Ausable River Campground, Oscoda, MI

Ausable River Campground is located in the Tawas Ranger District, Huron-Manistee National Forest (1 hr 21 min north of Bay City, MI) with an elevation of 825 feet. There are a total of 102 campsites. The campground is normally open from the beginning of January to the end of November. 49 sites can accommodate RVs between 18 and 40 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Fees range from $0.00 to $10.00. Some amenities include boat ramp. Activities include boating, fishing, floating sports.

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Campsite Reviews (632)

4.9 out of 5

5 star		90%
4 star		7%
3 star		2%
2 star		0%
1 star		1%

@AngelaS2475005 · Camped on Nov 16, 2024 at Campsite #80D

This site is large and very secluded. It has a beautiful overlook over the river. Always has a verizon cell signal.

@JohnB8383631 · Camped on Sep 23, 2024 at Campsite #92D

great campsites

@BenF7171752 · Camped on Sep 20, 2024 at Campsite #2D

Large site. One of the best sites i've been to next to the AuSable!

@LaurieL8778385 · Camped on Sep 18, 2024 at Campsite #67D

Beautiful spot enjoyed it!

@RickS5239002 · Camped on Sep 18, 2024 at Campsite #55D

Excellent campground that is right on the river. Quiet area with nice open sites and clean pit toilets. Site had a nice fire ring but didnt have a picnic table but wasn't an issue for me. Cell service on AT&T was zero bars. Drive on the way in was paved roads until the last half mile then it was gravel with some big potholes so taking it slow is recommended.

@JamesP3218459 · Camped on Sep 11, 2024 at Campsite #78D

Great campsite! Its at the very end of the road and it takes a moment to get to but it sure was worth it. Its very distant from other sites (except site 79 which was a few hundred feet away on a foot path) which is nice for privacy and just being with nature. It has a nice view of the river but pretty limited access to it. The hill down to it is very steep and easy enough to climb for the sure-footed, but not a viable option for water access if thats what you're looking for. But even so, its definitely worth the price, if I remember correctly it was around $10 per night, which is pretty darn good. Id certainly recommend this site to the next person. The reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is because we found we simply didnt have a whole lot to do, there isnt a whole lot of trail options close by but Oscoda is about 20 minutes away. On top of that theres no service, so Id recommend downloading anything youd like to listen to or watch before you get close to the site. An audiobook would be a good idea if you were interested in that sorta thing.

@JayD7A38D1BE9E · Camped on Sep 6, 2024 at Campsite #8W

Incredible views of the forest and the Ausable River. It's a very brief 'hike' from the parking spot on the dirt road through the woods before you get to the camping area. It was isolated from everyone and, best of all, zero cell phone service (exactly what I wanted). I hesitate to call it a hike as it's completely flat, on a worn path through the woods, and isn't even 1/4 of a mile. But it gets you away from it all and into the woods. It was perfect in every way.

@NickP6401808 · Camped on Sep 2, 2024 at Campsite #80D

The Ausable River sites are my favorite in all of Michigan. Very secluded and close to what my definition of camping means.

@PamelaC5145049 · Camped on Sep 2, 2024 at Campsite #70D

I think this site is perfect. Isolated except a few boaters during the day. The pennisula is just lovely. Saw plenty of birds, heard a barred owl at night, black crowned night heron at night.

@KyleP6559008 · Camped on Aug 31, 2024 at Campsite #23C

While this is a very nice site with great views, there is a dam about 1 mile away that has 3 high intensity lights on 24 hours a day and they are surprisingly bright. Also, the highway is closer than expected and you can hear engine noise during the quieter time of the day and night. Aside from that it is a great site with wildlife viewing and fishing opportunities. Please pack out what you bring in or at least bury your toilet paper as the area was littered with peoples litter and cigarette butts. Please stop putting nails and screws in all the trees and learn to tie a decent knot if you want to hang stuff. These sites are not maintained regularly or possibly at all by staff and we are responsible for the cleanliness of the sites!

