Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Ann Arbor, MI

I took a cross country road trip and kept to the southern part of Michigan. Though there is not a ton of camping in southern Michigan there are a few good spots including the Waterloo State Rec Area. I wanted to spend a couple days in Ann Arbor, but didn't want to shell out a bunch of cash for a hotel, and was over sleeping in my car, so I did some quick research and found this campsite. I stayed in theGreen lake rustic site. It was good for a couple nights and had some good hike trails to do on down time. If you are on the road and looking for close camping near Ann Arbor than I highly suggest this site. I unfortunately didn't have a lot of time to do the trails, but walked the Waterloo-Pickney trail for a few miles early my last morning at the site, and found it be very enjoyable. For it's proximity to bigger metropolitan areas this site is great!

I loved this quiet little campground! I stayed at #6 and had a beautiful view of the lake. There is muddy lake access on that site and I paddled from there in my kayak. There is an official boat launch nearby. Bathrooms were clean and had plenty of toilet paper. Water pump takes a while, but it works! There is a hiking trailhead, Border to Border bike trail, and DTE mountain bike trail nearby. You can bike a few miles in to Chelsea, a very cute town with shops, restaurants, brewery and distillery. This was a nice quick getaway from Ann Arbor. The only downside is you can hear highway traffic from the campground, but otherwise it was a pleasant experience.

This is a typical fairground campground with open grassy areas for campsites surrounded by barns and tracks. The fairgrounds is located just off I-94 which makes for easy entrance and exit to the campground, but, means there is lots of road noise. Close by are plenty of stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc. In fact, there is a gap in the fence that runs around the fairgrounds allowing you to walk to a Walmart, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and more. 

We arrived without a reservation and the women in the office was very helpful providing a map with all available sites during our stay and letting us choose which one we wanted. One of the first things you notice is that a number of people are here long-term so we went to the back area hoping it would be quieter and less crowded. A number of the campsites are “buddy” sites meaning your patio opens to your neighbors so be careful which one you pick. This is pretty undesirable when the neighbor is a total stranger so we chose a site where we didn’t have anyone next to us. 

They offer 50 amp full hook-up sites, 50 amp/water, and 30 amp/water sites with pull-thru and back-in options. There is a dump station located in the middle of the park which is easy to get to. The roads are wide and a lack of trees makes this campground accessible for any size RV. The sites are level but some lack grassy making the patio pretty dusty or muddy. Unfortunately, where we were was pretty muddy just after a light rain. This campground works best for RV’s and not tents. For tenters there is a designated section that is set in a corner of the park with large trees for shade but not much privacy between you and others. A water spigot is in the tent area and there was one picnic table. The camp office sells firewood but we only saw two fire pits in the whole park. Be aware that noise from the interstate and nearby train tracks may make for a restless night. Bathrooms are centrally located in the campground and were old and tired but relatively clean. On-site laundry is available.

Apparently, management is having some issues with campers not obeying some of the rules. One of the sad things about this campground is that campers have to be reminded to clean up after their dogs. Apparently, it is such an issue that we got a letter stating that if you don’t pick up your dogs poop you would be asked to leave. How sad is that? There is free WiFi which worked pretty well. Upon checking in, we had to sign a piece of paper stating that we would not download copyrighted material or stream movies or we would be asked to leave. 

My favorite aspect of this campground is that they had a community garden that you were welcome to pick from. We got tomatoes, Swiss chard, peppers, broccoli, and more. Overall, this campground was fine for the few nights we were here and close to the attractions we wanted to visit. We never felt unsafe even though it was close to major cities. We chose this campground because we wanted to go to Ann Arbor and Dearborn and it was a very convenient location.

Pros:

·        Good location if you want to visit Ann Arbor and Dearborn

·        Close to interstate for easy access

·        Long, level sites that will fit any RV

·        Community garden you can pick from vegetables

·        Stores and restaurants are nearby (some within walking distance)

Cons:

·        Lots of road noise from I-94

·        No trees for shade or privacy

·        Would not recommend for tent camping

·        Many campers are long-term

·        “Buddy” campsites with patios facing each other

This is a quiet, friendly and family campground. The staff is very willing to help any way they can. The sites are level and spacious.

A great place for the kids! With a beach, playground and paved roads is nice but the frosting in this cake is the petting zoo. Animals from bunnies, peacocks & cats to horses, goats and of course Milton the burro, get it? Milton Burro, LOL

The store has stuff for the kids at very reasonable prices and the ice cream shop across the street is a nice walk after dinner. There's a light there for safe crossing, too.

Try this place, you'll add this to your good memories.

No credit or debit cards. Cash and checks only.

The camping area is nice. It is a little open for our like but there good activities you can do with the kids or pets.

Holly Rec is huge and there is so much you can do. Camping is pretty secluded. Lots and lots of hiking available , pets allowed which is awesome, disc golfing , lakes for great kayaking and there is a wonderful beach! Something for everyone! you can get away here , and take a much needed break from real life.

We came here two years ago. My husband suggested the place because his family used to come here when he was a kid. There were many activities for everyone to do, especially for the kids. I don’t believe the cabins are pet friendly though. It’s probably the only reason we haven’t been back. We’ll definitely go back when we have a camper.

We could not find any availability anywhere and this campground could accommodate 2 RV’s for 3 nights. They are tight....I could hear my neighbors too easily. There is grass for pets and sites have grass which is probably better when less rainfall. The roads are dusty. Our neighbors had 2 young boys who pretty much did whatever they wanted, including knocking on doors and running. They lit a fire in the pit which made me nervous being 5 feet from our rig. They say quiet time at 10 but I don’t think anyone is there to enforce. The tent area has to walk thru all the rv area to reach the bathrooms...a hike. The staff and most guests were very friendly which garnered the additional star.

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.

The 6-foot leash rules are very clearly stated. There are many campers whose dogs remain the exception and don't abide by the rules. My leashed dod has been threatened by vicious larger unleashed dogs as I walk my dog more than once this month. So the camp host or ranger should , after warning the offending campers once, call the county animal control. This situation is way out of control.

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.