Camper submitted image from Lake Hudson Recreation Area - 1
View All
Camper submitted image from Lake Hudson Recreation Area - 2
Nature
Camper submitted image from Lake Hudson Recreation Area - 3
People
Camper submitted image from Lake Hudson Recreation Area - 4
Water
Camper submitted image from Lake Hudson Recreation Area - 5
Facilities

Established Camping

Lake Hudson Recreation Area

Lake Hudson Recreation Area, near Clayton, Michigan, is a rustic campground that offers a laid-back atmosphere with beautiful lake views. The sites are spacious and provide a good amount of privacy thanks to the surrounding vegetation, making it a great spot for those looking to escape the hustle and bustle.

Campers appreciate the friendly staff and the well-kept grounds. Many have noted that the electrical hookups can be a bit far from the sites, so bringing a long extension cord is a must. As one visitor mentioned, “The park is well kept, the staff is friendly, and the bathrooms were clean.”

For outdoor activities, the area boasts hiking trails along the lake and opportunities for fishing. The campground is also a dark sky preserve, making it perfect for stargazing at night. Just be prepared for some rustic conditions, as there are no showers or modern facilities. If you’re looking for a peaceful retreat with a touch of adventure, Lake Hudson Recreation Area is worth considering.

Description

Department of Natural Resources

Lake Hudson Recreation Area is located in southern Michigan near the Ohio border. The park is home to a Designated Dark Sky Preserve and offers a rustic campground, a no-wake lake, a large swimming area, a boat launch, trails and a picnic shelter. In addition, there are opportunities for hunting and fishing (known for muskie), geocaching, metal detecting and more. The park features numerous grassy fields and wood lots.

Lake Hudson is located in an area of open farmland, near the Ohio border. The nearest shopping is located in Hudson, approximately 7 miles west of the park. Users will find a laundry-mat, grocery store, as well as a bowling alley and movie theatre. Eating choices vary from fast food to family dining, as well as a place to get ice cream!

Suggest an Edit

Location

Lake Hudson Recreation Area is located in Michigan

Detail location of campground

Directions

Located on M-34 east from Hudson 7 miles. 1 mile south on M-156. 40 miles south of Jackson; 15 miles southwest of Adrian.

Address

5505 Morey Highway
Clayton, MI 49235

Coordinates

41.82476119333874 N
84.2596997044557 W

Open in Google Maps

The Dyrt Alerts

Get reservations at sold-out campgrounds.

Learn More

Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Boat-In
    Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Good
  • Verizon
    Unknown
  • AT&T
    Unknown
  • T-Mobile
    Unknown

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Cabins

Features

For Campers

  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Phone Service
  • Reservable
  • Drinking Water
  • Electric Hookups
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump

Drive Time


Reviews

Add Review

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

34%
47%
14%
10%
0%

4.0

out of 5

15 Reviews

Reviewed Oct. 14, 2024

Spacious sites

What an absolute gem of a state park. Almost every site is private, with a few exceptions. Nice trails, well built picnic tables, and huge fire pits. Overall a fantastic experience.

Site1
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Wendy F., October 14, 2024
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Wendy F., October 14, 2024
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Wendy F., October 14, 2024
Reviewed Apr. 21, 2023

Great lake views, clean park.

We were able to reserve a spacious site right on the lake. The park is well kept, the staff is friendly, and the bathrooms were clean.

As others have mentioned, electrical hookups are far out from on most sites, sometimes around 50-70 ft. Make sure you have extension cords! There are two 15 amp hookups and one 30 amp hookup per campsite.

Lot 37 & 38 both seemed like the best sites we saw. Lots of space for larger campers. A 28-34ft camper with a Car would fit fine. Both sites have lakefront views and lots of running space for Dogs

Site38
Month of VisitApril
Reviewed Jul. 18, 2022

Quiet private campsites

Great grassy sites with vegetation between each site providing privacy. Some good trails along the lake and electricity available at the campsites.

Water is a hand pump so be sure to fill up prior to arriving, and electricity points can be up to 50 ft from your site, so bring a long extension!

Great DNR staff, very helpful and beautiful campground.

