Craig Lake State Park is located just west of Michigamme on M28. The park is Michigan’s most remote and rustic state park. The park is primarily used for canoeing on beautiful Craig Lake, but it can also be used for day hiking and backcountry camping. There are also a few smaller lakes in the park, and the North Country Trail also runs through it. There are no modern facilities; however, the park does have a few pit toilets near campsites scattered throughout the park. Having no canoe, my twelve-year-old son, Aidan, and I decided to try a single night of backcountry camping. This was my son’s first backcountry trip.
We drove along M28 from the east and found the sign for the park easily within a few minutes after leaving Michigamme, but it took a full half hour to drive the 8-mile gravel road into the park. I drove our Honda Pilot because I needed the higher ground clearance on this rough road. Half-way along the route, we stopped at the self-registration station and paid the fees for the appropriate permits: a $9 non-resident state park entrance fee (we now live in Wisconsin) and a $14 per day camping permit.
We arrived at the parking area for Craig Lake at 2 pm. The parking lot was about half-full. We shouldered our packs and headed onto the well-marked trail.
We began our hike on the North Country Trail, but quickly veered off at a sign that pointed us toward the Craig Lake camping sites because we were hoping to find a nice site along the lakeshore. The first site we came to was already taken, so we moved along.
Looking at the map of the park, we thought that campsite 5 looked promising, so we set off in search of it. The smaller hiking trails are not as wide or as well marked as the NCT, so we failed to notice the turnoff to campsite 5. About a half hour later, we realized we had missed it and circled back. This time, we were able to locate the correct trail easily and found that campsite 5 was set above and slightly back from the lake. Alongside the campsite was a steep wooden stairway leading down to the lake. We dumped our packs at the campsite and headed down to the lake for viewing and wading. I wasn’t quite satisfied that the campsite was what I had in mind, however, because the lake wasn’t well visible from the site. At this point, however, Aidan was tired of hiking with his heavy pack and wanted to set up camp. I was able to convince him to walk with me to do some more exploring. We dumped our packs at campsite 5 and took a trail leading to Crooked Lake. The trail from campsite 5 to Crooked Lake crosses the NCT and is wide and well marked. After about twenty minutes, we came out into campsite 13, which sat slightly back from Crooked Lake. It was close, but not quite the perfect site I was looking for, so we took the short path that led from site 13 to site 14, and there it was. The Perfect Site.
Site 14 isn’t quite a peninsula, but it comes close. The site is on a piece of land that juts out into the lake, so it is surrounded by water on two sides. The site is very open, with an expansive view of the lake.
Ramen noodles, an easy backcountry dinner.
At campsite 14, we were completely secluded. We saw no one else on the lake the entire time we were there. We did hear some activity overnight from what may have been an otter or some other aquatic mammal. We heard quiet splashing that appeared to be an animal exiting the water. In the morning, we found a large depressed area of brush on shore. We also found a large pile of decaying fish and fish bones nearby. We were disappointed that we never caught sight of the animal. In the morning, we were also visited by a pair of friendly grey jays. They are quiet birds, and they came very close to us and showed no signs of fear.
After preparing cream of wheat and coffee over the fire, we enjoyed a peaceful, sunny breakfast before packing up the tent and hiking out. The hike back to the parking lot took about forty-five minutes.
Overall, Craig Lake State Park was a good spot for a single night trip, perfect for a beginning backcountry camper or a trip with kids.
The UPside 