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/buy-and-apply/rec-pp

W. J. Hayes State Park Campground

Hayes State Park is a great little spot in the Irish Hills.  It rained the whole time we were there (boo!) but we tried to make the best of it.  Our site was the perfect spot for two tents and a hammock, and I loved the fire pit and table being next to the driveway.   There’s electric at every site, and a paved driveway for RVs.   One thing is that the sites in the east loop, while a little more spaced out than the west loop, are still real close together.  If there had been someone in the spot to our left, it would’ve felt really cramped.  The ranger office was nice, clean, and had lots of information ready!  Firewood and ice are available there as well for reasonable prices.   The bathroom building was right in the center of our loop, and had warm showers that were great after a day of cold mist.  They aren’t the cleanest, but with how many people were there it was well kept and stocked.  This is obviously a campground geared towards families, with tons to do from the beach, to volleyball courts and horseshoes.   The main attraction is of course Wamplers Lake, and you can rent kayaks, pedal boats and canoes to go explore around the lake.   Overall, this is a great campsite if you are a family, or attending an event at MIS right down the road.   If you enjoy more secluded campsites, this isn’t the spot for you.

Great state park in the Irish Hills

Huge beach, large boat dock and lots of campsite spaces w power. The beach and water is full of litter. Boat launch was big with plenty of parking. We launched kayaks and paddled over to the swim area. Dogs and cigarette butts all over the beach. Walking to the restroom, it was a long walk and I could not locate any trash cans. Family friendly picnic areas with tables are spaced along the beach. Campsites are small and mostly dirt. Saturday night was packed with partying campers. Lots of dogs of all varieties, and temperaments. Unless you had a camper with a fan to drown out noise, then getting our kids to sleep would have been very difficult. Barking dogs, teenagers running through and past campsites until around 11pm. All fell pretty quiet by midnight, after rangers walked through. Dirt lots but paved camper pads. 

overcrowded

Really nice campground, nice large lake and some small lakes.

Nice campgound

Take the kids there and they love it. Nice little fishing pier and access to Round lake and Wamplers lake. Decent beach and park. 

Nice place

Nice area in the Irish Hills. The campground has a couple of loops. Most sites around the outside are decently wooded. 
There’s a nice little mile nature trail through one of those loops.

There’s a nice dog run that we took advantage of.

There’s a couple of lakes where you can fish and kayak.

The day use area has a nice big grass picnic area. The beach is pretty small but it’s still a beach. Dogs are allowed at the day use area.

Update: we went camping at MIS for NASCAR and this state park is about a 10 minute drive from the track and the campgrounds at the track. We camped at the track but used the Lake here. I also noticed campers from the race using the dump station here at this park! 