@JohnM1144946 · Camped on Aug 19, 2024 at Campsite #7D

We had beautiful weather, and a clean campsite. We enjoyed watching the swan family on the river.

@SarahK3888645 · Camped on Aug 18, 2024 at Campsite #74D

Very large secluded campsite

@SusanB4210667 · Camped on Aug 17, 2024 at Campsite #80D

The most beautiful spot I've ever camped in.

@AshleyL4614567 · Camped on Aug 15, 2024 at Campsite #42D

This is a beautiful site. Too bad some youngsters didnt want to leave because they set up camp a day before their check in. We had to wait a couple hours for them to leave and we were able to catch the sunset. The nice staff at Lumbermans Monument refunded the overnight fee.

@LoganDB059E369 · Camped on Aug 10, 2024 at Campsite #98D

Very peaceful camp, couldnt barely hear the neighbors down the road (quite a bit down the road, barely any drive by), and it was a perfect campsite. Little messy from previous campers but we cleaned it up before we left. Highly recommend and will definitely return to any of the sites on this strip in the future. About a ~100 yard walk down a hill through the woods to a perfect riverside relax site along the water. We chilled there for a while and skipped rocks before going back to make dinner. Highly recommend this site!

@ThomasG9228962 · Camped on Aug 9, 2024 at Campsite #81D

Scenic and spacious. Ive stayed at this site 3 times now. The only down side is the trees are starting to obstruct the view.

@CharlesA72A764 · Camped on Aug 4, 2024 at Campsite #41C

The big island is the best campsite on the river probably the best one in Michigan. Thats the way I feel, but there are people who do not respect the island. When I arrived there on August 4 th I was very disappointed with the people who had just left. Im sure it was the kids that were there that left behind the cellophane wrappers from juice boxes. I pick up almost 20 from one end of the site to the other. Come on parents those poor kids may never learn how to respect nature!! And the adult that was too lazy to dig a cat hole and left a large pile of poop on the base of a tree just steps from the campsite. NICE JOB! I am sure that came from the group that had just left because the friendly raccoons that visit each night couldnt find any thing at my camp cleaned up the pile of crap. Oh yeah one more thing whoever thinks that the campers that follow you likes the look of thousands of pistachios shells everywhere you are wrong so wrong they are too small to rake up so you just have to walk through them. You should be banned from camping. Try a wastebasket or the fire pit. I hope you are lucky enough to get the chance to visit next year an see what all the others that do not trash the place have to look at the whole time they are there. Another great job from someone who has no respect for nature and the great number of people who share that island and do respect it!!Sorry to be so harsh on a few people because most of you islanders do love and respect that small place of paradise.

@RENARF73CFF129 · Camped on Jul 29, 2024 at Campsite #53D

This campground and Foote Pond are my favorite camping places in the Huron national forest. The natural beauty of Michigan along the Ausable River, and the sounds/sights of wildlife along with the solitude and the escape from the city and smog are the reasons I come here. And Im OFF THE GRID!However the camp host ruined my solitude and experience by running his generator the WHOLE TIME. He was not seen either! Just heard! Used to be greeted and welcomed. Not this time! No other campers use/used generators, never have heard them in the Huron national forest before. Please stop this! Make it a law! The whole reason to rustic and primitive camp is to get away from this! Big question..will I ever return to Sawmill? Right now the answer is no.

