Munising / Pictured Rocks KOA Journey

Reviews

Reviews are sorted by relevance, with the most helpful and insightful feedback listed first for easy reference.

  Joel Adam
7 months ago
We camped in our travel trailer. Excellent staff. Very friendly. Great tree cover for shade. Nice sites. Close to town but not too close. Rustic sites, tent sites, full hook up sites, water/ electric sites. Well kept.Nearby activities: Easy access to all of pictured rocks lake shore and grand island

  Stacy Wildermuth
8 months ago
Decent spot no frills, but bathrooms were pretty clean. Staff was friendly!We rented a camper cabin for week and it was fine, but zero extras (No mini-fridge, microwave or any kind of fan) we ve stayed at a lot of these over the years, and had never had one without these amenities.Close to Munising & a great home base if you re traveling the area.

  mandy dale
10 months ago
Despite years of camping, this was my first KOA experience. The hostess was extremely patient with me despite my initial misinterpretation of her instructions (it was a long day on the road!) The facilities and campground were exceedingly clean and up to date. I think we nabbed the last tent site but despite a full campground, it was very pleasant atmosphere and all of the campers were in good spirits.

  Steve W
9 months ago
This is a nice park. The restrooms and showers are perfect. Very clean and they appear to be new.The people running it are very nice and accommodating.The sites are more private than other parks in the UP.We are frequent patrons of KOAs and this is a very nice one. We will come back.(Giving bad reviews because of mosquitoes is like giving 1 star because it rained. It s a bad mosquito season and they are horrible all over the UP. They spray for them here and they are far less here than at other places (like Tahquamenon park) )

  Chad Quintanilla
9 months ago
Made a last minute decision to stay here and was fortunate to find an open site. Employees were all very friendly and facilities were well kept. They have a swimming pool, bathrooms, showers, water fill up and a dump station. Some sites are full hook up while others seem to only have electric (30A). My site (70?) was on a corner and fairly tight for a 25 travel trailer but we made it work. Lots of kids and families were friendly.Walkability: Plenty of shaded, dirt roads to walk along.

  angela k
8 months ago
This KOA has more of a campground feel than a resort with its spacious, wooded gravel sites. We could not connect to the wifi and cell service is spotty. This is such a lovely campground near to the town of Munising. It s a shame that we felt like intruders, from the bored staff member at check in to the maintenance staff who couldn t lift their heads to say good morning.

  Kelly Miller
8 months ago
This is a KOA and we were not impressed. It was off a busy road and very noisy. A train track was also right by and it was so loud we felt like we were sitting on the track. It by far was the most expensive place we camped and our tent site was not level so we had trouble finding a place to set it. It was covered in leaves and dirty. We needed wood and while all other places charged between $4-5 for a bundle this place charged $ 9 and it was wet.would never camp here again.

  Catherine Wagner
9 months ago
We enjoyed our stay here. We had a tree line site (17) which was spacious and shaded. Some of the sites were definitely closer together, such as the pull through sites. Staff was very welcoming, and understanding when I flubbed our reservation and overstayed. They got us into another spot and were very nice about it.The pool was open all but one night of our stay. Our kids loved it. It's in the shade in the evening which we loved.Showers/bathrooms were clean.Cell data and KOA WiFi were spotty at best. Worked best in the morning, not much at all in the evening.Mosquitos were present at times, usually worst in the mornings. Even then bearable even with no spray. Oftentimes we were able to sit around the campsite and barely saw any. For the UP I would say they were very minimal.The location was really great for us. A few miles from Munising. We ventured out on day trips from there to Au Train beach, waterfalls, Mackinac, Kitch-Iti-Kippi, etc.

  Lauren Brinkman
10 months ago
We ve camped for several years and have property up north but the mosquitoes here were ridiculous!! I understand we were camping but it was outrageous! We couldn t even enjoy the outdoors this weekend. The mosquitoes were insane, we had to sprint to the bathroom. No fires, no games, no bbq, etc. Not one site was up hanging out at night on on 5/29. When we went to the front office in the morning we were told they were going to spray tomorrow. Such a shame we couldn t enjoy memorial weekend with family. Such a waste of money. We will be calling corporate tomorrow. Besides KOA Munising, the town and pictured rocks were a lot of fun! The front office was friendly but the bug control was absolutely awful!

