Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
35653 State Hwy M-107, Silver City, Ontonagon, MI 49953-9088
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About
4.0
#1 of 1 campground in Silver CityLocation
4.8
Value
5.0
Service
4.6
Sleep Quality
4.0
Camp, Hike, Swim. Located at the entrance to the Porcupine Mountain State Park, 15 miles west of Ontonagon. By the sandy shore of Lake Superior. RV sites are graveled with power and water, picnic tables, fire pits, paved driveway throughout. Wifi is available at your site. We feature clean, modern, indoor restrooms with hot showers. A dump station is on the premises. Pets are welcome. Firewood, ice and refreshments available for sale. The Visitor's Center is within walking distance, and the sandy beach of Lake Superior is just across the road. Various activities for the entire family to enjoy; hiking, backpacking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, rock picking, beachcombing. 90 miles of walking/hiking trails through pristine old growth forest, with many small lakes, streams and waterfalls to explore. End your day relaxing by the campfire and enjoying the magnificent colors as the sun sets over the deep blue waters of Lake Superior.
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Property amenities
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Wifi
Beach
Hiking
Canoeing offsite
Fishing
Children's playground
Pets Allowed ( Dog / Pet Friendly )
Good to know
HOTEL STYLE
Quaint
Hidden Gem
Location
35653 State Hwy M-107, Silver City, Ontonagon, MI 49953-9088
Getting there
1 Attraction
within 5 miles
31Reviews1Q+A5Room tips
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Detailed Reviews
We camped here for 4 nights with friends in our campers. The campground was not crowded at all and the hosts were very friendly and helpful. We were way in the back which unfortunately was too far for the wifi to reach. So to check out email we had to walk to the bathroom/shower area to get any service at all. The campground is right across the street from Lake Superior which was handy. Beautiful sunsets here!
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Date of stay: June 2019
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip: This is a campground, not a hotel!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Great campground and location right next to Lake Superior and Porcupine Mountains State Park. Very clean bathrooms and showers available. Amazingly the bugs were so non-existent I didn’t even have to cover up the food. Not sure about previous reviews about the owners as I found everyone helpful and pleasant. Highly recommend staying here and hopefully I will be back again someday!!
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Date of stay: June 2021Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We had the perfect stay at Union River Big Bear campground. The location was amazing. Across the street from Lake Superior, with a very quiet beach. We spent many mornings and evenings here and even launched our kayak from the beach (there is a steep bank to climb down, but easy stair access). It was easy to access all the highlights of the porcupine mountain parks, trails, and coastline. Although no sites have sewer hook ups, the bathrooms are beautiful and always clean. The owners were always around and available. Many people complained on how “strict” they were. But we really appreciated the standard in which they hold their campers to. The campground was always quiet, which is just how we wanted to spend our time our time in the porcupine mountains. The camp store is stocked with everything from ice, firewood, bug spray, propane, food, etc. There are no laundry facilities, but there is a really nice laundromat in town, about 25 minutes away. Have dinner and explore the lighthouse after doing laundry. Makes for the perfect break from hiking. We can’t wait to be back here again. Thank you for a wonderful and relaxing stay!
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Norman Audette, Owner at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Responded Mar 10, 2024
Thank you so much, we appreciate your business and your truthful review! We had responded to this back in 2022 but it did not get published for some reason. Even though this is late, we wanted to let you know how much we appreciate you and we hope to see you again!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We will never be going back to this campground! The people that run it were NOT friendly at all and charged us over $90 for one night! Very unreasonable and the site was very small. We had our older children(ages 19-23) with us, so we were with 6 adults and 1 kid even though it was us parents with 5 kids. And then they accused us of having 9 people on the lot! Never ask any questions to verify and we told them when we checked in that we had 6 adults and 1 kid.
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Date of stay: August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We tent camped here in the rain. WiFi is only accessible close to buildings which was fine by us. Bathrooms and showers were pretty clean and nice. Very close to the porcupines and right off Lake Superior with access to the beach. Would be nice if they had a laundry facility only bc we had been soaked all day and had to go into Ontonagon to dry our clothes but otherwise this campground met all our needs and was beautiful.
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Date of stay: September 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were delighted to get the last campsite after being turned away at the state park. Hosts were gracious, bathrooms very clean, location next to the Porkies was excellent, spectacular view of Lake Superior...and every time I entered the bathhouse- lovely music was playing!!
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My parents came up on a Monday night with the rest of my family rented three superset campsites. My parents advised when they checked in me, (daughter) would be arriving Tuesday afternoon to stay a night. I arrived on Tuesday afternoon and the lot was full so I parked my car at my parents site (front and center of the entrance) the owner came over and yelled at me for not having a parking pass, I explained I just wanted to park my car and I would go in an pay. Advised the lady at the front desk I was here to spend the night with “parents last name.” She states of great they have another one joining, and proceeded to tell me that my family wAs on the hook for being loud. Tuesday night the owner came into our campsite and was arguing with my grandfather about us all laughing and talking around a campfire. Very beautiful place, but very disrespectful and ignorant owners.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Norman Audette, Owner at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Responded Mar 7, 2024
We advertise that this is NOT a party campground. Our customers are travelers on vacation. They plan their vacations months in advance with the state park as their destination and are here to explore the 90 miles of hiking trails, numerous waterfalls and old growth forests. They expect to be able to appreciate the peace and quiet that these surroundings provide. Quiet time starts at 10 pm and is enforced.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Excellent campground! We loved our stay here this fall. The campground is meticulously maintained and I commented to my wife multiple times how nice the place is. The spots were good size and had a decent amount of space between neighbors. The restrooms were clean, and beautiful. Staff was friendly and attentive and more than willing to help if needed. Don’t listen to reviews about the strictness, that’s why we chose this campground. If you want to skirt the rules, it’s not happening here and I applaud that! We had a great few days with no problems whatsoever. Have recommended this place to a few people already! Thanks for the great stay!!
