Craig Lake State Park is a remote public recreation area covering 8,459 acres in Baraga County in the Upper Peninsula of the state of Michigan. The state park has several lakes that are accessible only by foot or paddling.
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You have to drive down several miles of VERY rough dirt roads. There are large jagged rocks to dodge all over the place and the road is narrow enough that you don’t have much room to dodge them if there’s an oncoming vehicle.
My tires survived, but I did bottom out a couple times—and I drive a large SUV. We passed a guy who broke down after bottoming out in a pickup.
So if you want to visit here, make sure you’re confident your vehicle can make it. The dirt road is at least 6-8 miles long, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re going 15-20 mph the whole way (or even slower), it takes a while.
I’m sure the lake is beautiful and there’s plenty of fun to be had in the park, but it’s difficult to get to. After our long drive down the dirt roads, we reached a closed gate next to a parking area and it was at least another 1-2 mile hike on foot to the lake from there. It was pouring rain and we were short on time (thanks to the long, slow drive on dirt roads), so we turned around and unfortunately never got...
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Thoroughly enjoyed the adventure into and out of the park. It's a rough drive in on Nelligan Lake Rd then to Craig Lake Rd but even much rougher driving out of the park on Nestoria Rd. 4WD is advised and, like the signs say, a vehicle with high clearance is recommended. Decent parking at the trailhead and plenty of hiking trails available. The North Country Trail goes thru the park. Looking forward to back country camping here someday. Plenty of campsites close and far from parking. The photo is Teddy Lake. There's a campsite not far from where...
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Beautiful park. We made it up to campsite 21 on Craig Lake. Tough to find a flat spot for a 4 person tent but the view was amazing! Travel Tip...do not take the Nestoria Road entrance unless you have a very high clearance vehicle. Lots of boulders and holes. Nelligan Lake Road is much easier to navigate in. And for an adventure, it is possible to make it back to Craig Lake from the river at the north end of Crooked on kayaks. Several obstacles and blockages, but we made it with 4 kayaks(eventually). Well...
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