Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights6 sites open for every nightA forested campground near trout fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. Most campsites have no hookups, and RV fit varies by site.
AuSable River Dispersed Camping stretches along a 55-mile reach of the AuSable River in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, between the river access at 4001 Bridge (about 7 miles northwest of Glennie) and the Whirlpool access a few miles west of Oscoda. The system contains 101 individually designated single-family campsites, arranged into nine sections that follow the river corridor: Alcona Pond (7 sites), AuSable Semi-Primitive North (8), AuSable Semi-Primitive South (5), Cooke Pond (26), Five Channels Pond (4), Foote Pond (24), Loud Pond (7), Lower AuSable (5) and Sawmill Point (15).












Length limits vary by campsite.
Availability on Recreation.gov. Showing 40 of 101 sites.
| Site | Fr 13 | Sa 14 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 085W walk to | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 097C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 057D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 033C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 014C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 060W walk to | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 045D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 094C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 034C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 017C boat in | ✓ |
Hookups (individual campsites): 46 no-hookup individual sites.
5761 NORTH SKEEL AVENUE
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Official facts link to their source; “Listing” facts come from the Recreation.gov listing. Anything we can't source says so.
Themes from recent written reviews on Recreation.gov. Quotes are verbatim.
“Clean and quiet, lots of room between campsites”
Verbatim from guest reviews on Recreation.gov ↗ (469 reviews, ★ 5.0). Not written or edited by us.
“Clean and quiet, lots of room between campsites”
“Very peaceful and quiet. Would be nice to have a picnic table. The campsites are all very good size. ”
| ✓ |
| $10 |
| 087W walk to | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 042D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 004D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 018C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 031C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 091D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 078D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 086C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 101D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 015C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 027C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 065C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 023C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 021C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 051D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 037C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 088D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 041C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 076D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 032C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 100D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 035C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 090W walk to | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 005C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 013C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 062W walk to | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 038C boat in | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 063W walk to | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 011D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
| 068D standard nonelectric | ✓ | ✓ | $10 |
✓ available · R reserved · X not available · C closed · W first come, first served · N not yet released
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights6 sites open for every night
Available Nov 13–15 · 2 nights4 sites open for every night
First come, first servedRentals that may deliver here and whose listed length fits sites up to 40 ft. Delivery may be available — confirm fees and dates with the owner before you book.

Travel trailer · 22 ft · sleeps 5 · 26 mi from campground
$120/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 26 ft · sleeps 6 · 50 mi from campground
$125/night listed · Outdoorsy · Delivery may be available
View rental
Travel trailer · 29 ft · sleeps 7 · 61 mi from campground
$125/night listed · RVshare · Delivery may be available
View rentalstays up to 14 nights (Recreation.gov rules).
For July weekends, book about 155 days ahead. Three in four July Friday and Saturday arrivals were booked later than that, and half were booked 45 days or less before arrival. Past timing is guidance, not a guarantee of what is open now.
| Arrival month | Fri/Sat arrivals: half booked at least | A quarter at least | Other days: half booked at least | A quarter at least |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 43 days ahead | 101 days ahead | 47 days ahead | 125 days ahead |
| May | 51 days ahead | 128 days ahead | 99 days ahead | 173 days ahead |
| June | 56 days ahead | 148 days ahead | 97 days ahead | 164 days ahead |
| July | 45 days ahead | 155 days ahead | 73 days ahead | 176 days ahead |
| August | 43 days ahead | 140 days ahead | 60 days ahead | 175 days ahead |
| September | 30 days ahead | 95 days ahead | 45 days ahead | 157 days ahead |
| October | 29 days ahead | 82 days ahead | 38 days ahead | 129 days ahead |
| November | 12 days ahead | 39 days ahead | 15 days ahead | 56 days ahead |
Months with fewer than 30 reservations of that kind are left blank. Sites where nearly every booking was made the day of arrival (pay on arrival) are left out. Closed seasons, windows not yet released for booking, and currently unavailable nights are separate from this history.
Based on Recreation.gov reservations, FY2015–2025 (26,296 reservations in the years scored). Counts reservations made, not nights actually camped: cancellations aren't in the data, and nights a site was closed count as not booked. FY2020–21 (COVID) are left out of the scores.
101 individual reservable campsites from Recreation.gov, checked Nov 7. Rates are the listed nightly rates.
Tent, van or small RV, no power
46 sites · $10/night
Loops: Sawmill Point loop (15), Foote Pond loop (12), Cooke Pond loop (7), Alcona Pond loop (6), Lower Ausable loop (5), Ausable Semi-Primitive North loop (1)
32 open Nov 13–Nov 15
40 sites · $10/night
Loops: Cooke Pond loop (11), Foote Pond loop (7), Loud Pond loop (7), Ausable Semi-Primitive North loop (5), Ausable Semi-Primitve South loop (5), Five Channels Pond loop (4), Alcona Pond loop (1)
39 open Nov 13–Nov 15
15 sites · $10/night
Loops: Cooke Pond loop (8), Foote Pond loop (5), Ausable Semi-Primitive North loop (2)
12 open Nov 13–Nov 15