Lake Michigan Recreation Area, near Ludington, Michigan, is a fantastic destination for those seeking a rustic camping experience close to the stunning shores of Lake Michigan. With spacious campsites that offer picnic tables and fire rings, it’s perfect for gathering around the fire and enjoying the great outdoors.

This campground is known for its beautiful sunsets and easy access to the beach, just a short walk away. Visitors have raved about the well-maintained pit toilets and the peaceful atmosphere, making it a great spot for families and pets alike. One camper shared, “We had a blast! The campground was a 5-minute walk to the beach from our loop.”

For those who love hiking, the nearby Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness offers trails that are less crowded, ideal for a day of exploration. The campground is also surrounded by scenic views, with plenty of opportunities for photography, especially at sunset. Just be prepared for some pesky mosquitoes and bring your supplies, as resupply options are a bit of a drive away.

Whether you’re tent camping, RVing, or trying out glamping, Lake Michigan Recreation Area has something for everyone. With its friendly vibe and natural beauty, it’s a great choice for your next outdoor adventure.

## Overview

 Lake Michigan Campground is perched on the shores of Lake Michigan, 15 miles south of Manistee. The area creates an incredible setting with a scenic overlook of the lake and a sandy swimming beach. This family campground provides an array of hiking and biking trails, plus swimming, fishing and kayaking.
## Recreation

 A hardwood forest gives way to a beautiful sandy beach at the shores of the lake with a playground for younger campers. Trout fishing in Lake Michigan is another big draw. Bird watchers delight in seeing unique species like the piping plover and prairie warbler. The Arrowhead Trail, a short loop trail created by Boy Scouts, forms a loop between the campground and the beach. A trailhead for the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is also within the recreation area.
## Natural Features

 The recreation area sits on the eastern banks of Lake Michigan along Porter Creek, due north of Hamlin Lake. As the second largest of the five Great Lakes, Lake Michigan provides stunning views and limitless options for water recreation. It covers a whopping 22,400 square miles and ranks as the fifth largest lake in the world. The Huron-Manistee National Forests encompass nearly a million acres of public protected land. Nearly 6,000 acres is wetlands that extend over the northern portion of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. 
## Nearby Attractions

 The nearby Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area has abundant trails for hiking and backpacking.

Lake Michigan Recreation Area

Manistee, MI is a great camping destination for adventurers of all types. Manistee is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Find the best campgrounds near Manistee, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.

Manistee

The Best Camping Near Manistee, Michigan

This camping spot is a little out of the way, especially being so close to Ludington and the popular Ludington State Park.  Here are 3 loops you can camp in and you get a decent amount space, but things can get pretty loud with lots of families camping in this location.  It also borders Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area that has amazing hiking options.  The Xero Z-Trail shoes I used to do 7 miles of hiking during our stay were amazing for this location.  With lots of sandy beach hiking along with forest trails the Z-trails were more comfortable than I thought they would be for that distance.  I think I may have blister issues too, but these Xero shoes couldn't have been more perfect!

Ranger Review: Xero Z-Trail Shoes at Lake Michigan Rec Area

Nice place

Great place to go to introduce someone to backpacking. It's easy, plenty of water around, no predators... it's camping on the beach for crying out loud! We made sure we were the appropriate distance from the shore, but during the day, we'd bring a tent right down to the water to have some refuge from the midday sun. Great place for hammock camping as well. Beach hiking can be a pain, so I recommend walking as close to the water as possible, where the sand has been matted down.

Practically Your Own Private Beach

I was at this campground back in 2005 and was struck by how dirty the campground was. I took chance and returned to this campground in 2016 and 2017\. The campground had been privatized and the new service was much better. The campground was clean. The pit toilets were clean (as clean as pit toilets can be). The grounds were neat and in order. This is beautiful campground with a wonderful beach within walking distance of the sites. The lovely Victorian town of Manistee is about 15 minutes drive away. My children loved hanging their hammocks in the abundant trees.

Clean and Great Campground for Family Camping

lake near by, great staff, clean bathrooms

Close to lake michigan

LMRA has been a yearly visit for our family for over 15 years. Two loops have put toilets, two have flush. No showers or electric but that is ok because the sites are huge, the quiet is amazing and the location is second to none! We love the trails as the campground is right next to Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area. They have weekly ranger programs for kids as well. The beach is clean and the swimming is amazing!

Off the beaten path beauty

Awesome beach and/or forest locations for camping! Spots near the parking are but also some spots you can hike to. Beautiful all around. And pet friendly!

Beautiful and diverse spots!

Camp here offseason so the facilities were closed but still a nice campground, great beach, hiking trails.

You can even camp off season

Campsites are HUGE!  No showers, but you have the lake!   No electricity either but this is how we like it.  

Awesome campground

Spent 5 nights camping at this hidden gem. It was one of the best campgrounds I've stayed at in a long time. It was clean and spacious, with great access to Lake Michigan. The dunes were great for relaxing and offered speculator sunset and star gazing views. A few trailheads led right into the camp- one trail led right into Nordhouse Dunes, which was a beautiful area. 

  

Although there were no showers, you can easily go for a swim in Lake Michigan or we found a small store a few miles away with a$5 shower room. There is a bathroom though. 

  

While there was no cell service at the campground itself, it was located only a 15-25 min drive from downtown Ludington(south) and Manistee(north). 

  

Already planning another trip back with some friends for the fall.

