Join the fun near Ellsworth. With tons of outdoor activities and scenic camping, this is an excellent vacation spot for all kinds of travelers. Ellsworth is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Michigan camping adventure.
Whiting Park Campground
21 min away
Chain-O-Lakes Campground
25 min away
$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."
"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."
"This is a cute little campground located in Central Lake. Many of the water sites are very close together, but it offers you access to the lake for fishing, paddling and more."
"Located on Intermediate lake within walking distance of a grocery store and a ice cream parlor that servers Moomers ice cream."
"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. "
"They did a great job with the trick or treating by shutting down all vehicle traffic and by having a site decorating contest. And we got second place so they gave us a nice goodie bag."
"The staff was the friendliest we have ever come across. Within 10 minutes of someone leaving they were on the site cleaning up, making sure it was ready for the next camper."
"We sat at the gate for a min trying to find a place to go to when a staff member showed up on his scooter."
"Nice staff. Close to Petoskey"
$45 - $60 / night
"Great sites with electric and water. Dump on site, very clean bathrooms and helpful staff. The campground has great Elk Lake access and some sites have views of the lake."
"The park itself is positioned on a hillside next to a lake. We had a site at the top of the hill which I recommend."
"All sites have picnic tables but not all have fire pits (if you have your own you are allowed to use it). "
"Each RV site comes with water and electrical hook-ups and many with sewer hook-ups as well."
$60 - $260 / night
"There is a camp store, turbo bikes, a variety of family activities, a pool, playground, bike park, equipment and rentals, laundry facility, cabins, cottages, and yurts for rent."
"Staff was all Great. Had a well stocked camp store."
"Large, level electric sites. Very large campground in general. Since we were there in September and mid week, it was quiet. Bath house clean, but a bit outdated. Nice beach and swimming area."
"Staff was helpful, neighbors were friendly, bathrooms were clean, and it's right on the lake! Very pet-friendly, very busy. Reserve in advance."
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.
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.
TravelerI've been there several times. This campground has been around a long time and is well known by motorcyclists in Michigan. It's located behind their motorcycle repair shop. It's not a fancy campground, but it is a bargain at $10. The northern loop has electric outlets. The southern loop is rustic camping (groups usually camp there). Restrooms, showers and a pavilion. Pay the $10 at their shop. If the shop is closed either someone will come around or you can settle up in the morning. Firewood available on site. Village is 1.5 miles away to get supplies.
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.
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.
LegendIf you've camped at a KOA before, then you know what you're getting here. Easy on, easy off I-75. It's close to the interstate, but the noise was never intrusive. Mostly because of the stiff wind blowing out of the North.
The sites are tight, particularly the inside pull throughs. The back in sites are more spacious, though that's relative. Site 7 is a very spacious back in site. 1-6 are by Trails End Road, but it isn't really that busy or noisy. I would get a back in site, especially if you can get away with 30 Amp service. 16-20F are back in sites with 50 Amp. There are some deluxe pull throughs with patio & grill on site. There are some extra long pull through sites.
There are the usual KOA amenities like a heated pool, playground, a game area & bike rental. There's a nice hiking trail in the back. It takes you to the bike trail, so back track back to the campground unless you want to walk on the bike trail/road.
What makes KOAs & this KOA special are the clean bathrooms & showers. It's always a pleasure to know that a shower will be KOA clean!
Staff was courteous & efficient. They delivered ice & wood to your site.
This is a good base camp for the area. I would stay again if in Mackinaw City!
TravelerLove the park per my first review on lot 145.
Lot 188 area very tight with campfires and neighbors septic connection near your vehicles. The hookups and fire pit layouts don’t make sense….we didn’t have a fire thought it was too close to neighbors trailer.
LegendHuge campground in a wonderful location. They have everything here- huge playground, pool, beach, great store, lots to do. The view of the lake from our site was spectacular. There is a beautiful grassy and rocky shoreline that is lined with fire pits for viewing the sunset and bridge lights in the evening. Very cool and communal in a good way. You buy your ferry tickets to Mackinaw Island at the camp store and it's 10 minutes to get there with boats leaving every 30 minutes. The island is amazing and worth a day of your life to ride around it on a bike and get some good food and fudge.
GuideGreat sites with electric and water. Dump on site, very clean bathrooms and helpful staff. The campground has great Elk Lake access and some sites have views of the lake. Well kept, ice and firewood for sale on site.
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