Camping on North Manitou Island

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Planning a backpacking trip to the Manitou Islands? Check out these prep tips from a ranger.

 

Camping on North Manitou Island offers solitude and a wild beauty and nights listening to lapping waves.

The small Village Campground contains eight designated campsites, two fire rings and one outhouse. There is a limit of two tents and four people per site. Fires are permitted in the community fire rings at the Village Campground.

Camping is allowed in the wilderness area, but open fires are prohibited. Use gas or alcohol stoves in the wilderness.

Backcountry Camping Regulations are in effect on North Manitou Island. A backcountry permit and fee payment must be completed before camping. Permits are available on the island and on the mainland at the Manitou Island Transit office. Groups are limited to a maximum of 10 people.

Don't take firewood to the islands! Island campers may collect dead and down wood found on the island for personal use during their visit; however, unused wood must remain on the island. Transporting firewood when camping on the islands means you risk carrying tree-killing insects and diseases inside the firewood. The pests can spread to the trees and forest at the campground and begin to destroy those trees and forests. Help slow the spread of pests by gathering dead and down wood on the islands for firewood.

Leave No Trace camping ethics

 
Map of North Manitou Island
Map of North Manitou Island

Last updated: June 16, 2022

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