Traverse City State Park Campground, near Traverse City, Michigan, is a bustling location that offers a convenient base for exploring the area. With a mix of tent, RV, and cabin accommodations, it’s a popular choice for those looking to enjoy the outdoors while being close to the city’s attractions.

The campground features well-maintained facilities, including clean bathrooms and showers, which visitors appreciate after a day of activities. Many campers enjoy the easy access to the nearby beach via a pedestrian bridge, making it simple to spend a day by the water. As one visitor noted, “The campground is basically right in town,” highlighting its prime location.

For those who love biking, the TART Trail runs adjacent to the campground, providing a scenic route to downtown Traverse City and beyond. While the sites can feel a bit close together, the surrounding pine trees offer some shade and a touch of nature. Just keep in mind that the campground is near a busy road and an airport, so it can get a bit noisy at times.

Whether you’re planning a family reunion or just a quick stop on your travels, Traverse City State Park Campground has the amenities and location to make your stay enjoyable.

Traverse City State Park is a 47-acre state park set in a more urban setting and featuring .25 miles of beautiful beach on the Grand Traverse Bay. The park is located only 3 miles from downtown Traverse City, one of the Michigan's most popular resort towns. The park was established in 1920 on about 16 acres of land after the logging industry began to wane. In 1921 and 1939, parcels were added to increase the park's land area. The original inhabitants of the land were the Ottawa branch of the Algonquin Indians.

Traverse City State Park Campground

In northern Michigan lies some of the best camping options in the state where you can stay by the lake or sheltered in the pine trees. Near Traverse City, MI, campers and RVers will find everything they need to make their camping trip a success. Campgrounds near the West Arm beaches give you a chance to relax and enjoy the water in the summer. You can walk, drive, or boat in to your campsite. Stay close to nature in a tent or rent a cozy cabin. Trails in the state forest are ideal for exploring on horseback or try one of the campsites at the fairgrounds where campers are close to the rides and the rest of the action.

Traverse City

The Best Camping Near Traverse City, Michigan

Location location location!  If you're looking for a campground that's just across the street from the beach located on Traverse a City Bay, this is it!  While campsites are somewhat cramped, showers and stalls are fairly clean and well kept, as are the sites in general.  Very convenient to stores, restaurants and night life downtown.  I've never been to a campground that felt like you were in the woods near the beach, was quiet, yet nearly in the middle of a bustling town!  Sites for tent camping, partial and full hook up.  Walking distance to restaurants and stores.   

Traverse City Campground 

This campground is huge! 300+ sites, pet friendly, sites for all shapes and sizes. Open year round, with heated cabins. It's a great location, just across from Traverse Bay with just across the road. With that being said, one downside is that road, a VERY busy main drag through Traverse City. Very loud. There is s bridge walk over said busy road to beach access. The campground was very busy and bustling with families. Only 30 minutes from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. 

Big Campground, Bigger Location 

A huge campground (500+ campsites) right across the street from Grand Traverse Bay and a nice sand beach. The campground is busy with all of those sites (which were full when I was there), thus noisy. The noise was increased by the very busy  highway 31 in front and the airport and railroad behind. There is a nice pedestrian bridge over the highway to give campers acces to the beach, and there is a bike trail in back that goes into town 4 miles away. Shower houses are clean and newer (at least on the back loop where I was). Expect the campground to be full on weekends, especially during the cherry and film festivals. Campsites were clean and level with fire rings and picnic tables, but I did not see dedicated tent pads. 

Traverse City State Park

Tiny little park along the bay. Site is extremely wooded but the sites are close and small. Nice sandy beach. There are a few resorts and a road between the park and the beach/water, which kind of sucks. Clean and kept well. If you know what to expect it’s ok, but I’ve never been to a state park that had this many camp sites jammed into such a small area. The nature near by is exceptional though! 


