If you go wear. I brought along the Goal Zero Nomad 7 and Guide 10 plus, which I successfully used to charge some batteries and my phone. These are a total success, and I see them on many trips to come. Post a message or leave a review of Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camp . Final thoughts: I had a great time with the solitude in the wilderness and definitely hope to get back to Sylvania Wilderness in the near future. 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. By the way, the BackCountry Navigator app is awesome and works like a charm on my Samsung G3. We finally found the trail, but there was a bit of “bushwacking” (well, walking around where we felt there should be a trail according to the map, compass AND GPS). 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. We spent about 2.5-3 hours and the scenery was beautiful the entire trip. As usual, we immediately set up camp by putting up the tent, getting the sleeping mats and bags ready, rigging a tarp and setting up the chairs. Having spent so much time car camping in close proximity to other campers, I was ready to get out to the relative solitude of the wilderness. 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. ©2021 Paddle Planner, LLC. Friday was a beautiful day, and everything went incredibly smooth. If you own a boat, leave it at home, this place has everything you need and more! We had hash browns, apples, and turkey sausage for lunch. Permits for campsites are required from May 15 to September 30. We continued on to Watersmeet with what was supposed to be a brief stop at Sylvania Outfitters for some fishing tackle and licenses. I was game for walking all the way to the beach but was not disappointed to turn around. Awesome service. Reluctantly, I hobbled out of bed, got started with the morning routine, skipped breakfast and started packing up. Check out the Sylvania Wilderness several miles west off Hwy. But the weather the next day looked worse so we decided to go. As you probably know bass, primarily smallmouth fishing is king in the park, as there are only a few other lakes with anything else. See 4 traveler reviews, 8 photos and blog posts I wet-footed with some old tennis shoes in which I drilled holes. We got out of the wilderness without incident, had lunch at Brew’s Pub (or something like that) in Land O’ Lakes before running into traffic on our way home. Anything our community should know before heading out to Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping? I don’t think they really drain, so I might be on the lookout for some shoes like Quetico Trekkers. Sylvania Wilderness portage trail lengths. May 23-25, 2015, Sylvania Wilderness, Watersmeet, MI Amber and Lorraine at the campsite marker: If you haven’t been to the Sylvania Wilderness, I highly recommend it. Visited Sylvania (Clark Lake) Campground lately? Campground Details and Amenities: $$, 1 sites, All Year, No RVs, All ages, Tents only camp, 1722 ft elev, grill, toilets, fish, trail, hike, primitive hike-in sites, (C) Advertise. Website 906-358-4724 View Map Reviews Photo Search* Add Review Navigation* Update Info StreetView* Having packed and loaded the car the night before, we were on the road by 6 am, which I think surprised us all. Later, Amber asked if we could go to the beach to swim, so we got changed and headed out in the canoe. All Sylvania Wilderness backcountry sites will be open for over night use as of June 13, 2020. Quiet, peaceful, beautiful, natural. We had our usual oatmeal and pre-cooked bacon for breakfast. B5F422B6-2841-451D-8211-E654F05FB4F0 Sylvania is definitely a beautiful wilderness area, but it is quite strictly managed by the US Forest Service, so reservations and route planning are required. Virtual only, all camping users must have a reservation. This 48-site campground provides a home base for visitors who venture into the wilderness on day outings. The trail was even buggier than our campsite, so Amber was ready to turn around after 0.6 miles. Did we forget something? 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. I've been going to the Sylvania Wilderness and Ottawa National Forest for almost 40 years. I've been going to the Sylvania Wilderness and Ottawa National Forest for almost 40 years. Anyway, we were prepared for double portaging, but being our first portage, we were a bit combobulated and had to go back for the paddles, making it a triple portage, which is about 9 trips fewer than we make back to the car when we’re launching at a boat ramp ;). You won't regret it. Also check out Bond Falls, by far the Western Upper Peninsula's largest waterfall, to the north. All Rights Reserved. was 30 lbs, and the bag with clothes, sleeping bags, mats, etc. The rain started before I could even begin packing, and the mosquitoes were brutal. Sylvania Wilderness Area is very popular with canoeists — a ‘smaller boundary waters’ they call it, and we encountered several canoe groups over the course of a few days. She finally got her way around 8 or 8:30, and her and Lorraine retreated to the tent. You won't regret it. We were a little hesitant because the weather was kind of iffy. In airplane mode, it doesn’t drain too much battery, less than 10% per hour. I expect, though, that if the campground was open that it would be much busier on Clark. Sylvania Wilderness Cabins- a little off We stayed in the largest cabin at Sylvania Wilderness Cabins and it is beautiful inside, and the lake (s) are beautiful. There is a nice sand. 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. Policies: Join us as I make my family a hearty pancake and bacon breakfast, then we move from Lynx 1 campsite on Mountain Lake to Raccoon Campsite on High Lake. The Sylvania Wilderness encompasses 18,327 acres of primitive lands and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Sylvania's Recreation Area Visitors to the Recreation Area will find a variety of facilities, including a beautiful day use building, picnic areas, a beach, boat launches, and the Clark Lake Campground with 48 … Amber swam around with her life jacket on for about 45 minutes, which was enough to satisfy her. The campsite itself is gorgeous, the lake is just perfect and the fishing is amazing. Visitors can camp in 50 designated campsites within the Sylvania Wilderness. We'd love to hear about your adventure. 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. 