Hidden Gem in MI

Loved this campground. Very short walk to the beach and very nice bathrooms. Also very close to Nordhouse Dunes (but the beach accessed by the trail in this campground is very beautiful with dunes). Access to hiking trails, which I can’t speak to because we had 2 littles with us,but looking at the map and just being in the area, I’m sure the trails were awesome. Was there from the weekend into the beginning of the week and the crowd cleared out, which was really nice. Far enough from the nearest towns (Manistee, Ludington) that it feels like you’re in the wilderness, but also close enough if it rains and you just wanna go get coffee in town like I did 😉. Very beautiful area! Unfortunately didn’t take any pictures of the campsite itself but it was nice. They had some that were quite spacious. Water was very high this year so not much of a beach, but posting up on the dunes themselves was fun. Water was super cold - but, it’s Michigan :)

Loved it  

Wonderful place to camp.  Large quiet campsites with an amphitheater and occasional nature based activities for kids.  Smokey the bear came when we were camping.  Walk to the beach was easy and nice.  The beach access can be a little tricky to get to.  The black flies were really bad on some evenings preventing us from watching the sunset on the beach, but their presence seemed to come when a storm was coming in.  The bathrooms were kept as expected for a state campground managed by hosts.  We were nicely isolated with no wireless service to distract us, but close if needed. We were also close enough to services we may need (had to find a Non emergent clinic for my daughter).  Easy trip to Ludington to see the dunes and We also spent a quaint day in Manistee canoeing the beautiful river.  We would definitely return. 

Peaceful spot 

Lake Michigan Campground at Manistee a nice wooded rustic campground. Bathrooms very clean. Flush toilets a plus. Wish they had potable water faucet to fill a fresh water tank and a dumping station. Campsites were large and well spaced with lots of trees and privacy Campsites are NOT right on the lake, and no lake views but require a walk or quick drive to beach. Once there though- WOW beautiful and sunsets gorgeous. Mosquitoes out in full force!  

Very nice wooded campground  A gem! 

Great rustic location right on the lakeshore and Nordhouse Dunes. Don’t expect cell service. Only issue I’ve had is the mosquitos which were terrible when I went in July 

Great location 

Awesome ✌🏼❤🌊😎☀️

Nice gem of a campground. Across from our site was a water source and small trail over the dune and right on a beach.  Beautiful sunsets, water cold and clear. Only downside was traffic noise as it is very close to the main road. 

Beautiful Sunsets

Nice area it was a blast lots of activities sight seeing and nature. I will revisit with my family. I will share and recommend. Good value and accomadations for camping.

Fun woodsy nature area 

Lake MI Rec area is a perfect spot for rustic camping close to Lake MI. Sites are nicely sized and well spaced from each other. A 10 minute-ish level walk leads to a beautiful Lake MI beach. The orchid and hemlock loops have bathrooms with running water, oak and violet have well maintained pit toilets. Firewood ($7) and ice ($3) are available from the campground hosts, if needed. Will definitely return. 


Great camping near Lake Michigan

A peaceful, quiet stay on Lake Michigan. There are four campground loops. We stayed in a Violet Loop campsite, which seemed to be mostly available on a first serve basis (probably because it is farthest from the beach). We arrived at 8:00 pm on a Saturday night, really hoping for a site. There were none available in the other three loops; Oak, Orchid and Hemlock, were all full. ( We drove through each!) Fortunately, Violet loop had about six available! All sites are spacious, have a picnic table, fire ring with grill and a bear pole (for hanging food to keep from the bears). The fee of $27.00 for lodging with a dog sure beats $200 plus at a motel. Atmosphere: family friendly. 

We woke up on our own at four a.m. and heard owls calling to each other. We also saw many, many stars, including the Milky Way, due to no light pollution. 

Dyrt’s map helped us find paths to the beach even though we didn’t have service. That was key to our enjoyment! Make sure to get that Pro feature. It’s worth it. 

Quiet, clean, dog and family friendly 

We didn’t have reservations but took a chance on the first-come sites and are we ever glad we did!
The dunes were amazing! A short walk from the camping loops, the dunes open to the amazing shore of Lake Michigan. 
Take a stroll on the sandy beaches or wade into the sandy-bottom cool waters of the lake. 
The sites-loop circles around flush toilets and running water (no showers though). Great for strolling with the dog or riding bikes. 

Stunning sunsets!

We just got back from our first family camping trip and we had a blast! The campground was a 5 minute walk to the beach from our loop (oak) and we had a trail to it right in the back of our campsite. The hemlock and orchid loops were packed but the sites were fairly private for the amount of people there. Those two loops have toilets and are closest to the beach which is why it was busier. We stayed in site 66 in the oak loop which was perfect for us. The sites were large and spread out with a bear pole, picnic table, and fire ring with a grate. The oak loop has two well-maintained pit toilets (like the violet loop), but they stink up the whole campground for about 20 minutes after they’re cleaned out every few days. Our campsite was also on the arrowhead trail which gave us easy access to Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness where we hiked for a few hours one day (trails were not too busy, more backpackers than hikers). Overall, we had a great experience and look forward to coming back later this summer.

Great Rustic Camping

Lake Michigan  campground 

Nice campsites with enough space between sites. Our site wasn’t level. Most sites are level and have large picnic tables and fire pits with fold away grills.
Bring enough supplies for your stay unless you don’t mind a 1/2 hour drive to get resupplied in Ludington or Manistee. Mice and mosquitoes can be a nuisance in the campsite even if you’re careful about crumbs etc.
We had a mouse going under our ground tarp under the tent 


Nice off grid camping 

Great location away from everything. Spacious sites that are spread out. We stayed in the Oak Loop. Only 5 minute easy walk to beach. Quiet. Enough cell reception to send a text but that's it. Pit toilets only in Oak and Violet loops. Flush toilets in hemlock and orchid loop. No showers, but showers available at convenience store down the street during the summer.

Photos of Lake Michigan Recreation Area

Real photos from real campers