Crystal Falls/ Iron River
| RUNKLE
PARK AND CAMPGROUND (906) 875-3051 - The 57 campsites at this pretty lakeside park from the 1920s have electricity, shade, water hookups, and showers, but no privacy buffers. (See "points of interest" for Runkle Park.) There are tennis courts and ball diamonds. Walking distance to Crystal Falls, golf. - Off M-69 about 1/2 mile east of the Paint River and Crystal Falls. Turn north at sign. Park is just ahead. About $10/night without sewage hookup, $15/night with it. Open from Mem. through Labor Day weekends. Handicap accessible: mostly pretty good, but not ADA accessible. Firm ground. Wheelchair-accessible fishing pier. Occasional tree roots. Dogs permitte. |
PAINT
RIVER HILLS CAMPGROUND (906) 875-4977 - Local people who love their town's beauty spots are impressed with this new tidy, clean campground on 36 acres on the west side of the Paint River within walking distance to town. The five cabins, 29 tent sites, and 23 RV sites don't have river views, but the water can be heard everywhere. A half-mile trail goes along the riverside bluffs and then descends to take an improved path through the large white cedars and hardwoods of "Fairy Tale Swamp," as generations of children have called it. The general public enjoys access to this trail. Bluebird and wood duck houses encourage those birds. Many kinds of wildlife are seen here. The heated, insulated 12' x 12' log cabins are in a semi-circle around the bath and shower house. They don't have bathrooms or kitchens. Each sleeps up to six in a double-bed bunk and a twin bunk. Nightly rentals are $38-$40. Of the RV sites, four pull-through sites ($22/night) have sewer, water, and 50 amp service. Six pull-through sites ($20) have 30 amp service. The 13 back-in sites and 29 tent sites ($15) are in shady areas, well separated by landscape buffers. |
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GLIDDEN LAKE CAMPGROUND/COPPER COUNTRY STATE FOREST |
BEWABIC
STATE PARK (906) 875-3324 - This beautiful state park on a chain of four lakes offers swimming, tennis, and good canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. Most sites in the 144-site modern campground ($14 and $16 a night) are in a heavily wooded area that enjoys excellent privacy plus electricity and showers. Foot trails and a drive connect the campground with the nearest lake, 1/4 to 1/2 mile away. (The campground used to be near the lake, but the septic system failed.) Use, though not heavy, is increasing; Bewabic has tended to fill on July and August weekends. The popular lakes may be busy on Saturday but are never crowded; Pentoga Lake is more heavily used. The two-mile trail system goes mostly through mature hardwood forest of maples and birch. Canoeist-campers who'd like to avoid other campers altogether should ask at the office for the map to 40 acres of state land on Third Lake, on which they can camp informally. - On U.S. 2, four miles west of Crystal Falls and about 11 miles east of Iron River, on the west side of First Fortune Lake. Open all year. Campground not plowed; winter plug-ins are by the office. State park sticker required: $6/day for Michigan residents, $8 otherwise. Annual pass is $24 for residents, $29 otherwise. Handicap accessibility: call. Buildings are not ADA accessible. |
| Primitive
camping at PEAVY POND and the MICHIGAMME RESERVOIR/ (906) 779-2479 - Wisconsin Electric Power (now "We Energies") owns 13 hydroelectric dams on the Menominee River watershed in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Wisconsin. It also owns 40,000 acres of surrounding recreational land, which the company calls "Wilderness Shores." These reservoirs are its two biggest, on the Michigamme River less than ten miles from Crystal Falls. They have long, irregular shorelines of many inlets and peninsulas. The long Michigamme Reservoir is northeast of town. Peavy Pond is to the southeast. There are also campsites along the Brule River. Fishing is the big attraction, for smallmouth bass, walleye, northern pike, muskellunge, and panfish. Eagles, osprey, and other raptors prey on the fish. Most of the land is open to hunting, with deer and grouse the main attractions. "We Energies" has voluntarily developed small, primitive campgrounds on so-called "project lands" around dams that are licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. These lands are required to be open to public access, with boat launches provided. See "Camping" for Crystal Falls. |
