Best Campgrounds near Alpena, MI

We stayed here on a Tuesday and Wednesday night. We were at site 96 right on the water. It was gorgeous and clean and there were lots of spaces. The bathroom wasn’t bad but the water was cold. The showers were nice and have a private toilet in them as well. The fire pits are nice and every site comes with an electric hookup. Tons and tons of paved hiking trails. Pet friendly. Best part was checkout was at 1pm instead of 10am. Felt like it was more a family campground though so probably won’t be revisiting myself. $30/night for a tent site and wood is available on site for $7/bundle. Wood comes from a “vending machine” so it’s always dry and ready to burn which came in handy durning the rain. I did also see an area for water and sewer dumping as well.

Alpena Fairground camp sites are conveniently located right off Route 23 within minutes of local attractions and historic sites.  The RV / trailer sites were spacious enough with water views of the Alpena wildlife sanctuary and Thunder Bay River. The sunset views are lovely. We launched our kayaks right from our site and paddled around the sanctuary.  Be aware, you cannot access Thunder Bay and Lake Huron from here.  Access is blocked off at 9th street dam.  If you want to head into Thunder Bay it’s best to just drive down and launch in at marina.  And if you head down River you will have to paddle upstream to get back, not fun in high winds. Camping is quiet, only a few other campers there.  Be mindful the fairgrounds hosts events during the year.  The circus stopped to perform during our three days there but we didn’t hear a sound or notice anyone around.  The restrooms and showers were clean enough, located near fairground entrance.  Holly the caretaker was courteous to answer my questions over the phone before arrival and during check in. Her home office is located near entrance, it’s a small rancher house.  Water and dump available as well near entrance.  Overall a nice quiet stay.  The should invest in new fire rings.

nice campground with plenty of woods and water. rustic sites could be a little more leveled off but not awfully bad. they have full, semi and rustic sites. camped here 4 times and enjoyed my time. PRO'S- great fishing, playgrounds for kids, great for riding bikes, sites are clean and many have good space for larger campers, staff is friendly and reliable. CONS- showers need more pressure, roads can get extremely dusty when it's dry, "beach" is small and rocky and on a slop which is difficult to walk on due to too many rocks in what little sand there is however the whole lakeshore is rocks so wear water shoes, while it didn't bother me, it can get a little loud at nite, after 10pm "quite time" but nothing really serious, some rustic sites could use some dirt to level them up but manageable, rustic sites, IMO, are a little expensive at $20 a night but I've camped at others that were $40! summing my review up, I enjoyed every time I camped here! caught lots of fish from walleye to crappie, even a 6.3lb small mouth bass!! very nice campground that I will continue to camp at and recommend!!