As long as there’s plenty of brown sugar, I could probably have this for breakfast everyday camping. See 4 traveler reviews, 8 photos and blog posts This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. The Sylvania Wilderness encompasses 18,327 acres of primitive lands and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Everyone there was super knowledgeable and really friendly. Supper was delicious tortilla pizzas. Visited Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping Campground lately? Quiet, peaceful, beautiful, natural. Our family’s first trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is all set for August, but I didn’t want to wait so long to get out canoe camping, and the Sylvania Wilderness seemed to be the perfect opportunity for a test run of our gear and packing strategy. Consider reserving a campsite here for your next hunting or fishing trip. You won't regret it. Also check out Bond Falls, by far the Western Upper Peninsula's largest waterfall, to the north. Just cloudy and not real warm compared to a typical normal July day. logs. This page was last updated on August 15, 2014. Sylvania has rules you need to follow which promote “leave no trace” camping. Helen Lake was a very short paddle, and the portage to Clark Lake was easy to find, and since it was a temporary portage not marked on any map, I was glad we found it right away. Primitive camping is $5 per night. Our gear worked out well, and I can’t think of much we should have left behind, although there are some things we *could* do without. We didn’t get very far before the wind was pushing us around, and Amber began asking to go back. The sausage was not very good but I was glad to have some protein. The following are a few examples: A maximum of 6 people per campsite is allowed for any purpose or activity to minimize the impact on the resources near the campsites. Canoe camping; Gear reviews; Skills; Trip reports; Friday, May 29, 2015. Sylvania Wilderness and Recreation Area User Name: Remember Me: Password ... Mesabi, the hubby says that Raccoon has a nicer and easier landing, the campsite is back on a little gradual slope, and my favorite..."it just is." I took that as a clue to get an early start and promised to wake up around 5 am, which is several hours earlier than my normal weekend waking time. We were out about a total of an hour before she became completely discouraged and didn’t want to try any other locations. I could have gotten by without bringing the saw or hatchet, but it was nice to be able to saw and split some 3-4 in. Awesome service. The water came out perfectly clear and tasted good. Quiet, peaceful, beautiful, natural. Amber swam around with her life jacket on for about 45 minutes, which was enough to satisfy her. Visitors can camp in 50 designated campsites within the Sylvania Wilderness. We’re pretty slow paddlers, especially with a full load, so we covered about 3.6 miles in right at 2 hours including time at the portage. The level of relaxation achieved was again, glorious. We saw a fair amount of wildlife, although not as much as I had hoped. Campground Details and Amenities: $$, 1 sites, All Year, No RVs, All ages, Tents only camp, 1722 ft elev, grill, toilets, fish, trail, hike, primitive hike-in sites, (C) Advertise. If you want to unplug and be part of the creation, go to Watersmeet and relax. No reviews $ (906) 358-4551 Watersmeet, Michigan ... Rohr's Wilderness Tours No reviews $$$ (715) 547-3639 Conover, Wisconsin Ontonagon Township Park 4.8 - 5 Reviews $$ (906) 884-2930 Ontonagon, Michigan Amber and I fished from the shore for a little while, but we saw no signs of any fish in the area. Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camp Campground is located at Muskegon MI. Amber seems to love dehydrated meals, so after her begging, we had Mountain House beef stew instead of the planned cheese quesadillas with salsa. If you want to unplug and be part of the creation, go to Watersmeet and relax. Visited Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground lately? The campsite itself is gorgeous, the lake is just perfect and the fishing is amazing. My wife volunteered, and since, unlike me, she gets joy out of walking, I readily complied. Is this a place or activity you would suggest for, Are the prices for this place or activity, Is this a must-do if you are traveling with a, Is this attraction a good place to visit on a, Is this a place or activity you would go to on a, Would you recommend this place or activity to a friend looking for an, We went as a group of nine and had the best time. Great prices and really convenient. Use the link on Facebook, Twitter, other social media, emails, your blog, website, or any other place you can post a link, DO NOT use any links with your affiliate ID in places that commercial posting is not allowed, such as certain forums and messageboards, Remember to disclose that you are an affiliate of the company, Be aware of the commercial posting policies of the places you are putting the link, If you are looking for banner ads or other visual materials, check out the. I was game for walking all the way to the beach but was not disappointed to turn around. To sum up, we came, we saw, we hiked, I paddled and we ate way too much. Javascript is not enabled on your browser. Policies: We had no problems navigating Clark Lake, and we reached Birch campsite around 3pm. The tiny outfitter was packed with only one or two employees to handle all the rentals and fishing licenses. B5F422B6-2841-451D-8211-E654F05FB4F0 Also, campsites for Sylvania can be reserved in advance, alleviating any worries about fighting potential holiday crowds for a campsite, so I reserved campsite Birch on Clark Lake for the July 4th weekend. We spent about 2.5-3 hours and the scenery was beautiful the entire trip. Did you find us useful? The trail was even buggier than our campsite, so Amber was ready to turn around after 0.6 miles. 