Rustic Camping The Ottawa National Forest in Fall - 25 Weeks Pregnant

We wanted to get in one more camping trip before we had to go downstate for 2 weekends. I’m glad we did because we came back home to a snow storm before Halloween! For our camping trip, we headed out to The Ottawa National Forest to hike the Black River and visit the Porcupine Mountains.

Day 1

On the first day, we set up and I launched the drone to see what the trees looked like for fall this week. It was absolutely stunning! Lake Superior and the Ottawa National Forest were putting on a stunning show of color. Afterwards, we headed out on the trails and hike 3.5 miles from camp to the Rainbow Falls, Sandstone Falls, and back. Unfortunately, 3.5 miles was all we could muster. I could have kept going, but we are at the point where our daughter wants to do more walking than sitting so we are going at her slow speed. Alternatively, she was way too heavy for us in her backpack now and we need to find a new method of backpacking.

These camp sites were very affordable! There were 22 drive in options, which we were able to take one, and the rest of the sites had to be reserved online. We were worried it was going to be a popular spot and we wouldn’t get a site, but it was a very quiet and mostly empty this time of year.

The trail from the campground and beyond was very well marked and part of the North Country Trail. Our daughter enjoyed exploring the wonderfully kept trails, jumping logs, and finding little critters to learn about. The scenic overlook stops for the waterfalls were well taken care of as well. Some of the stairways can be steep, so be mindful. Some of the stops were also handicap accessible, but not all.

We made a picnic here and enjoyed the view!

After reaching Sandstone Falls, we took the designated campground trails back to our spot. Those weren’t as well marked and some spots were very overgrown. But since much of it was still part of the North Country Trail, it was at least navigable. Something else happened this night that I filmed about for my vlog but didn’t include pictures of… I thought I overpacked food but turns out I under-packed. Being pregnant and a growing toddler were a recipe for a lot of snacking and we ate all of our food for lunch and dinner. We even had to run into Ironwood to grab some more because we were still hungry! With it getting darker earlier now, we could climb into the tent after we returned and we all cuddled while reading our books.

Day 2

On the second day, we packed up camp. and drove to each of the remaining waterfalls. Much of the Gorge section of the Gorge and Potawatomi falls area was roped off and inaccessible. These falls were absolutely stunning nonetheless! Since we went first thing in the morning, we were able to beat the crowds to the falls.

After Potawatomi, we drove down to the Great Conglomerate Falls. This felt like the longest trail ever with a toddler, but it was very well maintained and we enjoyed taking in our surroundings. We played games, observed nature around us, played I Spy, and so many other things to keep her entertained, though at this point she’s pretty good at doing that by herself.

Afterwards, we darted over to the Porcupine Mountains because it has been a goal of mine to capture a fall image over the Lake of the Clouds. This was my first time flying my drone in a heavily public area, so I picked a small location that was fairly clear to launch and land. There was some technical difficulties, so I didn’t get to fly for long. After landing, we finished our hike and headed back to a sign we saw!

We happened to see that they were doing fall ski lift rides this weekend and they had just opened when we arrived! This was my daughter’s first time on a ski lift and she LOVED it! I forgot that my husband is not great with heights, so after we reached the top Evelyn chose to go down the trail with Charlie while I returned down the ski lift.

This was such a fun trip and I’m glad we were able to squeeze it in before our trip down state!