The Dyrt is here to help plan your best camping near Beaver Island. Aside from great camping spots, you'll find hiking and many more outdoor experiences. Thinking of traveling with kids? You're in luck—Beaver Island is surrounded by family-friendly activities. Search nearby campsites and find top-rated spots from other campers.
"I have camped at St James on Beaver Island numerous times, typically for 5-8 days. Beaver Island is a designated dark sky area and I’ve seen the aurora multiple times."
"Watch the sunset from your tent on top of a 40 foot over lake MI."
$20 / night
"Close to town Fire pits No hook up at the tent sites"
"Our campsite was feet away from Lake Michigan- practically on the shoreline! Going to bed and waking up to the lapping of the waves is something you can’t miss here."
$26 - $48 / night
"We choose this campground for its close-ish proximity to St. Ignace and the Labor Day Bridge Walk."
"You are able to rent water equipment, play mini golf and swim around the lake. You are able to buy bagged ice ($2.50) and firewood about 6-7 pieces ($5.00) on site."
"This lot (a premium lot) comes with a concrete patio with a round table with four chairs, two Adirondack chairs and a fire pit and a charcoal box grill."
"This campground is located just out of town in Mackinaw City, MI."
$26 / night
"This campground is exactly as it’s named; right on Lake Michigan."
"It was a last minute choice after a long day of driving and it was absolutely perfect. Sites are not super private but the sites on the lake side had a small walk to the gorgeous beach."
"We had site #16 right near the front, which meant we had some traffic noise and kids running to the adjacent playground, but the spacious lot size made up for it (and having 3 kids of our own, we didn't"
"Good sized sites, fairly level, friendly staff. Clean facilities and ample amenities. Only con was expensive to use clothes washing machines."
$34 - $52 / night
"The sites are decently sized and come equipped with a fire pit. The showers had decent shower heads and lots of pressure. There are some swings dow by the lake for adults and kids."
"The perimeter sites back into a chain link fence that has a view of the woods. This is on both sides of the campground.
The bathrooms/showers were clean."
"The park is run by the City of Petoskey and sits on 21 acres in downtown Petoskey overlooking Lake Michigan. "
"It is a municipal campground so we didn't expect much but the access to the Little Traverse Wheelway and views of Lake Michigan were awesome - and full hook ups for the price was great. "
"It’s a smaller secluded campground with larger sites. We arrived in the middle of the week so there were a variety of sites available. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table."
"Nice forest, most sites well screened. 4 sites with great lake view, on little lake. kayaked around lake. No real navigable access to the larger Bevoort Lake or Lake Michigan."
"Very friendly staff and clean park. Family friendly and pet friendly, beach was close by and clean. Reservations were very easy to make online and allows you to pick your site."
"The facilities were clean and the grounds themselves were a pleasure to walk around. The camp store was the best stocked one I’ve seen yet."
RangerOur site was $99.89 night.
We were in Site# 98. 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 limited trees (many were shaded though). This was a smaller lot with our neighbors fairly close.
This lot (a premium lot) comes with a concrete patio with a round table with four chairs, two Adirondack chairs and a fire pit and a charcoal box grill.
It is an easy access to the campground from highway -(approximately 1 mile from highway).
There is free WiFi. They offer Cable TV and there are many channels.
There is not a community outdoor kitchen or community fire pit.
They sell wood for $7 a bundle.
They pickup your garbage at your site daily.
You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They also allow you to rent regular bicycles and e-bikes. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.
They do have a Swimming pool. There is a Playground. They also offer Gaga ball,horseshoe, and corn hole. There is a Reading lending library and board games to borrow.
They have a great general store. There is an electric car charging station. They sell propane.
There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site.
The streets are gravel so not great for riding bikes.
There are great places to ride bikes outside of campground. From the campground, there is a nature trail that you can take your bike that leads you to the. North Western State Trail.
They have cabins for rent and tent areas.
They have one shower house. The shower house has individual showers. Toilets with sinks are in a shared bathroom. These are kept very clean.
