We’ve used this campground as a get-together place for our family reunion for the past 7 years, and we’ve never had anything less than a great experience. Relatively spacious sites, group accommodations, super clean amenities/pool area, basketball court… the list goes on. To the ownership and anyone who helps run this campground, a huge thanks from the Eisele family for keeping such a great campground! There’s a reason we keep coming back!
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.
We were passing through on our way to Niagara Falls and stopped off to tent for the night. Family owned and operated. Owners are very friendly and the campground has nice amenities. Wooded sites accommodate the tenter all the way up to the class A.
This often overlooked campground is part of Brighton Recreation area in lower Michigan. Only 25 sites, with no electricity and vault toilets. Pump water available. It’s only open on weekends throughout the summer, but oh how special it is! Extremely spacious and private wooded sites and so peaceful. No amenities at Murray Lake, but campers have use of showers, dumpsters at the developed Brighton Lake campground just 6 mins away. t’s my new favorite campground!
Large sites big campground.. Rained the whole weekend so couldn't enjoy it like we wanted to.. Will go back.
This campground is part of the Waterloo State Recreation area, about 6 miles north of Chelsea MI. Sites are decent-sized, not much privacy between some sites. Only a couple of sites overlook the lake. Picnic table, fire ring, vault toilet and hand pump water. Quiet little campground.
Overall, decent enough but grounds are not well kept at all. Playground is outdated and overgrown with weeds. Nice old-fashioned couple running the place (I think they need help to maintain the place). Bathrooms were clean and there is an indoor pool but I had no idea. A strange place and pricey for 'nothing much' to see or do.
Close enough to home that our family can join throughout the day. Some sites are a little small but very well kept.
Has free firewood, outdoor sinks to wash dishes, access to a lot of hiking trails.
Campground Review:
Bishop Lake is a great campground located in the middle of the Brighton Rec Area. The upper and lower campgrounds are both modern, with every site including electric. There are two rustic campgrounds as well down the road. When we went to go get a campsite (you can reserve online for an $8 fee) they told us that the upper campground would be the better choice, due to the heavy rain that had come through earlier. It was the perfect choice! Our campsite was spacious, with a few pine trees for shade. If you have a hammock, the outer edge of campsites would be perfect. Only downside to our campsite was the distance between the picnic table and the fire pit. The bathrooms and showers are in the lower campground, but it’s a 5 minute walk or 30sec drive to them. They were clean, stocked with toilet paper and the showers were warm. There’s a ton of hiking trails, a boat launch and boat rental, as well as the beach and inflatable water park. Overall a great little nature spot in the middle of the Brighton area.
Gear Review: As a ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes get sent awesome gear that I could use and try for my upcoming trip. This time I got to try the equinox hoodie from Eclipse Sun Products (https://eclipseglove.com/collections/all-eclipse-sun-products/products/equinox-hoodie-beach-cover-up). This hoodie is super super lightweight, and the open sides allow for a nice breeze on hot days. Of course, their main feature is the 50+ UPF fabric used in not just the hoodie, but all of Eclipses sun products. I am a melanoma survivor, so having something lightweight, but protective, is so great. It’s one size fits all, and while it fits me great at 5’5, I have also heard from other taller people that it fits them great as well. It does the job well, and while I live in Michigan and it only got to about 75°, I could feel it keeping the sun off my skin. Totally recommend the equinox hoodie!!
Had a great time at this campground last year. Plenty to do and really clean.
Overall, this is a gem hiding within plain sight. The sites are inexpensive and come with free firewood, the restroom is cleaned regularly and maintained well, and it is relatively peaceful overall. It falls short of 5 stars as there was still a bit of road noise from the state highway a couple hundred yards away, as well as the large airplane taking off early in the morning at the nearby Toledo airport which woke us. But overall, we loved it and will be back!
