Northland Outfitters Campground & Canoe / Kayak Livery — Hotel in Germfask Township

What a GEM of a campground with cabins, kayak and canoe rental!!!

My girlfriend and I are on a 4 month trip around Lake Superior that includes a month in Ontario Provincial Parks, 2 months in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan before crossing the bridge and seeing family and friends in the Lower Peninsula. Most of the campgrounds we booked are on lakes so we could use our kayaks. We have an RV and traveling solo, so it is hard to run a river without some help with drop off and take out support. We booked at Northland Outfitters so we could float the Manistique River with our kayaks and use their great portage service for a very reasonable price. It is great, you either get dropped off and float back to the campground or leave from here and they pick you up after a float through the Seney Wildlife Refuge. These are the two main floats but there are some other options as well.

If you just want to float and camp at the campgrounds down the river, they support you with that as well. They have everything you need to do a river trip.

Well, when we got to the park I fell in love with it. Nice laid back place, not like the big parks with all the noise. This campground is right off highway 77 but you never know it. It is heavily treed and RIGHT on the river with a GREAT park like feel.

This is our first time here but we met fellow campers that have been coming here for years. I understand that the previous owners were great folks. The couple that bought it this year are great and they have great plans to expand but keep the park-like feel of the place. There is a cool pond in the middle of the campground that they keep aerated so it stays healthy. They have several small cabins as well as RV and tent spots, many RIGHT on the river, like the one I have, #6 (great spot).

They have a VERY nice gift shop with a great selection of clothing and local crafts. Cool bucket hats with built-in bug nets. They have a great selection of river shoes and paddles at great prices. We got some from Amazon at the same price. So just get them here before your paddle. They also have the typical items that you want when camping or a stop at a cabin and things for your fireside evening.

As you might imagine with such a long trip we have stayed in dozens of campgrounds and had some great experiences. We put this campground at the TOP of our list of "We will be back here" places from our trip. I look forward to our next trip and see the upgrades they have planned for this already great hide-a-way from the daily grind.

If you are looking for a quiet park-like feel where you can watch the river drift by, THIS IS THE SPOT. If you want to run the Manistique River, THIS IS YOUR OUTFITTER.

Great GEM we discovered...

The one star rating is due to my experience. Let me begin by saying I take full responsibility for not asking enough questions, but I also feel we should have been denied access to this trip without a guide. Four of us (52, 62, 63, 65 yrs.) went on the 2.5 hour Manistique River kayak trip. Two of us had been in a kayak one time; two of us had never been in a kayak. The trip was described to us as an easy float. “Just stick to the right” of the river and you will be fine. Life jackets were provided and worn snugly but not super tight. Appropriate fitting of these life jackets was not discussed; they are different from regular boating lifejackets, shorter, and less adjustable with larger people. The river was filled with obstacles (downed trees, sand bars, and large rocks) both above and below the water surface, which are probably fine for any experienced kayakers. Unfortunately we had none of those skills. I tipped over in an area where the water was deeper than I could reach bottom. I was hung on a log, the current would not allow me to tread water and my life jacket went over my head which then held my face under the water. My friends had to leave their boats to extract me from the tree and get me to shore. I could not maneuver with the life vest over my head and didn’t think I should remove it with the current holding me in the river. After this was resolved, one of us had to swim/walk the river to reach the lost boat and paddle which had floated down a few curves. Once the kayak was recovered we then had to figure out how to empty and enter the boat. We had no instructions on how to deal with this at all. Eventually, we did make it back after four or five hours and the owners did show concern but I was too upset to even speak to them. Stick to the right didn’t work as there was too much debris in the river. When queried, we found that the river route had not been checked this year. There is clearly a lot of new debris in the river, trees with green still attached and many across the river. This was a beautiful trip from what I recall but persons with no experience should not be allowed to go...

I wish there was a higher number of stars I could give this campground. 10/5 stars. The owners AND staff are TOP TIER.

Where do I start? Bathrooms.. newly renovated and BEAUTIFUL. They are cleaning them constantly, which is impressive considering they aren’t a massive staff. They were immaculate.

The campsites were wonderful. It’s clearly defined where your campsite starts and ends. We stayed in a river front site and it was extraordinarily relaxing. We got to people watch and see the kayakers coming around the corner, and we also passed our own site on our trip which was fun. The campground was relatively quiet. Other campers of course were by their fires at night enjoying their time, but my husband and I laughed because it seemed like at a certain time during the evening all of the chatter just STOPPED. It was the most peaceful evening I have had at a campground; all of the other campers were respectful of their neighbors.

I saved the best for last. The owners and staff. They are all absolutely wonderful human beings. We ran into one of the staff member who took us to our drop off point while we were out and about and he waved and asked us how everything went. I have never had that happen before, the owners and staff truly care about their guests. They know that river up and down. They can give you advice on which route you might enjoy (of course they can’t control the elements, bugs, etc). If you tell them your comfort level they can make their best recommendation. They give you tips on what to look out for (ie, duck down under these bridges, once you hit this point you have x number of minutes left..) and what’s best is they work their butts off to clear the river. I cannot even imagine how much time they spend clearing a path to assist with an enjoyable float. It’s a river, you always need to keep your eyes open but it was clear how much work they put into making sure canoes and kayaks are able to safely navigate.

We will without a doubt...