Best Cabin Camping near Clarklake, MI

We stayed in the Southfork Rustic Cabin at the end of Feb and it was lovely much needed get away. The cabin was semi modern (solar lighting) but only a wood stove for heat. Small kitchen unit with table for eating. You had to hike in about a quarter mile to get there, and it sleeps four people with two bunk beds. There is an outside vault toilet behind the cabin. Lots of trails connecting the cabin to the rest of the park. Cheap too! Only $68 per night.

Tents are welcome, as well as big campers. Have a couple of cabins and yurts. A lot of groups camp here. Not a lot of kids activities, no pool, but does have a beach on the lake, canoe and kayak and paddleboaed rentals and trails for hiking. If you want a quiet retreat, this is usually the place.

Those giving 5 stars are gracious or inexperienced. The management of this dumpster fire are disgusting and disgraceful. The accommodations are garbage and poorly maintained. The amenities are non-existent. Just don’t stay here if you want to have a nice stay at a cabin or campsite.

Had the pleasure of visiting first weekend in February, on the coldest weekend of the year! Nice little cabin set in about 800’ from where you park. It has a table, wood stove, and 4 sets of bunks in a back room. Lots of trails within reach and a horse riding stable if that is your thing. Heard lots of wolves, saw lots of tracks but no animals. I’d like to go back in the spring and hike around some more! Pro tip for cold nights is to block the back room and sleep in the main area-

I was very satisfied with this campground. Each site gets its own picnic table and fire pit, and there are also cabins available. The camp is dog-friendly, and has a variety of shade or sun spots, even if most of them are not level. RV's and tent-camping allowed. You can bring in your own firewood - the wood that they have for sale is not good, don't buy it; when we were there, a local family very close to the campground was selling much better wood that was older and burned better. The bathrooms are clean (well-water) and the staff is friendly. There are "host" activities for kids and adults also, the schedules are posted in the showers. The lake is clean enough to swim in, also. The sites are on the small side and grouped together; there are plenty of trees close enough together to hang a hammock but nothing I would call a forest. Good community camping; not for those who like isolation.

Great getaway for a quiet trip. Swimming within walking distance.

Nice campground with lots of sites, after the weekend we had half the place to our selfs, nice big clean lake that also offers row boat rental.

Needed a quick weekend getaway, and found this place. Very nice, lots to do in surrounding area. Lake is pretty. Nearby MIS. Hidden Lake Gardens are absolutely beautiful to wander around.

There are multiple camping opportunities with a variety of camping styles. Yurt rental, to hike-in rustic sites, there's good camping for anyone. A 35 mile hiking trail runs through the entire area with small day trails branching off to points of interest, all with corresponding camp sites. It has good isolation, but not far from creature comforts either.

We have been here a few times. Really enjoy the secluded sites and the lake. It’s a small campground but it’s clean and quiet. Most sites don’t have water hookups but they do have electric. There isn’t much to do outside of the campground but there is a nice lake with canoe and kayak rentals. Very pet friendly and even has a dog beach.

We rented a yurt as a local weekend escape. Our kids loved the yurt. It was nice with a little mini fridge and 4 double beds. Campground showers and bathrooms are clean. It is one of the only state parks in northwest Ohio, a beautiful little spot nestled in farmland of Ohio. The lake is nice for swimming and there are bike rentals which was fun as well. We did not use it, but there is a dog beach as well. Sites are crowed and close together.

I’ll start by saying the staff did their best to provide a fun visit. This was just a weekend getaway and we didn’t have high expectations. There is a lot to do at this campground, but everything is packed too close together. The restrooms were in really bad shape. They weren’t clean and needed updates and repairs. My shower head was missing and water was just spraying out of the wall. Other campers were loud and the noise policy wasn’t really enforced. I wouldn’t go here again.

Campground Review:

Bishop Lake is a great campground located in the middle of the Brighton Rec Area. The upper and lower campgrounds are both modern, with every site including electric. There are two rustic campgrounds as well down the road. When we went to go get a campsite (you can reserve online for an $8 fee) they told us that the upper campground would be the better choice, due to the heavy rain that had come through earlier. It was the perfect choice! Our campsite was spacious, with a few pine trees for shade. If you have a hammock, the outer edge of campsites would be perfect. Only downside to our campsite was the distance between the picnic table and the fire pit. The bathrooms and showers are in the lower campground, but it’s a 5 minute walk or 30sec drive to them. They were clean, stocked with toilet paper and the showers were warm. There’s a ton of hiking trails, a boat launch and boat rental, as well as the beach and inflatable water park. Overall a great little nature spot in the middle of the Brighton area.

Gear Review: As a ranger for The Dyrt, I sometimes get sent awesome gear that I could use and try for my upcoming trip. This time I got to try the equinox hoodie from Eclipse Sun Products (https://eclipseglove.com/collections/all-eclipse-sun-products/products/equinox-hoodie-beach-cover-up). This hoodie is super super lightweight, and the open sides allow for a nice breeze on hot days. Of course, their main feature is the 50+ UPF fabric used in not just the hoodie, but all of Eclipses sun products. I am a melanoma survivor, so having something lightweight, but protective, is so great. It’s one size fits all, and while it fits me great at 5’5, I have also heard from other taller people that it fits them great as well. It does the job well, and while I live in Michigan and it only got to about 75°, I could feel it keeping the sun off my skin. Totally recommend the equinox hoodie!!

Very clean! Newer restrooms two separate bath houses. Water was clean at the beach but no sand just a grassy area though I saw kids playing in the sand of the volleyball court. There is a new large playground structure and nice but short paved path for kids to bike or scooter around. Start balm mile mown hiking path by the boat dock For hikers or mountain bikers this site is 2 miles from the Waterloo/Pinckney Rec trails and you can get there by the main roads. It's also within 20 min Drive of the new DTE mountain bike trails in Chelsea. For Kayakers and boaters there is a long stretch of tie ups near the lower Lake edge sites. Also a really nice long fishing dock. ADA friendly sites and access to all water spigots and restrooms. We spent the weekend here with some friends for a weekend of running adventures on the trails and had a great time. We plan on coming back with kayaks and getting a lower or outside loop site by the lake on our next trip. The sites can be weird sizes, some are larger some are smaller and slanted. We saw a couple campers with larger rigs getting into arguments over the boundaries of the sites. So pay attention to the yellow boundary markers and check the dimensions when booking. Bryin Lake is 30 min from home for us so a great quick weekend getaway.