Campground

Lake Ottawa Campground

Ottawa National Forest · Iron River · Michigan — managed by USDA Forest Service

Sites open now — checked live on Recreation.gov
Lake Ottawa Campground campground
Photo: Recreation.gov · USDA Forest Service

Weekend availability at Lake Ottawa Campground

Live from Recreation.gov · checked Sep 19, 7:03 PM PT
  • Fri, Sep 25
    Open
    21/23 sites

Friday + Saturday nights, sites bookable both nights. Counts come from a rotating sweep and can lag a cancellation by up to a day — alerts watch your exact dates within minutes.

How booked is Lake Ottawa Campground?

as of September 20

Sites are open right now — we found space out to Sep. That changes fast at a campground. We check Lake Ottawa Campground around the clock, so the moment your dates fill up and a cancellation reopens them, you'll be first to know. Weekdays still have room — for now.

Weekends (Saturday night)

Sep 26Open

Weekdays (Wednesday night)

Sep 30Open

Availability checked directly against the reservation system, out to 3 months ahead.

Campsites & amenities

Site-level details from Recreation.gov's official catalog.

Campsites
32
Standard No Hookup

About this campground

Overview Planning a trip to the Lake Ottawa Campground? Watch for Alerts at the top of the page for any Alerts regarding this facility. Lake Ottawa Campground is in a beautiful forested northwoods setting located 5 miles southwest of Iron River, MI, on the Iron River Ranger District.  Recreation Located adjacent to the Campground is Lake Ottawa, a deep cold water lake that provides fishermen with a good variety of game fish. There is a boat ramp with ample parking for trailers.  Ge-Che Trail - Length is approximately 9 miles on a dirt trail. This trail provides scenery of primarily hardwood forest. The trail can be accessed from Lake Ottawa boat landing, and from within the campground. Lake Ottawa Recreation Area day use area provides indoor facilities for a group picnic, and a large outdoor picnic area complete with picnic tables and grills. The area is large enough to provide plenty of space for all. Also located in the same area is an athletic field. The day use building provides indoor seating for eating or parties. The building has a fireplace, electricity, and flush toilets.  Facilities Lake Ottawa Campground is 95% surrounded by National Forest System Land and offers 32 campsites, a picnic shelter with two stone fireplaces and original log picnic tables, and two log toilet buildings with flush toilets. A pressurized water system and RV dump station are located in the campground. Adjacent to the campground, in the day use area, is a CCC era recreation building, with flush toilets, swimming beach, playing field, picnic areas and boat launch. Nearby Attractions Stateline-Mile Post Zero Trail - Scenery is hardwood, forested with two destination points on the Brule River. The trail is not a loop, it is a relatively flat dirt trail. The length of the trial is approximately 4/10 of a mile and takes you to the historic Stateline Mile Post Zero location indicating the border between Michgian and Wisconsin.  The combination of topography and thousands of miles of rivers and streams have created hundreds of waterfalls throughout the Upper Peninsula, with several of the waterfalls located on the Ottawa. The Ottawa National Forest has 18 named waterfalls, 53,637 acres of lakes, 2,366 miles of perennial streams, 2,890 miles of intermittent (occasional) streams, and 210,761 acres of wetlands. The falls vary in size and some are easier to get to than others. For more information on the most visited waterfalls on and around the Ottawa National Forest, visit the Ottawa National Forest website waterfall page.  Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (906) 661-8870.

Getting there

From Iron River, Mi., travel west on US 2, turn south on M 73, travel approximately 3/4 mile, turn west on Lake Ottawa Road and travel approximately 4 miles to the campground.  From Watersmeet, Mi., travel 28 miles east on US 2, turn south on M 73, travel approximately 3/4 mile, turn west on Lake Ottawa Road and travel approximately 4 miles to the campground.

Elevation
1,535 ft
Contact
906-396-5428

Activities

  • KAYAKING
  • MOUNTAIN BIKING
  • SWIMMING
  • BIKING
  • BOATING
  • CANOEING
  • CAMPING
  • DAY USE AREA
  • FISHING
  • HIKING

Nearby federal campgrounds

Never miss an opening at Lake Ottawa Campground

Popular Michigan campgrounds book out months ahead — but cancellations happen every day. We watch Lake Ottawa Campground around the clock and alert you the moment a sold-out site reopens for your dates, so you don't have to keep refreshing Recreation.gov.

Not ready to subscribe? Get a free weekend heads-up.

We'll email you if Lake Ottawa Campground opens up for a weekend you pick. No account needed.

Details from Recreation.gov's official RIDB catalog. Conditions change — confirm with the managing office or on Recreation.gov before you go. Not affiliated with Recreation.gov or any federal agency.