Best Camping near Gladwin, MI

Whether you're an RVer or tent camper, Gladwin, MI is a great place to post up for the weekend—or longer. There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in. Experience some of the most stunning views that Michigan camping has to offer. Find the best campgrounds near Gladwin, plus reviews and photos from other campers like you.

Best Camping Sites Near Gladwin, MI (171)

Showing results 1-10 of 171 campgrounds

Pet-friendly camping near Gladwin

Recent Reviews In Gladwin

326 Reviews of 171 Gladwin Campgrounds


  • Camper-submitted photo from Outdoor Adventures Saginaw Bay Resort
    September 20, 2024

    Outdoor Adventures Saginaw Bay Resort

    Common Camp Ground we go to all the time

    Alright camp ground, it’s a members only. Few grouchy people that seem more miserable than into relaxing. It’s definitely an interesting atmosphere compared to other campgrounds. Staff are hit or miss, seems like the pleasant ones take layoff and move on. Small improvements are made year over year, which is nice.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Countryside Campground & Cabins
    September 14, 2024

    Countryside Campground & Cabins

    Labor Day Weekend

    We really enjoyed our stay. We brought our travel trailer and my brother and his family stayed in a cabin. Very well run campground with plenty for all of our kids to do. We were extremely impressed with the owners and all of their assistance and personal touches. We were told they just took over ownership of the campground last year and this is their 1st season as owners. We will definitely be back!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Bay City State Park Campground
    August 23, 2024

    Bay City State Park Campground

    Great Park on Lake Huron

    Beach, trails and children's solace pad, just an easy walk across the road. Newer bathhouse. Shady sandy campsite. Be sure and visit downtown Bay City, lots of great restaurants, a Riverwalk on both sides of the river, concerts in the park. Great atmosphere.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Bay City State Park Campground
    August 8, 2024

    Bay City State Park Campground

    Good park

    Most sites are good, though some have slopes to them. Choose carefully. Great newer playscape and splash pad (!) for the kids, across State Park Rd from the main campground. Nice newly opened visitor/nature center. Campground usually clean and patrolled. Showers/restrooms are good, cleaned twice a day. Friendly staff.

    Some of the best campground hosts are here.

    Groceries, restaurants & laundromats are a short drive away.

    TV reception was ok, and T-Mobile worked well enough.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Muskegon River Canoe Camp
    July 30, 2024

    Muskegon River Canoe Camp

    A quiet spot on the Muskegon River

    A great place for dispersed camping. Don't forget the bug spray! Only 20 minutes from town if you did! Great two weeks here!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground & Canoe Camp
    July 21, 2024

    Canoe Harbor State Forest Campground & Canoe Camp

    Quite, Spacious sites

    Most campgrounds we have been to had lots of road noise but not this one! We stayed for 2 nights/3days and this campground was quite.

    The vault toilets were well stocked with toilet paper, although one had a hornets nest inside and the other was extremely smelly.

    Access to the river was good and the sites were a decent size with privacy in between.

    We enjoyed walking some of the nearby trails

  • Camper-submitted photo from School Section Lake Veteran's Park Campground
    July 15, 2024

    School Section Lake Veteran's Park Campground

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  • Camper-submitted photo from Maple Grove Campground
    June 27, 2024

    Maple Grove Campground

    Will return in the future

    Ted and Jen have been doing improvements to maple grove camp ground, they have gotten new fire rings last year and got the road grated, this year there in the process of getting better internet out there which will be great for the whole camp ground and they leveled the camp sites out the best they could , the city of lake is always on top of mowing the field and play area, they always try to help their campers as much as they can. very quiet camp ground will always come back they are doing a better job then Ron and Deb ever did!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Wilson State Park Campground
    June 23, 2024

    Wilson State Park Campground

    Great State Park Campground

    The ONLY issue I had with this campground was that it's on a busy road. The campground is beautiful and very clean with a great swim area, cute playground, and newer shower houses.

