Champion, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula: Van Riper State Park

September 2024, 5 nights, weekdays, campsite 111

Sunset over Lake Michigamme in Van Riper State Park

Reservations and arrival

This was our first stay in this campground. We made an online reservation for campsite 111, which is a 30 amp site. We arrived after checkout time, and slightly before check-in time. We were able to check-in, fill our water tank at the sanitation station, and proceed to our site. We observed a couple of campers depart after we arrived, so apparently staff does not always enforce the check-in and checkout times, as others have stated. Possibly, the late departing folks had paid for an extra day... When we departed on our last morning before checkout time, we observed new campers arriving early and proceeding to their sites, as well.

View of Lake Michigamme from campsite 111 in Van Riper State Park

Campsite 111

This campsite is shady, it is a decent sized site, only slightly unlevel, and it is mostly private. Lake Michigamme was barely visible from the edge of the site and through our back camper window. 

Campsite 111 in Van Riper State Park

The trail behind this campsite goes down a hill to the boat ramp. The activity on the trail was mostly people walking their dogs, and one day it was active with young teens speedily riding their bikes down the hill. Fortunately, there were no serious accidents! We overheard conversation about one wipeout, but no crying or screaming, so apparently the spill was minor.

Above: Pesheke River flowing into Lake Michigamme under the railroad tracks
Below: Heading out on Lake Michigamme from the boat ramp in Van Riper State Park

Upper Peninsula Michigan: Colwell Lake National Forest Campground

September 2024, 4 nights, campsite 27

You can find more details about this campground in my previous post from our stay in  September 2022. I am sharing a few recent photos and info from our stay this year. 

Sunset over Colwell Lake from campsite 27 

Arrival

There was only one non-reservable campsite with electricity available when we arrived on a Wednesday; campsite 5, which is a non-waterfront site. We had hoped to get a campsite with electricity; however, we opted for a waterfront site instead. There were several great waterfront sites available for three nights or less. We wanted to stay four nights, so we chose campsite 27, which is one of the sites we had circled after our previous stay. 

Beach area of campsite 27 in Colwell Lake National Forest Campground

Campsite 27

We thought the water access from this campsite is one of the better ones. The beach area is sandy, and there was plenty of room for our chairs and kayaks. 

Campsite 27 in Colwell Lake Campground

Upper Peninsula Michigan: Brevoort Lake National Forest Campground near St Ignace

September 2024, 6 nights, campsite 29

Water view behind campsite 29 in Brevoort Lake Campground

Reservations and arrival 

This was our first stay in this campground, and there is not any signage inside the park, other than the park sign when entering the area. There was no sign designating which direction for the campground when the road split (fortunately, google was correct). The campground is straight ahead on Park Lane when arriving from the south, and the picnic area is down the road to the right. The campground was not staffed in September, so we proceeded directly to our campsite. This campground has reservable sites and first come, first serve campsites. There are several great non-reservable sites on the water, and since our stay was off-season, we probably should have picked a site after arrival. We reserved a waterfront site online; however, the online photos do not provide enough information about the sites. I have provided some details about our campsite below.

Campsite 29 in Brevoort Lake Campground

Campsite 29

Something to be aware of, that is not disclosed on the reservation site, is that the online photo of campsite 29 is not taken from the road. There is a dirt road area in front of this campsite, which gives it more privacy from the road; however, there are also two stumps in this area that stick up several inches. They were tall enough that we could not drive over them with our trailer. This made backing our trailer in a bit challenging. I would not suggest this campsite for anyone who wants easy parking.

Campsite 29 in Brevoort Lake Campground