Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. Learn more: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79134_79210---,00.html

Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground

If you're looking for a beautiful, quiet, secluded place to camp, this is most definitely not it. Lake Margrethe is a large lake full of power boaters, jet skiers, and folks on pontoon boats drinking heavily, and the campground is full of folks who bring enormous RV's (despite the sites only being appropriate for tents medium-sized rigs) and their loud music speakers. Maybe it was our mistake for visiting on a Friday night, but it was absolutely terrible. It felt like we were plopped down into folks' family reunion bbq's. The enormous group on one side was drinking until very late and the folks on the other side were getting stoned (which was fine except I had to explain the smell to my kid).

On top of that, nearby Camp Grayling provided almost constant noise from machine gun fire. The folks at the next campsite kept drunkenly yelling "Hold Your Fire!!!" and then laughing uproariously. It was hilarious, guys, thanks. To be fair, the artillery sounds ended around 8 PM and started up again at 9 AM (on a Saturday morning).

If you need another reason not to go, there is a health advisory about swallowing any of the foam in the water because of PFAS contamination. So, although the site was absolutely beautiful to look at, the rest of the surroundings made it a terrible location. We will never, ever be going back.

Loud, party campground with loud artillery noise from Camp Grayling.

We like this place because they have a killer beach for swimming and wading. A good amount of the sites are water sites and some are up on a hill with really nice views. The campground is conveniently located but this means it’s a very busy place. We usually opt for another rustic campground a bit more off the beaten path, but if you can get a spot, this place is nice. 

Best swimming in the area! 

Being right on the lake was wonderful. It’s close to town (we recommend Paddle Hard Brewing in Grayling) and we used it as a launching site to canoe the AuSable River with a helpful car spot from Birchers Livery. 

The sites along the lake are gorgeous and have many little paths down to the water. That said, stay away from the interior sites (#24-28) because they are basically little islands in a marsh. It rained a couple days before we arrived and our site was a swamp. 