  Daniel G
8 months ago
Pros: close to Munising and waterfalls. Wooded. Heated pool. Large playground area and has wifi. Restroom building has newer nicer fixtures in it. Staff maintain sites and fire pits after campers leave.Cons: cannot chose your own site and they put us directly behind the slide and swings. 100% constant noise all day. Electric box was confusing which site serves which. Only one restroom building that's closed from 12-2 so if you've gotta go then either make a trip to town or find a deserted tree. Playground facility is dated but is in good shape and works. Is directly off of 28 and I swear every car hits the highway rumble strips on purpose as such. (Very noisy). Quiet hours are not enforced. Playground needs to be fenced off and closed at 9 like the poolNot enough places to get fresh water for those that don't have full hookup. WiFi is shotty at best and loses connection easily. Parents leave kids at the common area to let them terrorize the restrooms and try to break into campers.Campground is just meh and isn't worth the price it costs to camp here. Easily the worst campground I've ever been to in the 38 years I've been camping. Will not return and will not recommend. It's very unfortunate because I was looking forward to what I've seen online about a KOA and what was recommended by family /friends. Looking online you can see it was a wandering wheels campground that they just changed the signage on and nothing else.

  Thomas
9 months ago
Our first time in the area and our stay was great. Close to town and everything you want to see. If you're not coming woth kids I'd make sure to stey in the back of the campground. We were right behind the pool and it was busy but our kids loved it and we could sew them swimming from our site.Dont be afraid of the bad reviews they've clearly made improvements. Wifi worked great my wife works remotely and had zero issues with zoom meetings all day.

  Jim Windle
8 months ago
The location is good for Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, but the campground is over priced in the KOA system for what is typically expected from a KOA. Many of the sites are of the alternating direction "shared sites, " meaning picnic tables and firepits are on the camper door side immediately facing a neighbor's door. We have no problem with shared sites as long as site sizes are wide enough to not feel like you are sitting in your neighbor's site. Here's what we experienced at this KOA:1. We checked in and were given a map with arrow directions to enter our pull through, full hookup site. No escort to the site.2. The roads in were narrow and not well marked with street names or signs. We had to figure out directions by looking at campsite numbers. The campground roads are a bit dark in late afternoon/evening due to heavy tree cover.3. We pulled into our site, splitting the front to back distance, but realizing the sewer connection was on the far left side and finally seeing the electric and water hookups on the far right side and hard against the site line for the next site over. We made the sewer connection and added a hose to make the water connection, but we were at least 15 feet short with our 35 ft cord to make the electric connection.4. We called the office and the young lady who checked us in told us to go to Tractor Supply in town to see if we could buy an extension cord!5. A camper across the gravel road from us heard our frustration and loaned us his spare camper cord for our 2 night stay. Very nice of him.6. We realized after hooking up that our picnic table and fire pit were on the sewer/connection side of the camper and not on the door side. We called the manager and he later came by to look. He said he would move the picnic table, but the folks on the shared door side had already set up right to the edge of their site. When we opened our canopy, it came right to their chairs at their firepit. I pointed out there was no space for the table without impinging on the neighbor's set up and certainly no space for a 2nd firepit even if it could have been moved.7. The manager suggested we turn our camper around in the site and run all of the connections under the camper...so our door would open on the picnic table, firepit, and all of the sewer/water/electric hookups. We were later told by another campground that had we done this we would have violated Michigan law for fire!8. The sites are mostly tree covered and shady, but the narrow roads with a lack of signage directing people to sites and to exits definitely make this campground a fire hazard waiting to happen, especially if people can't disconnect quickly because they have turned around and run connections under their campers!9. My recommendations is to prune out trees, widen roads and campsites to make all hookups accessible with picnic tables and firepits on the door side , add gravel to the campsites to widen them and aid placement of tables/firepits and buy more than one extra electric cord/water hose, etc. rather than telling guests who are weary from travel to visit Tractor Supply in town!At this point, I cannot recommend this KOA to anyone! On our 2.5 month camping trip around the USA (May, June, July, 2023), we stayed at 5 KOA's. Three (Bowling Green, KY, Holbrook, AZ, and Monument Valley) were great and exactly what we would expect from a KOA branded campground. Two were not: Munising Pictured Rocks KOA and Rapid City/Black Hills KOA (See my separate review of the Rapid City KOA.)

