Campground · Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
A seven-site backcountry camp near South Manitou’s northern beach.
Overview
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Sleeping Bear Dunes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Popple is a seven-site backcountry campground on the north end of South Manitou Island, near the northern beach. It is about 3.5 miles from the ferry dock, farther than the island’s other campgrounds. I’d choose it for a quieter, lake-facing night, not a quick camp close to the boat: getting here means carrying your gear several miles.
Treat this as a backpacking trip. There’s no place to buy food or supplies on the island, and a backcountry permit is required. Purified drinking water is limited, so don’t count on a tap at Popple. Bring a filter or carry in enough water for your stay.
Facilities are basic: Popple has a pit toilet, while the island’s last modern restrooms and a bottle-filling point are near the old boathouse by the dock. The northern-tip beach is the natural wander once you’ve set up camp.
Wildlife
27 sightingsPiping PloverMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
70 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
56 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
68 sightingsSandhill CraneMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
58 sightingsPorcupineMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
31 sightingsLoonMost seen around 5 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Sleeping Bear Dunes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyFlorence Lake Trail2.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA short village walk to Florence Lake's sandy shore.
ModerateSouth Manitou Old Growth Cedars Trail6.9 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA boardwalk through ancient cedars after a full island walk.
EasySouth Manitou School House Trail3 mi · 1.8 hr · 2.6 mi awayA three-mile island walk to a one-room schoolhouse from 1899.
EasySouth Manitou Cemetery Trail4.6 mi · 2.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayAn easy island road walk to the main historic cemetery.
EasyOld Cemetery via Beach2 mi · 1 hr · 2.6 mi awayA short shore walk to South Manitou's old dock and cemetery.
EasySouth Manitou Lighthouse Hike0.6 mi · 30 min · 2.6 mi awayA short village walk to a Lake Michigan lighthouse.
ModerateFrancisco Morazan Shipwreck Trail6 mi · 3.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayLook down from the bluff at a freighter stranded in 1960.
ChallengingSouth Manitou West Side Dunes Trail7.4 mi · 4.5 hr · 2.6 mi awayA hard climb ends with Lake Michigan in every direction.
Sight · 0.6 mi awayGeorge Johan Hutzler FarmA South Manitou homestead with a two-story barn built for pigs.
Sight · 1.1 mi awaySouth Manitou Island CemeteryA quiet island walk into the stories behind the gravestones.
Sight · 1.4 mi awayAugust Beck FarmA farmstead that tells South Manitou’s farming story.
Sight · 1.6 mi awayGeorge Conrad Hutzler FarmAn island farm where isolation helped transform American rye.Sight · 1.9 mi awaySouth Manitou Island SchoolhouseEight grades fit in one room, and the island gathered there.
Campground · 2.1 mi awayBay Campground — South Manitou IslandA walk-in island campground close to South Manitou’s dock.
Sight · 2.6 mi awaySouth Manitou Boat House and Contact StationA dockside boathouse built for perilous Great Lakes rescues.
Visitor center · 2.7 mi awaySouth Manitou Island Visitor CenterA home, post office, general store, and island museum under one roof.Parkwolf’s Sleeping Bear Dunes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