Site18
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by emily P., July 18, 2022
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by emily P., July 18, 2022
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by emily P., July 18, 2022
Reviewed Jul. 5, 2022

Lake Hudson Rec Area

Site 16. We stayed here over the weekend of July 4th. The road to get in is a dusty road that’s is very bumpy. It’s a rustic campground with no water or dump station, so make sure you bring water and have a plan for dumping. We used the RV dump station at the Loves Truck Stop in Marshall, MI on our way home which is an hour west of the campground off of I-94 for $10. We were told that you could use Hayes State Park which is 30 mins away as a place for dumping as well. There is only a hand pump to use to get water in front of the campground so make sure you bring jugs for filling. There are a few sites and a cabin in the lake with a pretty view. The mosquitoes and gnats were terrible so make sure you bring bug spray and a fan when hanging out outside. There is no firewood available for sale, but there is someone up the road who sales it for a decent price. The site itself is big as it fit our 32 foot travel trailer. It does connect to the site on the other side of you and the back of you. The electric box for your neighbor is also in the back of this site. No playground for kids, but lots of hiking trails which we biked too the beach and boat launch. There is also a place to fish at the boat launch, where we caught sunfish, large and small mouth bass. There is also 1 geocaching spot too. We will definitely come back. We had a great time!

Site16
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Carlee , July 5, 2022
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Carlee , July 5, 2022
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Carlee , July 5, 2022
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Jul. 20, 2021

Quite an unpleasant drive to the campsite

We stopped here for the night on our way to Indiana. It rained on us the entire time which made the drive to the site even worse. It’s a very bumpy, dirt road. It may not have been as bad without the rain. Once we arrived at our site, we realized we didn’t have a long enough cord to plug in! A lot of these sites have the electric box far away from where you would park your RV. It might work better for a tent site - I’m not sure. But we had to drive back into town to get a longer extension cord. So please, come prepared. Making that drive again, I was almost ready to sleep on the side of the road. But once we got settled, it ended up being a pretty secluded spot. We mostly kept to ourselves and didn’t even use the vault toilet. No other amenities are offered here.

Site7
Month of VisitJuly
Reviewed Apr. 15, 2021

Lake Hudson State Park

Sites were spaced out well. Lake was full of algea. People were freindly but couldn't find alot to do in local area

  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Jack T., April 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Jack T., April 15, 2021
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Jack T., April 15, 2021
Reviewed Nov. 9, 2020

Peacefully, quiet and stars. 🌙

November and 74 degrees Fahrenheit! Finally, I got a side booked at Lake Hudson Campground. It is very well sought after, and I tried it earlier in October, but weekends are full. Not so in November! Only the die hard, hunters and fishermen are here. It's beautiful! Serene and quiet! Loved our side which was sunny from morning to evening. There are other sides directly at the lake, beautiful shaded for the summer. The hiking trails are well maintained and we loved every minute here.

  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Birgit  H., November 9, 2020
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Birgit  H., November 9, 2020
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Birgit  H., November 9, 2020
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Sep. 18, 2020

Lakeside Tent Camping

This is a lovely recreation area. My site is HUGE. It is private! You will need the long cord if you plan on using electricity. There is a yellow service phone at the headquarters to check-in. I bought my wood in state on my way in. There is no place to purchase wood here. My site has a path right out to the lake. My 2p tent could easily fit on this lakeside spot but it is sadly much too windy on the lake today. The fire ring is far to the front of the site but if you had a larger group, I think the location of the ring would be nice. My site is spotless. Everything is wonderful. This is my first visit here and I chose it because I wanted a quick overnight with a water feature close to home. You can day hike one the Pittsford section of the NCT. It’s only a 20+ minute drive away.

  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Jennie S., September 18, 2020
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Jennie S., September 18, 2020
  • Play button icon
Reviewed Aug. 16, 2020

Holy Stars!!

The best part of this campground is the stars at night! This is a dark sky preserve campground and the stars are the show. We stayed here at the end of the perseid meteor showers and saw several of falling meteors. This campground is semi modern with all sites being electric but there are no flush toilets or showers. The only place to get water is a hand pump right when you enter the campground. The sites are huge and private with tree growth separating each site. We brought our kayaks and went out on the lake which is big and quiet. The campground was quiet at night and we had a great fire in the well equipped pit. Apart from no modern facilities, we would stay here again.