  • Camper-submitted photo from South Higgins Lake State Park Campground
    June 13, 2024

    South Higgins Lake State Park Campground

    Great campground but you cant reserve a spot

    Well, the campground is old. Everything works very well. The sites are decent size. They’re plenty of small playgrounds throughout the campground. The beach is amazing the views awesome however when it comes to booking, it’s impossible to get a spot somehow they’re already booked before they even allowed to be booked and it’s every good spot

  • Camper-submitted photo from Rifle River Campground
    June 9, 2024

    Rifle River Campground

    Awesome campgrounds @ Rifle River

    The only complaint about the week I spent was they didn’t cut the grass, other than that I had an amazing birthday week at Rifle River Campground,  we found amazing flowers blooming  like yellow and pink lady slippers I even found Agates, fossils if you’re a rock hunter and when you climb up the tower there’s a extremely large eagles nest.

    The fishing wasn’t very successful I only caught a small one but the water was warm and clear you could see the sand doons.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Mud Lake State Forest Campground
    May 29, 2024

    Mud Lake State Forest Campground

    It was nice but lots of ticks

    The place was beautiful for Memorial Day weekend. The neighbors in the campers were loud they were playing loud. I did notice lots of ticks. Our dogs all had at least one on them and all of us campers had a few. It’s expected being in the backs wood like that I just didn’t realize how bad. We did some hiking while there and the trails were nice for the most part all the storms definitely did a number on the trees back there lots down in the trails. Overall it was a great weekend

  • Camper-submitted photo from Old Log Resort and Campground
    May 26, 2024

    Old Log Resort and Campground

    Clean, older, super friendly, with kyak rentals

    Excellent owners! Super friendly that work hard to keep the place really clean. Its been in business since 1941 I believe. 

    They have 20 sites. The ones by the river are where we stayed. (sites 4&5). They also have some little cabins. They also do kyak rentals, with drop off and you boat back to their own landing. Super convenient. 

    We stayed the weekend and fully enjoyed it. We stayed in site 5 and had the river as our front yard. Electric is provided at each site, and they do have a dump station.

    The ONLY downside I had, and I knew full well going into this and it didn't bother me, it is on M115, a fairly busy road. I know that might be a deal breaker for some, but was easily overlooked for the view we had, the kindness of the owners, and the cleanliness of the facilities and grounds. Most folks wont care, but some purists (Just know that I'm usually a boondock, REAL desolate camping kind of guy), wont like the traffic aspect. I didn't let it bother me.

    I give 5 stars because they cant do anything a bout the location, obviously, so I rated on our experience.  We had an excellent time, and will come back again.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground
    May 21, 2024

    Lake Margrethe State Forest Campground

    Beautiful state forest campground

    This has been one of my favorite rustic state forest spots. Most sites have an amazing view. The campground is so pretty with huge Pines and hills overlooking the lake. You can swim right at most of the sites.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Bay County Fairgrounds
    May 5, 2024

    Bay County Fairgrounds

    Great location and quiet

    We stayed here 2 years ago.  The office where payment is made is a few miles away from the actual campground.

    There is a dump station and water at the fairgrounds.  Along the left side near the dump / water station as you enter are huge grassy sites marked by electrical outlets at the rear of the sites. The rest of the fairgrounds are set up like  a traditional campground on a "loop" style.  It looks like almost all the sites will accommodate a 40 footer easily.

    There were 2 or 3 campers who appeared to be long term seasonal guests but it did not distract from our overall stay.

    We pull an Imagine 2500RL pulled by a Ford F-150 max trailer package.

    We stayed 4 nights and spent the days traveling around Bay City.

    Founds a great BBQ that had been shared by MI PLAYGROUND ---  Meaty's Roadhouse BBQ& Sausage Shack Bay City.
    We are planning our Summer 2024 travels and will; be stopping at the Bay County Fairgrounds again this summer.

  • Camper-submitted photo from North Higgins Lake State Park Campground
    April 29, 2024

    North Higgins Lake State Park Campground

    A little disappointed

    The campsites were nice and level and reasonably large. I chose a site near the bathrooms, which were quite annoyingly closed. The campground was located right next to a busy road. So, there was road noise through the night.

    I was happy I got to charge my batteries, though.

    I met a squirrel that was so spoiled by previous humans that when I accidentally dropped a bit of food on the ground, he ran right up, over my foot grabbed it and then ran about 10 feet away and ate it.

