Aune Osborne Campground - Sault St. Marie, MI

[JudyJB]

This is a great place to stay. There is no pool, only a small children's playground, and almost no activities, but the view makes up for all of that. The campground is owned by the City of Sault St. Marie and costs only $29 for a premium riverfront site.

It is located on the St. Mary's River at the very northern tip of Michigan. Canada is across the river, Lake Superior is to the west, and Lakes Huron and Michigan are downriver to the south. All ships going or coming from Lake Superior must pass through the Soo Locks, about a mile upstream of here. Several times each day and all night, you can watch big lake freighters pass very close to shore, actually close enough so we could hear one crew member who was out on deck hollering at us, so we waved back!

Check out my photos on my blog at http://grandmajjb.blogspot.com/ for 7/8.

There is also a web site where you can check the location of all ships on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway all the way to the Atlantic Ocean! It is refreshed every ten minutes and is located at http://ais.boatnerd.com/. If you come to Sault St. Marie, make sure you stop by the Corps of Engineers visitor center a.nd viewing platform of the locks. There are also boat tours of the river and locks available.

In case it is important, camp sites have water and electric and are fairly well spread out. No shade but the view is what you come here for, not for a typical camping experience, although there are fire rings for campfires. There is a fairly nice laundry room, however.

[Queen]

Sounds lovely. I clicked the link to the blog and got a "you don't have permission to view this page" note, but I've been to Sault St. Marie and remember it as very pretty.

[JudyJB]

Sorry. That's strange because I don't have any locks or security on my blog. It should be open to anyone. Please try again.

[chalet05]

Judy, the link in your post does not work, but the link in your signature does. The link in your post takes me to a Google sign in and then tells me I don't have access.

I would really like to go to this campground! It reminds me of Tom Sawyer Park on the Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Thanks for the info!

[gypsyrose1126]

Really enjoyed your photos, beautiful area! Thanks!

[JudyJB]

Thanks, Anita. I fixed it to the home page of my blog.

It is VERY much like Tom Sawyer! Love that place. In fact, I am planning on stopping by there on my way west this fall. I like campgrounds where there is a lot going on so you have something to watch. This one is open enough to get satellite, close enough to town to have a Wal-Mart, and near to touristy things without being too near. I am also facing the boat launch, which provides a little occasional excitement.

Waiting for a big 1000' freighter to go by right now that I know is in the locks. The 1000 footers barely fit into the locks, so they move very slowly, although they are planning on building a new and bigger lock in the next few years. (The size of the ships on the Great Lakes are limited by the size of locks.) The river just down from me is very narrow, so it is a very tight fit for the biggest ships. Most down-bound ships are filled with iron ore, coal, or grain from the Plains states, so they are bulk loaders. Ones going north and west tend to be empty.

The Soo locks is only about 60 miles north of Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island if you ever come this way.