Best Campgrounds near Essexville, MI

I have been staying here since I was a child. Twenty plus years later; this is still my choice of campgrounds in Michigan. The park is always clean. The Park Rangers are nice and helpful. The lot sizes are quite large. Each one has a firepit and a picnic table. The restrooms are close and always cleaned promptly. The lake and beach are also the best here; sandy and not full of rocks like other campgrounds. It's safe too. I have no problem with the kids going to the playground or riding their bikes and skateboards around the park. It really is a nice place to relax and get away from screens and the city life. 🌈😎

We’ve camped at Pine Ridge Campground for the past five years. Over that time, we’ve chosen to overlook some ongoing issues — including a strong and persistent natural gas smell, ant infestations, loud music from a nearby bar, and no real amenities for families. The playground is extremely outdated and rarely used — it’s telling that you almost never see kids riding bikes or playing in the park. Still, we returned each year, hoping for a peaceful stay.

Unfortunately, this year changed everything.

Managers Joe and Susan falsely accused us of having our dog off-leash (which he never was). We always keep him leashed and use an e-collar to help manage barking. Joe even admitted that no other campers had complained, and we’ve never had any dog-related issues at any other campground. Despite this, they continued circling our site in their golf cart, closely watching us, and bullying to the point of telling us we were no longer welcome—threatening to call the police for no valid reason. Joe even made a comment about noticing my dog was standing on our dinette table - so he was peering outside our window??? No wonder my dog barked at him. We closed all our shades the remainder of the weekend to avoid feeling like we were living in a fishbowl.

This kind of targeting isn’t new — last year, Joe also rushed over in his golf cart to confront us about a visitor pass we had already paid for, showing a lack of trust and an overly aggressive approach. So yet another instance of over-the-top behavior that seems to define their management style.

Additionally, communication at this campground is poor — it’s often hard to reach someone to even make a reservation, there’s no automation and poor responsiveness.

On what should have been a bustling, beautiful summer weekend, the park was nearly empty, which speaks volumes.

After years of being respectful, loyal guests, we’ve decided it’s time to move on. If you’re looking for a welcoming, dog- or family-friendly campground with basic hospitality and amenities, we suggest looking elsewhere.

Traveling in from Indiana, the country side relaxes your big city anxieties while calming the busy lifestyle in your rear view mirror. Pulling into the campground you notice a warm and welcoming couple greeting you, as if your were long lost cousins. The campsites are nicely laid out with comfortable amenities. With a soothing creek whispering in the background of our campsite, we set our camper up for a two week adventure in this northwestern part of Michigan. Just minutes away from Tawas, the atmosphere is relaxing and the birds add a melody to the air. During our stay we met several other campers will call this place there second home. Enjoying the area and the camp owners friend and helpful manner prompted us to schedule another trip this coming year. What a great place to spend a relaxing vacation.

General: A real hodgepodge of options: paved sites, sandy sites, some with electric, hammock sites, several different types of cabins, and domes. Our stay was in 2023, and this review is based on that, but the campground was closed for the 2024 season for upgrades. 

Site Quality: Varies greatly. We were able to secure two different sites for our two-night stay. Upon arrival, however, we doubted we would be able to navigate our 18-foot camper van into Site 58– it was sandy, narrow with trees, and cars were parked alongside the narrow access road, making backing in very difficult to impossible. We were able to switch to Site 69 for the first night. The second night we were in site 56 and enjoyed listening to the waves lapping up against the shore. Not all sites are level. Little privacy/separation between sites but if you can score a waterfront site, then it’s all good. Sites 93, 95, 95A, 98, 99A, 101, 103, 105, and 107 back up to the old river channel and the water was very stagnant and green. The beachfront sites mostly have nice views of Saginaw Bay/Lake Huron but be cautious when selecting: some are sand and not level. You will hear road noise from M25 on the 19 sites that back up to the road (and also some of the sites opposite these). 

Bath/Shower: Two bathhouses (east and west) plus a couple of vault toilets. The East Bathhouse was very modern and clean. The West Bathhouse looked to be a bit older but still seemed fine. 

Activities/Amenities: Beach access, fishing, swimming, and an observation platform for bird watching or night sky viewing (the weather did not cooperate to check these out). There are nearby hiking trails, a playground, a basketball hoop, and a horseshoe pit. There is a dump station. Kudos to Michigan for extensive recycling! 

We arrived late at night, and I was able to get in a nice walk around the campground before the rain started, dampening our options for the rest of the day. Obviously, our stay here would have been better with better weather, but I caution you to be careful when reserving your sites based on your type of camping. Despite the abundance of mayflies (gross but not biting) and the muddy sand-covered road from all the rain, we’d stay here again if we could get a beachfront site. We enjoyed our time here and would love to see what improvements were made when the campground was closed (although I thought it was very nice before).