Our group stayed at Apple Creek for Memorial Day weekend. We camped (tents and campers) in the group area. The group area is circular and surrounded by trees which helped to keep it cool. Each site had electric hook-up and some had water. The rest of the campground is mostly RV and surrounded by many trees, too. The facilities near the group area were sub-par but were manageable. If they would fix up the bathrooms and shower stalls I'd give 5 stars. The other shower building/bathroom appeared to be more modern but we did not use those as they were too far away. The shower water was HOT, was push-button, and had decent pressure. There were plenty of activities for the kids including an ice cream sundae bar ($3/person),fkam party, hat ride, candy bingo, basketball court, putt-putt (although it appeared to be outdated), and a swimming pool. This place is golf cart friendly but you must bring your own and must not go over the designated speed or someone will say something (which is good)! The camp store is brand new and the staff was extremely friendly. Overall this place has a lot to offer and we had a great time.
Ranger Review: INNO INH120 Tire Hold Bike Rack at Blind Lake Campground, MI
Campground Review:
Blind Lake rustic campground is located off of the very popular Potawatomi Trail, making this campground accessible only by hiking or biking in. Blind Lake campground is part of the Pinckney Recreation area which is located just about 30 minutes outside of Ann Arbor, MI.
Most hikers and bikers start their trek at the Silver Lake day use area where the main hiking and biking trailhead is located. From this trailhead the Blind Lake campground is about 7 miles in on the 17.5 mile Potawatomi Trail. A vehicle permit ($6) or annual Michigan State Parks permit ($10) is required to enter. The Area Headquarters (734-426-4913) is located at the Silver Lake day use area where campers must purchase their campsite before heading out on the trail ($17). The headquarters is also where you can purchase a vehicle permit or annual Michigan State Parks permit. The park is open all year, making the Blind Lake campground a popular stop for hikers in the winter.
Blind Lake campground has a total of 10 sites, all very close to the water. There is one vault toilet and a trash bin. There is a hand pump well in the campground for clean drinking water. Each site has a large picnic table and a modern fire ring. Firewood can be scarce as the nearby woods have been picked pretty clean and carrying firewood into the campground is a lot of extra weight!
All of the sites at Blind Lake campground have lots of shade and are large enough for a couple of tents on each site. During the nice summer days there will be lots of hiking and biking traffic through the campground as the Potawatomi Trail runs directly through it. Many stop to take a break at the campground and have a look at the beautiful lake.
Serious hikers can connect the Potawatomi Trail to the Waterloo-Pinckney Hiking trail to bring their total trip to over 35 miles of back country hiking. The Potawatomi Trail features numerous loops for any skill level. The shortest loop is the Silver Lake Trail at 1.9 miles. Next, the Crooked Lake Trail at 5.1 miles. Or the full Potawatomi Trail at 17.5 miles.
Overall, I enjoyed my stay here at Blind Lake campground and I would return. I was only one of two campers there and it was quiet at night. During the day you do hear the hikers and bikers going by on the trail so it isn’t completely isolated from the “real world”. The Dyrt campground review is available on YouTube at the following LINK.
Click HERE for a printable trail map of the area. For further details check out the following link HERE, which includes amenities, trail guides, hours & fees, directions and more.
Product Review:
As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I sometimes get to test and evaluate new products. At Blind Lake campground I tested the INNO INH120 Tire Hold Bike Rack. This bike rack holds up to two bikes and plugs into your vehicle’s receiver hitch.
The INNO INH120 is a tray style bike rack, making it ideal for expensive carbon bikes. The rack uses arms to hold down the wheels and not the frame of the bike, keeping your paint from getting scratched up. The bike rack works with either a 1-¼” or 2” receiver. My truck is a heavy-duty and comes with the 2-½: receiver. I used an adapter and the bike rack worked just fine.
The INH120 bike rack can hold two bikes with a maximum total weight of 120 lbs. The bike rack fits bikes with wheel bases from 34” to 48”, so it works with kids and adult sized bikes. The bike needs to have a minimum of 20” wheels to a maximum of 29” wheels to be held down properly. Tires sizes from 18c to 3” wide fit in the trays. This covers almost all bikes and makes it very handy to use with the family.
