Colwell Lake Campground

What a great Campground! The only disappointment was that we didn't know they took reservations so it was hard to find a spot we could stay at for a prolonged period of time. The spots were reserved on different nights so we would have had to move a couple times if we wanted to stay for the whole week. I absolutely loved the little lake... we got tons of fish with ease, the beach was nice, the bathrooms were clean (though not flushing which my five year old found pretty rough), and the sites were private and well-maintained. I loved the trails connecting each site along the Lake's Edge. They have a great fishing dock for kids and easy access to the water with kayaks. It was a smaller place, I think there were 30 sites or less, but the whole campground is beautiful, well wooded and offers a great place to stay in northern Michigan. It has a great central location as well so everything is within reach. We visited the iron mine, Picture Rocks and multiple waterfalls while camping here.
7 years ago (06-09-2017)

Lovely hidden gem. We didn't camp just had a beach day with our two small children. Perfect beach and lake for them. You might want to wear swim shoes as the lake bed is scattered with rocks.
7 years ago (28-09-2017)

This is a good location, near the highway: the lake is very nice and the campground quite large (there are over 30 sites). I agree with some of foregoing posts: in the U.P. summer, weekends here tend to be busy. I found a lot of big campers (it's just off the highway) using generators and watching TV in the evening. Fairly large fishing boats. Fire pits with signs of yuppie campers: burnt plastic, some things not cleaned up.The highway run along one side of the campground so there is traffic noise, including trucks in the evening. On the + side, there is a nice beach and the trail that goes around the entire lake takes at most an hour and is excellent (I found no one on it, but a bench every 200 yrds). The best sites for nature lovers are the walk in sites 33 and 34 (I think those are the numbers, to the right of the dock when you enter the campground). You have to walk in 50-200 yrds but those are the best sites, furthest from the highway. $18 in August 2017. $16 for the hike-in sites. P.S. Don't burn plastic! And pick up whatever plastic you find wherever, whenever you walk. You'll thank the others who did that for you in the future.
7 years ago (06-08-2017)

Well maintained and managed campground. Lots of sites on the water with electricity at 4 sites plus an RV dump station. There is also a fishing pier and a boat launch for the anglers.
7 years ago (08-09-2017)

This was the most beautiful campsite that I've ever stayed at. Our site was right on the lake and each of the lakeside sites have walkouts to the lake. We hiked the trail around the lake and the sunset was absolutely gorgeous. The sky is also extremely clear as there are no cities around and thus stargazing was wonderful. There's a lot of natural beauty here! The campsites are well kept and each have a good amount of privacy with trees between sites and the trails. The ground is kind of hard and we had a difficult time getting stakes in the ground. Other than that, I have absolutely no complaints. I will definitely return.
8 years ago (08-09-2016)