Best Campgrounds near Frederic, MI

We stayed at PaddleBrave this past weekend and couldn’t be happier with our experience. We rented Cabin 1 and the campsite directly across from it, and from start to finish, everything was fantastic.

The owner and staff were incredibly friendly, accommodating, and had excellent communication both during the reservation process and throughout our stay. The sites and camp bathrooms were the cleanest I’ve ever seen, and the staff went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable.

The gift shop was a nice bonus, offering fresh coffee for just $1 every morning and stocking plenty of essentials in case you forgot something at home. Downtown Roscommon is only about 6 minutes away, making it easy to pop into town.

We also did the 4-hour tubing trip and rented tubes from Paddlebrave—it couldn’t have gone better. The river was beautiful and the whole experience was smooth and well-organized.

What a beautiful RV resort!! Nice wooded campsites with back-in and “pull-through” options, plus “buddy sites” so families and friends can face each other. They also have “premium” sites that include options like concrete/brick patios, paved sites, pergolas, BBQ grills, etc. The vast majority of sites are full hook-ups, and WiFi is available throughout the resort. What is also amazing is how quiet the park is. Even with families and dogs it’s very peaceful and relaxing. The vibe is contagious and all the neighbors are friendly and considerate.

Very kid-friendly, including a large playground, a large heated swimming pool, plus volleyball, horseshoes, corn hole, basketball and pickleball courts.

They also have a beautiful and well-stocked camp store, a coffee shop, and lots of ice and firewood for sale. A comfortable, clean laundry room and a fitness center are great amenities. And a HUGE dog park with lots of room for pups to run off-leash, chase balls and make friends! (Speaking of “off leash”, our English Cocker Spaniel puppy darted from our trailer this evening during dinner hour. Thanks to the owners and the “it takes a village” attitude, Maizey was corralled after a brief but intense getaway chase.!)

Katie, Jonathan and Terrell are the owners/hosts and you’re treated like family from the first contact until they remind you to come back. Their wonderful team are friendly and hard working to keep the park and facilities in tip-top shape.

This is our second stay, and we have already booked our stay for next year. A first-class staff delivering a first-class experience in a beautiful setting!!

I scouted this campground over a holiday weekend and found all the sites that could accomodate RVs were occupied, while all the tent sites were available.  Returning on the Monday after the holiday with my tent, I was the only camper on site for all three nights I was there.  

I camped in Site 2, as it was close to the lake and fishing was my purpose in being there.  The campground is small (15 sites) and the cost is $20/night.  The vault toilets (2) were clean and well supplied with toilet paper.  The hand pump well takes a bit of priming to get going, but don't give up.  You will get water.  There is a small beach area next to a well maintained boat dock and concrete boat launch.  Everything at my site, fire ring and picnic table was in good condition.  As others have mentioned, this campground is right on a paved road.  For some reason, this road is popular with noisy motorcycles and pickup trucks.  Fortunately, the traffic almost completely stops by 9PM.  

The fishing was just ok.  Although rumor has it the lake is stocked with Walleye, my take was limited to abundant Bluegills, Pumpkinseeds, and Largemouth bass, many of which were on the larger size.  Waterskiing and jetskiing is prohibited on the lake before 11AM, but they come out in numbers after that time.  

All in all, being the sole camper at the site made for a pleasant stay.  I would not venture to stay there on a weekend or holiday.

Granted, we chose here to stay on 4th of July weekend. It was loud, understandably, any Campground on this exact weekend wouldn't be ideal. So, realistically,

1. Campground is right off of the road, so you will hear any traffic, which isn't too terrible if you happen to land a lakeside site, otherwise, you're literally next to the road with little barrier.
2. Next door to the Campground are cabins and vacation homes, gets VERY loud on the weekends when you have neighbors blasting music.
3. If you aren't ORV, this is not for you. You will hear people on the trails all day and night.
4. Swimming area: very small and literally right next to the boat launch. Shallow, unmarked, and sandy bottom.
5. Fishing: Took the kayaks out, beautiful clean and clear lake. Saw plenty of minnows, and a handful of very small bluegill, otherwise, not much else.

Lake is clean, clear, other than a few areas with lily pads and what looked like a Loon nesting area that had some low lying aquatic plants.

Nice for kayaking.

Please note, the lake is a decent small/medium siz3 and you will be seeing about 4 or 5 pontoons and handful of Jet skis