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Porcupine Mtn Union Bay Campground, Ontonogan, MI

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HuronSailor View Drop Down
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    Posted: 11 Aug 2011 at 8:32am
This park has 5 rustic and 1 modern campground, several cottages and yurts, and 26 hiking trails. It's a massive park: you can set up camp at the modern Union Bay campground, then go visit your friends at the rustic Presque Isle campground, 26 miles away, without ever leaving the park. There's also a visitor center, camp store, and a ski area within walking/biking distance. 

Some of the hiking trails are in serious backwoods country: don't try to hike them in your flip-flops. Bring food, water, first aid kit, map and compass and/or GPS when you go. Bear activity is high, and you can get instructions on how to deal with bear sightings at the welcome center or from any ranger. Cell phones are mostly useless here.

Union Bay has 100 sites with electricity, modern shower buildings, and a dump station. Sites 1-19 are Lake Superior waterfront, though your view will be mostly obstructed by dense woods, and a few of the sites are very un-level. Sites 20-28 are waterfront, with a partially obstructed view of the lake, site 29 is waterfront with a mostly clear view of the lake. Many of the sites around the perimeter are long and shallow, so many folks park parallel to the road with their doors looking out over the lake. The campground is sort of tiered, so the farther back from the lake you go, the higher you are. At the sites farthest back from the lake you can actually see over the trees to the lake, and you can catch a nice breeze. 

Showers and restrooms are in pretty good shape, there's firewood and ice available at the camp store, operated by an outside vendor. They also have a very few expensive grocery items, some basic first aid and medical supplies, and the usual assortment of misc camping gear, t-shirts, hats and etc. Also canoe and kayak rentals. The closest town is Ontanogon, they have a grocery store and gas station.

The lakefront at the park is flat rock, perfect for setting up a chair. There's a sandy beach adjacent to the park itself, you can walk to it along the shore, or there's a few parking areas along the highway outside the park where you can easily access the sandy beach. 

The information center has great information on all the trails and campgrounds, and rangers on duty. A large 3D model of the park shows all the trails and campgrounds, so you can get an idea of the elevation changes of the trails before you go.
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