Traverse City camping 

I could not imagine a much better location than straight across (with a bridge over the road!) from the beautiful white sandy beach of Lake Michigan. This is a perfect spot for cycle enthusiasts and families. We rented bikes nearby and biked to town, which was absolutely beautiful and lots to see (and eat!) downtown. Also nearby is a wonderful family spot, Pirate's Cove and there is a great little market near there too. The lots are a little small which would be the only draw-back, but trees are abundant, making up for that! Bathrooms are clean and plentiful even as the park was very busy. All around loved it!

Traverse City State Park Camping and Adventure

The location of this campground is great and it's best feature in my opinion! This park is just two miles to downtown Traverse City (one of Michigan’s most popular resort towns), a quarter mile from a pretty beach and the beautiful blue waters of Lake Michigan, and it sits along the TART Trail which is a 10.5-mile bicycle trail running through the city.

While the park is small at just 47 acres, it holds pretty many campsites – approximately 350 (and two cabins). Campsites are set among tall pine trees so there is a bit of shade but that also means that they are sandy with little grass. Roads are paved and narrow if you are trying to maneuver with a large (40+ RV) and you may have difficulty backing into your site with the numerous trees lining the road. All sites are back-in with electric. Sites and patios are sandy with varying degrees of levelness. There is a dump station and water spigots are scattered throughout the campground. Picnic tables and fire pits are at each site. Sites are $31/night ($49/night for the cabins) and reserveable online.

This park is right on US-31/M-72 which means there is easy access in and out but it can be noisy if your campsite is close to the road. Expect the campground to be very busy on weekends and in the summer and tightly packed.

Amenities include: picnic area, beach, fishing, hiking/bicycling trail, three bathhouses, playground area, camp store, pet walk (no off-leash dog park).

Outside of the park there is a lot to do in Traverse City. Early July is the ever-popular Cherry Festival which lasts for a week. But you better book your campsite early if you want to enjoy all the festivities (which happen to be close to the park). The summer farmers market is great and held every Wednesday and Saturday. Early in the season, asparagus is plentiful and locally-grown asparagus is the best you will ever have being super sweet, tender, and inexpensive. For beer drinkers, consider paddling the beer trail that takes you from Boardman Lake to Lake Michigan and past numerous breweries where you pull over for a pint. If it's ice cream you want, you have come to the right place. There are multiple creameries with Moomer's being our favorite and for some reason eating it right at the farm stand was the best.

Great Proximity to Downtown, Beach, and Breweries.

**Campground Review:** This very popular campground is a few miles from downtown Traverse City, on the edge of Grand Traverse East Bay, Lake Michigan and fills up very quickly during the summer months. It is open year-round though and the fall is gorgeous in Michigan. As a city-based campground, it has many amenities and makes for a great alternative to paying much higher prices for the hotels, motels, and B&amp;B’s in the area. This is a nicely wooded campground, and though the sites are spacious, they are rather close to each other, so not much privacy. But, given that this campground provides direct access to the TART Bike Trail (which can use to get to Traverse City, the Leelanau Wine Trail, or many other points north) and there is a safe, over-the-road walking bridge that takes you to the beach on the bay, we didn’t spend much time IN the campground itself. The various sites accommodate everything from small tents to large RV’s and all come with electricity. There are even two small camping cabins available for rent. The immaculately clean bathrooms and showers are free to campers. Firewood and ice are available onsite by the office. The only major drawbacks are that you can hear the road (which is pretty busy most days) and there are railroad tracks next to the campground (though we never heard a train and were told that it was infrequent).

**Video:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWrZLOItQc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWrZLOItQc)

**Product Review:**  As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get gear to review from time to time. On this excursion, we took the Saris Freedom SuperClamp 2-Bike Rack for a test spin while camping and wine tasting via the Leelanau Bike Path, which is accessible from Traverse City State Park in Traverse City, MI. We were in the market for another bike rack and had researched various racks just before this one arrived. We think this is a pretty good option for the price point.

