Best Campgrounds near Bay City, MI

Alright camp ground, it’s a members only. Few grouchy people that seem more miserable than into relaxing. It’s definitely an interesting atmosphere compared to other campgrounds. Staff are hit or miss, seems like the pleasant ones take layoff and move on. Small improvements are made year over year, which is nice.

The campground seemed nice into Sat. Night came.  They started Blasting loud music that drowned our or campfire conversation from 1000ft away.  We end our night early and still couldn't sleep,  because the music was so loud inside of our camper, a hard side camper.  We called the camp store and they said they couldn't do smoothing about it.  We won't be back.

Our site was averaged out to $82.71 a night with the weekly rate discount.

We were in Site# 306 (a deluxe plus RV site - be aware that some of these are back-ins and not clearly labeled on the site map - we had to change sites to a pull-thru). We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through.
We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep.
The site was easy to level.

Our site was not shaded with zero trees. We weren’t able to sit outside because of the direct sun until after 8:30pm.
This was a smaller lot with our neighbors fairly close.

The deluxe plus lot comes without a concrete patio but with a picnic table and fire ring. They do sell firewood and will deliver to your site.

There is free WiFi. They do not offer Cable TV but there are quite a few channel options.

There is not a community outdoor kitchen or community fire pit.

They do not provide garbage service at your site so you must walk to garbage dumpster.

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They also allow you to rent pedal bikes. They do not provide golf cart rentals.

They do have a heated indoor and heated outdoor Swimming pool and one hot tub.

There is a Playground. They also offer Gaga ball, basketball sport court, and volleyball courts. There is a Game room for kids. They have a Putt putt course and Jumping pad.

They have a great general store. There is a separate Activity Center for kids.
There are tons of scheduled activities for kids like wagon rides, arts & crafts, scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, etc. Activities are scheduled all day from 9am to 8pm.

There is a snack bar on site from 4pm-9:30pm where you can get hot dogs, brats, pretzels, nachos, ice cream, etc.

The streets are mostly paved and good for riding bikes.

This is an RV park with cabins to rent also. Tent camping is also allowed.

They have two shower houses. The shower house has the typical stalls. There is a great area to hang clothes and store your toiletries in the shower stall. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility, but they have a change machine in the arcade room. There are approximately 4washers and 4 dryers. It is approximately $2.75 to wash and $0.75 to dry a load.

They do not have a fenced in dog park. There are areas to walk dogs though.

Flies were an issue and bug spray was needed.

There were no trails to hike off of the campground.

Some fun things to do outside of the campground are Frankenmuth FunShips (chocolate & wine tasting), the Golden Ticket Trolley, the Bavarian Belle (popcorn & sodas) River Place Shops, wineries, and Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland store. This RV park is less than a mile to downtown/River Place Shops where there is tons of shopping.

Sites are long but not wide. Level. Full hookups. Wifi you can stream on. LTE cell service. Clean showers. Walking path around pond, fishing dock. $28 site, No old beaters allowed. Old clean units welcome.

5 dollars per day, or if you are staying with family take your card to camp store to get a card that will last the time you will be. They don't tell this at the gate.

5mph speed limit. Kidds are out of control on bicycles and walking they will dart right in front of you no desiplane. 

Can take a long time getting in and getting to your campsite GOOD LUCK.

The only complaint about the week I spent was they didn’t cut the grass, other than that I had an amazing birthday week at Rifle River Campground,  we found amazing flowers blooming  like yellow and pink lady slippers I even found Agates, fossils if you’re a rock hunter and when you climb up the tower there’s a extremely large eagles nest.

The fishing wasn’t very successful I only caught a small one but the water was warm and clear you could see the sand doons.

We love this campground. It’s quiet and well maintained. The owners are friendly and willing to help. Wood bundles are available for purchase and they deliver to your site. No tents allowed but pop-up are welcome. The bathrooms are key for me and are very clean. There shower are private and are quarter operated. This is our go-to when in the area.

Campsites are pretty close together and you can hear traffic nearby most of the day. Sites are well kept and toilets were nice and clean. Easy to get in and out but doesn't really feel like camping with all the traffic noise.

Since 1966 I visit, often just back packing. Clean enough & refreshing enough & still something pre-historic, particularly the beach, & the roads to it.