  Charles Bevis
7 months ago
Positives: Excellent location to enjoy Pictured Rocks Nat l Lakeshore, right on M-28. Friendly staff, easy check-in process. We travel in 37ft Class A with toad. We had one of the 7 front row (site 7), 50 amp full hook-up, the remainder sites are in the woods behind the office, playground/pool area. Can t speak to WiFi signal as we utilize a portable router. They have cable with basic channels.Negatives: Site 7 has plenty of shade that blocks satellite signal. Being right next to M-28, with 65 mph speed limit, you ll get major road noise (including air brake) all day. The Dog Park is sad, standard issue KOA .too small for large breed and primarily dirt/sand.

  Frances Sanderson
9 months ago
This was a great location for Munising activities, as well as a great campground. Staff was wonderfully helpful. Pleasant surprise when some campers, PPM (Parents Playing Music, and Kids) broke out a music performance for all of us. Only downside was for tenters I saw in puddle areas. Check your site before setting up if your evening includes possible rain. If you can afford it, I highly recommend the Sunset Cruise to see the Pictured Rocks. Note: Yoopers postcards for sale in the gift shop are funny.

  Josh Losinger
10 months ago
I've been camping here for over 5 yrs I drive 7 hrs for the vacation camp 5 days. This is a great place to stay friendly staff good priced camping with power & water. The bathroom & showers are always clean and fresh.

  Kristen Brown
8 months ago
Great campground location for exploring most of the UP! This campground has a pool, a dog park, store, and a games area (volleyball net, cornhole, etc). We didn t use many on site options because we were exploring many areas of the UP including Whitefish Point, Tahquamenon Falls, Pictured Rocks, Kitch-iti-kipi, Manistique, etc. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable, as one of our sons woke up with a middle ear infection and we were able to get directions and info to the nearest urgent care as soon as the store/office opened. Dog friendly campground - there were dogs everywhere during our stay, but not an overwhelming barking situation - so they were all well behaved.

  Ashley
a year ago
This was a cute spot to camp at. All the sites seemed very wooded and flat. It seemed like majority of the sites were easily accessible. We had a pull through site with full hook up, which was very convenient.As for the playground there was a metal slide and swings. Our son didn t really use it but he enjoyed walking around the campground. They also had a pool, we did not use this because it was cold. Super easy drive into town maybe about 5mins and close to local waterfalls.The staff was super friendly & helpful.

  Tim Sellers
10 months ago
This is a nice campground. However, this is an awful KOA. KOA is what we pay the extra cost for knowing we are getting a family fun campground. This KOA was just a spot to park and plug in, nothing more. The playground was bare bones equipment from the late 70's era. The pool was circa 1960's (and closed while we stayed in June). No activities for kids, and the store had almost nothing in it. A change in ownership and this could be an amazing place, but as it sits it is just.... meh. The dusty campground roads and swarms of mosquitos I can accept, that's just part of summer in the woods, but using the KOA brand name for this place is false advertising. Again... this would be a nice $35 a night campground, but it is not a $50+ night KOA.

  Tim Waterman
a year ago
Nice campground for visiting pictured rocks .Staff is friendly Sites are hit or miss. The sites when you pull in are horrible just a spot in the lawn and no shade. Sites around the pool area are better, shaded, a little tight but not too bad and the sites in the back of the campground looked liked the nicest ones. You get a fair amount of road noise but its tolerable. The pool is a good size and is clean. There is a nice play area by the pool that is great for kids. If you have kids I would recommend getting a site around this area as the sites back right up to it.

  Tony Aird
a year ago
Pretty much a standard KOA. Not too far from pictured rocks so handy whether hiking the trail or doing some kayaking to them. Maybe its just me but when I go to a campground I like to sit at my table, have a campfire, just walk around and check out interesting things about the campground. Think I've decided that KOA is generally for families. Most, but not all, have pools which sometimes are great but usually full of children. This place was just impossible to sit outside your camper and get any peace. Literally had to turn our fan or ac on the whole time since they put us next to the pool. It was just children screaming (very loudly) from 8am to 9pm. Had zero interest in having a fire or eating outside. The only saving grace was most other campers weren't full timers, so were friendly to part time occupants. Does have decent showers but the people using them are pigs. One guy next to me proceeded to empty his sinuses all over repeatedly while taking his shower. Not the campgrounds fault, just gross people everywhere. So to summarize, this place is fine for families but adults without children should avoid KOAs and find a nice state park campground. That's where I'll be going from now on.

