Little Sand Bay Recreation Area

Been there twice in the last few years. Last time, in late Sept, we had the place to ourselves. It was peaceful and lovely. This time (mid Sept) and it was a friggin zoo. The place was packed with large RVs, several of which had drunken, stupidly loud hooting and hollering yahoos taking it into the night. There is a separate tent camping area that is isolated from the main area by some trees but unfortunately not enough to block the noise.  The tent camping sites are not isolated from each other-just a long strip of lawn with about 6 sites or so. 

Nice supply of quality firewood and pay to spray shower (closed this year probably due to the pandemic). There is a nice, new modern bathroom facility for the Little Sand Bay park right next to the campgrounds.

Located directly across the street from Lake Superior with direct access to the gorgeous lakeshore. 

The campsites had electric hookups and the campground had public showers and what appeared to be new restrooms. They also sell firewood, have a water and sewer dump station and a pavilion with a large group campfire hang out area.

Video about Little Sand Bay: https://youtu.be/vkGtionVIcw

This is an interesting combo-campground in a recreation area that is run jointly by the local county township park board and the National Park Service. The campground would be ideal for folks in campers and RVs , as the campground is particularly well set up for them with hookups and large shaded sites. It is also an excellent harbor and marina for boaters of all kinds from sailboat to yacht to kayak. For tent campers like me, the tent spots arent great...small and unsheltered and close together. There is firewood for sale plus cats available to tote a load to your campsite. Play area for kids, some hiking possibilities, and right on the water for swimming at the beach or launching boats. Seems a little strange that they charge for showers on top on the camping fee. The Park service has staff on location with a Park Mobile information center, but better yet they are almost finished building a brand new beautiful visitor center about the Apostle Islands.

This campground has a marina and a beach right on Lake Superior. We went in mid September and it was pretty empty. There were about 10 tent only sites and there were campers at only 1 of the other tent sites and they were there only 1 night. I think if it was busy it might feel too crowded because the sites are very close. You had to pay 2 dollars for the showers but the water was hot and you got a good amount of time. The bathrooms were clean.

Tent “lakeside” site is an open court yard setting which is a little strange. All sites can face The lake. Try and avoid the other tent sites as they are behind fish house in the woods. Those sites are still less than 2 minute walk to lake. Showers are 2 dollars for 8 minutes. Great location for apostle island kayak tours or starting point.

One bogus item or plus item.

County ran so some people pull up and bandant camp.

Campground Review:

This is the closest campground to Meyer’s Beach, the best launch site for anyone wishing to explore the mainland sea caves of the Apostle Islands. The campground has about 40 sites, with 6 tent only sites, a group camp area, and RV hookup sites. Most of the RV sites are pull thru. Pay showers, a free little library, and firewood is for sale. There are large bathrooms with changing stalls as well as toilets, so kayakers can get out of wet suits without having to balance to not fall in toilets. The group site is closest to the lake and great for groups of kayakers. However, there are not a lot of hammocking options for anyone except the RVers. The tent only sites are along a narrow alley between dense woods (no access to the woods), and very close together (absolutely no privacy). A big rainstorm proved the tent sites are not well draining either. The boat ramp and launch is large and well signed with the various usage fees posted. There is a large parking lot with a National Park Service kiosk/trailer that is manned during normal hours with rangers providing information about the Apostle Islands. Apostle Island campers can leave their cars in this lot while they kayak and camp on the various islands.There was some major construction going on in and around the boat launch and campgrounds, but it is not disruptive to your activities. The whole campground is only 15 minutes to the cute little town of Bayfield where you can find outfitters for various activities in the islands.

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get to test product from time to time. On this trip I got to test some Mountain House freeze dried meals. After a long day of kayaking the coast in the sea caves I barely had the energy to boil water, so I pulled out my single serve Rice and Chicken from Mountain House and made a quick and easy dinner by just boiling water. Now, this was my first time trying a freeze dried meal, so I doctored it from the get go with some mini bell peppers I had in the cooler. I actually think this meal would be just fine without adding the bell peppers, but a girl’s gotta have her veggies. Overall, I liked this meal and will keep a couple Mountain House meals in my gear tub for future camping trips. I also tried their New York Style Cheesecake Bites for dessert. I was intrigued by this as I wasn’t sure how dairy could be freeze dried, but it worked! Definitely got the graham cracker crust taste and a vague dairy/cheesecake flavor. I like the way they were portioned in little cubes, very convenient for eating out of the bag.

this was a great little campground with amazing views of Lake Superior. It sits right in between Cornucopia and Bayfield so you have access to a lot of the scenic byway.

We had the group site at little sand bay. Not the most private but amazing location for lake access. We'll be back!

The campground is located right on the shore of Lake Superior next to Apostle Islands Natuonal Lakeshore. The view is incredible, especially if you can catch the sunset over the lake. From the campground, you can kayak out to the Apostle Islands. I stayed one night here in a tent and everything was great. There are bathrooms at the campground and pay per use showers.