Campground is one of Outdoor Adventures membership campgrounds, way overpriced, check FB Marketplace for resellers.

Campground is rustic, but clean, sites are relatively cramped, but lots of trees. Staff seemed nice.

Membership campground, membership fees are WAY overpriced, check FB Marketplace for folks selling their membership.

Campground is huge, with more than 700 sites. Most sites are very cramped and right up against you're neighbors, but there are some nicer spots scattered throughout the campground. Tons of activities, several outdoor pools, indoor pool with hot tub, game room, splash park, lazy river, kayak and paddleboats rentals.

We stayed on site 78. It's slightly sloped but leveling is easy. Biiiig sites here. The first 3 areas you pass on the way in are in sun all day, more or less. (Near the cabins) The rest are in pine stands and really is a nice place to be. As per the normal, pines bring sap, so expect that.

Day use is across the street. Playground, beach, etc. One pond near the camping area. Would like to see a big playground near the camping sites, vs a swing set behind the bathroom house. Probably yell less at the kids if they had one near your campers

One septic station, enter it from the pines side as the hole is on the East side.

We enjoyed our stay, except the inconsiderate, yelling people at site 67. They should have been booted out in my opinion. CONSTANTLY yelling.. seriously... Dog yapping while they just sit there, letting him. Once they piled into that old Winnie, it was a much more pleasant experience. I'm sure everyone in that pod was glad when they stopped the constant yelling.

Wish we had a canoe or kayaks to fart around on the ponds. In lieu of that, we fed the fish some bread. Not exciting, but relaxing.

Staff was great. They make rounds every hour or so, but the loud site clammed up when they heard the Gator coming down the road. Didn't bother us in the least.

They sell wood, $5/bundle on our visit, with delivery. Pretty standard price for this area, with the exception of the gas station nearby, which asks $10+ for the same size bundle (they don't sell much).

Overall, we liked it. Nice, small, fairly quiet campground. Power at the sites and a centrally located water spigot.

For the price ($80 for 3 nights) it's great. Slightly cheaper than Wilson State Park, at $67 (I think, total) for 2 nights. It's a happy mix between boondocking and full on state park.

As far as the park itself is concerned, it's clean, VERY large spots, power at most spots, communal water in the center of the "pods" of sites.

Staff was great. They come around 3 or 4 times a day, if you need wood, just flag them down and they will deliver it ($5/bundle). We brought our own wood but it was still a bit green, and bought 2 bundles from them, and mixed it in.

Ponds are just that, ponds. Not gonna catch record breaking fish here, but you can kyak around a bit. Electric motors only here.

The first 3 areas you roll thru on the North side of the drive, along the lake, are in almost full sun, take that into account, but easy pond access. The ones beyond that are in a beautiful pine stand, lots of space, and all around comfy area. We were on site 78. It's not level. Many around it aren't, but it's not a real big deal, really. But site 73 should be avoided if rain is forecasted for your time there. 73 sits at the low side of that pod, and gets washed out.

Our time there was RUDELY interrupted by some inconsiderate folks, yelling at their kids non stop, literally every 30 seconds, letting the dogs just bark and bark while they sit there. Zero respect for anyone else there. Constant yelling. Once they retired for the evening, the rest of the campground was VERY considerate and peaceful.

I can't complain about the park itself. Maybe put a bigger playground near the camping sites, so your kids can play and be within eyesight.

After following this campground's FB page for years we finally got to visit this summer. It sits along the Rifle River next to Rifle River Campground and Whites Campground. 

The campground is huge and offers so much! The store up front had everything you probably forgot at home, plus more.

The bathrooms were always clean when we needed them. The showers were clean, some lacked hanging hooks on the walls. The water was warm immediately, but the push button timer for the shower water made showers kind of annoying (small issue though). 

Everyone seemed to abide by the noise curfews around 11 pm and it seemed rather quiet through the night given the amount of campers around. The rustic sites along the river in section "N" were very large and spacious spots. Sections L and M seemed to be tightly packed in. 

The Group camping side is considered the "Adult/Party" area. Nobody was crazy out of hand or anything to that nature, just louder music, drinking, etc.

There were numerous playground areas, volleyball, horseshoes, and even an arcade area. Although we didn't stay in the Family area it looked very nice. 

We had a great time at the campground and would 100% stay again.