4 reviews of Sylvania Outfitters "Great place to rent kayak and have nice trip on Ontonagon river.we choose route burned dam to interior trip,on two kayaks,and had great time.highly recommend!" There were limited options for placing our 4 person tent, but we found a couple places that were suitable. Fishing for huge fish with no one 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. Helpful Staff and I can't wait to go back! Did you find us useful? Primitive camping is $5 per night. OverviewSylvania (Clark Lake) Campground is located seven miles southwest of Watersmeet, Michigan, adjacent to the 18,327 acre Sylvania Wilderness Area. Please choose a different date. Follow all rules on recreation.gov site. We saw a fair amount of wildlife, although not as much as I had hoped. The open area near the landing was fairly small with some weeds on both sides, but once I got out about waist deep, there was some room to move around. Visited Sylvania Wilderness Backcountry Camping Campground lately? If you will be camping in Sylvania Wilderness, take a few moments to watch this video that explains the rules and regulations to … Dispersed Camping in the Sylvania Wilderness is permitted in designated campsites only. It is absolutely the best campsite in the park. I collected a bit of firewood, of which there was plenty. Civilization is in short supply here - if you need supplies, Watersmeet is the place, and if you are into gambling, there is a casino just north of town. We started at Clark Lake and camped that night at Balsam campsite. Based on everything I read about Sylvania, I expected the trails to be like a road, and maybe they are elsewhere, but they aren’t between Birch and Cedar (well, we didn’t quite make it to Cedar, but I didn’t see any wide-open trails ahead). The father and son who dropped us off and picked us up were great. This page was last updated on August 15, 2014. 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. I played with the fire for another hour and went to bed with some signs of light still on the horizon. For permits call the Sylvania Visitor Center at 906/358-4724. Maybe I need to drop some coin on Gortex, but that won’t happen this year after all the gear we already bought. Supper was delicious tortilla pizzas. If you want to unplug and be part of the creation, go to Watersmeet and relax. Consider reserving a campsite here for your next hunting or fishing trip. The sausage was not very good but I was glad to have some protein. 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. The Sylvania Wilderness and Sylvania Recreation Area, is located near Watersmeet, Michigan and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. 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. The portage was literally a walk on the beach and was a piece of cake at supposedly 24 rods (400 ft), which is shorter than many of our trips from the parking lots to the landings. I don’t think we would have packed or done much differently for a 5 day trip, so I’m feeling ready for our BWCA trip in August. We didn’t encounter very many people except at the portages. 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. Interactive map of Sylvania Wilderness Area with campsites, portages, and a route time and distance calculator. OverviewThe Sylvania Wilderness encompasses 18,327 acres of primitive lands and is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. We chose to pick one site to camp at, and then day trip from this site. This is the version of our website addressed to speakers of English in the United States. Visitors enjoy endless canoeing, fishing, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities. Wilderness campsites can be reached by water or by trails. Canoe camping; Gear reviews; Skills; Trip reports; Friday, May 29, 2015. The area was clean and a nice balance between the wilderness and civilization. Amber and I slept in on Saturday until about 8:30, and it felt wonderful after waking at 5 the day before. https://www.alltrails.com/parks/us/michigan/sylvania-wilderness Anything our community should know before heading out to Sylvania (Clark Lake)? If you want to unplug and be part of the creation, go to Watersmeet and relax. Lorraine woke me just after six asking what time it was since we were planning to get an early start to beat the predicted storms. We didn’t get very far before the wind was pushing us around, and Amber began asking to go back. We decided instead to swim at camp, which wasn’t actually bad. Everyone there was super knowledgeable and really friendly. We then portaged to Loon Lake and camped at Eagle 1 & 2. It wasn’t dangerous, but there were some 6-12” waves rocking us, and we were expending quite a bit of energy to move incredibly slowly. weighed in at about 35 lbs. There was only one portage, and it was wide and well travelled, at about 96-97 rods long. Did we forget something? We had no problems navigating Clark Lake, and we reached Birch campsite around 3pm. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. After getting organized and waiting for Lorraine, we were on the water by 1 pm, which was an hour earlier than I was hoping to start paddling. To sum up, we came, we saw, we hiked, I paddled and we ate way too much. Sites can be obtained by reserving or on a walk-in basis, depending upon availability. The entrance station will be closed all season and will not be collecting fees. The campsite was nice but loon campsite would have been a better choice. We stppped here for a day in Watersmeet to break up our long road trip. Special rules therefore apply within the Sylvania Wilderness and must be observed by all visitors. I have been there once. Follow them. Amber and I fished from the shore for a little while, but we saw no signs of any fish in the area. Please enable javascript or use a javascript-enabled browser. We saw three eagles, numerous loons, turtles, squirrels, chipmunks, and deer. We paddled around alone at first, but we went back and got Lorraine. 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 tiny outfitter was packed with only one or two employees to handle all the rentals and fishing licenses. Great area to go - but there are some things you should know about. Sylvania has rules you need to follow which promote “leave no trace” camping. We packed enough food for 5 days, so our food pack (60 L blue barrel) weighed 40 lbs including stove, dishes, fuel and carrying pack. Fortunately, the crowd at the outfitter was not indicative of our experience in the wilderness. 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