White Pine Backcountry Campground

Campers store food in provided boxes

NPS credit

This campground is within wilderness. Designated Wilderness areas are the most protected public lands in America. They are managed with restraint to preserve characters of wildness and solitude. The Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness, within the boundaries of the Lakeshore, is over 30,000 acres. Practice Leave No Trace.

Leave No Trace includes 7 Principles:

1. Plan ahead and prepare
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly
4. Leave what you find
5. Minimize campfire impacts
6. Respect wildlife
7. Be considerate of other visitors
Leave No Trace Seven Principles © 1999 by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics: www.LNT.org.

Permits and Passes

A backcountry permit and park pass are required to camp at White Pine Backcountry Campground. For reservations, visit www.recreation.gov and search “White Pine Backcountry Campground Permits” or call 1-877-444-6777. There is a fee of $13 per night for each campsite permit. Sites are available year-round and can be made seven days in advance of your arrival date. Park pass information is available on the fees and passes page.

Permit Conditions

1. This is a required permit area. Print your permit and have it in your possession during your stay.
2. Check-in time is 2 pm. Check-out time is noon. Quiet hours are 10 pm to 6 am. Noise levels must be controlled at all times.
3. A maximum of two tents and four people are permitted at each backcountry campsite. To minimize impact to natural resources, set up your tent in the cleared area of your campsite. Do not set up your tent on vegetation.
4. Camp only in one of the six designated campsites. Sites are not assigned in advance. Campers choose from the unoccupied sites upon arrival. Each site has a numbered post at its entrance.
5. Use a backpack-style stove for cooking or use the community fire rings provided. Only burn dead, down, and detached wood in the fire ring. Do not burn trash or leave aluminum, glass, or other non-burnable materials in the fire ring. Beach fires are restricted to bare beach sand between the water’s edge and the first dune. Do not leave fires unattended.
6. Carry out all refuse. Please leave a clean, neat campsite for the next camper.
7. Pets are prohibited in White Pine Backcountry Campground.
8. Bicycles, wheeled devices, wheelbarrows, wagons, carts, and trailers are prohibited on the Platte Plains trail and the White Pine Backcountry Campground. Do not create short-cuts.
9. Keep all food, drinks, coolers, toiletries, hygiene products, trash, recyclables, and scented items stored in the provided food storage lockers when not in use. Do not feed the wildlife.

Violation of terms may result in permit suspension, revocation, and/or a citation by law enforcement.