Address:

33303 Headquarters Road
Ontonagon MI, 49953-9087

Phone: 906-885-5275

Approximate Size: 59020 (Acres)

Click HERE for MI DNR Official Website

Porcupine Mountains. THE State Park on our list. This one is one we’ve been wanting to cross off for a while, but just hadn’t made the time to make the trek. This year seemed like the perfect year to make this venture. This summer has been one of the busiest on record for our family, and it just seemed like a great time to get away.

We didn’t have any real plans here, except to spend some time together and go in hunt of some great hikes. We did those successfully, and it was well worth the trek.

This park is massive at 60,000-acres. It is home to a 35,000-acre old-growth forest, waterfalls, miles of rivers and streams, 90-plus miles of hiking trails, a modern and rustic campground, as well as backcountry camping. We camped right on the shore of Lake Superior at Union Bay Campground.

Home for the week. We are still commandeering my Mom’s pop-up camper while we navigate finding our next home on wheels!

This playground is brand new courtesy of Friends of the Porkies! All of the boys really enjoyed it.

We stayed on site #69 across the street from the apple orchard area. While I did really love this campground and there are lots of great sites, we picked one that was a little muddy. If possible, I’d steer away from the apple orchard area, as there were a lot of apples on the ground, as well as mud once it rained for a day. All of the waterfront sites were beautiful, and  if you can book early enough, I’d go for one of those.

Overall, We were so impressed and loved this campground. The bath house was clean, the showers were hot, there was a laundry room, and a brand new playground. Waking up to the sound of the waves crashing on rocks at Lake Superior was the highlight.

The boys even took a dip the first day we were here. This was their second time in Lake Superior in October. Boys are crazy.

The main attraction here at Porcupine Mountains is the Lake of The Clouds overlook. People come from all over to see this view. As promised, it did not disappoint.

It’s just a short trek up a trail to get to this view. It is incredible and the boys were blown away. We all just sat for a bit and took it all in.

There is so much ground to cover here. We passed trailhead after trailhead. You could easily come to this park 10 times and still have more to see. We decided to spend one of our days heading out to Presque Isle River Waterfalls Loop Trail. This trailhead is probably 40 minutes from Union Bay Campground, remember the park is almost 60 THOUSAND ACRES. You’ll do some driving around, but it is worth it. There is some good information on the area HERE.

Towards the beginning of this hike you will cross over the Presque Isle River on the Presque Isle suspension bridge. This bridge is massive, and we all felt very small. The water below leads out to Lake Superior. The trail in front of you heads into massive pines and we couldn’t wait to keep going.

Just a short hike later, we came to a clearing where we could walk on the rocks and look up the river at Manabezho Falls. There are a couple of overlooks on the river, with lots of stairs leading up to a closer view of Manabezho Falls. Where we stoped was rocky, and absolutely beautiful. It’s feels as though you’re standing in the middle of the river. I don’t know if this area is normally completely full of water, or if it’s always passable, but we were able to walk out on the rocks, across the river where the Lake Superior Trail followed the river on the other side.

Looking towards Manabezho Falls

Looking downriver away from Manabezho Falls. If you look closely, you can see Nolan in the middle.

Family Self-Portrait

There are two more waterfalls and much more hiking here, but with our crew including a pup and a 4 year old, we had a ton of fun here and headed out after this stop.

We had read there was disc golf at the Ski hill within the park, and it seemed like a fun way to see some fall color, so we went out to play. You can rent discs at the Porcupine Mountain Outpost. This cute little shop is right within the State Park, and just a minute or two from Union Bay Campground. The disc golf course is free, and you can rent a set of discs for $7/4 hours. We took two sets out with us and were ready to play. The ski hill is just down the road from the store and campground.

We’ve never played disc golf together, but I can imagine not every course is as beautiful as this one. The scenery around us was insane. Beautiful fall colors,  and trees. The terrain was tough, there wasn’t always a clear path, but always worth the views as we continued on.

With a crew of boys, you know we couldn’t get away with a trip north without going fishing. We started out just fishing off of a couple of docks in downtown Ontonagon. After a chat with a local DNR officer, he lead us to the Michigan Dam area which is stocked by the state of Michigan. They didn’t catch much, but the boys did have a good time trying.

Overall we had a beautiful time visiting the Porkies. We know there is much more to do and see, and hope to come back here again sometime. The drive was long but well worth it, 100x over. Looking forward to our next adventure! If you've visited the Porcupine Mountains, we'd love to hear your must-do and see items!