Best Tent Camping near Frankfort, MI
Looking for tent camping near Frankfort? Find the best tent camping sites near Frankfort. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Frankfort's most popular destinations.
Best Tent Sites Near Frankfort, MI (32)
1. South Manitou Island Group
Glen Arbor, Michigan8 Reviews•47 Photos•59 SavesOverview
South Manitou Group Campground is a tent-only backcountry facility on South Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. Campers must take a 1.5-hour Manitou Island Transit Ferry trip or boat ride to reach it, and must backpack their gear into the campground from the dock. **Booking for individual sites on South Manitou Island are made on a first come/first served basis directly through Manitou Island Transit .**This facility is comprised of three reservable group sites at Bay Campground and three others at Weather Station Campground. Each site is open to groups of nine to 20 people only. Smaller parties must plan to occupy multiple first-come, first-served individual sites at Popple, Bay or Weather Station Campgrounds on the island. Bay is the closest campground to the dock (less than a mile/1.6 km) and a short walk from the beach. Weather Station overlooks Lake Michigan from the bluffs on the south side of the island; the hike from the ferry is about 1.3 miles (2 km). If group sites are full, your group may be able to split up into multiple individual campsites. Be sure to book reservations on the Manitou Island Transit website or call (231) 256-9061 for transportation to the island. Or contact Sleeping Bear Dunes for more information at (231) 326-4700 ext 5010.Summer temperatures range from the upper 70s to 90 degrees F (25 to 32 C) during the day, and from the 50s to 70 degrees F (10 to 25 C) at night. Winters are cold, with daytime highs from 20 to 30 F (-7 to -1 C) and lows in the 10s and 20s F (-12 to -7 C). Snow is usually on the ground from late November through March.
Recreation
There is no shortage of activities on South Manitou Island. Visitors can hike around the 10-mile perimeter of the island via pebble beaches, take a tour of the South Manitou Island Lighthouse during summer months, view the 1960 shipwreck of the Francisco Morazanon or go on a motorized tour to learn the history of the island. Visitors can also hike day-long excursions to unique sand dune formations and old growth cedar forests. Both campgrounds have beach access where campers can beachcomb and swim; group sites are closer to the beach at Bay Campground than at Weather Station.
Natural Features
South Manitou Island is part of an island chain in Lake Michigan that extends north to the Straits of Mackinac. The island consists of a ridge of tilted layers of limestone, buried under a blanket of glacial debris. It features unique sand dune formations, 10 miles of pebble beaches and a grove of old growth white cedars that date back over 500 years. The campgrounds lie on sandy soils among younger forests.
Contact Info
For local information, please call (231) 326-4700 or call (877) 444-6777 for general information.
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
- Group
- Trash
$30 / night
2. White Pine Backcountry Camp — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Empire, Michigan1 Review•12 Photos•98 SavesThis camp has 6 sites and is located about 2 miles from the Trail's End Road trailhead on the Platte Plains hiking trail south of Empire just off of M-22 and is about 1/2 mile from the Lake Michigan shore where you can obtain fresh water. There is no well water at White Pine, so if you use water from Lake Michigan, it must be treated before drinking it.
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3. Healy Lake State Forest Campground
Copemish, Michigan3 Reviews•6 Photos•3 SavesThe campground is under township management
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- Fires
- Tents
- Trash
- Picnic Table
- Drinking Water
4. Weather Station Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan3 Reviews•9 Photos•24 SavesThe Weather Station campground overlooks Lake Michigan on the island's south side, about a mile beyond the lighthouse. The campsites are located within a forested area and are pretty well secluded from each other. This location affords inspiring views of the Manitou Passage and Sleeping Bear Dunes on the mainland. The lighthouse, Lake Florence, the Morazan, and Giant Cedars are all within easy walking distance. Follow the signs to take a pleasant walk along a woodland path, past the lighthouse to this campsite, or follow Burdick Road, turning left at Ohio Road for a less scenic but more leisurely walk. Bring water filtration equipment because there is no source of purified drinking water.