**_What I like about this rack:_**

1\. It secures to the vehicle trailer hitch via a threaded bolt rather than a pin; this holds the rack securely and minimizes swaying of the bikes as we go down the road. A locking attachment to this bolt discourages theft of the entire rack.

1.  The bikes are held securely by clamping to the wheels and don’t contact the frame. Our previous bike rack was a hanging rack which did some damage to the paint job on our frames --NOT an issue with this rack.
2.  The rack is very easy to use, simple to set up, and holds the bikes securely.
3.  It comes with a lifetime warranty. When our first rack arrived, one of the plastic wheel cups was cracked, but one quick call to the company and we had a whole new rack within a few days. Nice!

**_Room for improvement:_**

1.  The integrated locking cables stow away within the frame of the rack, which is cool; but they aren’t long enough to thread through the high-clearance frame of my husband’s mountain bike – so we can only lock down his back wheel not the frame. The cable will accommodate most traditional bike frames, but they aren’t thick enough to really secure the bikes for anything longer than a run into the grocery store anyway, so we’re adding another lock when necessary.
2.  The straps which secure the wheels are a little awkward to use, both securing and releasing. You have to use two hands to do this, and reaching the straps for the bike closest to the vehicle is a bit tricky.
3.  When the bikes are off the rack and it is folded into its storage configuration, we have no problem opening the tailgate of our truck; but, with both bikes on the rack, getting into the back of the truck is difficult. If you have a hatchback, make sure the bikes are the last thing you load up!

**Product Video:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpgajt1V1Yc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpgajt1V1Yc)

**Product Link:** [https://www.saris.com/product/superclamp-2](https://www.saris.com/product/superclamp-2)

Ranger Review: Saris Freedom SuperClamp 2-Bike Rack at Traverse City State Park Campground

This campground was very busy and it was full the weekend we were there. Camp sites were nice and big with fire pit and picnic table. Just a short walk to the beach with a nice crosswalk over the highway.

Busy campground

cheap place to stay while visiting traverse city 

Large wooded campground with over 300 spots. The staff is super helpful, the park has nice facilities for trash, recycling, firewood, water, and ice. The bathrooms are in good shape but need more cleaning during heavy weekend use. At times they were bad enough I would have preferred to squat outside.  The individual sites are well laid out and kept in good shape with picnic tables and fire rings. Access to a trail from the campground. 

Pretty good

Large

Nice clean park. Located very close to down town and accessible on bike path. Also nice cross over bridge to access the Beach on other side of main road sites in front Do have road noise but it was not too bad due to trees and brush.

Typical state run park!  Nice wooded  some newer facilities 

Lake is across the street, very large and busy

Very large

Great campground close to the lake, close to dining, bike trail connects to the park! Clean facilities!

Great location

It’s a well kept campground with plenty of sites. They are RV ready as well as tent camp ready. It may not be right on the water but across the street is close enough; there is a nice bridge to walk over the road so you don’t have to stop for traffic. The restrooms are clean and very capable for busy season. Behind the campground is a wonderful bike trail that goes all the way up the Lelenau Peninsula. 

The only issue we had was when I had to get a jump for my car and the DNR staff there was not very helpful. Other than that, it is a wonderful location!

Traverse City 

Electric only sites. There is a fill and dump station on site. Pets are allowed in the campground. The sites are a little tight, but if you are looking to hang out in Traverse City, this is a convenient location. Bathhouse was always well maintained.

Across the street from the lake, it's a city campground. 

Short and Sweet this campground is popular because of its location. Camp here for the location, friends, and amenities. Do not camp here for a wilderness get away.

Traverse City State Park is located in one of the most popular vacation spots in the state and for good reason, it is beautiful here with plenty of festivals, wineries, breweries, boutiques, food trucks, and Lake Michigan! The campground has clean showers, firewood on site, and is well taken care of.