Site16
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Michelle  M., August 16, 2020
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Michelle  M., August 16, 2020
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Michelle  M., August 16, 2020
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Aug. 11, 2020

Primitive

Our camper is self contained so this campground was a test of just how well all the systems work. When you get there if you don’t have reservations you have to use the yellow phone. All the spots are level with lots of trees, our lot was large and could easily fit 2 campers. All the sites are surrounded by trees so you have a sense of being secluded from others. It rained most of the weekend so we didn’t get to see most of the place. The lake was much bigger then we thought and lots of campers with boats. There was only 1 hand pump that I saw for all the campers to get water from. This mid-evil hand pump should have been scraped years ago and is in need of some major repair work. They don’t sell firewood there but a short drive gets you deal from the local farmer, the campground has no dump station so we had to drive to the next State campground, about a 30 minute drive, to dump the tanks. Other then that even though it rained the whole time we enjoyed the park and will most likely go back and give it another try!

Reviewed Aug. 20, 2018

Perseid Meteor Shower

I was here on 8/11/18 to 8/12/18. I laid out on a cot by the beach area to watch the sky.

The park is in the middle of nowhere and truly is a dark sky area. For about 50% of the drive I did not have cell phone service (I have VZW).

The park was clean and had the same feel as many other smaller state park areas in Michigan (reminded me of bald mt).

  • Play button icon
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2018

The perfect retreat for a fisherman or writer.

This small campground (about 40 sites) is well off the beaten path, but still easy to access by road. This is the perfect campground to get back to nature. Each site is separated from the next by young forest, so it lends to a very private and secluded atmosphere.

It's also incredibly close to the lake, and I saw 3 spots with private lake front where they had moored their fishing boats for easy access. The lake itself is incredibly quiet without the buzz of people tubing or jet skiing.

There are no water or sewer hook ups here. You do have access to drinking water, and there is non-flushing toilet (like a port-o-potty). There are also 30 amp electrical boxes if you want to plug something in.

The rate is reasonable at $20/night, but you also have to purchase a Michigan state park passport for each car that enters. This was around $30 for me, a non-resident of Michigan. It expires annually in January.

If you're looking for peace, quiet, and seclusion, then this would be a great stop.

Site38
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Meghan R., August 20, 2018
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Meghan R., August 20, 2018
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Meghan R., August 20, 2018
Reviewed Jun. 14, 2018

Beautiful Nature, Dark Sky Rustic Camping

Lake Hudson is a dark sky preserve full of trees, nature and a beautiful lake. The camping sites come with an electric plug in, a nice fire ring and a picnic table. They are cute sites. Most are not by the lake. There is a dumpster. The facilities are rustic. The facilities are port a potty type with wooden walls and cement floor. No showers. A hand pump well for water. The swimming part of the lake requires a drive. The Lake is beautiful with a sand beach, no wake boating and grills. However it is rustic so there is goose poo. The woods are beautiful. There is hunting. We had heard that some people partied there but the night we were there it was quiet and people were respectful. We had a beautiful fire and dutch oven dinner. We saw one cute racoon who ran away when I reacted. We were worried about mosquitos but we only saw one.

Site25
Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Marg B., June 14, 2018
  • Review photo of Lake Hudson Recreation Area by Marg B., June 14, 2018
Reviewed May. 8, 2018

Lakeside, privacy & low priced!

50 sites separated by thick trees, 11 are on the lake side with trails thru woods to lake (not really 'lakeview' from inside camper). Swimming, boating, kayaking, fishing, sand beaches & more on a good size lake with tons of inlets & curvy shorelines.

$20/nt in 2018. All are 20/30 amp, no water, no sewer. Several spigots in camp area, no dump station... nearby one at Hayes State Park. Vault toilets (didn't use as we have in camper). Boat launch. Very pretty lake & views, peaceful. Info/reserve at https://www.midnrreservations.com/LakeHudsonRecreationArea?Map

Note1: LONG RV's 31'+ would fit in a lot of the sites, but sites say up to 30'. We had approx 40-45' space from road to treeline.

Note2: DARK SKY PARK designation so enjoy the amazing night star views! They do ask you to keep blinds & drapes closed and exterior lights off or to a minimum.

Note3: Extension or long electrical cords may be needed, as boxes are at back end and halfway to next site over.

Site21
Month of VisitMay

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How much does it cost to camp at Lake Hudson Recreation Area?

    Camping at Lake Hudson Recreation Area can cost between $20.00 and $150.00 depending on the site.

  • Are fires allowed at Lake Hudson Recreation Area?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Lake Hudson Recreation Area, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.