Monocle Lake Campground, Brimley, MI

Monocle Lake Campground is located in the Sault Ste. Marie Ranger District, Hiawatha National Forest (3 hrs 6 min northeast of Traverse City, MI) with an elevation of 643 feet. There are a total of 42 campsites. The campground is normally open from the end of May to the beginning of October. 41 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 30 and 80 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. There is a fee of $20.00 per night. Some amenities include boat ramp, swimming. Activities include boating, fishing, hiking trails, floating sports.

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Campsite Reviews (36)

4.6 out of 5

5 star		72%
4 star		19%
3 star		6%
2 star		3%
1 star		0%

@milosA84C33732 · Camped on Aug 18, 2024 at Campsite #31

No ohv's allowed, otherwise Campground is "ok"

@StevenT9884610 · Camped on Sep 8, 2022 at Campsite #12

Always love camping in the rustic forest of bay mills! So much peace and serenity to really relax and just let go of reality. The sun rise is second to none looking over the lake so make sure to wake up early! Also the hiking trail going around the lake is fantastic! Not too challenging but you’ll definitely feel the burn! Highly recommend camping at Monacle lake!

@SusanM8574216 · Camped on Sep 2, 2022 at Campsite #4

Beautiful large, wooded sites. Well-managed by campground host. Clean outhouses. Quiet hours and other rules enforced. Beautiful hike around the lake and the beach is beautiful as well.

@Jacalync726762 · Camped on Aug 25, 2022 at Campsite #4

My site was very easy to get my trailer into with a half circle way as several of the sites also had. No trees to tear at my trailer I had fairly good phone service. The water was close. I actually saw the camp host at this park out and about every morning and evening. This park was the best national forest park out of the 3 I stayed in this trip.

@SamuelS9419161 · Camped on Aug 5, 2022 at Campsite #10

Very nice campground on the lake. If you use GPS be careful of the road named Monocle Lake - it is not the campground access. Really pretty lake accesses from the loop. Good driving distance to Sault Ste. Marie to see the locks.

@JeffreyW413498 · Camped on Aug 5, 2022 at Campsite #8

Really nice and quiet campsite. The hosts keep it clean. Great spot for families!

@KellyF8317137 · Camped on Aug 1, 2022 at Campsite #28

Stayed here two nights because Pictured Rocks was booked. A nice stop! (Shout out to the camp host for the clean bathrooms, much appreciated). The lake is nice for paddling or fishing. A section of the North Country hike is nearby, although a little hard to find (a marker for the trailhead at the picnic area would be useful). Buggy, but it is August in Michigan, so. Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior is a short drive away. Services are a bit of a drive, but there's Dancing Crane Coffee shop in Brimley which is a sweet place.

@AliceG5405700 · Camped on Jul 29, 2022 at Campsite #1

Site #1 was huge - plenty room for our 35’ fifth wheel & longbed crewcab dually. Nice big roads inside campground to maneuver. Couldn’t use our Starlink due to trees, but loved the trees & sound of birds. ATT worked with antenna. Perfect location (Iroquois Lighthouse & Whitefish Point Lighthouse, Sault St Marie & locks, and Tahquamenon Falls. Nice trails (please put signage at top of climb to Mission Hill - turn left) However, the campground hosts told me they don’t like to deal with campers not following rules - someone had generator on past quiet hours & people booked sites & didn’t show up for days. Plus, their son-in-law blew his “train horn” on his truck even AFTER I complained. Only one water spigot works to fill RV water tanks. $20 a night for no water, no power, no sewer, no dump station, no bathhouse and no real water fill station.

@sIERRAC7840879 · Camped on Jul 28, 2022 at Campsite #11

Nice campground with pretty spacious sites. We originally reserved site 11, but when we got there we realized it's like a roadside spot. Very small for anyone with kids. We decided to move to site 21 which we liked. Quiet campground and friendly host, with a cute little lake. Dancing Crane was a cute little coffee place, and Pickles is a must stop for lunch or dinner.

@TimothyW504852 · Camped on Jul 23, 2022 at Campsite #22

Everything is clean and well laid out. The beach front is especially nice and the water is very clean and refreshing.

