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Established Camping

Young State Park Campground

Young State Park Campground, near Boyne City, Michigan, is a fantastic destination for those looking to enjoy the great outdoors right by the water. With its prime location on Lake Charlevoix, you can expect stunning views and a long, sandy beach that’s perfect for sunbathing or swimming.

The campground is known for its clean facilities, including well-maintained bathrooms and showers, which visitors appreciate after a day of hiking or biking on the nearby trails. Many campers have highlighted the friendly staff and the ease of making reservations online, allowing you to pick your ideal site with minimal hassle.

If you’re into outdoor activities, you’re in luck! The area offers great hiking trails, a boat ramp for water sports, and plenty of space for picnicking. As one happy camper put it, “The beach area is gorgeous,” making it a great spot for families and pets alike. Whether you’re here for a weekend or a longer stay, Young State Park Campground has everything you need for a memorable getaway.

Description

State Park

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

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Location

Young State Park Campground is located in Michigan

Detail location of campground

Directions

Located 2 miles northwest of Boyne City on C-56 (Boyne City Rd).

Address

02280 Boyne City Rd
Boyne City, MI 49712

Coordinates

45.23584184 N
85.04211667 W

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Boat-In
    Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

  • WiFi
    Unknown
  • Verizon
    Fair
  • AT&T
    Good
  • T-Mobile
    Good

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group
  • Cabins
  • Tent Cabin

Features

For Campers

  • Market
  • ADA Access
  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Reservable
  • Showers
  • Drinking Water
  • Electric Hookups
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump
  • Sewer Hookups
  • Water Hookups
  • Pull-Through Sites
  • 50 Amp Hookups
  • Big Rig Friendly

Reviews

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5 Stars

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1 Star

69%
22%
11%
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4.5

out of 5

19 Reviews

Reviewed Sep. 14, 2024

Unique Trails

The campground was well maintained. The sites had adequate privacy and space. I really enjoyed the trails through Cedar Forest along Lake Charlevoix. More unique experience than just hiking through the woods.

Site86
Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Amy D., September 14, 2024
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Amy D., September 14, 2024
Reviewed Jul. 1, 2024

Favorite state park

I love this state park. It is located right on beautiful lake charlevoix. The campground doesn't have any road noise. The beach is long and sandy and there are lots of hiking and biking trails.

  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Lydia T., July 1, 2024
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Lydia T., July 1, 2024
Reviewed Oct. 8, 2022

Went as a kid, finally made it back

We had a view of the water when we sat by our firepit. Nice park, great beach. Campground store was closed as it was in mid-Sept. Clean and nice bathrooms and showers. Found other sites we would choose next year.

Site33
Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Barbara K., October 8, 2022
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Barbara K., October 8, 2022
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Barbara K., October 8, 2022
  • (9) View All
Reviewed Jun. 8, 2021

Young State Park

Very friendly staff and clean park. Family friendly and pet friendly, beach was close by and clean. Reservations were very easy to make online and allows you to pick your site.

Site222
Month of VisitMay
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by jodi L., June 8, 2021
Reviewed Oct. 27, 2020

Camping on Lake Charlevoix

We stayed for a week at Young State Park in September of 2020. Our site was at the end of a row and we enjoyed a decent amount of space for a truck and trailer, 30 amp service, and AT&t cell service. (I ended up needing to use Teledoc :( and my husband was able to turn on the hotspot and laptop and use the web.) The site is dirt but was level.

Some sites were not in use because of high lake levels and park water problems. Leaking pipe? The small dune area leading up to Lake Charlevoix makes you feel like you are at Lake Michigan. We saw some beautiful sunsets from the edge of the water. There are a walkway and observation platform. There is some hiking, a place to walk your dog, swimming, and bathhouses. We used the campground as a base to explore surrounding towns like Boyne City and Charlevoix, but mostly for kayaking. It was very quiet during the week and was packed on Friday and Saturday nights. The fall color was building toward a peak and the scattered maple trees mixed with cedar made it very pretty. We would stay again in the offseason.