There are 20 individual sites (maximum of 4 people or two tents per site) and 3 group sites (maximum of 20 people or ten tents per site). There are several fire rings in the campground that can be shared by campers.
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- Tents
- Group
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
5. Crystal Forest Campground
Arcadia, Michigan1 Review•9 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Electric Hookups
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
6. North Manitou Island Backcountry Campsites
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Michigan6 Reviews•132 Photos•63 SavesCamping on North Manitou Island offers solitude and a wild beauty and nights listening to lapping waves. The small Village Campground contains eight designated campsites, two fire rings and one outhouse. There is a limit of two tents and four people per site. Fires are permitted in the community fire rings at the Village Campground. Camping is allowed in the wilderness area, but open fires are prohibited. Use gas or alcohol stoves i the wilderness. Backcountry Camping Regulations are in effect on North Manitou Island. A backcountry permit and fee payment must be completed before camping. Permits are available on the island and on the mainland. Groups are limited to a maximum of 10 people.
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- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
- Group
- Dispersed
7. Insta-Launch Campground & Marina
Manistee, Michigan3 Reviews•4 Photos•12 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Electric Hookups
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- ADA Access
8. Popple Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Glen Arbor, Michigan3 Reviews•13 Photos•5 SavesThe Popple Campground is the furthest from the dock (about 3.5 miles), so you are likely to have fewer people camping there. The campground is close to the beach on the northern tip of the island. Bring water filtration equipment since there is no source of purified drinking water. There are 7 individual sites
- Tents
9. Bay Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Glen Arbor, Michigan1 Review•4 Photos•16 SavesOverview
South Manitou Group Campground is a tent-only backcountry facility on South Manitou Island in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. Campers must take a 1.5-hour Manitou Island Transit Ferry trip or boat ride to reach it, and must backpack their gear into the campground from the dock.This facility is comprised of three reservable group sites at Bay Campground and three others at Weather Station Campground. Each site is open to groups of nine to 20 people only. Smaller parties must plan to occupy multiple first-come, first-served individual sites at Popple, Bay or Weather Station Campgrounds on the island. Bay is the closest campground to the dock (less than a mile/1.6 km) and a short walk from the beach. Weather Station overlooks Lake Michigan from the bluffs on the south side of the island; the hike from the ferry is about 1.3 miles (2 km). If group sites are full, your group may be able to split up into multiple individual campsites. Be sure to book reservations on the Manitou Island Transit website or call (231) 256-9061 for transportation to the island. Or contact Sleeping Bear Dunes for more information at (231) 326-4700 ext 5010.Summer temperatures range from the upper 70s to 90 degrees F (25__ to 32__ C) during the day, and from the 50s to 70 degrees F (10__ to 25__ C) at night. Winters are cold, with daytime highs from 20__ to 30__ F (-7__ to -1__ C) and lows in the 10s and 20s F (-12 to -7__ C). Snow is usually on the ground from late November through March.
Recreation
There is no shortage of activities on South Manitou Island. Visitors can hike around the 10-mile perimeter of the island via pebble beaches, take a tour of the South Manitou Island Lighthouse during summer months, view the 1960 shipwreck of the Francisco Morazanon or go on a motorized tour to learn the history of the island. Visitors can also hike day-long excursions to unique sand dune formations and old growth cedar forests. Both campgrounds have beach access where campers can beachcomb and swim; group sites are closer to the beach at Bay Campground than at Weather Station.
Facilities
Water is only available in the Village area. Group campsites are secluded and set apart from one another. Each site has a fire pit for open fires (firewood must be purchased or collected in the park). Wooden pit toilets are provided, however campers must bring their own toilet paper.
