Sandy beaches, sunsets, and sunrises!
This very popular state park is a real winner due to its gorgeous remote location, sandy beaches, and crystal clear waters along the shores of Lake Michigan-- located just southwest of the iconic Mackinac Bridge. The sunrises and sunsets alone are worth the price of admission! And, we lucked out to be camping during a meteor shower, one of the best we’ve ever seen. We laid out on the beach and watch the night sky for hours.
All of the sites have electric hookups and are rather packed together, so there is literally no privacy between them if it’s a busy time of the season. The sites along the lakeshore are the best, and have direct beach access, but you need to be the early bird and make a reservation the morning that they open up. The campground hosts do a great job of keeping this park very clean.
Because of all the cool things to do and see at this park, we honestly didn’t sit around much during the day. We hiked, biked, swam, snorkeled, and paddled our hearts out. We made it out to the most remote islands that are part of the park and even found Petoskey stones along the shores. Some of the finest Lake Michigan paddling we've done!
We can’t comment on the bathrooms and there were simply too many people at this campground for us to feel comfortable using them during a pandemic, so we set up our own portable shower and toilet tent and it worked just fine. We would highly recommend this option to others who don’t have a bathroom in their camper or are tent camping.
The closest “real” grocery store is in Mackinaw City, about 30 minutes away. But, Mackinaw City is a total tourist trap, so I’d avoid going there unless that is your thing. There is a small general store for snacks, ice cream, ice, and adult beverages about 4 miles outside of the park.