Ausable River Camping

We had to kick some illegal campers from the area but overall the experience was nice. We have been using this spot for over 20 years annually.

Pros: primitive, rustic, easy to drive to, site is large and clean, partially shady, close to River, close to town if needed or emergency, Great Verizon service, lots of wildlife sounds, sites are a great distance apart, close to Whirlpool River Access and Eagle Run Trail

Cons: local traffic, fish was lacking in the River, an abundance of Gypsy moth caterpillars

We just returned from Site 102D Lower Ausable in Oscoda. 5 days, 2 adults, 1 child and a dog. Great experience. We arrived to a partially shaded, clean and large open site. 5 sites in the area but very well spaced out. You wouldn’t know if there were others there unless you went to check. Our site had a path down to the river. Plenty of trees for cover and a good amount of down limbs for fire wood. We came across a porcupine, and Pileated Woodpecker. At night you’ll hear the coyotes howling, barking and yipping…what a sound that is. An abundance of birds singing in the morning is a pleasant sound. LOTS gypsy moth caterpillars. Site very close to Whirlpool River access, there is a toilet and trash cans if you prefer. Also very close to Eagle Run Trail, just be mindful that other hikers do not leash their dogs (ours is always). Just a couple cons about the location there is a bit of locals driving threw. I’m assuming they are access the River banks along the trail. We did notice (after campers left) lots of individuals occupied a spot for just a few hours and left not sure why. Locals kids using the Whirlpool access site to drink, party, and make a mess with beers bottles one night. It is located near a small airport but we did not notice that at all. We did hear road noise but didn’t bother us much. The site is more fine sandy, we prefer more dirt and more packed but that’s minor.

All in all, wonderful experience and will stay here again. Without a doubt would recommend to other.

Tick update: we only found 1 tick on the head of our dog. No others were spotted.

Site 82D is up on a bluff with a terrific view of the river and plenty of space to spread out. There is river access but it is down a VERY steep sand slide and the walk back up is a doozy. I wouldn't recommend this spot if you want river access for any purpose, but the view is amazing - we even watched a deer grazing on an island in the middle of the river from above. It is a private spot out of view of other sites, but there is one other site that is accessed by the same road, but past this site. We had a spooky experience in the middle of the night - 1:00 a.m. - when someone drove up to our site, parked, shut off the ignition and then approached our tent with a flashlight. We called out and they mumbled something and left in the direction of the other site. Minutes later, we heard extremely loud dance music blasting from that other site, which certainly destroyed the ambiance. The whole experience was upsetting. Other than that, however, we had a great time - the site is beautiful and spacious and the birds are amazing. I do wish there was a picnic table. Next time I will probably try a site with easier river access. Did not see a ranger.

We love camping in the AuSable area. It is one of the most beautiful and relaxing areas in the State.

Beautiful, secluded and semi private camping is always great.
My only gripe with the river right now is the surface pooping and the lack of respect for other users.
Our camp site and the 3 others we stopped to look at were littered with several piles of crap and toilet paper. One site was so bad you would have o clean it up to pitch a tent..
Every beaching area, every river camp site, every single beautiful bluff overlook that we have found in the last 20 ears is now over flowing with toilet and tissue paper. What was once a nice anchor area for a day picnic or a short hike through the woods is littered with surface poopers refuse and feminine hygiene products. Pigs!!
I would like small signs on the simple fiberglass posts saying no surface pooping or "Pack It Out"!
From our experience and what we are seeing is that the girls are far worse than the men.
Maybe put a sign up telling of the fine for littering and actually give out a few fines. You could put out the dog poop bag dispensers at specific woodland sites for the pigs..

Beautiful site, we really enjoyed our stay. The fire ring and grill were missing, so make sure to bring something to cook on. You can take a short walk out to the point for a beautiful view. Lots of friendly chipmunks around. Parking is kind of tight around all the trees. I found it helpful to put up lights around the parking area if you will be having visitors who are leaving at night. My favorite part is early morning campfires making coffee by the river. Enjoy.

Amazing site on the island! True nature with amazing views. More catipillars that you can count though. The kayak ride in offers some of the best views I've ever seen in Michigan. Cannot wait to make this a yearly tradition.

We couldn't find the site because there was no clear indication of where we should go. I was pretty sad because we were looking forward to it. Once we finally got someplace where we had service to look again where we should have went, it was too far away to turn around. Hopefully signs to show where to go could be added so you know where you need to go when u don't have service. 😔

Although this isn't a waterfront site, there was a well taken care of path from the site along the shoreline. The site itself was great and quite private. It has a good flat spot with tree coverage for a tent. We had a thunder and lightning storm while here and everything was good. No flooding at all. The shore doesn't have a beach, but there are a few spots where you can get in the water to swim or just walk a bit. The boat launch is within walking distance as well. The only problem I've noticed in the past couple of years are the gypsy moth caterpillars. The entire forest seems overtaken by them. This particular site has the same problem. Be sure to wear a hat. It's mid-june and the ticks weren't too bad if you stay out of the brush deeper into the forest.

We camped for 2 days at site 082. The ground is spacious, clean, enough trees and bushes around to position your tent. The view is simply gorgeous! The site is on top though. To get to the river, if you'd like fishing or swimming, you will have to go down very steep slope, and the hardest part, of course, is getting back up! but it's a great workout )) the slopes are covered with fine white sand. The whole experience was great!