Know Your Tent Etiquette in the Upper Peninsula

If you plan on camping in a tent in the Upper Peninsula, you may have concerns because you are in bear country. Locals comment on tent etiquette in the U.P.

Tent Camping

When I was a kid growing up in Michigan, it was a big deal when a buddy and I could set up the tent and camp in the backyard. All we needed were some sleeping bags, snacks, and a flashlight, and we were good to go.

I have many great memories camping with my family at some state parks in Oakland County. When I got older, a bunch of friends camped out for a canoe trip down the Au Sable River. I will never forget this trip because after a long day of paddling and hanging with friends, a massive thunderstorm hit and ended our fun in the middle of the night.

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When I camped, I never thought about tent etiquette or how to camp where there were bears, but I hear there are some unsung rules the Yoopers camp by in the U.P.

Tent Etiquette in the U.P.: What Locals Are Saying

Recently, a poster on the Upper Peninsula Reddit page asked locals about leaving your tent alone while camping. Then, a host of tent campers began to share the camping etiquette of the Upper Peninsula.

I feel the same. When I've left a campsite, I never left anything of value out in the open, so I have never had any problems with other campers messing with my stuff.

This Reddit poster is a smart camper. I wish they had solar panels when I was camping as a kid.

There is some solid advice from someone who may have lost a beer cooler or two.

The few times I camped in the U.P., where bears are present, we were in a camper, and we never left anything outside to entice them, plus we had dogs with us that would have alerted us of any predators.

This Reddit poster makes a great observation about crackheads.

Hiding a game camera near your campsite is brilliant. If you get one of the newer models, the photos will go straight to your phone, kind of like a Wildgame version of a Ring camera.

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The information above should help you if you do any tent camping in the U.P. or anywhere else.

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