Ontonagon, Michigan: Porcupine Mountains State Park Union Bay Campground

May 2023, 8-nights 

This was our first visit to Porcupine Mountains since 1989. We did not have a reservation when we arrived that year, and the state campgrounds were full. We ended up in a private campground near the entrance to Union Bay: Union River's Big Bear Campground (very nice, BTW). This time, we made a reservation online to arrive on the opening date for Union Bay Campground, May 15th. Even though we arrived opening day before check-in time, there were already about 5 to 7 campers in the campground.

Union Bay Campground in Porcupine Mountains
Below: photo of campsite 18 on DNR reservation site

Union Bay Campground reservation and arrival, campsite #18 and #12

We made an online reservation for a waterfront site that looked like it had the least amount of standing water in the website photos. The photos also showed a few trees around this site, and the description says the surface is grass. When we arrived, campsite 18 was not as pictured or described online. The surface is small stones/rock, rather than grass, and there is no growth between the campsite and the water (which would have helped with the wind). This site is so shallow, that I assume the stone ground cover was brought in after much of the site was washed away during the high water levels three years ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good current photo of campsite 18, as there was a camper on it right away after we decided not to take it.

Campsite 12 in Porcupine Mountains Union Bay Campground
Above: view from screen shelter

Union Bay campsite 12 and more

Since the weather was cool, and we would not have been able to put up our screened shelter in the stones, we looked for a different site. We picked out a few empty sites, called on the yellow phone, and then ended up on site 12. We had shelter, a grassy site, calm conditions, and a great view during most of our stay. The sites across from #12 dip down quite a bit, so they were not the first waterfront sites chosen. All of the sites in front of us were empty during most of our 8 night stay.

Campsites in Porcupine Mountains Union Bay Campground

Campsite 12 is a spacious, level, and grassy site. It is protected from the wind during cool weather, as it butts up to the bank of the upper level sites. There is a large rock between this site and #14, which kind of separates the two. 

Not only were the stones on site 18 a hinderance to setting up our shelter, there was also the wind factor on the waterfront sites. We watched several people try to set up shelters on the lakeside, and then have to take them down. Although the video above shows the waves rolling in, it does not really capture the wind we experienced during most of our stay.

Union Bay Campground in Porcupine Mountains State Park

The shoreline along the waterfront sites in rocky and beautiful. We thought a couple of the best waterfront sites in this campground were sites 25 and 29, because they are very spacious (long) sites. The dimensions are not given on the reservation site, so it is difficult to see this. I do not have any specific photos of these sites; they are at the far left end of the very first photo at the top of this post. 

View of boat ramp area from picnic table in
Union Bay Campground in Porcupine Mountains State Park

Recreation and Visitor Center

A boat ramp, and a few picnic tables are located in this campground behind the contact station. 

Whitetail Path in Porcupine Mountains

Whitetail Path is about a mile hike from our campsite to the visitor center (one-way). You can get on the trail across the street from the Outpost. The usual visitor center was closed during our stay for renovations, so we did this hike just for the exercise. The temporary visitor center was set up in the lodge. There is free wifi, dining, and a gift shop in the lodge. 

I am sharing a few more campground photos below.

View out window from campsite 12 in Union Bay
Below: View toward campsite 13 and lake

I will have a separate post with all the recreation activities in Porcupine Mountains: hiking, waterfalls, and more. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions!