Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Frederic, MI

Upper Manistee River State Forest Campground permits pets throughout its sandy, pine-forested sites along the Manistee River. Trails Campground near Frederic also welcomes pets with designated pet areas and both electric/water hookup sites and rustic options. Visitors use The Dyrt to find real feedback on camping near Frederic, Michigan. Most local campgrounds maintain standard pet policies requiring leashes no longer than 6 feet, proof of vaccinations, and proper waste disposal. Hartwick Pines State Park Campground, located approximately 15 miles from Frederic, offers pet-friendly accommodations across tent sites, RV spots with full hookups, and select cabins, though pets must remain outside visitor centers and designated pet-free zones.

The region's heavily wooded terrain provides multiple trail options for dog walking, with the Upper Manistee featuring spacious sites surrounded by tall pines and ferns where pets can explore on-leash. Many campers note the pine-scented camping areas provide natural cooling shade during summer months. Local state forest campgrounds typically allow up to two pets per site without additional fees, offering a budget-friendly option compared to private campgrounds that may charge pet fees. Sites have fire pits and picnic tables, with most providing vault toilets and water pumps accessible to campers with pets. The area's ORV trails near Upper Manistee can create occasional noise, while the slower-flowing river sections provide safe water access points for dogs to cool off.

Best Dog-Friendly Sites Near Frederic, Michigan (188)

    1. Hartwick Pines State Park Campground

    18 Reviews
    Frederic, MI
    4 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 348-7068

    "A few trails walking distance from the campground. The old growth trail is beautiful and really well maintained. The trees are crazy TALL."

    "Some full hookups, unusual for Michigan state parks that I’ve seen."

    2. Otsego Lake State Park Campground

    24 Reviews
    Gaylord, MI
    11 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 732-5485

    "The location of the connection point for our site 75 is on the left side of site 77 and our cable could not reach. (See photo)."

    "Otsego Lake is a great campground. It's quiet for a state park, and the sites are roomy. The sites on the outer perimeter have large trees and some have water views."

    3. Upper Manistee River

    11 Reviews
    Frederic, MI
    5 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 348-6371

    $15 - $20 / night

    "the sites are sandy and surrounded by tall pines and ferns. some biting flies, especially near river (late june). multiple vault toilets and one water pump. sites are spacious enough for small campers"

    "We love Michigan outdoors! We chose paddling and camping the Big Manistee River. As is the expectation when we camp…there will be rain…and this outing was no different."

    4. Gaylord KOA

    10 Reviews
    Gaylord, MI
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 939-8723

    $61 - $95 / night

    "While it was pricey at $65 night, we had a very spacious full hookup site within easy walking distance of pool. Shower house was very nice and modern, with 4 shower stalls."

    "The CG is pretty heavily wooded, so access to satellite TV and/or Starlink is highly dependent on location."

    5. Gaylord South/Bradford Lake KOA

    4 Reviews
    Frederic, MI
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 731-0459

    $64 - $94 / night

    "Sits on the shores of Big Bradford Lake which appears to be an all sports lake. The beach is very clean! Close to the ORV trails for those that enjoy off-roading."

    "This is a privately owned campground tucked away not far from Gaylord, MI. There are no laundry facilities onsite but the bathhouse is well maintained."

    6. North Higgins Lake State Park Campground

    16 Reviews
    Higgins Lake, MI
    18 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 821-6125

    "It is in a nice location with lakeside swimming and picnic tables while having the camping site close by. Campers are respectful and it is nice and quiet at night. Terrific park!"

    "Sites are ok sized, bathroom was clean, biggest issue was right next to a main road so expect alot of highway noise if you're on the outermost part of the circle"

    7. Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground

    5 Reviews
    Grayling, MI
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 348-6371

    "Being right on the lake was wonderful."

    "The campground is conveniently located but this means it’s a very busy place."

    8. Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park & Resort at Grayling

    7 Reviews
    Grayling, MI
    14 miles
    Website

    $37 - $68 / night

    "Pet friendly."

    "Great campground filled with wonderful staff, a cute camp store, hiking and biking trails, wild berries, mini golf, a pool, and plenty of activities!"

    9. Manistee River Bridge Campground

    2 Reviews
    Grayling, MI
    7 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 348-6371

    "The views along the 15 mile trail are second to none. There are about 15 camp sites. I would try and stay at 7b, 4b or the site next to the waterfall."

    10. Trails Campground

    1 Review
    Frederic, MI
    3 miles
    Website
    +1 (517) 348-8692

    "A ton of people on site had 4 wheelers and atv’s for trails that are connected to camp sites"

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Dog-Friendly Camping Reviews near Frederic, MI

849 Reviews of 188 Frederic Campgrounds


  • Nancy W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 8, 2017

    Traverse City State Park Campground

    Great Proximity to Downtown, Beach, and Breweries.

    The location of this campground is great and it's best feature in my opinion! This park is just two miles to downtown Traverse City (one of Michigan’s most popular resort towns), a quarter mile from a pretty beach and the beautiful blue waters of Lake Michigan, and it sits along the TART Trail which is a 10.5-mile bicycle trail running through the city.

    While the park is small at just 47 acres, it holds pretty many campsites – approximately 350 (and two cabins). Campsites are set among tall pine trees so there is a bit of shade but that also means that they are sandy with little grass. Roads are paved and narrow if you are trying to maneuver with a large (40+ RV) and you may have difficulty backing into your site with the numerous trees lining the road. All sites are back-in with electric. Sites and patios are sandy with varying degrees of levelness. There is a dump station and water spigots are scattered throughout the campground. Picnic tables and fire pits are at each site. Sites are $31/night ($49/night for the cabins) and reserveable online.

    This park is right on US-31/M-72 which means there is easy access in and out but it can be noisy if your campsite is close to the road. Expect the campground to be very busy on weekends and in the summer and tightly packed.

    Amenities include: picnic area, beach, fishing, hiking/bicycling trail, three bathhouses, playground area, camp store, pet walk (no off-leash dog park).

    Outside of the park there is a lot to do in Traverse City. Early July is the ever-popular Cherry Festival which lasts for a week. But you better book your campsite early if you want to enjoy all the festivities (which happen to be close to the park). The summer farmers market is great and held every Wednesday and Saturday. Early in the season, asparagus is plentiful and locally-grown asparagus is the best you will ever have being super sweet, tender, and inexpensive. For beer drinkers, consider paddling the beer trail that takes you from Boardman Lake to Lake Michigan and past numerous breweries where you pull over for a pint. If it's ice cream you want, you have come to the right place. There are multiple creameries with Moomer's being our favorite and for some reason eating it right at the farm stand was the best.

  • S
    Sep. 5, 2021

    Gaylord KOA

    Horrible

    The owners were constantly driving around and correcting people. Rules are okay but they were over the top. They would even stop and just stare at our site while we sat outside.. it was very odd. Also not kept up at all. The playground was old and my 30 lb dog slipped out from under the “dog park” fence because it was so high off the ground where they were allowed to be unleashed, luckily we got her and she’s ok.

  • C
    Sep. 27, 2022

    Burt Lake State Park Campground

    Beautiful Lake and Park

    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. Dog park and beach area for dogs. Large, grassy recreation area and nice playground. Park hosts on site with daily activities for campers. Town is nearby with restaurants, shopping, etc. Burt Lake is stunning. Bring your kayaks, boats, and fishing gear.

  • Jessika A.
    Aug. 11, 2017

    Devoe Lake Rustic Campround — Rifle River Recreation Area

    Backyard Beauty

    This here is one of my favorite campgrounds in Michigan. The facilities are clean and kept up. All access to trails, lakes and the river are close and easy to get to. Great location to bring family and pets.

  • A
    Aug. 29, 2017

    Petoskey State Park Campground

    Great camping with awesome beach

    We spent a 4th of July weekend up in Petosky with our family. It was a perfect mixture of rustic modern camping. The facilities are nice and clean and the campground is well kept. Even on a busy holiday weekend it was so enjoyable. The beach was convenient to walk to and we enjoyed the 3 amazing fire work shows you can see on the 4th of July from the beach. The only downside is that no dogs are allowed on the beach which is kind of a bummer. There is a great dog park however in Petosky nearby.

  • Nancy W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 1, 2017

    Wooden Shoe Campground

    Great place to relax and enjoy the water.

