Garnet Lake State Forest Campground

public land records

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

MICHIGAN STATE FOREST CAMPGROUND. Michigan DNR, https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/camping-and-lodging/state-forest-campgrounds read 2026-08-17: 'If you're looking for a more rustic camping experience, check out our 140-plus state forest campgrounds located throughout Michigan's Upper and northern Lower Peninsulas. Each campground is located on a river or lake... Most state forest campgrounds are first-come, first-served. A select few can be reserved ahead of time at MiDNRReservations.com. Please note, vehicle entry into all state parks, recreation areas and state forest campgrounds require a Recreation Passport.' The same page lists what every one of these campgrounds has -- vault toilets, a hand-pump well, parking for two vehicles per site, a picnic table and a fire pit -- and what none of them has: 'Electric hookups: There are no electrical units in campsites or common electrical sources' and no wi-fi. THIS CAMPGROUND, per the Michigan DNR GIS layer https://services3.arcgis.com/Jdnp1TjADvSDxMAX/ArcGIS/rest/services/State_Forest_Campground_Recreation_Search_Points/FeatureServer/0 pulled 2026-08-17: listed as 'Garnet Lake State Forest Campground'. Nightly fee: $10. Campsites: 0. Phone: (906) 595-7202. CAVEAT -- WEAKER SOURCING THAN THE REST OF THIS BATCH: this campground is present in the Michigan DNR GIS layer (with the coordinate, fee and campsite count recorded above) but it does NOT appear in the DNR's amenity table at https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/camping-and-lodging/state-forest-campgrounds/amenity-table as read 2026-08-17, so its season dates, managing unit and phone could not be cross-checked. I did however load its own DNR recreation-search page at https://www.michigan.gov/recsearch/sfcampgroundsa-m/garnetlake on 2026-08-17 and it is live and describes it as a state forest campground with vault toilets and a hand-pump well. Note the GIS layer records a $10 fee here and a campsite count of 0, both of which look wrong or at least unusual against the $20 the rest of the system charges -- do not publish the fee for this one without confirming it. Confirm this campground is currently open before publishing it. DNR DESCRIPTION: Located in Mackinac County, one mile southeast of Garnet. DNR LONGER DESCRIPTION: Garnet Lake State Forest Campground is under the management of Hudson Township. Any concerns or questions about this campground should be directed to the Township at the phone number identified above. This campground contains ten sites for tent and small trailer use and provides vault toilets and a hand pump for potable water. All sites are vailable on a first-come, first-serve basis. No reservations are taken. View Campground closing and opening dates . STAY LIMIT AND HOUSE RULES, Michigan DNR FAQ 'Camping in a state forest', https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/faqs/state-parks-and-camping/camping-in-a-state-forest read 2026-08-17: 'There is one camping unit and six people allowed per site. A responsible adult (18 years or older) must register and sleep at the campsite each night. Campsites are for overnight stays. If a campsite is left empty for more than 24 hours, it's considered abandoned. To give everyone a chance to enjoy state forest campgrounds during peak season (May 15-Sept. 15), the maximum stay is 15 nights. Once you hit that limit, you'll need to take a 5-night break before returning to the same park.' Check-in is 3 p.m., checkout 1 p.m. 'Camping fees and registration procedures are posted at the information kiosk at each campground.' Quiet hours 10 p.m.-8 a.m., and fuel-powered generators are not allowed during them. 'Paying and holding' a site before you arrive is prohibited. COORDINATE PROVENANCE: Michigan DNR's own ArcGIS feature service https://services3.arcgis.com/Jdnp1TjADvSDxMAX/ArcGIS/rest/services/State_Forest_Campground_Recreation_Search_Points/FeatureServer/0 (layer RecSearchPts_Join_SFCG, 143 points), pulled 2026-08-17. This is an agency coordinate, not OpenStreetMap and not a field visit. Attributes (fee, season, manager, campsite count) come from the DNR amenity table https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/camping-and-lodging/state-forest-campgrounds/amenity-table read the same day. The two datasets were joined on county + name + campsite count; see the header of _mi_f920_insert.py for the method and its failure modes. NOT CHECKED: I did not verify any site-specific fire restriction or burn ban for this campground. Michigan issues burn permits and restrictions seasonally through a separate DNR system (Michigan.gov 'Permission to burn'); check it before publishing any fire-related claim about this site. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.