Ausable River Campground, MI - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map

Ausable River Campground is located in the Tawas Ranger District, Huron-Manistee National Forest (1 hr 21 min north of Bay City, MI) with an elevation of 825 feet. There are a total of 102 campsites including 53 tent-only sites. The campground is normally open from the beginning of January to the end of November. 49 sites can accommodate RVs between 18 and 40 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. Fees range from $0.00 to $10.00. Some amenities include boat ramp. Activities include boating, fishing, floating sports.

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Campsite Reviews (646)

4.8 out of 5

5 star		89%
4 star		7%
3 star		2%
2 star		0%
1 star		1%

@CarolH5284850 · Camped on Jun 1, 2025 at Campsite #82D

Quick overnight in one of my favorite places. Lots of poison ivy on the site so keep your eyes open.

@SUZANNEO941192 · Camped on May 31, 2025 at Campsite #17C

Site 17C had lots of poison ivy! No pit toilet. No steel fire ring- just a ring of rocks with layers of dry pine needles everywhere. Building a fire did not seem safe.

@richarda847269 · Camped on May 29, 2025 at Campsite #50D

Camping at Sawmill camp sites are always great. Only complaint is they need to stop letting campers and motorhomes on rustic sites. Two reasons, they stay to long and cause a booking frenzy (not allowing lower income families camp), its rustic camping!

@maureend38E74F · Camped on May 26, 2025 at Campsite #43D

The peace and quiet and large sites are worth it!

@ChadW9135696 · Camped on May 23, 2025 at Campsite #76D

As remote as this location is. Was good to see a park ranger checking on the sites to make sure kept up and that we were the correct party that made the reservation. Very well kept area. Definitely will be back

@DavidL8659169 · Camped on May 21, 2025 at Campsite #11D

Website canceled my reservation 3 days early for no reason refunded me and then gave my reservation to somebody else

@DionneS1F16BA6 · Camped on May 18, 2025 at Campsite #92D

92 is a gorgeous site! There is a manageable incline down to the water where there are also two tie offs for boats. I think it could be tough to carry a kayak back up the incline alone. I just had a small tent, but the site could accommodate a medium size camper. To the left of the site is a spring with a small little waterfall thats beautiful and has a soothing sound to it. There are no close neighbors, but the site is very close to the dirt road with only a small amount of traffic. My cell phone had no Verizon service and read SOS.

@RaymondD430090 · Camped on May 13, 2025 at Campsite #88D

We've been camping here for 25 years. We wouldn't go anywhere else.

@DouglasB187722 · Camped on May 10, 2025 at Campsite #82D

Great site with an amazing view over the river.

@Christine79297 · Camped on Apr 25, 2025 at Campsite #53D

This campsite was amazing. It was so peaceful, tranquil and gorgeous views of the river. We will definitely stay here again.

@RyanJ5089765 · Camped on Apr 19, 2025 at Campsite #78D

Great campsite. Weve picked it twice.

@ScottK1111753 · Camped on Apr 18, 2025 at Campsite #89D

Awesome campsite, spent my last 4 birthdays there.

@AngelaS2475005 · Camped on Nov 16, 2024 at Campsite #80D

This site is large and very secluded. It has a beautiful overlook over the river. Always has a verizon cell signal.

@JohnB8383631 · Camped on Sep 23, 2024 at Campsite #92D

great campsites

@BenF7171752 · Camped on Sep 20, 2024 at Campsite #2D

Large site. One of the best sites i've been to next to the AuSable!

@LaurieL8778385 · Camped on Sep 18, 2024 at Campsite #67D

Beautiful spot enjoyed it!

@RickS5239002 · Camped on Sep 18, 2024 at Campsite #55D

Excellent campground that is right on the river. Quiet area with nice open sites and clean pit toilets. Site had a nice fire ring but didnt have a picnic table but wasn't an issue for me. Cell service on AT&T was zero bars. Drive on the way in was paved roads until the last half mile then it was gravel with some big potholes so taking it slow is recommended.

@JamesP3218459 · Camped on Sep 11, 2024 at Campsite #78D

Great campsite! Its at the very end of the road and it takes a moment to get to but it sure was worth it. Its very distant from other sites (except site 79 which was a few hundred feet away on a foot path) which is nice for privacy and just being with nature. It has a nice view of the river but pretty limited access to it. The hill down to it is very steep and easy enough to climb for the sure-footed, but not a viable option for water access if thats what you're looking for. But even so, its definitely worth the price, if I remember correctly it was around $10 per night, which is pretty darn good. Id certainly recommend this site to the next person. The reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars is because we found we simply didnt have a whole lot to do, there isnt a whole lot of trail options close by but Oscoda is about 20 minutes away. On top of that theres no service, so Id recommend downloading anything youd like to listen to or watch before you get close to the site. An audiobook would be a good idea if you were interested in that sorta thing.

@JayD7A38D1BE9E · Camped on Sep 6, 2024 at Campsite #8W

Incredible views of the forest and the Ausable River. It's a very brief 'hike' from the parking spot on the dirt road through the woods before you get to the camping area. It was isolated from everyone and, best of all, zero cell phone service (exactly what I wanted). I hesitate to call it a hike as it's completely flat, on a worn path through the woods, and isn't even 1/4 of a mile. But it gets you away from it all and into the woods. It was perfect in every way.

@NickP6401808 · Camped on Sep 2, 2024 at Campsite #80D

The Ausable River sites are my favorite in all of Michigan. Very secluded and close to what my definition of camping means.

@PamelaC5145049 · Camped on Sep 2, 2024 at Campsite #70D

I think this site is perfect. Isolated except a few boaters during the day. The pennisula is just lovely. Saw plenty of birds, heard a barred owl at night, black crowned night heron at night.

@KyleP6559008 · Camped on Aug 31, 2024 at Campsite #23C

While this is a very nice site with great views, there is a dam about 1 mile away that has 3 high intensity lights on 24 hours a day and they are surprisingly bright. Also, the highway is closer than expected and you can hear engine noise during the quieter time of the day and night. Aside from that it is a great site with wildlife viewing and fishing opportunities. Please pack out what you bring in or at least bury your toilet paper as the area was littered with peoples litter and cigarette butts. Please stop putting nails and screws in all the trees and learn to tie a decent knot if you want to hang stuff. These sites are not maintained regularly or possibly at all by staff and we are responsible for the cleanliness of the sites!

@ScottL9124908 · Camped on Aug 22, 2024 at Campsite #75W

This is a really cool site but there is a steep hill down to the river. Young healthy people with no knee pain can scale the hill with little issue but I would recommend a good strong rope for you to tie to the top and bottom to help others up and down. Other then that the site is beautiful and because its not on the river there are less bugs to worry about. Also access to the boat launch is maybe a 1/4 mile from you. Really a nice site!

@JohnM1144946 · Camped on Aug 19, 2024 at Campsite #7D

We had beautiful weather, and a clean campsite. We enjoyed watching the swan family on the river.

@SarahK3888645 · Camped on Aug 18, 2024 at Campsite #74D

Very large secluded campsite

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Ausable River Campground, MI - Latest Reviews, Photos & Campground Map

Ausable River

Campground Capacity (Next 30 Days)

Campsite Reviews (646)

4.8 out of 5

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