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Norman Audette, Owner at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Responded Mar 10, 2024
Thank you very much, we appreciate your business and your truthful review. We hope to see you again in the future.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
+1
This is a beautiful campground right next to the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in the U P of Michigan. After reading the reviews of the Union Bay Campground in the park, I'm glad I could get a reservation here!
This is a well established campground. There's 50 sites with water & electricity, but no sewer. There is a dump station.
Some sites have more room than others. We had site 16, which was roomy. Site 20 is also roomy & shady.
The best sites over look the Union River. Sites 27/28 are nice & site 29 is outstanding. There are a few pull throughs.
Any of the perimeter sites would be good. These have a woods view in the back.
Avoid sites 24A/45&46. these sites are very near the dump station, with 45 right by it. There's a tall fence separating you from it.
The bathrooms are beautiful! Clean with hot showers. Decorated nicely, with music also. There's a community fire pit on the front lawn with swings & chairs. A nice view of Lake Superior. The sunsets are outstanding. There's a free beach across the street. You need to take the stairs down to it. Don't try climbing down the rocks!
I didn't have much luck looking for Yooper Stones.
The gift shop is small, but has some nice things.
Out of the 3 campgrounds we stayed at this trip, this was our favorite!
This is a well established campground. There's 50 sites with water & electricity, but no sewer. There is a dump station.
Some sites have more room than others. We had site 16, which was roomy. Site 20 is also roomy & shady.
The best sites over look the Union River. Sites 27/28 are nice & site 29 is outstanding. There are a few pull throughs.
Any of the perimeter sites would be good. These have a woods view in the back.
Avoid sites 24A/45&46. these sites are very near the dump station, with 45 right by it. There's a tall fence separating you from it.
The bathrooms are beautiful! Clean with hot showers. Decorated nicely, with music also. There's a community fire pit on the front lawn with swings & chairs. A nice view of Lake Superior. The sunsets are outstanding. There's a free beach across the street. You need to take the stairs down to it. Don't try climbing down the rocks!
I didn't have much luck looking for Yooper Stones.
The gift shop is small, but has some nice things.
Out of the 3 campgrounds we stayed at this trip, this was our favorite!
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Date of stay: August 2023Trip type: Traveled as a couple
Value
Location
Service
Room Tip: Laundry in Ontonagon. Also some restaurants. There's a nice rock shop/gift shop in Ontonagon...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Norman Audette, Owner at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Responded Mar 10, 2024
Thank you very much, we hope to see you again!
Read more
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
+1
This is our fourth year going to this campground, and we will continue to go as long as we are able. One of the things I admire most about this campground is that the owners, unlike so many others enforce the rules. I don't have to worry about dogs barking incessantly, or people being overly loud (even in the middle of the day). Those who have posted bad reviews for this campground are not used to following any sort of rules. They don't think the rules apply to them. And let me be clear, these rules are not unreasonable; just a simple list of dos and don'ts. We love the peace and quiet, the immaculate bathrooms with piped in music! So, for those who have a difficult time following the guidelines of this campground, keep driving right on by. I guarantee your spot will be filled with someone who loves the peace and quiet.
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Date of stay: September 2023Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Norman Audette, Owner at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Responded Mar 10, 2024
Thank you so much, we appreciate your continued patronage! And we appreciate your truthful review. We look forward to seeing you again this summer!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Hi, we are taking reservations now for 2024 but all reservations are now non-refundable.
"There is no cell service in this part of UP so it's best to download offline maps if you can. The campground does have wifi but it's slow so keep that in mind. "Read full review
"Laundry in Ontonagon. Also some restaurants. There's a nice rock shop/gift shop in Ontonagon called Gitche Gumee Landing."Read full review
"The dump station block the road. Leave early and avoid the long line. Also the way into the park becomes very contested. Be careful of trees"Read full review
Claudia T wrote a tip Feb 2020
Spring Valley, Wisconsin, United States309 contributions184 helpful votes"This is a campground, not a hotel!"Read full review
LOCATION
United StatesMichiganUpper PeninsulaOntonagonSilver City
NUMBER OF ROOMS
1
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Frequently Asked Questions about Union River 'Big Bear' Campground
Which popular attractions are close to Union River 'Big Bear' Campground?
Nearby attractions include Porcupine Mountains Ski Area (4.1 miles).
What are some of the property amenities at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include free wifi, kids activities, and off-site canoeing.
What are some restaurants close to Union River 'Big Bear' Campground?
Conveniently located restaurants include Curbside Chicken, Paul's Restaurant & Lounge, and Porkies Outpost.
Are pets allowed at Union River 'Big Bear' Campground?
Yes, pets are typically allowed, but it's always best to call ahead to confirm.