East Lake Campsites
October 2026
About
Overview
The Munising and Rapid River/Manistique Ranger Districts of the Hiawatha National Forest offer a variety of camping experiences. Many are located on inland lakes in a rustic forest environment with no drinking water. The rustic environment offers a wonderfully serene and peaceful setting for your next camping experience.
Recreation
Visitors will be able to enjoy swimming, berry picking, and fishing at these dispersed campsites. Licenses are required for fishing in Michigan waters.
East Lake has fishing for largemouth bass, perch, bluegill and bullheads. Boat access is located just past site 1. It is unimproved, shallow and sandy. Carry-in access is recommended.
Swimming at Site 3 is excellent, but is not recommended at sites 1 and 2.
Facilities
There is NO drinking water at this location. There are primitive toilets located at sites 1 and 2.
Lake Name: East Lake
Number of Sites: 3
Max Number of People per site: Site 1 (24), Site 2 and 3 (8)
Toilets: Sites 1 and 2
Boat Access: Back-In launch just past site 1 down FR2650
Lake Size (acres): 53
Natural Features
There are 3 campsites located on different shores of the 53-acre East Lake:
- Site 1 is located in a wooded area, on a hill, overlooking East Lake. It is located on the western shore of the lake. The site is 100 ft. x 75 ft. and is suitable for up to three families.
- Site 2 is located on wooded site on the northeast side of the lake. It is 45 ft. x 35 ft. and would be suitable for one family. The access road to this site is narrow and winding, but can be traversed by small trailers.
- Site 3 is located at an open area the extends into East Lake. It is 55 ft. x 50 ft. and is suitable for one family. Trailers are NOT recommended due to the very narrow and winding access road.
Contact Info
For local information, please call (906) 474-6442 or call (906) 387-2512 for general information.
Nearby Attractions
There are a number of horse, bike, and hiking trails within minutes of several of the sites. In over a mile from these campsites, visitors can expect to find: bait shops, general and grocery stores, gas, a pay phone, trailheads, a fishing pier, biking, and kayak/canoe rentals.
Gasoline, groceries, fishing and camping supplies, boat rentals, ice and MDNR licenses are availalbe at Steuben, approximately two miles northwest, on County Road 437.
Amenities
Phone: 906-474-6442 OR 906-387-2512
Is East Lake Campsites fully booked?
A campground showing no availability is almost never full for good. People cancel — plans change, weather turns, someone books three weekends and keeps one — and the site goes straight back into the booking system, usually without warning and often at odd hours. The reason sold-out campgrounds feel impossible is not that sites never free up; it is that nobody is watching at the moment they do.
CampHawk watches East Lake Campsites in Rapid River, MI for you. We recheck it every 15 seconds, around the clock, and the moment a site opens we send a text, an email and a push notification — and on Recreation.gov we can put the site straight into your cart, so it is held while you get to your phone.
Searching is free and needs no account — the calendar above is live right now. Watching East Lake Campsites for cancellations is the paid part.