    Wooden Shoe Campground in Ellsworth, Michigan is a small campground set on a hill above Ellsworth Lake. This park is great if you want to sometime explore Michigan’s waterways. When we visited the park, it was about 25% full which made it very quiet and relaxing. There are some great sites that overlook the lake that are inviting for an evening fire and enjoying a pleasant view.

    The park has 45 RV sites with water, 30 amp electric, cable TV, and internet. There are seven designated tent sites in a heavily wooded area with some glimpses of the lake. Some sites have a nice amount of shade while those towards the front of the park are more open and have a better water view. Picnic tables and fire pits are at each site. The main road throughout the park is paved, in good condition, and easily navigable with even large RV. There is a dump station at the entrance of the park that is easy to get in and out of. A camp host is on site. The price per night to stay here is $25 and they offer a super inexpensive price of $125/week. Reservations can be made by emailing a reservation request or calling the city. 

    The town of Ellsworth is quite small with a couple of shops and restaurant or two. The quaint coastal town of Charlevoix is 10 minutes away where you will find plenty of shopping, restaurants, a pretty harbor, weekly live music (in the summer), a farmers market and really great library with a large room that has a great selection of books for sale for a few bucks. The towns of Boyne City and Boyne Falls are about 20 miles away and also worth visiting if you have the time. For dog owners, Boyne city has an off-leash dog park and Boyne Falls has a large ski resort that is perfect for walking dogs in the summer.  The larger town of Petoskey is about a 45 minute drive but well worth a visit. 

    If you want to “get away” and enjoy water activities this is a good place to come. There is a canoe/kayak boat launch just down the hill from the park that puts you in a narrow stretch of water that connects Lakes Ellsworth and Saint Clair. A short (approximately 1 mile) paddle into Lake Saint Claire lands you in a beautiful nature preserve administered by the Little Traverse Conservancy.  Be sure to visit Friske’s Orchard which has a fruit stand, bakery with pizza and sandwiches, general store and petting zoo and is only six miles away on Rt. 31.

    The good things about this park are the price, access to pretty water for kayaking/canoeing/fishing and the view from some of the sites. You are not too far from some of northern Michigan’s most popular towns yet only paying $25 night. The small size of this park gives it a quieter feel than some of the nearby state parks that have hundreds of sites. When we were there about half the campers appeared to be seasonal who come to enjoy the boating and fishing. Many of these people were not there during the week which made the park super quiet. 

    A couple dings for this park are that many of the sites are not level and even pitching a tent can be difficult. The bathroom/shower facilities are old and run down. The main bathhouse is located in the front of the park with port-a-potty’s scattered about. Some of the sites are close together and give a crowded feeling. 

    Overall, I would say this is an average park which is why it gets three stars.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vBh0Dej5Ro

  • Jill B.
    Apr. 21, 2019

    Traverse Bay RV Resort

    Very high-end class A Resort

    We have spent six weeks at this park for the last 6 years. We attend a horse show circuit near by. It is the creme de la creme of RV parks. The sites are individually owned (and leased out) and many of the owners have made their lots very nice. The park is limited to Class A, Fifth Wheels and Class C only. This park is dominated by big, very nice class A's.

    We have a 5th wheel and have appreciated the amenities very much. Great wifi, curbside garbage pickup, trails, dog park, and many others. You are limited to 2 dogs, and they are very strict about leashes and picking up poop. But, that keeps the place looking nice.

    We enjoy it very much and it is so close to the horse show, it cannot be beat. Because they are such a popular place to stay during the show (July - mid August), they sites book up a year in advance.

  • Macy M.
    Jul. 5, 2020

    Rvino - Camp Cadillac, LLC

    Great private campground

    Great little campground just on the outskirts of Cadillac. Great rates especially for full hookups. This was our first time at this park, we originally had a site next to the pool, but quickly realized our TT would not fit due to the trees. The front desk quickly changed our site and we were good to go. All sites were well maintained, they had a petting zoo (goats) and a store with a little game room in it. I would definitely come back.