Natural Features
South Manitou Island is part of an island chain in Lake Michigan that extends north to the Straits of Mackinac. The island consists of a ridge of tilted layers of limestone, buried under a blanket of glacial debris. It features unique sand dune formations, 10 miles of pebble beaches and a grove of old growth white cedars that date back over 500 years. The campgrounds lie on sandy soils among younger forests.
contact_info
For local information, please call (231) 326-4700 or call (877) 444-6777 for general information.
- Fires
- Tents
- Group
$30 / night
10. Sand Lakes Quiet Area Backcountry Campsites
Williamsburg, Michigan8 Reviews•40 Photos•348 Saves- Pets
- Fires
- Phone Service
- Reservable
- Tents
- Group
Showing results 1-10 of 32 campgrounds
Recent Tent Reviews in Frankfort
753 Reviews of 32 Frankfort Campgrounds
Tammy C.
Scout
Manton Trails RV Park, Hotel & Campground
Hidden gem on the west side
This campground is centrally located to everything that’s going on, on the west side of the state. Whether it’s trail riding, Traverse City Cherry festival or hanging in the town of Manton. There is always something going on. Spacious, super clean bath house and on Saturday nights listen to live music right at your campsite!
Mario F.
Traveler
Manistee National Forest Marzinski Horse Trail Campground
Be simple
Was a quiet. Simple.. Just with nature...Site was clean, across street you can buy firewood ...Was a pleasant 2 night's....From site to the nearest store 15-20 min away..If needed...Had no issues...Be back Thanksgiving 2024..
Jeffrey P.
Guide
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness
Busy but Beautiful
After a decent ruck in, you have some immediate camped spots and can travel further for even more. Summer time is busy so get there early for a spot. Have been multiple times with bigger groups and have always found a spot for tents and hammocks. Enjoy hikes down the best for a distance view of the dunes and enjoy fires with lake views at night.
- Julia A.Guide
Pines Campground — Ludington State Park
Ludington
Beach was big and beautiful but you had to drive to get to it unless you love walking with a bunch of beach stuff in a bathing suit. Hamlin lake is close by and is a good spot for fishing.
Barry E.Scout
Traverse City State Park Campground
Convenient and clean
Very nice park, walkway to the public beach, paved path behind the grounds. Modern, clean bathhouse. Not a lot of privacy between spots, big mature trees all through the grounds. Right by municipal airport with lots of flight activity.
- FFern B.Guide
Lake Michigan Recreation Area
Fantastic
Great location away from everything. Spacious sites that are spread out. We stayed in the Oak Loop. Only 5 minute easy walk to beach. Quiet. Enough cell reception to send a text but that's it. Pit toilets only in Oak and Violet loops. Flush toilets in hemlock and orchid loop. No showers, but showers available at convenience store down the street during the summer.
- CC P.Traveler
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness
I loved this place!
A small gem of a place. Park and pay to be in the National Forest...or disperse camping on Green Rd. We parked and hiked the mile and a half in to the Dunes. Take all your gear that you need if you don't want to trek back. Can not ride bike in or have anything with wheels on the trail. At the end of the Beautiful hike you come to the Dunes. Go to the right and you will see some spots to put a tent up(do not camp on Dunes or beach). To the right is easy walk and find. If you head to the left you will have to walk over some Dunes for a bit but this is where we went and found a perfect spot right where the forest and Dunes meet. Very short walk to the beach and it's AMAZING! We had it all to ourselves for hours. It's like looking at the ocean. Beautiful views, sunsets, night sky's. The water was warm and you could walk out a ways before it got deep. Great for swimming. It was perfect. One of my favorite spots away from the busy crowds. So worth the hike. Make sure you get wood and might have to hike it in. There is little to NO wood out there laying around. If you are willing to put the work in to hike out there then I promise it's worth it.
William A.Traveler
Green Road Dispersed - Manistee NF
Great place
Super close to manistee beach, came in on the weekend mid September, almost all the camp spots were taken. Forest was super eerie but beautiful.
