Best Tent Camping near Bitely, MI

This campground has the feel of a hike-in campground while being accessible by vehicle. It is located off the beaten path in the middle of nowhere, down a couple of well-marked dirt roads about 20 miles from the highway. There are only 8 sites, but each site is spacious. Sites are divided by small stands of trees providing some privacy from neighboring sites. 4 of the sites are facing the lake. Fire ring, picnic table, vault toilets and hand pump water. Surprisingly good cell reception. There is a dirt boat ramp, but only for trolling motor, canoes and kayaks. Very quiet campground.

There is something for everyone here. Tent, camper, or RV and fun for all ages with everything from 3 playgrounds, basketball courts, volleyball courts, and tennis courts, to a boat launch, fishing pier, and fish cleaning station. There is also a fairly large swimming area. The showers are actually nice and clean! The restrooms were surprisingly clean and modern as well. Firewood is available in bundles or loose and you stack it yourself. There are numerous picnic areas throughout the campground. There are picnic tables and fire rings at every site and hook up such as electric and water vary. Kids are riding their bikes all over, fishing, playing at playgrounds, the beach, everywhere. Everyone was very friendly. You probably don’t necessarily need a sleeping pad or air mat if you’re in a tent, but they’re always nice. The mosquitos weren’t bad at all! We stayed at site #226. You do need a county park pass, $6/day until 10pm or $25/year.

The Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness is dispersed camping, and nearby is Lake Michigan Campground with tent and dry rv camping. We stayed there and almost had the whole place to ourselves.

Be warned- there is no cell service or wifi, so plan ahead and let people know you won’t be reachable. And then enjoy being disconnected :)

The campsites were big and beneath mature trees for max shade and privacy. There’s a small bath house with flushing toilets. No hook ups or electricity of any sort. Camp hosts sold ice and firewood and there was potable water.

The dunes are a quick walk and well worth it. There is a trail from the campground right down to the beach. We hiked all day and lounged on the beach. Dogs are welcome on-leash.

Go to the beach for the day, but don't camp here. The sites were on top of each other and there was no privacy. There was only one bathroom for the entire campground meaning that only 3 stalls were offered for all of the women. Because there is only one bathroom and it isn't in the middle of the campground, it is a long walk for most of the campers. The showers were nice, but the bathroom could use an upgrade.

All of the sites were sandy with no shade. Traveling on bike meant having few comfort items. We really could have used a tree or some other shade after a long day of touring, but there was no shade at the site or anywhere nearby. Most folks had awnings on their campers. I could see how having a camper or RV (or even a car) would make the experience more enjoyable, but still I would not choose to return here.

It is not a tent friendly site because the tent gets blown off the sand. Sandy sites make it difficult to stake down a tent. We went on a particularly windy day and the gear we had was not enough to hold down the tent. I ended up going to bed at 7:30pm just to keep the tent from blowing away. 

There was wifi, but it hardly worked at the site. The beach was decent, but nothing any more impressive than anywhere else on the lake. If you have the opportunity to stay somewhere other than here, go there instead. I was shocked that so many people would pay so much for such a pathetic campground. If you are paying to stay at a Michigan State Park, find yourself a better one!

I intended on taking pictures, but was so unimpressed I completely forgot.

CAMPGROUND REVIEW

Ludington State Park has several spots to camp. The Cedars Campground was one of three open this time of year. There is a great tent only section of this campground and if you can't get into the hike in sites at the Jack Pine Campground, Cedars is your next best option.

Sites back up to the woods with large berms which is nice especially if you like to jump right in and explore and for privacy. There are about 12 tent sites at this lcoation. It also has a nice general store close by as well as a nice Bathroom area with large clean restrooms and showers.

It is also a centrally located spot with nice hikes to Lake Michiganto the west and an large network of trails around several lakes and an light house to the east and north. The campground also sits next to the river that connects Hamlin Lake and Lake Michigan. A great spot to fish or enjoy an evening hike.

It won't be the most private spot you will ever camp but it is a great spot with lots of options.

PRODUCT REVIEW

As a Ranger for The Dyrt I get products to test and review. At Ludington State Park I tested Mountain House Meals.

The Mountain House Meals are a great and easy way to have a great dinner while camping or backpacking. Easy to make it is a meal that all you have to do is add boiling water to the freeze dried packet of food. I tried the lasagna with meat sauce and Chicken Fajita Bowl and they were both very tasty.

The one thing I would keep in mind is that you need to make sure you notice how many servings are listed on the outside of the bag. When it says 2 servngs feel free to share with a fellow camper. Even after a long day of hiking it was a little too much for one sitting.

It was easy to make!

They taste great!

Lots of different option for meals!

I will be revieiwng other flavors, as I go.

There are two campgrounds in the park - The Channel Campground & the Lake Michigan campground. We stayed at the Channel Campground two years ago. It's right on the channel from Muskegon Lake to Lake Michigan, so you have walking access to both lakes. The campsites were VERY close together. It was actually the first thing we noticed as soon as we pulled through the gate. Campsites have a paved parking pad, fire ring, electrical hookup, and picnic table. Restroom & shower facilities were relatively clean & well maintained. You'll probably have to wait for the showers, but that's pretty typical.

Overall, the campground was just average. If you don't like being close to your neighbors, I'd recommend staying at the Lake Michigan campground in the same park. Larger sites & tons of shade.

A friend and I stayed two nights in a tent. The campground is on the smaller side. You mostly see campers and RVs, many who stay seasonally. It felt like a community where everyone knows each other well. The couple on the neighboring campsite were incredibly friendly, offering help with fire starters and a hammer to pound down the stakes on our tent.

Our site had a fire pit, picnic table and electric hookup we used to charge cell phones. There wasn’t much shade but there are other shady sites in the campground.

While the river site was scenic, mosquitoes were of course having a feast! There was a play area for the kids, volleyball net and horseshoe pit. The camp store had the basics with hard pack ice cream for sale. There’s also a game room off the camp store with pool, ping pong and laundry room for longer visits.

You’re able to rent a tube, kayak or canoe to cruise down the Muskegon River. They were kind enough to shuttle us to the drop off point a couple of miles away.

There is a restroom/shower building that’s kept quite clean. The ladies room had three separate showers and I never had to wait for a turn during my stay.

It’s definitely a family campground so if you’re looking for a quiet camping trip, this place is perfect. It’s a bit far from the Detroit area for a weekend but I’d definitely return for a longer stay.