The rack comes neatly packed and requires some assembly. The assembly is straightforward and only took about 30 minutes, even while trying to film the process for a video. Spare parts are available from INNO if something were to break. The rack felt very sturdy and well built and felt comparable to other racks I’ve used from Thule and Yakima.
Once put together I tested out the INH120 bike rack with my fatbike that is running 29+ sized tires. The 29” wheels are 3” wide and fit nicely into the tray of the rack. I did remove the plastic adjustable wheel clamps on the arm of the rack. This allowed me to have the arms more vertical and provided a better hold on my large tires. These plastic wheel clamps are what you move inside the arms to adjust for different size bike wheels. It only takes a second to unclip the clamps are adjust for different bikes.
What is also nice is the bike rack has 4 different positions it can tilt, allowing easy access into the back of your vehicle. One of the positions is vertical so you can keep it on the vehicle while not in use, but not have it hanging off the back and making your vehicle longer.
The INH120 bike rack also included a cable to lock the rack to your vehicle. This cable can be used to loop through the frame of your bike to lock it to the rack as well. I require this feature on a bike rack because all too often bikes are stolen when you make a quick stop for food or to run into a store.
An unboxing and assembly video for the INH120 bike rack is available to view HERE.
A quick video demonstrating how easy it is to load and unload your bikes from the INH120 bike rack is available to view HERE.
Easy location. 30 amp service. Kayaking, fishing and kid friendly.
The campsite itself was nice. No alcohol allowed and the lake was extremely muddy and murky. Not much to do around the area.
Nice for a family camp. Beach could be cleaner. Over all it’s your vary basic campground
This is a small rustic campground within the Pinckney Recreation Area. On Crooked Lake, it has 25 sites, two of which are right on the water; #7 is full sun, larger, and 20 is sun/shade and tucked away in the back of the campground. Basic boat launch, though I didn't have canoe or anything. Two out houses, hand pump for water and the usual fire ring and picnic table.
Lit's of hiking and biking trails and if you do like being on the water, apparently this lake connects with the river and other lakes in the area.
I had site 2, camped recently, so, I don't know if it gets crowded in warmer months. Ranger station sells wood and civilization is not far away.
This campground had all the fun stuff my kids enjoy. The jumping pillow was popular as they spent most of their time there. We enjoyed visiting the llamas…Yes, they have llamas! And we even got to use the zip line which was a lot of fun that we could all do together.
The site was clean and the bathrooms well kept.
We will camp here again soon!
This is one of the best hiking spots in the area (unfortunately, one of only a few at all). Love the wildlife and all the boardwalks!
We hiked into the blind lake campground and stayed one night. The campsites were very clean and the put toilets were clean. We really appreciated having a water pump near our campsite.
Good for kids. We camp Halloween and is great with trick or treat.
The second trip was even better with another couple that were long time friends very laid back relaxing
My boyfriend & I were passing through the area and stopped here for 2 days without reservations. They were very accommodating and since we arrived after 7:30 pm, the office was closed but they insured us to pick a spot and we could get checked in the next morning. Bath houses were very clean. Everything well kept up. We enjoyed our couple days here! Wifi on site.
It’s a wide open widely spaced campground. We go there every May for birding. There’s a lodge there, too, and large cabins. Bathrooms are nice.
We stayed there in early May, we didn’t have reservations so they had three sites open. We took the driest spot we could find. The ground was soft and marshy. Other than that is was a nice place. Restrooms were great and they had nice showers. I would stay again but will make reservations as those sites were drier area of the camp ground
Campground is nicely kept, only 5 individual sites, has two group sites. Nice restroom facilities, FREE firewood available. Grey water sinks for dish cleaning. Picnic table and fire ring at each site. Parking is general, but close to each site. We were there on a Monday night, only had one other tent in the campground. Nice flat sand pads for tents to set up on!
DOWNSIDE: MUST RESERVE ONLINE BEFORE 4PM. There is no walk-up service, and online site goes down after employees go home at night.
This campground was what we needed for squirrel hunting, however, it is very open and not very private. It is another one of those "parking lot campgrounds" where you can see all of your neighbors at all times. That being said, the park was very well kept and quiet at night which was nice.