  • Kristina M.
    Jul. 14, 2021

    Log Lake Campground

    Would never visit again

    First off we couldn’t park our trailer until a boat trailer was moved from our site. Then there was glass, rusty nails, and trash all over the site so we had to do a quick clean up of site before unpacking. It only got worse as night time came as the campers next to us drank and partied all night with half the campground, every night for our entire four day stay. They even smashed into our vehicle as they wrestled and sprayed silly string on each other at 1 a.m. When we ran to town for a few items we came back to their kids playing near our camper. They seemed to personally know the care takers as they were partying with them, so nothing was done about any of it. The following day we again went to town and these people allowed their guest to park in front of our camper, next to the hitch. The beach area was un-swimmable and full of trash, cigarette butts, duck poop as well as dog poop because it was used as a dog park. There were also old clothes and shoes left all over the beach area. The bathrooms were dirty and left with no soap. The woman’s bathroom looked recently painted but the men’s bathroom was completely disgusting. The showers had old food in them and you had to pay for tokens to use them. The trails were ok, the frisbee golf area also looked good. But that’s about the only good thing about this park. We would never pay money to stay here again.


Guide to Frederic

Frederic, Michigan camping areas sit amid sandy, pine-dominated terrain at approximately 1,250 feet elevation in the north-central Lower Peninsula. The region's heavily wooded landscape creates natural shade during summer months when temperatures typically range from 70-85°F. Most campgrounds operate from May through October, with the Manistee River providing a central feature for recreation and water access.

What to do

Hiking old growth forests: Hartwick Pines State Park Campground offers several trail options through rare mature forest stands. "There are lots of trails for biking and hiking, a day use/mucc logging museum that's kinda throughout this one area of woods. Beautiful new and old growth, a couple of nearby lakes, it was beautiful," explains Rachel K. The park features educational programming about the region's logging history.

Water recreation: Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground provides excellent swimming opportunities. "We like this place because they have a killer beach for swimming and wading. A good amount of the sites are water sites and some are up on a hill with really nice views," notes Kate K. The campground is just 20 minutes from Frederic and offers easy water access.

Off-road adventures: Trails Campground near Frederic connects directly to local ORV trail systems. "A ton of people on site had 4 wheelers and atv's for trails that are connected to camp sites," reports Justyna E. This makes it a convenient base for off-road enthusiasts with direct trail access from your campsite.

What campers like

Spacious wooded sites: Upper Manistee River campground offers a natural setting. "The sites are sandy and surrounded by tall pines and ferns. Some biting flies, especially near river (late June). Sites are spacious enough for small campers and walk/boat-in tent sites are great," notes R.B. Many sites include ample room between neighbors for additional privacy.

Clean facilities: Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park & Resort at Grayling maintains well-kept amenities. "Restroom and showers are updated and clean," reports Joe S. about nearby facilities. Another camper noted, "It was nice of the staff to take us to our site and ask if we needed anything," highlighting the attentive service.

Water quality: North Higgins Lake State Park Campground receives praise for its swimming areas. "The beach was great, soft sand bottom, water was clear & cold!" shares Heather M. The park maintains designated swimming zones with gradual entry points suitable for various swimming abilities.

What you should know

Pet policies: Most pet friendly camping near Frederic, Michigan maintains standard rules. At Gaylord South/Bradford Lake KOA, pets are welcome but restricted to designated areas. The campground is "clean, quiet and enjoyable! Sits on the shores of Big Bradford Lake which appears to be an all-sports lake," according to Andrew M. Always carry vaccination records and waste bags.

Seasonal considerations: Sites can become waterlogged during wet periods. "Being right on the lake was wonderful... That said, stay away from the interior sites (#24-28) because they are basically little islands in a marsh. It rained a couple days before we arrived and our site was a swamp," warns Bill W. about Lake Margrethe campground. Spring and fall typically bring more precipitation.

Noise levels: Some campgrounds experience periodic noise issues. "On top of that, nearby Camp Grayling provided almost constant noise from machine gun fire... to be fair, the artillery sounds ended around 8 PM and started up again at 9 AM," reports one camper about Lake Margrethe. Check local military training schedules when planning your trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular dog-friendly campsite near Frederic, MI?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dog-friendly campground near Frederic, MI is Hartwick Pines State Park Campground with a 4.5-star rating from 18 reviews.

What is the best site to find dog-friendly camping near Frederic, MI?

TheDyrt.com has all 188 dog-friendly camping locations near Frederic, MI, with real photos and reviews from campers.