Old US-131 State Forest Campground

Nice campground. The NCT and Fife lake loop trailhead is right in the campground. There is also Manistee river access for kayaking and fishing. Good sized campsites but some are directly across from each other. A little bit of noise off in the distance sometimes but not sure where it was coming from other than that it was quiet and peaceful

We car camped in February to hike the NCT. Clean toilets, gorgeous wooded setting, nice flat spot. Will be back.

We stopped here for one night while traveling south toward our home from six nights at Platte River.  We picked the one site (#11) that had the least trees because it was rainy and dank. We were scouting the area for a future kayak trip. The access from the campground to the Manistee was in bad shape and very unsafe. Only my husband used the pit toilet during our short stay and there was a working hand pump for water, but we came in with water and did not use that. The fee was $15 and not what I would consider a bargain.

Do not recommend coming in with a long trailer as it was tight driving through. We had our pick-up and 22-foot trailer.

We had two bars with ATT on our phones.

we first passed by this campground on a canoe trip along the manistee river, and flagged it to return to stay another time. we finally went last fall with our pup and had a really nice, peaceful weekend trip. our site was spacious and wooded, gorgeous colors in the fall. there aren't very many sites and they are spaced out well. only two other sites occupied all weekend.

it was cold and rainy so we passed on hiking. we decided instead to drive around and explore the traverse city area and some of the dog friendly parts of sleeping bear dunes national lakeshore. had a great time and would definitely recommend it

we were hoping to come back this spring and backpack the fife lake loop, with one night camping here. seems like a great spot for that kind of trip. coronavirus got in the way, but we might try again in the fall.

I love going around September so quiet a few people there loads of trails to walk on and people are very respectful I keep going every year

Fantastic little campground, right on the Manistee River. Potable water and vault toilets so it's definitely rustic. It was super quiet when we were there so we had a great time. The NCT follows the river right into the campground so you can backpack in or car camp.

Great for kayaking/canoeing as well. We put in upriver a ways where there was parking and got out right at the campground. It was close enough that we could follow the trail along the river back to our car since we only had one. Awesome spot!