There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility. There are approximately 5 washers and 5 dryers. It is approximately $2.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry a load.
They have a fenced in dog park.
Bugs (mosquitoes/flies)did not seem to be an issue.
There were trails to hike off of the campground.
Some fun things to do outside of the campground are go to the beach (1 mile away); visit Mackinac Island (both major ferries will transport you for free - this KOA provides you information for Shepler’s Ferry). Both ferries offer packages that include horse drawn carriage rides, Fort Mackinac admission, Island Hotel Admission, Butterfly House admission, Mystery Town admission, and Parking options). There is a Jack Pine Lumberjack show.
TravelerWe decided to splurge on a yurt for our first camping trip of the summer. Well worth it! We stayed in"Kai" one of the newest yurts. It's at the end of what we came to call"the yurt village". Complete with electricity, indoor and outdoor string lights, two deck chairs, a heater, a queen sized bed, and an electric kettle with pour over coffee supplies, it was truly a treat! The bathroom and shower building is about.1 miles each way according to my fitness tracker, but it's doable. Downside: the firepit is small(about the size of a small charcoal grill) and shallow, so it's not really suitable for cooking. Bring a propane stove or some no-cook foods, or go enjoy some of the area restaurants! The site is still a diamond in the rough with cut downed wood and sawdust scattered about, and the ground is uneven. With time, though, it will probably turn out beautifully! We were there for three weeknights and rarely even heard other campers. A quiet and peaceful retreat.
TravelerWe decided to stay 5 days here after our original plan fell through. It’s a smaller secluded campground with larger sites. We arrived in the middle of the week so there were a variety of sites available. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table. Be prepared to bring enough firewood and supplies as many of the shops nearby close early.
Pros: Little Brevort lake is a great spot for stargazing with good visibility and shooting stars. Large sites, close to Lake Michigan, quiet, secluded, great views, shaded sites, inexpensive, opportunity to listen to native wildlife.
Cons: Sites can be close together but not clustered. Bathrooms are stocked by DNR but were FULL of flies. No individual trash cans, dumpster only. We made the mistake of buying cheap trash bags that ripped on the way to the dumpster.
GuideThis campground is located just out of town in Mackinaw City, MI. The location of the campground is within 5 minutes of downtown Mackinaw, within 1-2 miles of a beach and about 10-15 minute drive of St. Ignace. The campground pretty small and quiet. We camped in a small back in site with water and electric hook-ups. There is one bathroom and shower facility but it looks like they are building another. The bathroom was clean and constantly maintained. The staff was friendly, and helpful. They offer trash pick up each morning and ice delivery. There is a small campground store with some basic essentials. There is some construction going on, but we haven’t heard any equipment and the area is fenced off with a privacy fence so we haven’t seen the construction either. Overall this campground is very nice.
GuideWe choose this campground for its close-ish proximity to St. Ignace and the Labor Day Bridge Walk. There are modern toilets, and even though the facilities are very dated they are possibly the cleanest I've ever come across at a campground. There are kayak, SUP and Canoe rentals on site, as well as ice and wood for sale. There is potable water and a dump station. (The water is far enough from the dump to feel safe enough to fill our tanks.). Very quiet after 10pm, the quiet hours seemed very enforced, there was not a single generator going overnight. A nice mix of FCFS sites and reservable ones, and there were at least some vacancies even though it was a holiday weekend.
ScoutI have camped at St James on Beaver Island numerous times, typically for 5-8 days. Beaver Island is a designated dark sky area and I’ve seen the aurora multiple times. My favorite thing to do is paddle my kayak out into the bay, anchor up, and sit for hours in the gentle waves reading a book.
TravelerPros: This camp site was amazing! Very family friendly with plenty of activities. You are able to rent water equipment, play mini golf and swim around the lake. You are able to buy bagged ice ($2.50) and firewood about 6-7 pieces ($5.00) on site.
Plus, Our 3 dogs came with and had a great time!