@StefanieS23289 · Camped on Jul 22, 2022 at Campsite #7

The vault toilets are cleaned 2 or 3 times a day and were honestly not too bad. We wanted to avoid vault toilets on our trip but campgrounds have been hard to come by this season so we ended up at Monocle Lake. I would definitely come back. The lake was beautiful and the hikes had great views! We did the hike to Mission Hill and caught a glimpse of Spectacle Lake and Lake Superior in the distance! The campground hosts were super nice, and there’s even some toys for kids to borrow and take to the beach. We stayed in spot 7 which was right next door to the toilets, but we never noticed a smell and the foot traffic wasn’t terrible. There are bigger spots with more privacy available. But we made the best of it and it was plenty of space for just our tent and a car. We also hand ample sunlight to warm up the camp shower and have warm water :)

@PamelaP558 · Camped on Sep 15, 2021 at Campsite #1

Such a lovely spot to camp. Secluded and quiet. Very clean. The host was very nice. Will definitely come back

@JaneM165 · Camped on Sep 2, 2021 at Campsite #31

THis is a GREAT campground. We were there Labor Day weekend for a family birthday celebration and it was clean, well cared for and friendly. Lake was quiet and peaceful. Other than the other campers with generators on past 9pm (: - it was an amazing trip!

@ScottW911 · Camped on Aug 27, 2021 at Campsite #22

Had a good time here and would stay here again.

@JulieS971 · Camped on Aug 22, 2021 at Campsite #38

Monocle lake is a beautiful place. We have been camping here for a couple years. During the week and fall is best for us as it is quiet. Weekends the park is full. We will return.

@MarkM422 · Camped on Aug 11, 2021 at Campsite #1

Very laid back campground. Wooded with large private sites. Great Lake for swimming also. Friendly and helpful hosts and managers. If you’re wanting peace and quiet, this is the campground 😊

@MichaelD304 · Camped on Jul 31, 2021 at Campsite #34

Nice, quiet and always enjoyable.

@GinnyM876 · Camped on Jul 30, 2021 at Campsite #1

What a beautiful location! So clean and quiet. We had a wonderful time. This was our second time camping there, look forward to coming back.

@RachelB563 · Camped on Jul 28, 2021 at Campsite #2

We loved Monocle Lake! Clean sites, decent bathrooms. And great access to the lake! Highly recommend.

@RobertC189 · Camped on Jul 18, 2021 at Campsite #10

We really enjoyed Monocle Lake. Most of the sites were very large with lots of separation between sites. Many would easily accommodate large RV's like our 43' coach. The campground was immaculate. The hosts were clearly doing a good job. The lack of a dump station was a bit of an issue, but the one at the ball field in town was just a few miles away.

@EmersonJ494 · Camped on Jul 13, 2021 at Campsite #37

This was a great stop on my trip! Bay Mills is such a nice town and the Dancing Crane coffee house was excellent. The lake is beautiful and crystal clear, and I recommend stopping at the overlook to see it, Spectacle Lake and the cemetery. My only complaint is that my site was super rocky, and I didn't have the proper tent stakes for that kind of ground, so be prepared!

@DennisK988 · Camped on Jun 28, 2021 at Campsite #34

Quiet forest setting with a beautiful lake.

@RachelH798 · Camped on Jun 25, 2021 at Campsite #5

Nice swimming beach, campsites are great and nice and large to fit trailers, paved road, lots of trails to hike. It says there is water however there is not a way to attach a hose to the water to fill your trailer/rv. They really need to fix this issue and make it so you can attach to it. It made quite a mess trying to stand there for an hour to fill it.

@LauraM939 · Camped on Jun 14, 2021 at Campsite #31

Good introduction for my kids to rustic camping. Well spaced campsites, but still visible to your neighbor. Campground was not crowded when we were there, mid-June. Well maintained vault toilets. Host was friendly and busy. Access to a beautiful lake, right across from our site #31, we canoed a breezy morning there and watched the sun set that evening.

@edwards560 · Camped on Jun 13, 2021 at Campsite #41

ex sites very clean great care takers

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