this year?

[mklawz]

I'm sure the UB campground is fine.  We just drove thru it to use the showers over there.     Definitely check out the west side of the park, and the waterfalls, etc..  

About 3 years ago, we popped over to Wilderness for a day of mountain biking while we were camping at a private place (Millcreek or something?).   I'd like to go back to Wilderness for a stay.   Kids are a bit young for a long drive like that yet (we have a 5mo).

Um, YEAH, this winter has been particularly miserable!!   Luckily we were down in St. Louis for Easter during this last episode of snow.  Mercifully, by the time we got back home it was all gone.