  • Camper-submitted photo from River Country Campground and Livery
    March 21, 2024

    River Country Campground and Livery

    Unorganized campground

    So if you're looking for a place to relax and enjoy a nice atmosphere, and have friendly people that run the campground, don't camp here!! I've camped in this campground for 15 years. Until this past season trying to give the new owner the opportunity to make this campground awesome again but the owners are RUDE. They don't care how the campground is maintained from grass cutting(or lack of) to fire pits full to trash/litter on sites and moldy bathrooms, minimal operating toilets, power issues when hooking up to the outdated power system and to getting assigned a site that was not booked for due to over booking sites. Then there is the blatantly disrespect to the customer's who usually are supposed to be always right but the owner is straight out of New York which is loud and has rude comments about campers that they do not care for and they are not afraid of who hears it. I can go on and on about what the campground is and how campers who are there to relax and enjoy the atmosphere shouldn't have to worry about catching something from a bathroom visit. So just saying that this place is a campers beware!!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Veterans Memorial Park
    November 25, 2023

    Veterans Memorial Park

    nice Inexpensive village campground

    I tent camped there July 2023 and the site was $20.  The campground host was a very nice and helpful lady.  There are electric at the sites and there were water supply spigots throughout the park.  They do have free wifi, but it is very weak by the river sites.  It is strongest near where the camp host is since the antenna is behind her camper.  There was an old wifi access point plugged into my site's electrical outlet, but it was inoperative.  Cell signal is good there though so it wasn't a big deal to me.  Since I was tent camping I cannot attest to what size RVs and electrical amperage they have.  The showers and rest rooms are locked at night.  Just ask the campground host and she will lend you a key for the night.  In addition to the main camping loop, there are about 12 river RV sites near the fairgrounds.  It was fairly quiet being a week day.  Just leave your trash in a bag near the lane and she will pick it up when she makes her rounds in her golf cart.  A grocery store and a convenience store are across the road.    You can book a site online via the village's website at https://marionmichigan.org/campground/  According to a google search the phone number is  231-667-0100.  If that number is not valid the village office's phone number is 231-743-6801

  • Camper-submitted photo from Wilson State Park Campground
    September 2, 2023

    Wilson State Park Campground

    Wow, have they improved this camp

    Showers and Rest Rooms have been updated and were well taken care of. The park rangers were extremely friendly and helpful. We are newbies, but if this is what rving is like, we will definitely be enjoying it.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Grousehaven Campground — Rifle River Recreation Area
    August 28, 2023

    Grousehaven Campground — Rifle River Recreation Area

    A new favorite

    We left Tawas Point campground and went here. The day use beach bathroom was our first stop...not the cleanest. But the beach was nice as were the trails. Once in the camp itself, we loved how much better it was than Tawas. It's more spread out and I didn't feel like people were staring at me. Our site was perfect. We had some shade, perfect to park under as we car camped. Spacious lot and a trail connected us to a grassy area, boathouse, and beach. PERFECT spot if you are a paddleboarder/kayaker/etc. No wake lake is awesome for paddle sports! Our bathhouse was very clean. We will DEFINITELY be coming back!

  • Camper-submitted photo from Black Creek State Forest Campground
    August 26, 2023

    Black Creek State Forest Campground

    Checked all the boxes but its a bit noisy with traffic nearby

    Campsites are pretty close together and you can hear traffic nearby most of the day. Sites are well kept and toilets were nice and clean. Easy to get in and out but doesn't really feel like camping with all the traffic noise.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Mud Lake State Forest Campground
    August 21, 2023

    Mud Lake State Forest Campground

    August 2023

    We had a nice stay. It is a small campground and that is exactly what we were looking for. We got there on a Thursday afternoon and the best site #6 was taken but we were able to find 3 private sites that were unoccupied. There were several dogs and some barking but not too bad.

  • Camper-submitted photo from Au Sable River Primitive Camping
    August 21, 2023

    Au Sable River Primitive Camping

    Amazing, as always!

    I launched from the Pine Acres Boat Launch and stayed at one of the primitive campsites on Cooke Dam Pond. The boat-in sites are great because they're super spaced out and private. Always an enjoyable time!

