Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping

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We really enjoyed this site. There were some large misquitos to greet us but we found we only had to deal with them for a few hours a day. It was windy/breezy when we were there so that took care of most bugs. Other reviewers mentioned difficulty finding the site. There is a post at the landing that is clearly noticeable once you are about 20 yards away. We found that to be true of other sites we scouted out too, just trail along the waters edge and it will reveal it's self. The trail connecting to the main path was nonexistent. A canoeist happened upon our site and showed us a dramatically over grown "trail", we just had to push past four foot high maple trees for 1/10 of a mile. Nice swimming (no beach due to high waters) and a steep incline that was not a problem for us two 50 year old people. We had kayaks which are a little more mobile than a canoe, that we were able to get up the embankment. Found a nice tree to hang our bear bag. Site was clear of under brush and very large. We hope to come back! And we had limited phone service.

I always love coming to the upper peninsula. The sylvania wilderness is incredible and the lakes and forests are beautiful. I came at a time of year where the mosquitos were abundant. I was unprepared for that and it was alittle rough. As long as you are prepared you will have a great time!

There were no staff seen anywhere, and the Clark Lake day use building showers were closed due to lack of employees to clean them. The natural beauty was still abundant.

A good trip, nice campsite and decent fishing, first time back in quite a few years.

Best wilderness camping location in the Midwest.

I had a wonderful experience on my recent trip to Sylvania. This was not my first trip to Sylvania and look forward to many more. I stayed at the Bobcat campsite on High Lake and very much enjoyed this site.

Beautiful forests and lakes. This place gives you a great wilderness feel for being somewhat small. Fishing is excellent and there are good opportunities to see an abundance of wildlife.

The portage trails aren’t marked and can take some exploring to find, in some cases. There were some blow-overs on some of the deeper portage trails, specifically getting into secluded Whitefish Lake. Both these things make everything feel a little more wild and rugged though.

I much enjoyed my trip to Sylvania and will be back.

Go to this site to find all of the info you need: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ottawa/recarea/?recid=12331
If you go fishing, the rules are very complicated, size and quantity restrictions apply to some lake and not others, as well as method of fishing. (You can't use "barbs" on your hooks, that was the oddest thing to me until someone explained it, just file down or crimp back the part of the hood that prevents the fish from backing out).

Not for the glamper!