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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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! 

Traverse City

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

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

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.

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

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

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. 