Month of VisitSeptember
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Amy D., October 27, 2020
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Amy D., October 27, 2020
Reviewed Apr. 17, 2020

One of our favorites

We live relatively close but this is by far our favorite state park for a quick getaway. Some of the spots are a little close, but the park makes up for it with it’s amazing beach and proximity to Boyne City.

Reviewed Aug. 20, 2019

No kids getaway!

Young State Park was a quiet gem of a campground for us. The facilities were clean and the grounds themselves were a pleasure to walk around. The camp store was the best stocked one I’ve seen yet. All the sites were well sized with the exception of the waterside sites which were flooded due to the high lake levels lately. Other than that the campground has a lot to offer, especially being so close to Charlevoix and Petoskey.

  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Cory W., August 20, 2019
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Cory W., August 20, 2019
Reviewed Jul. 28, 2019

Beautiful place!!

Totally worth the drive! For car camping, this place is a gem. Near the water, updated bathrooms and showers. Though the sites are close together but anytime you car camp that’s part of the charm. The beach area is gorgeous. Wonderful walkway that allows anyone in a wheelchair or anything to stool up the beach to check it out. Shallow enough to play i the water and the water is sandy. Staff were cheerful and easy to check in. So glad I made the choice to go there.

  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Rachael D., July 28, 2019
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Rachael D., July 28, 2019
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Rachael D., July 28, 2019
  • (4) View All
Reviewed Jul. 1, 2019

Family friendly

Great place for the whole family. Park ranger, crafts, and beach area for the kids. Very clean.

Reviewed Jun. 30, 2019

Postcard worthy

For being a modern campground this place is surrounded by trees and shade. Being close to the water is fantastic. Lovely paved walkway to the beach. The restroom was decent, met all the needs for camping. Staff was friendly and helpful. Sites were a good size. I happened to be at site #99 and it worked out just fine. Yes, this park is popular and it’s a family friendly place so you are bound to have some noise and deal with not much privacy. If you want that type of trip go backpacking. For car camping this was fantastic. I will for sure go back. Swimming at the beach area was also very nice.

  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Rachael D., June 30, 2019
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Rachael D., June 30, 2019
Reviewed May. 29, 2019

Beautiful

My family and I have been coming here for years- I will always recommend this place!

  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Jentien S., May 29, 2019
Reviewed Apr. 25, 2019

Best beach in Michigan

Huge park with three sections. Terrace is the best but hard to get. Lake side sites. Nice facilities and camp store. Lake Charlevoix sunests revival the Carribean. Breathtaking.

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Tracie S., April 25, 2019
Reviewed Apr. 17, 2019

Busy but lots to offer

This campground has so much to offer, some of those things include a nice Beach, small store, fishing, paths, great location with a nice bike ride to downtown Boyne city. My only concern was the condition of the hiking trails. This park actually covers a ton of land and they advertise all the hiking trails that they have, but last summer we tried to hike it and it was hardly marked and so overgrown the trail just disappeared in the tall marsh grass, it hadn't been managed in a very long time, luckily we had GPS. The sites can be very close to your neighbor, so must be a people person and know that kids will be noisy, all night. There's a more rustic secluded section for camping where the sites aren't as close and there's actually trees. Despite those things, this campground is super nice and convenient for all needs and activities.

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Sam C., April 17, 2019
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Sam C., April 17, 2019
Reviewed Aug. 29, 2018

Nice place to stay

very nice lake and beach

bathrooms and amenities are excellent

sites are close to each other, you can hear the other campers talking next to you

overall really enjoyed our stay

Site71
Month of VisitAugust
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Natalie S., August 29, 2018
Reviewed Aug. 6, 2018

Location, location, location

The neat thing about Young State Park is its site on Lake Charlevoix. Three miles away is the lovely and cute town of Boyne City.

This is a typical state park campground designed to pack in the numbers. Sites are close to one another, no to little vegetation between the sites. Not much comfort for tent camping. The shower houses are not large for the number of campers and despite daily cleaning, there's a lot of use. By the end of the day, early evening, it's a bit dirty. There are lots of other things going for it that includes hiking trails, boating, beach area with concessions, picnic areas and playgrounds.

