Best Tent Camping near Boyne City, MI

Tent camping on the water, it does not get any more beautiful than this!

Close to town Fire pits No hook up at the tent sites

Here’s what we really liked about this park … it sits on beautiful Lake Charlevoix, is just a few miles away from the super cute town of Boyne City, some campsites with access to water right out of their back door, and the park has lots of beach to enjoy. Young State Park has a typical rustic campground feel. The park covers 560 acres which encompasses a campground, hiking trails, a large beach area with concessions, boat launch (located in the Terrace Campground loop), picnic area, playground, baseball diamond, basketball courts, and fishing pier. 

Reservations can be made on-line via the Michigan DNR site. The advantage of making reservations online is that you get a really good description of the site which includes length, width, hook-ups, amount of shade, length of site, distance to restrooms, and best of all - pictures.  We visited Young State Park in the summer but in talking to locals this place is wonderful in the winter and great for cross-country skiing with trails that wind through wooded areas. The price ranges from $20 to $33 per night depending on the season and electric hook-ups.  

There are three camping loops – Terrace, Spruce, and Oak.  Campsites in the Spruce loop don’t have a designated “pad” so you can arrange your RV or tent any way you like. This was the case with groups of friends who had two or three sites and arranged them so they faced each other with a common area in the center. The Terrace and Oak loops have less sites and seem a little quieter. The other plus of these loops is the easy access to water (some of which have great water views). All campsites are a mix of 20/30/50 amp or 20/30 amp with water spigots scattered throughout the loop. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit (firewood is for sale in the campground on the honor system with the nice thing being that you have access any time of day to purchase it).

The pros about this park are the easy access to Lake Charlevoix and being just a few miles from Boyne City (which has a great weekly farmers market, delicious food and beer at 7 Monks Tap Room, and a weekly Friday “Stroll the Streets” with live music). The park has a large beach area with a camp store/concession stand that has food and items for rent. It is really convenient that you can rent beach chairs/umbrellas/watercraft instead of having to bring them. Behind the concession stand is a fishing pier that was really popular with the kids. 

The cons are that the roads in the campground are pretty narrow and when someone was backing into their site it caused a traffic jam.  Sites are close together and the park has a very crowded feel. The bath/showers are not large enough for the amount of campers in the park and despite being cleaned daily they got lots of use and were always busy and by the end of the day, they were pretty dirty.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-NzcOOzCSk

We camped here two nights in July. The campground is very easy to find and is an incredible location if you want to ferry over to Mackinac Island. It is convenient to groceries, restaurants and other amenities if interested. The park appears well maintained with three separate camping areas. We tent camp, and had one of the best sites in the park (in my opinion). Site 1A is in the lower East section of the campground. The site is only a tent site & it is HUGE! It was much more private than the other sites, located on the shore of Lake Huron & has a fantastic view of the Mackinac Bridge. There is a small beach area within the park, a one mile trail to a viewing platform of the bridge, and a playground. The bathrooms were clean. Our campsite had a standard picnic table and fire ring. Campsites were moderately priced, but a Michigan Recreation Pass is also required, as in all MI state parks, so it gets a little more pricey. If I was returning to the area, I would camp here again.

The neat thing about Young State Park is its site on Lake Charlevoix. Three miles away is the lovely and cute town of Boyne City.

This is a typical state park campground designed to pack in the numbers. Sites are close to one another, no to little vegetation between the sites. Not much comfort for tent camping. The shower houses are not large for the number of campers and despite daily cleaning, there's a lot of use. By the end of the day, early evening, it's a bit dirty. There are lots of other things going for it that includes hiking trails, boating, beach area with concessions, picnic areas and playgrounds.

Location, location, location. In addition to easy access to Lake Charlevoix, there's traveling through the other quaint towns that include East Jordan (where the manhole covers were cast), Ironton (where you cross the South Arm of Lake Charlevoix on a ferry) and of course, Charlevoix.

Nearby, Boyne City has developed nicely over the past few years. The town's supporters are doing a great job of sustaining this village. Seven years ago, it was a fine little town that seemed to "get along" with its harbor and a couple restaurants. Now, its center has many nice and newer restaurants and pubs, a great weekly farmers market and weekly summer events with a really nice, spacious town park on the lakeside. A grocery store is also located here, with a Starbucks inside for those who have to have it.

I stayed at one of the new tent sites over Labor Day and this quickly became one of my favorite Michigan parks! The tent sites are large and very private and right on the water. Don’t be freaked out that they are called hike in sites because the walk wasn’t any longer than from any other site to the car. The best thing for me is that these sites are so removed from the rest of the park that it didn’t even feel like a holiday weekend. It was very calm and quiet and I recommend the tent sites to anyone who enjoys unplugging in camp!