- KKris D.Guide
Northern Exposure Campground & RV Park
Perfect River View
Camp staff very friendly and park is well maintained. Nice hiking trails nearby and a 20 minute drive to a whole lot of entertainment!
Michael N.Guide
Platte River Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Beautiful area!
The camping area is amazing. My group camped in the non electric section. Each area was set back from the road. Flat gravel pad. Small paved driveway for your car. It was peaceful. And absolutely dark at night. Perfect for star gazing. The comfort station was a short walk away. Clean bathrooms, shower areas, and a small room to wash dishes. You cannot wash dishes at your site. You must take precautions against bears. So food had to be locked in cars. We didn’t encounter bears. At the entrance is a canoe/tube business. You can float down the river to Lake Michigan.
- LLindsey C.Guide
Tippy Dam State Recreation Area
Great nature - noisy neighbors
Our site was great, easily fit a 17 foot trailer and a tent. Trails down to the water were appreciated by our kids. Neighbors are pretty close all around but that didn't matter until our last night. Several new campers rolled in at 10pm and proceeded to throw an absolute rager of a party until 4am - on Labor Day weekend. So overall a great campground but I wish there had been enforcement of quiet time or some kind of consequence for such horrible camping manners.
Benjamin A.Traveler
Elk Canoe Campground
Basic canoe camping
Elk is a great place to spend the night after a day of paddling or fishing. There are four sites with decent space between them. The pit toilet was decently clean and well away from the sites, so no smell. The only downside is that access is tricky. The landing is a steep bank with large rocks on the river bank.
Austin C.Scout
Camp David
Wonderful, quiet location
David and Gail were so friendly and welcoming, especially for the inconvenience of a last minute stay on Labor Day weekend! I had questions during the booking process and messaged them- I had a response in minutes. We had a quiet spot and were able to get some uninterrupted sleep after a long afternoon at the beach.
There are several places nearby with beach access (the turquoise water of Lake Michigan is beautiful), and lakes under 5 minutes away for fishing. For rockhounding, check out the beaches near Old Mission Lighthouse. Should we find ourselves back on the road to the UP, we'll be sure stop back in. Thanks again for being so accommodating!
Skip C.Traveler
Riverside Park Campground
Nice park
Went there to use dump station after camping at the local veterans retreat, nice facilities and staff. 15$ fee to use dump station
Jason H.
Ranger
South Manitou Island Group
Popple Campground
Stayed at site 3. It was a relatively easy hike until you hit a hilly spot towards the campground. Mid July was very buggy.
Site 3 has easy access to an overlook which we made use of for photos of a storm that rolled in over North Manitou Island, our original destination. There was one vault toilet at the opposite end of the campground.
Like at Weatherstation, it was easy enough to get down to the beach for swimming and refilling our Grayls but to get back up was a bit of a challenge that grew old after a few trips.
Our last night, we stayed at the Bay campground which was nice. Fire rings are available and getting to and from the water was much easier. I'd recommend the Bay for people who want a more leisurely experience and one of the other campgrounds if you want to get some miles and get more rustic.
H. S.Traveler
Bear Track Campground
Rustic seclusion.
No running water.
No electricity.No flush toilets.
No internet.
No phone signal.Pure heaven.
Rustic campsites. 50-100 yards from the river. Great water from the pump. Nice clean vault toilet. Very quiet at night. Peaceful and beautiful. We've gone ever year for the last 5 years. Going again next year.
Highly recommend a satellite-based GPS unit like Garmin or TomTom in your car. I was serious when I said no phone signal so Google Maps ain't gonna' get you there.
- JJoeScout
The Campground
Fantastic Campground!
The campground is a small, family friendly campground that has a lot of activities for both adults and kids. It is clean, has level sites and well maintained facilities.