  • Camper-submitted photo from North Higgins Lake State Park Campground
    August 17, 2023

    North Higgins Lake State Park Campground

    Beautiful Campground!

    Campground was beautiful and had many trails to walk & bike. We had a nice time walking down to the beach and walking the trails. Beach was very nice and had kayaks and paddle boards available to rent. Campground was pretty quiet at night (we did stay during the week though) & bathrooms were clean. The lake is amazing and would definitely go back!

  • Camper-submitted photo from South Higgins Lake State Park Campground
    August 17, 2023

    South Higgins Lake State Park Campground

    Crowded but didn’t feel crowded

    First time there. Compared to other state parks in other states this was very packed with mainly RV’s. The lake is pretty but goes from waist high to bottomless blue with lots of boats speeding past. So expect to swim with eyes in the back of your head. Despite this, it had a chill and relaxing vibe. No bugs when we were there. Nice shop near the day use area with rentals. For what it was and the number of people, it’s nice. It’s not wilderness but it is rural.



Guide to Gladwin

Camping near Gladwin, Michigan, offers a mix of beautiful landscapes and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or an adventurous getaway, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.

What to do:

  • Explore the beaches: Many campgrounds, like Tawas Point State Park Campground, have stunning beaches on both sides of the point. One reviewer mentioned, "There's beaches on both sides of the point," making it a great spot for swimming and sunbathing.
  • Visit local attractions: Check out the Tawas Point Lighthouse nearby. A camper noted, "You can climb a lighthouse and look out 30+ miles," which is a unique experience for families.
  • Hiking and trails: Trails are abundant in the area. A visitor at Bay City State Park Campground said, "The Tobico Marsh trails and observation towers were great for watching birds."

What campers like:

  • Clean facilities: Campers appreciate well-maintained restrooms and showers. One review for Hartwick Pines State Park Campground stated, "Bath house facilities were very clean, and campsites were fairly spaced, giving decent privacy."
  • Friendly staff: Many campers have noted the helpfulness of campground staff. A visitor at Bay City State Park Campground mentioned, "Friendly staff. Super long lines for the dump station on a Sunday."
  • Natural beauty: Campers love the scenic views and natural surroundings. One camper at North Higgins Lake State Park Campground said, "The campground was beautiful and had many trails to walk & bike."

What you should know:

  • Crowded on weekends: Many campgrounds can get busy, especially on weekends. A camper at Tawas Point State Park Campground warned, "It can get really packed here on weekends, and the day use gets closed because of being too full."
  • Limited amenities: Some campgrounds, like Au Sable River Primitive Camping, are more rustic and lack amenities like drinking water and electric hookups. A reviewer mentioned, "They only have a fire ring, no picnic tables or bathrooms."
  • Reservations are a must: Popular spots fill up quickly. A visitor at South Higgins Lake State Park Campground noted, "Getting a site here during the summer can be very difficult."

Tips for camping with families:

  • Choose spacious sites: Look for campgrounds with larger sites to accommodate families. A camper at Bay City State Park Campground said, "Most sites are good, though some have slopes to them. Choose carefully."
  • Bring activities for kids: Many campgrounds have playgrounds and swimming areas. One family at South Higgins Lake State Park Campground enjoyed the "small playgrounds throughout the campground."
  • Plan for quiet hours: Some campers have mentioned noise issues. A visitor at Tawas Point State Park Campground noted, "People didn't listen to rules such as quiet hour."

Tips from RVers:

  • Check road access: Some campgrounds have tight roads. A camper at Tawas Point State Park Campground advised, "Big rigs, note that the roads can be tight, especially when inconsiderate campers crowd the road."
  • Bring extension cords: Some sites may require longer cords for electric hookups. A visitor at Bay City State Park Campground mentioned, "Recommend to have extension cord for some sites, as plug in can be far."
  • Book early: Popular campgrounds fill up fast. A camper at Hartwick Pines State Park Campground suggested, "Clearly you should book your spot as early as possible."

Camping near Gladwin, Michigan, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Just remember to plan ahead and enjoy the great outdoors!

Frequently Asked Questions