Best family campgrounds in Michigan include 1) Dunes Harbor Family Camp, 2) Hidden Hill Family Campground, 3) Lake Leelanau RV Park, and more.
Planning a family trip with kids often takes its toll on parents. While camping is a fun experience for both children and adults, it can get daunting when little kids are involved.
Parents usually get burdened by their responsibilities of taking care of the younglings and end up parenting through the whole trip instead of enjoying it.
If you are planning an RV trip with the family, there are thousands of campgrounds and sites across the US that take the parenting factor into consideration. These designated parks give families a chance to explore the outdoors while also providing basic requirements like electricity, drinking water, and other modern facilities.
Previously, we discussed about family campgrounds in Maine.
Today, we have listed 10 family campgrounds in Michigan that can make your trip a pleasant experience.
Also, we have provided audience ratings and the basic minimum fee to hire a campsite. All the ratings are based on reviews on TripAdvisor.
1) Dunes Harbor Family Camp
Rating: 5/5
Price: $52-$150 Per Night
Pets: Allowed [On Leash]
Dunes Harbor Family Camp is a Christian campground located in Silver Lake, Michigan.
The camp became operational in 2016 and serves more than 2500 families. Once you get to the site, you will immediately feel it is different from any other campground nearby.
As a Christian site, there are multiple recreational and fate-related activities to carry out, including horse wagon rides, pony rides, archery, family movie nights, prayer sessions, and more.
Also, there is an onsite laundry, an ice cream shop, a swimming pool, a picnic area, a convenience store, and hiking trails. If you have little kids, they’ll enjoy walking or the sand dunes on the beaches of Silver Lake.
The Dunes Harbor camp is an ideal location if you want to have a quiet Christian family weekend with your partner and kids.
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $30-$55 Per Night
Pets: Allowed [On Leash]
The Hidden Hill Family Campground is a privately-owned recreational park in Harrison, Michigan.
You can indulge in a number of fun activities with your family like hiking, boating, canoeing, hunting, swimming, skiing, snowmobiling, and golfing.
For living accommodations, there are RV hookups, rental trailers, and rustic campsites. Further, the camp also provides accommodations like free wi-fi, electricity, a dump station, restrooms, showers, a playground, and a retail store.
The park allows pets on its premises, except for a few breeds of dogs. Aggressive breeds like Pitbulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and Chows are not allowed in the park.
The Hidden Hill is surrounded by rich natural resources that will make your stay more than just pleasant. There are over 20 lakes nearby where you can swim, fish, or spend time with your family on the beach.
For kids, the main attractions are a kangaroo jumping pillow and an 85′ slip-n-slide.
3) Lake Leelanau RV Park
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $64-$89 Per Night [For Upto 4 People]
Pets: Allowed [Dogs Must Be On Leash]
The Lake Leelanau RV Park is a privately-owned recreational park located on the outskirts of Lake Leelanau, Michigan. This is a pleasing destination for families exploring the outdoors in an RV.
Lake Leelanau, the main attraction of the park, stretches over 21 miles with an 800 feet sandy beach. While there, you can participate in tons of activities, including boating, fishing, swimming, and playing water sports. Also, there is a large area with shallow waters best suited for kids and families.
The RV park has been owned and operated by the Wilson family since 1977.
The park provides 98 decks to park your boats along with facilities like a gas pump and boat launches. There are over 240 campsites in the park and the naturally-flowing Little Finger Stream runs through it.
4) Burt Lake State Park
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $18-$28 Per Night
Pets: Allowed
The Burt Lake State Park is a public park located along the southern shores of Burt Lake in Cheboygan County, Michigan.
It is spread over an area of 406 acres and is considered an ideal destination to camp for water lovers. The site has a shoreline extending nearly 2000 feet, facilitating a relaxing day on the beach.
The Burt Lake itself covers an area of nearly 27 sq. miles with a number of activities to do, including boating, rowing, swimming, and fishing.
Additionally, the park has a playground for kids, a baseball pitch, a beach volleyball area, and a picnic spot for families. You can also bring pets but they must remain on a six-foot-long leash and should never be left unattended.
Nearby spots to visit include the Burt Lake-Foot Trail, the Cross in the Woods Shrine & Nun Doll Museum, the Big Bear Adventures, and more.
The park remains operational from April to October 31 and closes in the winter.
5) Ludington State Park
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $13-$49 Per Night
Pets: Allowed [Restricted To Campground]
The Ludington State Park provides a wholesome experience for your family with access to both rural landscapes and modern facilities. The park covers an area of over eight sq. miles, spread across the shorelines of Hamlin Lake and Lake Michigan.
For living accommodations, there are four campgrounds, namely Cedar Campground, Pines Campground, Jack Pine Campground, and Beechwood Campground.