Cons: Quiet hours were well followed. I felt we had to whisper around the fire, to feel like we weren’t disturbing anyone. It was very family based so got pretty quiet around 8:00 PM. Also, Campsites are pretty close together!
Altogether the camp site is great, I wouldn’t go again but enjoyed it!
LegendWe looked forward to our stay at this campground so close to Mackinaw City. We arrived just before 5 pm behind another camper. Walter was having difficulty handling both of our check-ins: he couldn’t find the other camper’s reservation (apparently not a one-off) and then his computer kept freezing while processing ours. The process to get both of us checked in took almost 30 minutes.
The advertised group gathering gazebo seemed to have been taken over by the office; I saw no other covered gazebo. And the fire pit was horrible! It spewed toxic smoke the entire time we were checking in (I had to keep stepping outside). As Becky’s review mentioned, there was junk surrounding the “office” and close by area.
The RV sites did not have any separation/privacy between them. We had reserved a water/electric site but in the end, chose one of the tent sites that faced the lake. We didn’t even see a number indicating what site it was– it was mostly a large grassy area.
The mosquitos were horrible (I realize this is not the fault of the campground although the grass was a bit tall).
Although I’ve seen worse, the restrooms were just passable. The floor was wet. At least there was soap and paper towels. Did not use the shower so cannot comment on that.
The best part of this campground is the view of Lake Huron. As advertised, there is a (far-off) view of the Mackinaw Bridge from the beach, but you have to look through the wall of mosquitoes.
It’s my understanding this is a city-run campground and if that is correct, we expected better. In order for me to give this more than two stars, it would have to:
• cost less ($50 was way too much money to pay for this campground),
• have a more efficient check-in system, and
• be cleaned up of all the junk lying around.
If we would not have lost all our money, we would have ditched and looked elsewhere. We didn’t even cook in our van, opting instead to eat in town. We were up and out early the next morning.
LegendThis park has some strong positives that outweigh the negatives so depending on what really annoys you about a campground determines whether you may or may not like this place. The park is run by the City of Petoskey and sits on 21 acres in downtown Petoskey overlooking Lake Michigan. Petoskey has a really cool downtown with great restaurants (we liked Beard’s Brewery, Palette Bistro, and Grand Traverse Pie Company), shopping, a free art center (Crooked Tree), parks, and a pretty marina with a scenic breakwater lighthouse. If you have never been to this part of Michigan, you should definitely come for a visit.
The campground is very popular because of the price and location with about 1/3 of the park occupied by seasonal or monthly rentals of people that have been coming for many years. There are 71 sites which can be used for RVs or tents. Roads are paved and sites are grass/sand. There are fire pits and picnic tables at each site and a nice large grassy area in the front of the park near Lake Michigan with multiple picnic tables in a common space.
There are many positive attributes of this park. The location of this park could not be better and the price of $30/night (water, sewer, 30 amp electric; $28 for electric and water only) is a great deal. (Especially because other private campgrounds in the area are easily $60+/night in the summer season.) They have free wifi that worked well and we were able to get over-the-air antenna television channels. You are really in a prime location with Lake Michigan in front of you. Many of the sites in this park have a great view of the lake (especially sites 1-16). Running through the park is the Little Traverse Wheelway which is a paved bike path spanning from the cute towns of Charlevoix to Harbor Springs. (If you don’t have a bike with you there are plenty of rental places nearby.)
Now for the negatives. The bathroom/shower houses are old and tired but were clean. The park sits between a hospital and water treatment plant, one of which can be smelly on warm days the other of which has a very loud HVAC system generating lots of noise. The park is located close to the busy road M-31 so there is a bit of road noise. The sites are very close together so there is not much privacy. The park is open to day-use and has a heavily used bike path running right through it so there are lots of people coming and going.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Beaver Island, MI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Beaver Island, MI is St. James Township Campground with a 5-star rating from 2 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 25 glamping camping locations near Beaver Island, MI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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