Location, location, location. In addition to easy access to Lake Charlevoix, there's traveling through the other quaint towns that include East Jordan (where the manhole covers were cast), Ironton (where you cross the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix on a ferry) and of course, Charlevoix.

Nearby, Boyne City has developed nicely over the past few years. The town's supporters are doing a great job of sustaining this village. Seven years ago, it was a fine little town that seemed to "get along" with its harbor and a couple restaurants. Now, its center has many nice and newer restaurants and pubs, a great weekly farmers market and weekly summer events with a really nice, spacious town park on the lakeside. A grocery store is also located here, with a Starbucks inside for those who have to have it.

Site318
Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Michael Z., August 6, 2018
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Michael Z., August 6, 2018
Reviewed May. 29, 2018

very nice!

my family goes camping here in the summer. very nice beach and not far drive from charleviox. very nice campground books up fast!

  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Devon P., May 29, 2018
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Devon P., May 29, 2018
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Devon P., May 29, 2018
  • (5) View All
Reviewed Jul. 1, 2017

Young State Park.

Here’s what we really liked about this park … it sits on beautiful Lake Charlevoix, is just a few miles away from the super cute town of Boyne City, some campsites with access to water right out of their back door, and the park has lots of beach to enjoy. Young State Park has a typical rustic campground feel. The park covers 560 acres which encompasses a campground, hiking trails, a large beach area with concessions, boat launch (located in the Terrace Campground loop), picnic area, playground, baseball diamond, basketball courts, and fishing pier. 

Reservations can be made on-line via the Michigan DNR site. The advantage of making reservations online is that you get a really good description of the site which includes length, width, hook-ups, amount of shade, length of site, distance to restrooms, and best of all - pictures.  We visited Young State Park in the summer but in talking to locals this place is wonderful in the winter and great for cross-country skiing with trails that wind through wooded areas. The price ranges from $20 to $33 per night depending on the season and electric hook-ups.  

There are three camping loops – Terrace, Spruce, and Oak.  Campsites in the Spruce loop don’t have a designated “pad” so you can arrange your RV or tent any way you like. This was the case with groups of friends who had two or three sites and arranged them so they faced each other with a common area in the center. The Terrace and Oak loops have less sites and seem a little quieter. The other plus of these loops is the easy access to water (some of which have great water views). All campsites are a mix of 20/30/50 amp or 20/30 amp with water spigots scattered throughout the loop. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit (firewood is for sale in the campground on the honor system with the nice thing being that you have access any time of day to purchase it).

The pros about this park are the easy access to Lake Charlevoix and being just a few miles from Boyne City (which has a great weekly farmers market, delicious food and beer at 7 Monks Tap Room, and a weekly Friday “Stroll the Streets” with live music). The park has a large beach area with a camp store/concession stand that has food and items for rent. It is really convenient that you can rent beach chairs/umbrellas/watercraft instead of having to bring them. Behind the concession stand is a fishing pier that was really popular with the kids. 

The cons are that the roads in the campground are pretty narrow and when someone was backing into their site it caused a traffic jam.  Sites are close together and the park has a very crowded feel. The bath/showers are not large enough for the amount of campers in the park and despite being cleaned daily they got lots of use and were always busy and by the end of the day, they were pretty dirty.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-NzcOOzCSk

Month of VisitJune
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Nancy W., July 1, 2017
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Nancy W., July 1, 2017
  • Review photo of Young State Park Campground by Nancy W., July 1, 2017
  • (15) View All

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does Young State Park Campground have RV hookups?

    According to TheDyrt.com, Young State Park Campground has 50 amp electric hookups, water hookups and sewer hookups.

  • What is the max vehicle length at Young State Park Campground?

    Young State Park Campground allows vehicles up to 40 feet.

  • Are fires allowed at Young State Park Campground?

    Yes, according to campers on TheDyrt.com, fires are allowed at Young State Park Campground, although make sure to check current fire restrictions in the area.

  • Is there cell phone reception at Young State Park Campground?

    According to campers on TheDyrt.com, Verizon signal is fair, AT&T is good, and T-Mobile is good.