  Chelsea Keria
a year ago
The staff was amazing. The facility could be a little cleaner as toilet paper was all over the floor and the showers had standing water. We reserved a tent space and on arrival we got a electric RV space since the park was sold out. I personally wouldn t have asked for this space as our $36 reservation ended up being an additional $99 as we had to by a rug from the shop so the rocks wouldn t puncture our tent. It was the last space on the corner of the main road into the park (C). There wasn t very much privacy between sites as there wasn t very many trees. (Even though there are trees around camp) and we could hear our neighbors. We did find the shop helpful but they could use more groceries/firewood. We didn t use the pool because we didn t finish setting up in time. I would highly recommend this campsite for families but not so much for those looking for being in the woods.

  Tammy Troutt
6 months ago
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  Justice Pettigrew
2 years ago
A campground off of a main road outside of town. We stayed on a tent site on the edge of the property, right next to new development being built. The camp site had just enough space for a car, picnic bench, tent and campfire. Anything more than 4 people would be quite cramped. Because of the development there was construction noise in the morning, one day as early as 6am. The website stated that the tent sites included a sand pad however we didn t encounter one at our site. We could also hear cars on the main road at night.The washroom facilities were adequate and were cleaned daily from noon to 2pm. There was hot water for both the showers and sink. There was also a laundry room that worked fine; they were $2 each for washer and dryer.The staff who checked us in was extremely friendly and helpful, but the service and hospitality was not consistent across all staff.It s not a terrible option if you don t have many choices but just be aware that it will be noisy.

  Corinne G
a year ago
one bathroom throughout the entire campground, parking and spots are confusing. Showers didn t have much drainage so there were tons of puddles in the bathroom. Camp store had more apparel than food/necessities, so if you re looking for any food you re better off going to a local store. Other than that, playground area was supplied with its own balls and lots of things to do. Some sites had water hookups which is nice. Probably wouldn t come here again, but it wasn t overall too unpleasant.

  Dennis Jones
10 months ago
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  Steve Wright
a year ago
This is a really nice KOA. Most of the sites are set within a nice stand of maple trees that provide great shade. The roads are dirt and a little tight at times but manageable. Sites are gravel but a little worn down. Typically, there are trees between sites. Hookups were decent and typically shared between two sites. Water pressure was a little on the low side and the sewer connection was too high off the ground to fully empty the hose. AT&T cell service was good, Verizon was bad, and the park WIFI was marginal. There is a pool area, a playground for the kids, and a large grassy area. The main building contains the office, a small store, laundry room, showers, and bathrooms. There is also a dump station. One negative that is really not the park s fault is that a lot of people have campfires here and they let them simmer all day long. That creates a lot of smoke that seems to just hang in the air in the trees. It makes it difficult to have your windows open at night because all the smoke is drawn into the RV.

  Marcie Shock
3 years ago
Pros- Great location, decent park and amenities, nice heated pool , clean laundry facility.Cons- Dirt sites , there s like no grassy sites anywhere in the park. Our site was very uneven. Bathrooms were clean upon arrival, it after a holiday weekend , they were trashed and disgusting. My daughter and I went to take a shower and decided to go though the trouble of using our portable waste tank instead because they were gross. The handicap shower seats they put in there need to be replaced , they are moldy and gross. The showers are tiny and narrow and there are only two of them for the entire park. The walls and ceilings need to be cleaned and up kept better. I ve been to state parks with much nicer bathrooms. I m just thankful we had our own clean shower in our camper to use.Overall- We did not come here for the amenities or facilities or to camp really, we came here for its location to the Waterfalls and The Pictured Rocks, so we were happy to have water and electric hook ups and be so close to everything. Had we come here to just go camping we might be disappointed. As it is a little overpriced for what you get, but your paying for location to the National lakeshore.

  Nathan Peterson
8 months ago
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  Brian Stephens
a year ago
This is a surprisingly good campground. I mean no disrespect but KOA , especially a "Journey" sometimes get a rep like McDonald's in the sense that it's not usually really bad or really good but you know what to expect. This one was heavily wooded, with nicely updated bathroom and shower. As well as level sites and friendly staff. On top of all of that the grounds were clean and nicely landscaped!

  Amber Schroeder
9 months ago
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