Best Glamping near Empire, MI

We were directed here after learning the state park was closed. I was hesitant about this campground at first, but it was an excellent stay! The staff were absolutely wonderful. We came on bicycles and they let us stay only one night even though the typical minimum stay is 2 nights. The manager even gave us a few dollar discount for our site.

It was a particularly difficult day of biking and I was in a bad mood when we arrived, but after securing a site and talking to the manager, I was smiling and laughing the rest of the night. The employees are kind folks who care about the quality of your stay.

They have a big camp shop, excellent ice cream, flush toilets, free showers, and coin laundry! Wifi throughout the campground allowed us to watch tv from inside our tent. There was an electric hook up at our site with a drinking water spout too! 

The tent sites are right off the river with docks to fish from and launch your boat from. One of the wonderful things about this campground was that because it is privately owned, it was very reasonably priced. It was significantly cheaper than the state parks. Of course, you are trading off beach access for price, but with a Lake Michigan beach under three miles away, it is worth it. Overall, it was a lovely stay and by far my favorite campground in Michigan for the price.

This campground is perfect for campers of most experience and age levels.  If you are looking for rugged, wilderness / secluded camping its probably not your place but for everyone else it's a hidden gem.  

Nice spots both on the river show and across the road.  Easy water access for very little children and non-motorized boats / Kayaks, etc.  Nicely equipped playground and evening activities at the Camp Store/Office on special weekends.  

This campground has the cleanest restroom/shower facilities of any campground I have been too.  Also the staff is very friendly and helpful.

One tip, fire pits do not have grill tops attached and the pit opening is pretty wide.

This is not my normal kind of camping but I will pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this place. Sites are close together. All sites have electric. They have lots of little cute cabins through the park as well. They have a small simple playground that my kids loved! Super close to Lake Michigan and the river. We had fun exploring the area. Bathrooms were clean and had hot water. I loved that we could buy a good breakfast right on site at the little cafe they have. The campground had an old fashioned feel if that makes sense. Very quiet and does not seem to attract the party crowd. I thought rates were very reasonable. We took a day trip to Empire and the Point Bestie Lighthouse.

I'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.

This KOA is just south of Traverse City and very centrally located to all that makes this area so awesome! Wineries, Sleep Bear Dunes, golf courses, and of course downtown Traverse City. This campground is very well laid out and easy to maneuver any size rig. The front part of the campground is very well shaded, however, many sites are only a few feet away from M37, which can get noisy from the traffic. The back half of the campground is a little more open, but most sites are still partially shaded. The owners and staff are very friendly and accommodating. Fire wood and ice are available and they will deliver right to your site. As the caption says, great family campground. If you have kids, this is the place for you! With that being said, here is why I gave a four star rating.....we were asked promptly at 10pm to turn our music off, which wasn’t loud at all. Beyond our campsite it could not be heard at all. They have what they call a strict 10pm-8am quiet hours. At 7am there were at least 8-10 kids riding bikes and scooters all over the campground and nothing was said. I appreciate a them having policies and creating a place for families to make memories, but please enforce those policies for everyone. Oh, and one last thing....they are very pet friendly! I have never seen a campground with so many dogs! Ours had a blast!

Pretty standard Michigan State Park campground. Nice staff. Park maintenance is currently building a wood fence to keep folks away from steep bluff edge. Views of Lake Michigan fairly limited. If these were improved, this would be a much more popular park. I was very disappointed that their stairs to beach had been eroded near its base so you could no longer access beach but had to drive to one of two local beaches. I stayed one night and unfortunately had to camp next to a group who had a very barky, anxious large dog. Some folks need to leave their poorly trained dogs at home.

The bathrooms are clean, the staff is friendly, and the lake views are spectacular. Plus, the cute town of Manistee is nearby with three gorgeous public beaches, tasty restaurants, and ample shopping. Unfortunately, the sites are as compact and close together as possible. I usually enjoy the aroma of a campfire, but in the evening if all the sites are full, a smogtacular smoke cloud hovers over this campground - if you have breathing sensitivities then sleep will be difficult. Due to erosion, the stairs to the beach have been closed which forces campers to conglomerate even more closely together.