4 reviews of Sylvania Outfitters "Great place to rent kayak and have nice trip on Ontonagon river.we choose route burned dam to interior trip,on two kayaks,and had great time.highly recommend!" The early start really made a difference as traffic was light, and we had plenty of opportunities to make some stress-free stops, including breakfast at McDonald’s in Plover, WI. Lorraine woke me just after six asking what time it was since we were planning to get an early start to beat the predicted storms. This worked well in that our camping gear was not packed well for portaging. We dried off, then I flaunted around naked for a couple minutes in between changing before decided I better get dressed before the mosquitoes found me. By the way, the BackCountry Navigator app is awesome and works like a charm on my Samsung G3. OverviewSylvania (Clark Lake) Campground is located seven miles southwest of Watersmeet, Michigan, adjacent to the 18,327 acre Sylvania Wilderness Area. There was only one portage, and it was wide and well travelled, at about 96-97 rods long. We packed enough food for 5 days, so our food pack (60 L blue barrel) weighed 40 lbs including stove, dishes, fuel and carrying pack. The Sylvania Wilderness and Sylvania Recreation Area, is located near Watersmeet, Michigan and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. You won't regret it. Follow them. The mosquitos were not very friendly, and they seemed to love hanging out under the tarp, so we mostly did not. Having spent so much time car camping in close proximity to other campers, I was ready to get out to the relative solitude of the wilderness. Did we forget something? ©2021 Paddle Planner, LLC. We saw three eagles, numerous loons, turtles, squirrels, chipmunks, and deer. I had been a bit worried about the water quality, but we found the water to be pretty clean. Anything our community should know before heading out to Sylvania (Clark Lake)? High Lake, Sylvania Wilderness Area. My wife repeatedly asked me if I was sure it would only take four hours to get to Watersmeet, and if I knew how bad holiday traffic could be getting “up north”. Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground in Ottawa National Forest, Watersmeet Michigan. The portage was literally a walk on the beach and was a piece of cake at supposedly 24 rods (400 ft), which is shorter than many of our trips from the parking lots to the landings. Bears have seldom been reported in campsites, and I’ve never encountered one. I also took a small pack, which I did not weigh, with fishing tackle, reels, a gallon of water, and weather radio. For permits call the Sylvania Visitor Center at 906/358-4724. Visitors enjoy endless canoeing, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities. We finally found the trail, but there was a bit of “bushwacking” (well, walking around where we felt there should be a trail according to the map, compass AND GPS). Amber and I slept in on Saturday until about 8:30, and it felt wonderful after waking at 5 the day before. It is absolutely the best campsite in the park. We'd love to hear about your adventure. Many parts of this site will not work correctly without javascript. Friday was a beautiful day, and everything went incredibly smooth. The four hour drive took more like six hours, but we made it back safely with a mess of gear that I had to hose off. Post a message or leave a review of Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camp . Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground is located seven miles southwest of Watersmeet, Michigan, adjacent to the 18,327 acre Sylvania Wilderness Area. Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping Comments & Reviews. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the campsite was, and immediately knew that I would be comfortable there. As you probably know bass, primarily smallmouth fishing is king in the park, as there are only a few other lakes with anything else. July 4-6, 2104, Sylvania Wilderness, Watersmeet, MI, http://gatorpaddler.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-4-6-2104-sylvania-wilderness.html. I expect, though, that if the campground was open that it would be much busier on Clark. We decided we’d try again from the boat after supper, but Amber proved a bit nervous with her first time fishing from the boat. May 23-25, 2015, Sylvania Wilderness, Watersmeet, MI Amber and Lorraine at the campsite marker: If you haven’t been to the Sylvania Wilderness, I highly recommend it. Did we forget something? Very friendly and knowledgeable about the area and history of the area. Final thoughts: I had a great time with the solitude in the wilderness and definitely hope to get back to Sylvania Wilderness in the near future. After checking in at the ranger station and watching the video, we headed to the put-in at Helen Lake. We were a little hesitant because the weather was kind of iffy. We got out of the wilderness without incident, had lunch at Brew’s Pub (or something like that) in Land O’ Lakes before running into traffic on our way home. https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/michigan/sylvania-wilderness This 48-site campground provides a home base for visitors who venture into the wilderness on day outings.RecreationSylvania's abundant lakes provide plentiful non-motorized boating, canoeing, kayaking and fishing opportunities. Permits for campsites are required from May 15 to September 30. Helpful Staff and I can't wait to go back! Phone: 906-358-4551. I wet-footed with some old tennis shoes in which I drilled holes. She finally got her way around 8 or 8:30, and her and Lorraine retreated to the tent. We paddled around alone at first, but we went back and got Lorraine. These are a total success, and I see them on many trips to come. In airplane mode, it doesn’t drain too much battery, less than 10% per hour. I've been going to the Sylvania Wilderness and Ottawa National Forest for almost 40 years. Brought to you by Paddle Planner. was 30 lbs, and the bag with clothes, sleeping bags, mats, etc. For more information about the Ottawa National Forest, visit their website. Sylvania is definitely a beautiful wilderness area, but it is quite strictly managed by the US Forest Service, so reservations and route planning are required. I brought along the Goal Zero Nomad 7 and Guide 10 plus, which I successfully used to charge some batteries and my phone. 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