A dark green Toyota pickup with a roof tent parked in tall dry grass as mist closes in.

Forest Service campground

Lake Michigan at St. Ignace

Forest Service campground in Hiawatha National Forest, Mackinac County, Michigan. 602 feet. 13.4 miles from St. Ignace.

Managed by
Forest Service Hiawatha National Forest
Elevation
602 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
33 33 standard non-electric
Longest rig
45 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov

Overview

Lake Michigan Campground at St. Ignace provides great views and unlimited access to Lake Michigan. The area has excellent trails, winding hikers through ancient sand dunes, windswept foundations and a variety of vegetation.

Recreation

The campsites are located between 20- to 30-foot high sand dunes and are just steps away from great body-surfing waves, that crash onto the lake's sandy beaches during commonly high winds. Lake Michigan does offer fishing, but anglers tend to prefer Brevort Lake better, for its catches of walleye, pike, bass, perch and crappie. Campers at Lake Michigan have access to the popular Sand Dunes Cross-Country Ski Trail, as well as the North Country National Scenic Trail, which connects a host of natural areas, from valleys to hilltops, prairies to forests and everything in between. Both trails offer miles of terrain, keeping hikers busy for as long as they choose.

Facilities

The campground offers many shaded and open sites for tent and RV camping. Some sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Picnic tables and campfire rings with grills are provided.

Accessible vault toilets are available, as well as drinking water. Hookups are not provided. Parking spurs are comprised of grass and dirt. A trash collection bin is available at the campground and a dump station can be found at Brevort Lake.

Natural Features

The campground stretches along a bluff between the highway and the lake. Dunes, waves, sand and wind are the primary environmental factors present. Visitors enjoy watching shorebirds, like the Spotted Sandpiper, which can often be seen running up and down the beaches throughout the day.

Nearby Attractions

Brevort Lake is about five miles from the campground. St. Ignace is about 18 miles from the campground and is the closest town.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • boating
  • camping
  • hiking
  • swimming site
  • wildlife viewing

The land around Lake Michigan at St. Ignace

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated September 2, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.