Ironjaw Lake Campsite
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 campsites. Licenses are required for fishing in Michigan waters.
Our management efforts seek to provide for quiet, peaceful recreation opportunities in a semi-primiitve setting. The campsite is located on the non-motorized Pine Marten Run Trail, which is open to hiking, mountain biking, and horse back riding.
The swimming area at this site is in poor condition.
Horse camping is allowed at Ironjaw Lake.
Ironjaw Lake is one of the better fishing lakes in the area. Crappie fishing is excellent in the spring. The lake contains northern pike, largemouth bass, bluegill and bullheads.
- Boat access is dow a steep hill but the surface is firm. Turn-around and back-in space at the base of the hill is very limited. 4 wheel drive vehicles are highly recommended. Parking is restricted to a small area located at the top of the hill.
- Boat access is open to the public, Keep the road clear and expect to have people using the boat launch.
Facilities
There is NO drinking water available.
There is a primitive toilet located across the road from the parking area.
Lake Name: Ironjaw Lake
Number of Sites: 1
Maximum Number of People Per Site: 8
Maximum Number of Horses Allowed: 2
Toilets: Yes
Boat Access: Back-In
Lake Size (acres): 62
Natural Features
Ironjaw Lake (62 acres) is located in the heart of the Ironjaw Semi-Primitive Area, which is managed for both motorized and non-motorized uses.
The campsite at Ironjaw is a pull through site that features a tent pad situated on a hill overlooking Lake Nineteen. The site is suitable for only one family with a small trailer. There is limitied turnaround space.
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.
Groceries, gasoline, fishing and camping supplies, boat rentals, ice, MDNR licenses, deli, and restaurants are available approximately six miles west on Forest Highway 13.
Contact Info
For local information, please call (906) 474-6442 or call (906) 387-2512 for general information.
Amenities
Phone: 906-474-6442 OR 906-387-2512
Is Ironjaw Lake Campsite 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 Ironjaw Lake Campsite 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 Ironjaw Lake Campsite for cancellations is the paid part.