Colored sandstone drops into Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks, a rock face stained in streaks you see from a kayak or a tour boat out of Munising. Sleep at Twelvemile Beach, Hurricane River, or Little Beaver Lake, the three drive-in loops on that shore. Blackflies and mosquitoes own late May through early September, so bring sleeves and repellent even on a warm week.
The three loops have no hookups and take reservations on Recreation.gov, with no drop-in camping. They run mid-May to mid-October, with water and toilets shut off after, and post length caps of 36 feet for a single vehicle and 42 feet combined. Lock the pad before you book the van. The access roads are narrow and twisting, so a longer RV is the wrong vehicle here.
Tannin stains the river at Tahquamenon Falls State Park, and the Upper Falls comes down more than 200 feet wide. Walk to the Upper Falls and sleep at Lower Falls or Rivermouth if you want power. Rivermouth's sandy rustic loop is the one that fits a compact van.
The Porcupine Mountains are Michigan's largest state park, 60,000 acres on the DNR's count. Union Bay is the electrical campground. Lost Creek and Presque Isle stay rustic, and Lost Creek is the compact-van pad.
Isle Royale is a wilderness island farther out in Lake Superior, moose in the inland lakes, reachable only by ferry, seaplane, or private boat. Leave the van on the mainland.
The Straits and Mackinac Island
Spend the night before the Mackinac Bridge at Wilderness State Park, a dark-sky stretch of Lake Michigan shoreline west of Mackinaw City, near Headlands Dark Sky Park. East Lakeshore, Pines Loop, and West Lakeshore take vehicles. The walk-in tent campground does not take vans.
Mackinaw City is the town side of the Straits, with the Mackinac Bridge in the shoreline view. Mackinac Island is the day trip from there, horse-and-carriage streets and a car ban in place since 1901. You ferry over without the van.
Ludington State Park and the northern Lake Michigan shore
Big Sable Point's lighthouse stands on the Lake Michigan side of Ludington State Park, with Hamlin Lake inland and three modern campgrounds, Beechwood, Pines, and Cedar, in between. As of September 2026, Skyline Trail reconstruction closes that trail, the paths that cross it, the amphitheater, and the amphitheater access road. The campgrounds are unaffected, and you still book the pad first: Michigan DNR sites open six months ahead of arrival.
Tawas Point on Lake Huron
Tawas Point pushes a sand spit into Lake Huron with the lighthouse at the tip, and spring and fall bird migrations move through it. Camp behind the spit on the modern loop. A Recreation Passport is required to enter Michigan state parks.
Lower Peninsula lake towns
Sleeping Bear Dunes belongs on the Traverse City page. Higgins Lake and the Au Sable sit on the South Higgins Lake State Park page. For the Muskegon channel and dunes, use the Muskegon page. Rothbury is Electric Forest in June, and Silver Lake's dunes the rest of the year.
Holland owns the Lake Macatawa shore. Grand Haven is the beach run from Grand Rapids. Warren Dunes is the Kalamazoo beach overnight. Pinckney Recreation Area is on the Ann Arbor page, and Detroit sleeps at Sterling State Park on Lake Erie.
Wisconsin continues the west shore of Lake Michigan, and Indiana is the southern neighbor on that same lake. Ohio holds the Lake Erie side, and Windsor is the Ontario crossing from Detroit.