J B.TravelerTippy Dam State Recreation Area
Great time
The campsites are spacious and feature trails that lead directly to the Tippy Dam Backwater. There’s also convenient access for launching a boat on either the Manistee River or the backwaters side of the dam
- RRobert T.Guide
Wild Cherry RV Resort
Quiet and peaceful
This was a great campground, quiet and peaceful in the cherry orchard area of west Michigan, near Glen Arbor and Traverse City.
Our site, #20, had an improved gravel parking area for camper with a finished concrete pad with a picnic table.
Site, and whole campground was clean and well maintained. Our site was a full hookup but had one small issue where the drain dump was slightly uphill from the camper, so we had to work with the drain hose to empty tanks.
Only other negative is that there are no trees for the majority of sites for shade cover.
This was a good spot for a two night stay as it’s close to the Sleeping Bear National Dunes and also many local wineries.
Have fun!
- LLon L.Scout
Northwestern Michigan Fairgrounds
close to travese city and interlockin
Quiet, large sites, like new bath house, 7th nite free, rate$35, good location for northwestern Michigan sites Water on all outside sites. interior sites share water hookups
Brandon C.Scout
Rvino - Timberline, LLC
Quiet Campground
Not a bad campground. Easy drive to Traverse City. Camp store is small and closes early, 7pm.
Jen L.ScoutManton Trails RV Park, Hotel & Campground
Great location for orv trail access
Great campground. Booked two nights and had to request a third it was so perfect. We went up because it advertised orv access right from campsite. It’s really handy to not have to trailer over to the trsilheads. Quiet, bug spaces, huge bathhouse. We will be going back!
Gills an B.Scout
Sand Lakes Quiet Area Backcountry Campsites
Everything that it said it was
To many people and yelling kids but breath taking for sure
- BBob W.Scout
Grass Lake State Forest Campground
Updated Info
Updating this information. We live 3 miles from this camp. All MI State Forest Campgrounds are nor $20/night.
There is not a RV dump or hookup of any kind in this campground. One could easily bring a 30 ft trailer but sites this size are limited.
This camp is on the Betsie River and the Grass Lake Flooding. There is a gravel/sand ramp to launch smaller fishing boats. Great area to kayak and float tube. 1000's of acres of State Forest surrounding this spot with miles of trails for atv, cars, trucks and horses. There are no horst facilities at this camp.
Nicole V.Guide
Lake Dubonnet State Forest Campground
Nice but camp host needed
Large campground composed or 5 loops. Many have a trail leading to the water. Hiking and biking paths within the campground along with a nice boat ramp. Trash on sites and dirty outhouses along with lots of generators and after hour noise was a downside.
Greg D.GuideLake Michigan Recreation Area
Nice off grid camping
Nice campsites with enough space between sites. Our site wasn’t level. Most sites are level and have large picnic tables and fire pits with fold away grills. Bring enough supplies for your stay unless you don’t mind a 1/2 hour drive to get resupplied in Ludington or Manistee. Mice and mosquitoes can be a nuisance in the campsite even if you’re careful about crumbs etc. We had a mouse going under our ground tarp under the tent
- Liz E.Scout
Mountain Valley Lodge & Campground
Great Campground, huge sites!
We just stayed here for 6 nights. Owners were welcoming and kind upon check in. The campground was very well maintained with a good amount of trees giving good shade outside.
Sites are large well maintained.
We stayed across the street from the bath house and the pool. Pool was chemically checked several times a day and it was so nice.Our kids loved the pool and the space to ride bikes.
Will definitely be booking here again.
Reasonable rates for the site and generous wood costs as well. They drive around almost nightly and will sell you wood right at your site if you're there. $10 for a wheel barrow full and they stack it for you!
Highly recommend this campground.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Frankfort, MI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Frankfort, MI is South Manitou Island Group with a 4.8-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Frankfort, MI?
TheDyrt.com has all 32 tent camping locations near Frankfort, MI, with real photos and reviews from campers.