We enjoyed our tent camping 4-day experience at this wonderful, clean, & friendly place.

Great staff. Clean facilities. Quiet tent site.

Wilderness was great, not what you are looking for if you are tent camping more of an RV park. Beautiful views though

This is our favorite rustic campground, Surrounded by woods and on the water edge.

Tent camping - rustic waterfront, fire pit

RV camping - electric/ water, fire pit

Open your door and you are on the water!

Tent camped in site 441 right on the lake. Wide open spots (mostly campers in this loop but was fine for 2 tents), fairly close together but the views, the beach/water, the nearby activities entirely make up for that. Nice, clean bathrooms. Surprisingly no issues with bugs at all in early June!

We’re tent camping this spot and it’s really nice, multiple trails and a private beach. I would advise to book a spot early because the bad spots are all in a line on an open lot which isn’t really ideal for my situation, but overall it’s a nice place.

Nice little metro park for tent camping. Most sites are dispersed. You can pull your car up to the site for unpacking.

Modern bathrooms and a snack shop on site.

Park offers kayak, canoe, and row boat rentals. Also paddle boards.

Disc golf and regular golf available.

Nice sandy beaches.

I tent camped here with my parents, and came back often with my own children. Far enough from Mackinaw City for peace and quiet, near enough to visit all the attractions during the day. Tall trees and a beautiful beach. It,s a great vacation destination. One of the best state park campgrounds in a state full of beauties.

Had a great time staying at this Campground! Well maintained/clean, 50 yards from the Lakeshore of Lake Michigan, and the staff are super friendly. The campground uses a service where you can digitally reserve your desired campground in real time! This can be found on the Campgrounds website and very intuitive to use. I was never planning to go to this Campground but after reading the reviews on the Dyrt App and realizing you can book digitally, it was a no brainer. The only downside of this campground is that it’s very expensive! I paid $36 a night to tent camp, and in my experienced opinion, that is absurd! Nevertheless had a great time here!

Great park out on a peninsula with sunset views. Hiking on the sand and boardwalks, lighthouse tours, perfect weekend spot---though not particularly close to much. Pretty “rustic” cabins and tent sites near lighthouses and the water---great listening to the shore in our sleeping bags. Most of the sites are pretty private, wooded/shrubby, and large. There’s a gift shop but it doesn’t feel overly touristy. Recommended.

A decent campground on Lake Charlevoix halfway between Charlevoix and Boyne City. Most campsites have some tree coverage and campsites are packed pretty close together. Bathrooms were pretty nice. The campground has a decent beach as well.

Young State Park on the north side of the lake is a better option with nicer amenities, but it can fill up quick in peak season.

While in the area, make sure to check out Avalanche Park in Boyne City and hike up the stairs for a great view of the lake.

Great campground only about 15 minutes from mackinaw city. Vault toilets but they are kept clean. Front desk was very nice and helpful. The tent site we stayed at had a good view of the lake and passing ships. Just a short 30 second walk from our site to the beach. Other sites are fairly close by but there is pretty good tree coverage for privacy from other campers.

This campground is one of the cleaner state parks that I have stayed at in Michigan. there are beautiful sites near the lake, although I remember staying here as a kid when the beach access was better. Now there is a lot of beach grass (probably due to the park trying to preserve the grasses/beach) and the beach isn’t as nice as it once was when I was young. This is a very family friendly park. Prime times are during the car show in St. Ignace. a great place to stay if you plan on checking out the island for a day or so. Good prices for sites. I highly recommend tent camping so you can hear the waves at night.

amazing views of the straits of Mackinac and the mighty Mac bridge! Absolutely loved camping here despite the nearly hurricane like wind and rain experienced overnight that ended up soaking all of my bedding. Bathroom and shower facility was nice and clean.

But seriously, the best thing this campground has to offer are the amazing views of the bridge from many of the campsites. I had a waterfront tent site with the best view and it was so inexpensive.

I have camped here many times over the years, it is tucked away right near the Mackinaw Bridge. There are tent sites right on the water and you can watch the lights come on at night. There is wood to buy and the camp hosts are always keeping you updated on the weather and have plenty of ideas of things to do. The St. Ignas Trolly comes through and picks people up to go to the ferry there as well.

This is a great location to camp if you are looking for proximity to Mackinac Island. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. They have electric and water but no sewer. There is a dump on the way out. The spots are very tight to navigate into and took some extra work for my fifth wheel. Tent camping or smaller campers would enjoy this site. The town nearby is cool, includes a nice bakery and a great RV/hardware store. Wifi is hit and miss. You can walk up to the water to get a nice view of the bridge.