The park has 352 camping sites along with three mini cabins with the facilities of restrooms and electricity. It also provides eight campsites with no electricity and 10 rustic backpack sites.
Due to the access to two big water bodies, there are plenty of water-related sports and activities you can participate in like fishing, swimming, canoeing, rowing, and kayaking.
Hiking is one of the most common pastimes of visitors. The hiking trail spreads across nearly 18 miles and can be divided into routes, taking between 30 minutes to three hours to complete. The Big Sable Point Lighthouse is one of the common hiking destinations and a great spot for practicing your photography skills.
6) Hungry Horse Campground
Rating: 4.5/5
Price: $44-$58 Per Night
Pets: Allowed
The Hungry Horse Campground is a family park located in the Dorr Township of Michigan. There are 96 campsites inside the 50-acre property along with the facilities of free wi-fi, electricity, restrooms, and showers.
You can hire a site to park your RV or set up your camp at this park. Or, you can also rent a cabin if the previous two options are not viable.
The kid-friendly resort offers a wide variety of activities and exploration opportunities for both children and adults. For kids, there is a swimming pool, a wading pool, a jumping pad, a splash pad, basketball courts, hay rides, and wagon rides.
Likewise, adults can indulge in pastimes like hiking, playing shuffleboard, and horseshoes, or spending some quiet time by the campfire.
7) Traverse City State Park
Rating: 4/5
Price: $31 Per Night [Plus Parking Fee]
Pets: Allowed [Except the beach]
Traverse City State Park is located two miles east of downtown Traverse City. It is a 47-acre park with multiple facilities, including a fully-equipped lodge, a modern campground, a day-use area, and several mini cabins.
Surrounded by woods, the park offers access to recreational activities like hiking, cycling, and yoga. There is a TART trail that falls parallel to the state park and stretches nearly 10.5 miles.
The state park also has a sandy beach nearly a quarter-mile long that is suited for boating, swimming, wading, and fishing. The beach also contains picnic tables for families, grills, and a playground for kids.
There are 350 campsites in this park with nearby access to electricity, bathroom buildings, a dump and fill station and a trash center.
The campground provides facilities for overnight stays. You can bring your own camps or rent for a small charge. Likewise, the campground is within driving distance of hotels like the Baywatch Resort, Brio Beach Inn, China Fair Restaurant, and more, so food should not be a concern.
8) Sandy Pines
Rating: 4/5
Price: $160 For Three Nights
Pets: Allowed
Sandy Pines is an RV resort and campground spread over an area of 813 acres. It is located in western Michigan, nearly 8 miles out of Hopkins.
Sandy Pines has fun activities for people of all ages and preferences. For instance, there are four heated pools to accommodate swimming in any weather. Also, you can rent accessories like golf carts, bikes, kayaks, paddle boats, and row boats.
If you are coming to the park with family, be sure to introduce your kids to the splash pad, mini golf, and ropes course. You can stay in a camp, park an RV, or rent a cabin.
However, it is a strictly members-only park and doesn’t allow entry to outsiders unless they are invited by a member of the community.
9) Krystal Lake Campground
Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $30-$140 Per Night
Pets: Allowed [On Leash]
The Krystal Lake Campground is a recreational camping park in Vassar, Michigan.
Located north of Washburn Road, the campground is surrounded by three lakes: Krystal Lake on the northeast, Turtle Lake on the northwest, and Bass Lake on the southwest direction.
The park offers recreational activities for people of all ages. For kids, there is a basketball court, a playground, a putt-putt golf setup, and a horseshoe pit. Likewise, there are multiple activities to do with your family, including cycling, boating, fishing, and swimming pool. There is also a mini island in the middle of Krystal Lake, perfect for taking photos with her family.
For extended stays, there is a dump station near the entry from Washburn Road along with restrooms, showers, rental cabins, and a rustic camping area.
The park is currently closed but will reopen on April 14, 2023, and will remain operational until October 16.
10) Sun Outdoors Kensington Valley
Rating: 3/5
Price: $48 Per Night
Pets: Allowed
The Sun Outdoors Kensington Valley is a famous family spot in southeast Michigan.
Formerly known as Haas Lake Park RV Campground, it is an RV campground operational since 1971. The park remains open from April 14 to October 30 and charges a fee starting from $46 for an RV site per night.
Sun Outdoors is accessible to people of all ages along with their pets. While there, you can indulge in a list of recreational activities like swimming, playing golf, hiking, and fishing.
The site also has access to a general store, laundry, four beaches, four lakes, a pool table, a playground, a basketball court, a volleyball court, and more.
Apart from the camp, there are several places to visit within driving distance, including the Detroit Zoo, Henry Ford Museum, and Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum.
The access to four lakes gives visitors the chance to indulge in boating, swimming, and fishing with their beloved family members. As it is a family-oriented park, there are multiple family events pre-planned by the management.