Wilderness campsites can be reached by water or by trails. It is a beautiful place and probably worth the trip, but it is not the BWCA. Awesome service. Storms began rolling in later in the evening, and Amber became a bit anxious wanting to go to bed. All Sylvania Wilderness backcountry sites will be open for over night use as of June 13, 2020. Sylvania is similar to the BWCA in that it is a canoe camping place with many lakes joined by portages, and it is within a National Forest. Brought to you by Paddle Planner. Virtual only, all camping users must have a reservation. I've been going to the Sylvania Wilderness and Ottawa National Forest for almost 40 years. Is this a place or activity you would suggest for, Are the prices for this place or activity, Is this a must-do if you are traveling with a, Is this attraction a good place to visit on a, Is this a place or activity you would go to on a, Would you recommend this place or activity to a friend looking for an, We went as a group of nine and had the best time. We couldn’t seem to decide what to do for the day, so I nudged everyone toward exploring the trails that connect our site to the beach, along the west side of Clark. I brought along the Goal Zero Nomad 7 and Guide 10 plus, which I successfully used to charge some batteries and my phone. Helen Lake was a very short paddle, and the portage to Clark Lake was easy to find, and since it was a temporary portage not marked on any map, I was glad we found it right away. Many parts of this site will not work correctly without javascript. We dried off, then I flaunted around naked for a couple minutes in between changing before decided I better get dressed before the mosquitoes found me. The area was clean and a nice balance between the wilderness and civilization. One of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the Midwest. Sylvania has rules you need to follow which promote “leave no trace” camping. The tiny outfitter was packed with only one or two employees to handle all the rentals and fishing licenses. The Sylvania Wilderness and Sylvania Recreation Area, is located near Watersmeet, Michigan and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Javascript is not enabled on your browser. I don’t think they really drain, so I might be on the lookout for some shoes like Quetico Trekkers. The campsite itself is gorgeous, the lake is just perfect and the fishing is amazing. There was only one portage, and it was wide and well travelled, at about 96-97 rods long. I wet-footed with some old tennis shoes in which I drilled holes. Anything our community should know before heading out to Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping? Amber seems to love dehydrated meals, so after her begging, we had Mountain House beef stew instead of the planned cheese quesadillas with salsa. We continued on to Watersmeet with what was supposed to be a brief stop at Sylvania Outfitters for some fishing tackle and licenses. Special rules therefore apply within the Sylvania Wilderness and must be observed by all visitors. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. We'd love to hear about your adventure. Sylvania Wilderness backcountry campsite coordinates. Please choose a different date. Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground in Ottawa National Forest, Watersmeet Michigan. Sylvania (Clark Lake) Comments & Reviews. Did you find us useful? https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/michigan/sylvania-wilderness Visitors can camp in 50 designated campsites within the Sylvania Wilderness. As wilderness camping became more and more popular in the past 50 years, favorite camp sites were denuded of vegetation, fire rings multiplied, and top soil was eroded. The trail was even buggier than our campsite, so Amber was ready to turn around after 0.6 miles. In airplane mode, it doesn’t drain too much battery, less than 10% per hour. Validated permits are not required October 1 to May 14, but wilderness users can self-register at the main entrance station or other trailheads during that time. The father and son who dropped us off and picked us up were great. Beautiful, Love the Loons, Mosquitos could have stayed home, Went to Sylvania with a group of boy scouts in June. Interactive map of Sylvania Wilderness Area with campsites, portages, and a route time and distance calculator. We mostly managed to keep our sleep stuff dry, although some water got into the tent because we left part of the fly open and because we didn’t set up the tent perfectly. Dispersed Camping in the Sylvania Wilderness is permitted in designated campsites only. Maybe I need to drop some coin on Gortex, but that won’t happen this year after all the gear we already bought. Website 906-358-4724 View Map Reviews Photo Search* Add Review Navigation* Update Info StreetView* In some wilderness areas, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota and the Sylvania Wilderness in Michigan are examples, camp sites are designated. Also, campsites for Sylvania can be reserved in advance, alleviating any worries about fighting potential holiday crowds for a campsite, so I reserved campsite Birch on Clark Lake for the July 4th weekend. Did we forget something? was 30 lbs, and the bag with clothes, sleeping bags, mats, etc. Follow them. This page was last updated on August 15, 2014. As long as there’s plenty of brown sugar, I could probably have this for breakfast everyday camping. U.S. 2. We had our usual oatmeal and pre-cooked bacon for breakfast. There were limited options for placing our 4 person tent, but we found a couple places that were suitable. No Cell Service, which may be ok for most people- I like to unplug, also no WIFI, even The water came out perfectly clear and tasted good. Because the parking lots at Clark Lake were closed for construction, someone would have to drop our gear at Helen Lake, park 1.3 miles away at Snapjack Lake and walk back to the landing. ©2021 Paddle Planner, LLC. The rain started before I could even begin packing, and the mosquitoes were brutal. Our family’s first trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is all set for August, but I didn’t want to wait so long to get out canoe camping, and the Sylvania Wilderness seemed to be the perfect opportunity for a test run of our gear and packing strategy. Did we forget something? Everyone was friendly and courteous, although we did encounter some guys fishing while carrying metal beer cans, which is clearly against the rules. After checking in at the ranger station and watching the video, we headed to the put-in at Helen Lake. For permits call the Sylvania Visitor Center at 906/358-4724. If you want to unplug and be part of the creation, go to Watersmeet and relax. I also took a small pack, which I did not weigh, with fishing tackle, reels, a gallon of water, and weather radio. weighed in at about 35 lbs. Sylvania Wilderness portage trail lengths. The level of relaxation achieved was again, glorious. I was game for walking all the way to the beach but was not disappointed to turn around. Use the link on Facebook, Twitter, other social media, emails, your blog, website, or any other place you can post a link, DO NOT use any links with your affiliate ID in places that commercial posting is not allowed, such as certain forums and messageboards, Remember to disclose that you are an affiliate of the company, Be aware of the commercial posting policies of the places you are putting the link, If you are looking for banner ads or other visual materials, check out the. We had no problems navigating Clark Lake, and we reached Birch campsite around 3pm. Visitors enjoy endless canoeing, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities. Our gear worked out well, and I can’t think of much we should have left behind, although there are some things we *could* do without. more. Permits for campsites are required from May 15 to September 30. We decided we’d try again from the boat after supper, but Amber proved a bit nervous with her first time fishing from the boat. We’re pretty slow paddlers, especially with a full load, so we covered about 3.6 miles in right at 2 hours including time at the portage. The campsite was nice but loon campsite would have been a better choice. I went out and got some water later Friday evening and filtered it with my Sawyer 0.02, which I got for Father’s Day. In a report I heard, previous campers had buried remains of fish near the campsite, which attracted the bears, which led to closure of that campsite for most of the summer. Sylvania Wilderness and Recreation Area User Name: Remember Me: Password ... Mesabi, the hubby says that Raccoon has a nicer and easier landing, the campsite is back on a little gradual slope, and my favorite..."it just is." The mosquitos were not very friendly, and they seemed to love hanging out under the tarp, so we mostly did not. Is located seven miles southwest of Watersmeet, MI, http: //gatorpaddler.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-4-6-2104-sylvania-wilderness.html although we incredibly... 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