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307 reviews
Sylvania Wilderness offers a stunning, serene environment ideal for first-time campers, with beautiful weather, mild portage trails, and clean, spacious campsites. Visitors enjoyed peaceful paddling experiences, abundant wildlife, and friendly park staff, making for a memorable outdoor adventure. While some reported issues with mosquitoes and campsite accessibility, the overall experience remains highly praised, with many eager to return.
Based on guest feedback
4.5
Based on 307 reviews
Showing 307 reviews
October 8, 2021 Stayed at: LYNX-1, Loop: Mountain Lake
The extra effort to get to back country campsites is well worth it at Sylvania. The reward is solitude, beautiful lakes and wetlands, spectacular forest, and abundant wildlife including otters, waterfowl and more.
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May 23, 2022 Stayed at: SQUIRREL-2, Loop: Crooked Lake
Great adventure we didn't even get lost
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May 25, 2022 Stayed at: PINE-2, Loop: Clark Lake
Mid May smallmouth fishing was surprisingly good. Wind can be a challenge on the water. Some days it may be better to just hike and not try to battle it. Take the time to just marvel at the wonder and majesty of standing in an old growth forest.
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May 27, 2022 Stayed at: LOON, Loop: Loon Lake
Wonderful to see that no trace ethics are being observed. I didn’t find any evidence of trash, disturbed natural flora or human impact. Other visitors were very respectful by being quiet and almost unnoticed. Absolutely love visiting the Sylvannia Wilderness.
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June 4, 2022 Stayed at: EAGLE-1, Loop: Loon Lake
Backcountry experience was top notch and there is nothing like the backcountry campsite
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June 6, 2022 Stayed at: ASH-1, Loop: Clark Lake
A nice place to visit in the spring and fall when it is not busy as it is during most of the summer, particularly on weekends.
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June 8, 2022 Stayed at: SQUIRREL-1, Loop: Crooked Lake
A great place to take a short trip into the wilderness. You'll need to be fit enough to canoe or kayak into the area and prepared with appropriate food/water/supplies. If that is something you're used to you'll have a great time. We saw eagles fishing, swans landing just a short distance from our canoe and otters that had found a blown down set of trees near our camp. It was a wonderful trip and very enjoyable.
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June 14, 2022 Stayed at: PIKE-1, Loop: Whitefish Lake
Fishing was good, weather cool, camp site was very nice! There was very little room for beaching canoes, at the Pike site. There must have been a good wind, as many trees where downed near the lake.
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June 20, 2022 Stayed at: RACCOON, Loop: High Lake
Everything was wonderful in terms of reserving sites, arriving, and entering. We simply did not expect the mosquitos to be as bad as they were and we weren’t adequately prepared. We had repellent, and Thermocell, and head nets but we weren’t able to keep them away enough to function outside the tent. We ended up cutting our trip short as a result.
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June 26, 2022 Stayed at: PORCUPINE-1, Loop: Crooked Lake
We love Sylvania! However, this time we stayed 2 out of 3 nights on Crooked Lake and had to deal with large, loud, beer drinking groups in neighboring sights. It’s definitely not as quiet as it used to be…
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Sylvania Wilderness, Watersmeet, MI 49969 United States
Elevation: 554 ft
Backcountry wilderness campsites can be accessed from the Sylvania Recreation Area by parking at the Clark Lake or Crooked Lake Boat Landings, or from entry points on the perimeter of the wilderness (see map). To reach the Sylvania Entrance Statio...
Backcountry wilderness campsites can be accessed from the Sylvania Recreation Area by parking at the Clark Lake or Crooked Lake Boat Landings, or from entry points on the perimeter of the wilderness (see map). To reach the Sylvania Entrance Station and Recreation Area: From Watersmeet, travel approximately 3.5 mi west on US 2 to County Road 535 (Thousand Island Lake Road), then drive south on CR 535 approximately 4 mi to the Sylvania Wilderness and Recreation Area entrance.
The campground is accessible via US 2, located approximately 3.5 miles to the north. From US 2, take County Road 535 (Thousand Island Lake Road) south for about 4 miles to reach the Sylvania Entrance Station.
Last updated: October 24, 2026
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Watersmeet, MI
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