Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping

Truly amazing views, nature, and experience! Do wish the portages were a little easier to find.

I have gone to Sylvania almost every year since 2000. I go with folks who like to fish, so we stay on Crooked Lake with Michigan Fishing Regulations. The challenge with fishing is to catch larger pan fish, as the smaller ones are more aggressive. Sometimes that means a larger hook. Did catch a 17 inch bass. Mosquito's are abundant the second week of June, so good gear like the original bug suit is a requirement. Lots of structure from downed trees, so I have gone to heavier fish line to aggressively bring in fish before they dive under a downed tree. We take some sort of shore breading and this is the best fish meal of the year, better than a fresh Grouper in Florida. I also plan a hike and our group has some folks that have a sawmill and do logging so we take a large saw and often cut a log for a bench to sit around the fire pit. We carve seats in it with a draw knife also called a pull plane. Unfortunately, when we make a log bench out of smaller logs someone put an end in the fire and destroyed them. We had a nice green maple this year. Watch out for widow maker trees, avoid a tent under a leaning tree. Sylvania is the only place I have seen trees fall down. Plan on a hike as the trails are great. 2013 was our most memorable trip. The year of the polar vortex, Mosquitos beyond belief. Loons were off the nest and deer were on the roads to escape them. We had an exchange student who commented "I've been to the Jungles of South Africa, I guess I did not what mosquito's were". When we went in the fall we were bug free. My favorite places are groves of old growth White Pine which form a sort of cathedral.

The Sylvania Wilderness is a gem and I will be better prepared for the next trip there but it needs better signage to direct campers to their campsites rather than a 3’ wooden post that blends in with the surrounding woods …

Beautiful area & pristine wilderness. Really appreciate the efforts that have been made to preserve & protect the area. Will definitely return.

Weather was not the best. Fishing was slow. I used to like using the showers at the beach facilities after a backcountry trip but the past two times I’ve been there, they were closed.

It is a beautiful place and easy to get to.

Fox 1 has poor steep access that is difficult when wet/ muddy. The previous trail was rerouted due to a fallen tree.

The flat portage from Crooked to Mountain seems shorter than the distance from the water to your campsite.

Grill grate was broken but functional.

We love the Sylvania Wilderness and it was our 5th time together. We'll be back in August, but not at Fox 1.

This was our first trip to Sylvania Wilderness. We stayed at Mink 2 in late June 2024. It's about a 45 minute paddle from the canoe launch on Crooked Lake. The landing at Mink 2 is easy to find. The campsite is several yards in from the shore and slightly uphill. There are a couple flat areas for tents, surrounded by large trees. We found a bear bag tree pretty easily, and two trees close enough to set up a tarp. The fire ring area and latrine were clean and easy to find. Being a West facing campsite close to shore, there was a nice breeze most of the day to keep cool and keep the mosquitoes at bay. Fishing on Crooked Lake was mostly a bust for us. We were fishing for northern and only caught one, not big enough to keep. We saw several other anglers having better luck with pan fish. Still fun though. We parked over to Clark Lake and ran some of the forest trails between the lakes. They were wide and pretty great to run on. Overall it was a great trip and we would definitely return to Sylvania Wilderness.

Much good. Negative was camper before me left many eggshells in the fire pit that I had to clean out. Aggrevates me when people do not follow the rules. Concerns me especially related to special Sylvania Wilderness fishing regulations. If those are not followed, this unique fishing experience may cease to exist.

Br mosquito aware