The down side is it feels like there are as many people cramped into this campground as possible. The sites are close together. It’s busy, and you need to book atleast 4 months in advance it feels like.

If you like to RV camp and socialize then this is a great site. Want to hike and have peace and quiet, not so much.

Popular campground for a popular vacation spot

Near an airport and can be loud at times but the flights stop, overnight. The lot spaces are small, always packed, super sandy and be careful to note if unleveled when you visit with an RV. Any smaller truck with stock tires would not have been able to get out. The campground is a short walk to the beach, and just off the Tart Trail. come to camp but bring a bike. it’s the most popular mode of transport. tiny showers, plenty of water stations, but narrow roads into the grounds. 

Best overnight value in town

Pros:
Tons of great sites
Across the street from a beautiful beach
Close to wineries, breweries and a fun downtown
Clean showers and rest rooms

Cons:
Summer is packed and some sites are very close
Road noise from the highway 

Huuuuggggeeeee campground!

The campground itself is great. Big roomy sites. Walkway to the beach. Some updated restrooms. Not busy when we stayed. However, it is close to the major artery going into/out of the City. The closer you are to the highway, the louder the noise. Since the park is long and narrow going with the highway, you can hear the traffic from everywhere.

When we stayed (September) the rangers were only on property 2 hours a day. That made our check in a nightmare. We could talk with a reservation system through a phone mounted near the ranger station. However, to pick a site, we had to compare sites we wanted with a listing of reserved sites. The listing of reservations was a piece of paper with the sites and days they were reserved. The listing was confusing and it took us several trips through the park to find a site we liked that was not on the list.

Roomy sites, but noisy

This campground is really busy but its definitely worth it to be in Traverse City! It is right across from the bay so its easy to go swimming. It is also close to all of the wineries which was awesome.

Busy Campground

Great place to camp in traverse!  I prefer state parks to private campgrounds, and I don’t mind the crowds, but it is a very busy place to camp in the the summer.  Basic state park facilities, with a fire ring and picnic table combo at every site, as well as electric.  There are three loops with a bathhouse centrally located in each loop.  There are lots of places to go see in the traverse area like sleeping bear sand dunes, mission point, and of course getting some cherries! It’s a well maintained campground with nice facilities 😌 will be back!

Love love love traverse city!

Not your "camping" quiet being off the main drag into TC. (And always busy)  However, it's in the heart of TC right by the bay beach and bike trail. Great camp ground if you want to be convenient on TC. 

Great Location

We love Traverse City and being able to camp somewhat near downtown. One of our favorite things is being connected to the bike paths so we can bike to downtown area while staying on bike trails!Campground is busy and small sites but our favorite place to camp is along the back fence with great hammock trees and the fire pit behind our trailer. It makes it feel like your not in a big busy packed campground. The bath houses on the end we like are very dated and are usually clean but still show their age! The other end had nicer newer shower/bath houses. You do need to walk across a bridge to get to the bay but not a long walk. 

The Traverse City area has a lot to do! 

Small sites that are grouped pretty close to each other, but really you can’t beat the location. 2 minute walk across the overpass to the state park beach, easy walk to downtown and shops. Fantastic place. 

Best part is parking so close to your own site. Parking can be hard to come by this close to downtown. Great place for a family and making memories. 

Location, location, location

This campground is in a great location close to everything.  Can access the TART trail at the back of the campground.  Easy ride in to town.  Close to everything you would ever want to do. We stayed at site 62.  Our shower house was newer with more showers and always clean.  Close to road, but didn’t bother us.  Not a campground if looking for peace and quiet.  Sites close together.  We will definitely stay here again just because of the location and ability to get everywhere!   

Great location 

While I typically prefer more rustic camping, this was a fantastic and easy way to enjoy Traverse City. The campground was very family oriented and offered plenty of amenities - power outlets, bathrooms (including showers). The camp sites were large and spacious (we fit 3 tents on one) with a picnic table and fire pit. While we didn't have time, the campground is located directly across the street from Lake Michigan. There is a pedestrian bridge for easy crossing. 