@BenR1679197 · Camped on Jul 26, 2024 at Campsite #30C

I just wanted to take the time for future campers as we were let down by the campsite we were given due to the website labeling the sites in incorrect locations. We stayed at 30C, of the four sites on this stretch (28,29,30,31), 30 is absolutely the worst. Super steep hill, if you are not in good shape you will struggle getting up and down to the site without getting hurt. The site itself is completely shady, which we didn't mind, but I'm sure others might.I will now try to explain all the sites and there locations so somebody does not get put in a spot they do not want to be... On the online map site 29 is actually site 28 in person, site 30 is actually site 29 and is on the point just right of where it is labeled, site 30 is around the following bend to the north side of the river, and site 31 is at the next point after that.Site ranking:Site 29 is the best site on the river it is has a access with a hill but once you get on top there is tons of space. You are on a point, so there is shade and sun and always a nice breeze. It is the best view on this stretch. There is a rope swing. (Sidebar this is the site I expected to get when I book site 30 based on there map)Site 31 is super easy access and has abundant space. Really nice clean area. Low to river so has more mosquitos and shade. No hill to climb whatsoever.Site 28 has all the same traits as site 31 except the boat access forces you to go through really thick weed beds all the way to the bank, which also negates the desire to want to swim in river.Site 30 has a goat path hill climb to endure before you get to the site, its shady and there really isn't much space if you have more than a handful of people. Couldn't see the stars because of the thick canopy. I really don't know why this location was chosen as a site. The pros were that the bugs were minimal and there was a nice breeze most of the night.We still had a great time on the river. Just wanted to clarify and help future campers.

@michaelk687828 · Camped on Jul 24, 2024 at Campsite #68D

Excellent trip

@JordanR0251A78 · Camped on Jul 19, 2024 at Campsite #74D

Great Site. Very large and perfect for big families. Very secluded with a bunch of random trails leading down to the water for fishing. Not a good swimming site. GPS will take you to the end of Cook Dam Rd. To access the site, go past road ends sign past the two stone pillars with consumers sign. Road is on your left right after the consumers sign you will see a small brown tent sign to ensure youre on the right road.

@LiamM3655048 · Camped on Jul 19, 2024 at Campsite #76D

Bring a trash bag to pack out anything you bring. There are raccoons in the area so make sure to put your trash away at night

@CodyLAB4F2138E · Camped on Jul 18, 2024 at Campsite #48D

The road in was horribly unmaintained, which is an issue considering the boat launch at the end. So bad we had to make a makeshift bridge over the potholes my friend could not maneuver around in his Honda Accord. I drove my truck, and even with 8 of ground clearance and moving at 3mph, my air dam was rubbing against the gravel going through the potholes. DNR/Federal needs to do a better job at maintaining these roads.The bathroom down by the launch also needs to be pumped more frequently, i believe they only pump it in the fall or spring, it was so bad you could smell it from the campsite 500ft away if the wind changed. So bad that if you went in it, you would have to change your clothes after because the smell sticks to your clothes for hours. I used to work in areas with unmaintained portajohns in 100 degree heat, those were nothing compared to the nose burning stench of the boat ramp pit toilet at Sawmill point. I got this site due to a cancellation, starting to think they cancelled because they didnt want to get wafting sh*t in their tent all through the night.That said, the site layouts themselves are beautiful, the river access is unmatched, if the road and those pit toilets were fixed it would be a 5/5 star stay.

@SarahS3283965 · Camped on Jul 18, 2024 at Campsite #61W

There's property across the river, very loud at all hours of night. One sight visible nearby, excellent space and view, river access excellent for rock hunting, fishing and kayaking. We parked at the half circle, day use area just past the more populated parking site and yaked supplies around the bend rather than hiking it in just cause we had a big load of supplies. If you're looking for total seclusion, this isn't that, but still a great reprieve. There's plenty of hiking spots and fishing opportunities nearby. There's Largo Springs, highly recommend for fossil hunters and a nice workout (hella stairs), then there's Five Channels Dam, Loud Dam, Cooke Dam and Foot Dam. First time visiting and certainly plan on returning.

@CharlesA72A764 · Camped on Jul 16, 2024 at Campsite #44D

Site 44 and 45 I think should be one site. They are both very nice but theyre right next to each other. All the other sites are separated by a buffer of trees and other fauna making it seem that you are the only one camping there. A week after I left lot 44 I came back to lot 45. Saturday afternoon I went for a boat ride. When I returned lot 44 had been over run. There was 3 tents a 24 foot trailer and at least a dozen people along with the 4 cars and trucks they came in. Not so peaceful now!!

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