Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Baldwin, MI

Very small, somewhat remote campground. I was there during the week of 4th of July and there were only a few spots occupied. All sites are "walk to" from the parking lot. Overlooks the Pere Marquette river and has a small sandy shore where you can get into the water to cool off or do some fishing. This is also a landing spot for folks that rent kayaks or canoes from Baldwin, which is the closest town. Vault toilets, tables and fire rings; no other services.

Really nice little campground. Not fancy, but clean and well kept. Pool and petting zoo for the kids. Small store with ice, few necessities and ice cream. Pond in the back on the small river for fishing. Quite a few seasonal campers. Anywhere from rustic to full hook up. Pet friendly. All gravel/dirt/grass sites. Most have trees. Fire pits quite small. Bathrooms very nice and updated.

Awesome beach and/or forest locations for camping! Spots near the parking are but also some spots you can hike to. Beautiful all around. And pet friendly!

This is a great little camp ground right on Lake Michigan. Pretty open so not a ton of privacy but a nice set up to meet new friends. The campground sits above the lake so be ready to trek up and and down a large set of stairs but the beach and views are worth it! Water, outhouses, ice and firewood available. No showers. Pet and family friendly.

Pretty nice sites. Pool and game room as well as a store. There are trails that lead to the river and also to an area where bald eagles have a nest. Pets are allowed . Nice little playground for the kiddos.

Great little campground just on the outskirts of Cadillac. Great rates especially for full hookups. This was our first time at this park, we originally had a site next to the pool, but quickly realized our TT would not fit due to the trees. The front desk quickly changed our site and we were good to go. All sites were well maintained, they had a petting zoo (goats) and a store with a little game room in it. I would definitely come back.

This park is a very nice RV park. All 257 sites are full hook-up (with cable), level, and have paved patios and for a $2 up charge you can get a paved site. Our site was super long (over 100’) and had a nice view of the large pond. There is pretty good separation between sites and on one side of us were large bushes that added privacy from our neighbors and the adjacent pathway. There are tent sites set off along one area of the park near the bathrooms. There are a few trees among the tent sites but they are not very private and located near the garbage dumpsters/recycle bins and on a main exit thoroughfare. There are also three “haciendas” for rent. 

One of my favorite features of the campground was the fitness center. Poncho and his wife are triathletes so the facility is top notch with weight machines, free weights, cycles, treadmills, elliptical, medicine balls, and lots of bands. There are three heated pool on the property – two outdoor and one indoor with and two spas. Since we were there in mid-October the outdoor pools were closed but the indoor hot tub and pool were open (albeit, super crowded on the weekend with kids). There are two laundry rooms and three bathrooms that are very modern and clean. One of the cable television stations displays security camera footage around the property which was nice because I could see how full the laundry was before carrying all my stuff there. There is a game room for kids, playground, shuffleboard, and a clubhouse. There is a stocked pond on the property but it is only for kids (17 and under) to fish in. Cable television yielded 55 channels and WiFi was available at our site with a decent signal. The campground is very well-maintained with nicely mowed grass. The grounds crew was always working but they were not annoying with constant loud machines. There is a railroad track that runs behind the park but it does not get a lot of use so the noise was not too bad. If you don’t want to be near the tracks, ask for a site away from the south side of the park. There is an off-leash dog park but it really is too small and narrow for big dogs. 

The campground is very convenient to lots of shopping and restaurants and within walking distance of a McDonalds, fruit market, drug store and grocery. Downtown Ludington is only about five minutes away which has a cute downtown with shopping, galleries, and restaurants. Ludington State Park is about 15 minutes away and has miles and miles of hiking trails and beach access. There is also a city park downtown which is along Lake Michigan with beach access and lots of room for a nice walk (but dogs are not allowed). The office staff was super helpful pointed out places to hike and things to do for the weekend. Also loved that they gave us a choice of sites and let us drive around the campground (in their golf cart) and pick out the one we wanted. 

We camped here in an RV and really couldn’t find anything we didn’t like about it. New customers get a 10% discount and during our stay we fell into low season and nightly rates were discounted 50%. So for $28/night we got a really nice site with lots of amenities in a great location. If you are looking for a nice RV park at a great price near a nice coastal Michigan town, give this place a try.