  

I'd highly suggesting bringing your bicycles. There is a paved path right from the campground into downtown TC (about 20-30 min ride). You avoid parking and have access to the fantastic food and breweries in town. 

  

If you're looking to for more of a more rustic, nature-oriented camping experience this may not be the best option for you. You could hears the cars from the road and the airplanes started flying overhead at 7am sharp.

A great way to enjoy TC

Nice park right in town. Can be noisy with the traffic but the rail trail stretches most of town and provides great bike riding. The beach is right accross the road! 

Northern Michigan Fun

Stayed: 8/14-8/16/20 - $33/night

Site: 130

Huge sites, but very close to neighbors, so no privacy. They are in the process of updating all bathrooms and showers, so that will be nice. The “old” ones aren’t terrible, but only two showers for each section. Never had an issue however, even on a sold out weekend.

Wood ($5) and ice ($2) available on-site until 10pm. That was great!

If it wasn’t for the construction, would have been miserable turning left towards downtown. Beach access across a pedestrian bridge.

#DareToEverywhere

Typical State Park

Nice campground. The bathrooms were well kept and showers were clean, although we had a hard time keeping hot water.  Location is great for visiting downtown TC or the wineries and distilleries. 

So close to town and wineries!

This state park has a lot of sites.  It is very wooded and some of the sites can be difficult to get into. There is beach access with a pedestrian bridge going across US31 to get between the campground and the beach. There is also a paved bike path that gets you to a lot of local restaurants and other activities. It is a short drive to downtown Traverse City and Old Mission Peninsula. Leelanau Peninsula and Sleeping Bear Dunes are about a 30-40 minute drive. This is a noisy campground due to the traffic on US 31 and its proximity to the airport.

Close to a lot of activities.

Not one of our favorites.  This is an "urban" campground, in that it's on a VERY busy and noisy road close to Traverse City and all the tourist attractions.  The sites are packed in tightly and have no solitude.  It's also under the flight pattern of the airport, so often has airplane traffic too.  It's a good campground if you want a cheap home base for exploring Traverse City and northern Michigan.  It's well situated to drive to many natural and tourist locations.  They have a very fun Halloween celebration each fall, which is worth the less desirable points of the park.

Good Home base if Tourist

Good fun camping 

A very busy and crowded park with lots of road noise. That said, the beach is great and it’s close to all the area has to offer. Bathrooms were clean and well maintained, even on a busy July weekend. Not the place to go if you want peace and quiet, but it worked well as our basecamp for visiting TC, Leelanau, and Sleeping Bear Dunes. 

Great park while visiting the area

For a campground wedged between a highway and railroad tracks, amazingly quiet (though there are small planes in the daytime). It’s crowded, make no mistake, but the sites are very large, and the tall pines dominate everything, so no baking in the sun. You can walk out the back to the nearby Bayside Market for your camp bacon and other needs. A pedestrian bridge to the beach means never waiting for traffic.

a pleasant surprise!

The campground is located just 3 miles from downtown Traverse City but feels remote. The sites are large, shaded by tall trees. East Bay beach is beautiful and you can swim or rent kayaks and stand up paddle boards right on the beach. The TART bike path on the opposite side of the campground is very convenient and great for getting around. 

Perfect location 

Bathrooms were clean, sites were average size for Michigan state parks. Close to the bike trail, though a little noisy from the nearby airport and roads.

Clean and convenient

Spent my first three nights in site 74 before moving to 421 for my last night. 

Great cell service allowed me to do work right from my site and I loved walking over to the beach for morning and evening swims. 

Also biked east to enjoy dinner at one of the nearby brewpubs and west to get groceries one day. 