Great camping and hiking site. The dunes provide moderate difficulty levels, despite being a relatively small park there are so many hidden trails one can take. Dispersed camping is allowed and pets are welcomed. I didn't see any ticks or many insects but we camped by the lake trail which was windy and chilly. If you're camping by the lake pick up dead branches or logs around the trail to build a bonfire. It's hard to find these on the lake trail. Don't chop down live trees etc, just come prepared or hike back up to the main trail for dead wood. Lastly, most of the trails are not clearly marked, take a picture of the map and have a compass ready to navigate.

This KOA is just south of Traverse City and very centrally located to all that makes this area so awesome! Wineries, Sleep Bear Dunes, golf courses, and of course downtown Traverse City. This campground is very well laid out and easy to maneuver any size rig. The front part of the campground is very well shaded, however, many sites are only a few feet away from M37, which can get noisy from the traffic. The back half of the campground is a little more open, but most sites are still partially shaded. The owners and staff are very friendly and accommodating. Fire wood and ice are available and they will deliver right to your site. As the caption says, great family campground. If you have kids, this is the place for you! With that being said, here is why I gave a four star rating.....we were asked promptly at 10pm to turn our music off, which wasn’t loud at all. Beyond our campsite it could not be heard at all. They have what they call a strict 10pm-8am quiet hours. At 7am there were at least 8-10 kids riding bikes and scooters all over the campground and nothing was said. I appreciate a them having policies and creating a place for families to make memories, but please enforce those policies for everyone. Oh, and one last thing....they are very pet friendly! I have never seen a campground with so many dogs! Ours had a blast!

Small campsites, but nice bathrooms and showers, close to Baldwin

Bowman Bridge Campground just gives you a sense of quiet. You don't want to break the silence.....and then the kids bust out of the car.... :)

Minutes outside Baldwin, Mi., Bowman Bridge is out in the middle of nowhere. Which, if you like that kind of camping, is awesome. It is a small campground without much shade on the sites. But it is orderly and clean. Short "grass" grows between sites and there is sparse tree cover. There were only a few people staying when we were there but it was evident by the reservation cards on posts that the regular and group sites are busy. The primitive area is of to itself also in the long grass with mowed paths and areas. Plenty of room for multiple tents. Newer pit style toilets. We could not find a Trailhead within the campground but the Pere Marquette River is a short walk down the black top.

We didn’t have reservations but took a chance on the first-come sites and are we ever glad we did! The dunes were amazing! A short walk from the camping loops, the dunes open to the amazing shore of Lake Michigan. Take a stroll on the sandy beaches or wade into the sandy-bottom cool waters of the lake. The sites-loop circles around flush toilets and running water (no showers though). Great for strolling with the dog or riding bikes.

My wife and I recently went on an impromptu camping trip for our anniversary. We threw on our packs, packed up the dogs and proceeded to make the 1.5 mile hike out to the dunes through the Forest. Although a little buggy with little wind it was a beautiful hike with a breathtaking end view of Lake Michigan. We proceeded to hike another .5 mile down the beach and found the most picturesque view of a campsite. Would definitely go again.

This will be our third year camping at Holiday Camping Resort. Just a few miles west of US 31. It’s a hilly white pine forest. With several cabins, many tent sites, group campsites and large staggered full hook-up campsite. Joanie (the owner) operates a very nice campground and usually has organized activities, but because of the pandemic she hasn't been able to do them in 2020 and who knows about 2021. This campground reminds me of our beautiful Michigan state parks, but with full hookups. There is a very nice swimming pool, playground and basketball half court for the kids and a small dog run. The campground is close to the small town of Stoney Lake (with a nice little city park on Stoney Lake) there you can swim or launch your kayak, The Hart - Montague bike trail, Country Dairy and Lewis Farms are a few miles away. It’s about a 35 minute drive to Silver Lake.

trees surrounding the campsite was nice for 100% humidity weekend; pit toilets were cleaned regularly throughout the day, wish it had beach access for dogs