The state park also has a secondary parking area on the beachfront that is great for launching kayaks and/or paddleboards 

Beautiful Site for Weekday Work and Morning Paddles

We stayed here on our first night of our 10 day expedition, and it really is a beautiful campground. If you’re looking to get away from people and actually be in some wilderness, this is not the campground for you. But it is a great place to camp if you’re looking for a pitstop to camp while traveling further north, and it would be an awesome campground to have a birthday party or family reunion, group event or something like that. It would be ideal for that sort of thing. We really enjoyed our stay there, and I would go back again. The campground is also right within walking distance to the water and beaches of Traverse Bay, and you’re within striking distance of as much shopping as you could handle in Traverse City, one of the most beautiful cities in America. 

Campin’ in the city! 

Beauty under the canopy of trees

There’s a LOT of sites at this campground, but most are nicely spaced and there’s lots of pine trees. The ones on the south part of the loops seem more secluded, while the ones near the road would be pretty noisy. There’s a pedestrian bridge over the busy street to the beach. The shower/bathroom buildings are impressive. The one in the first camping area looks brand new and is huge. 

Big campground, but nice overall

Located on busy US-31, but with pedestrian bridge over 4 lanes to beach.  TART (Traverse  Area Recreation Trail) access from campground.  Easy biking to Traverse City or Acme.  Difficult campground exit due to traffic.  Get a site in the interior or back, away from US-31, to avoid traffic noise.  I had electric-only site... I believe all sites are electric only.  Some bathhouse are new and modern, others are older.  I enjoyed biking trail and close proximity to Traverse City.

Close to Traverse City

The campground is very busy and the sites are close together. We rented bikes and got to Downtown Traverse City where all the restaurants are. The best way to get there by bike is to take the TART Trail. You can get the access gat on the backside of the park between sites #46 and #47.

Beautiful beach

Campground is next to a 4 lane highway and very close to a airport the noise was horrible.  The beach was across the street from the campground but was really nice.  The bathrooms were kept clean but very busy.  We were fine with most of it including the lack of any privacy at all but we were packing up to go and I noticed odd bugs crawling all over the tent and surrounding area when we dropped the poles.  They were wood cockroaches and boy did we go through a lot to make sure we didn't bring any home for that reason alone we will not be staying there again.

No thank you!

Campground is basically right in town.  Lots of road and airport noise.  Beach is on the other side of the highway from park.  Sites are not secluded but good hammock trees abound.  Nice showers. Convenient jumping off point to explore NW Michigan.

Absolutely loved this campground in terms of location to do things around Traverse City. Was easy to get into town. Loved how well maintained the facilities are. As a tent camper, it’s nice to have well maintained showers to feel fresh after. 

WARNING ⚠️ If you’re looking for a quieter campground this might not be for you. It’s close to airport and 4 lane road. There are cars passing by frequently, but less in the evening. 

Busy Campground in the ❤️ of Traverse City

We were camping in mid-October. It was chilly out and raining, but the bathrooms there were still nice! It has a good location in Traverse City, but unfortunately the park isn’t connected to the bay. There is a walk over bridge, so you don’t have to cross the road! But the park is right next to a busy road and near an airport, so it was a little noisy. Inside the camper it wasn’t too noisy from cars though.
If a person is looking to be in Traverse City to camp just be near the city then this would be a great place to be, but if you’re looking for quiet, nature, and easy access to swimming then it’s not my #1 choice. 

Convenient Location

Well, the spots are very small and you have to park sideways. Nothing can beat the price of staying in Traverse City. If you have your own camper, the showers are nice. You’re right downtown and there’s a catwalk over the beach.

Spots are small for travel trailers/RV’s.

Very nice park, walkway to the public beach, paved path behind the grounds. Modern, clean bathhouse. Not a lot of privacy between spots, big mature trees all through the grounds. Right by municipal airport with lots of flight activity. 

Photos of Traverse City State Park Campground

Real photos from real campers