Best Tent Camping near Glen Arbor, MI

The first time I camped here was in the 1970's. It is beautiful, peaceful campground on Lake Leelanau which is located on the Leelanau peninsula in between West Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan in close proximity to the little town of Lake Leelanau, Suttons Bay, Leland and many Michigan wineries. Also not far from Glen Arbor and Sleeping Bear Dunes.

This is one of my favorite campgrounds in Michigan.

One of my favorite parts of MI. 35 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline. The campground is 4 miles from Glen Arbor and barely a mile walk to Glen Haven. The Heritage trail runs right through the campground. The sites are rustic and wooden and farther apart than normal sites. The campground is between Glen Lake and you can walk to the shore of Lake Michigan. Nearby the dune climb, Empire bluffs and North Bar Lake as well.

Great campsite with spacious sites not too close to each other. Sites are close to the beach (3-5 min walk). Vault toilets are to be expected. Quiet at night when I was there. Easy access to hiking trails and Glen Arbor. Would stay again! $20 for basic tent site (non-electric).

Campground Review:

Nestled in a private spot on the Leelanau Peninsula on the 45th north parallel and just a couple miles from Lake Leelanau (west) and Suttons Bay (east) beach, marina, and village is this quiet RV and tent campground.

While trees line the perimeter and are speckled throughout the campground, all of the RV sites are completely open to the sun, making it an RV parking lot with grass. Each RV site comes with water and electrical hook-ups and many with sewer hook-ups as well. While most RV campgrounds have centralized bathrooms with flush toilets, sinks, and showers, this one is lacking those amenities.

The tent camping area has 10 sites, is nestled in the trees, with a picnic table and fire ring at each site. In addition, there are 2 rustic cabins and 1 yurt nestled among the tent sites for those who aren’t interested in roughing it as much. There is a one pit toilet, a unique “tent shower,” and a central fresh water spigot for campers and those staying in the cabins.

There are 2 man-made ponds in the middle of the RV section of the campground, which sadly act more as mosquito breeding grounds than they do for water activities as they are quite small. There is also a new driving range above the campground for the golfers in the group.

The best part of this campground is its location. It is just a couple miles from either Suttons Bay and Lake Leelanau, and within walking/biking distance of 2 local wineries (Forty-Five North and Aurora), nice restaurants, and great backroads that are off the beaten path and away from nearly all traffic. The Forty-Five North Vineyard and Winery has a great walking/mountain biking trail in addition to a nice selection of very accessible wines, a great atmosphere, and super friendly staff! Hang out on their porch or play cornhole and bocce ball while you enjoy a glass of wine and a cheese plate.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I was able to test the Rapid & Backwoods sunglasses by Optic Nerve. After a day of cycling and wine tasting, we took our sea kayaks out to Suttons Bay and spent the day kayaking around the bay.

What I like most about these glasses:

· Lightweight (poly carbonate materials) but seem very durable.

· Great price for high quality glasses. I usually buy cheap glasses because I tend to lose them or break them, but these are well-worth the extra $10-15 for quality glasses.

· Polarized lenses with 100% UVA/UVB protection. Perfect for water sports such as sea kayaking, sailing, etc.

· Different shapes/lines work well for various sports or simply for everyday. I chose the Rapid sunglasses for use on the water and the Backwoods style for cycling/running.

· Lifetime warranty!

Some of the things I wish these glasses had:

· It would be great if these came with a protective case with the Optic Nerve logo.

Product Link:

https://www.opticnerve.com/collections/mens/products/rapid

https://www.opticnerve.com/collections/mens/products/backwoods

Product Video:

https://youtu.be/2FKJU4reiXs

This campground, first and foremost, requires a National Park Pass, which is $20/week or $40/year, for 1 year from purchase date. Tent camping was $20/night. This campground was in a great location, lots of signage helps you find it and navigate the roads without use of GPS. Seriously, you don’t need one. At least from Empire, anyway. One thing to be cautious of is the poison ivy. It is everywhere. Two other notes on the side of caution, when my mom and I were hiking in the area we did see two ticks, and secondly, the campground is an active black bear area, so keep food and scents in your car. You will be located near Glen Arbor, Glen Haven, and Empire, and quite close to the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive as well as the Sleeping Bear Dunes. The campground backs right up to the Heritage Trail, which is 20 paved miles to hike, bike, walk, ski, or whatever. Th campground, while quite packed, was still so so quiet at night, which was really nice. The tent pad is nice and level which really matters when it rains, like it did while we stayed. Firewood is available out of a mobile vending machine, and takes $5 bills. WiFi is available at the ranger station, I believe.

They have a really nice area whether it’s fishing or swimming, playground or just plain camping, etc. the only negative thing is the tent camping spots DO NOT have PLUGS which was really irritating because tent camping you’re definitely gonna need an outlet.

Quiet campground with sites quite close to one another. This campground butts up to the heritage trail, which is 20 miles of hiking, biking, walking, or skiing fun. A short walk will get you to Lake Michigan and it’s sandy beach. Each site has a nice picnic table, a designated tent pad (if it’s a tent site) and a fire ring with a grill top. Firewood is available on site for $5/bundle, vault toilets are also available. No shower facilities. Lots and lots of poison ivy! Stay on the paths!! And tIcks! Stay in trails and out of tall grass or weeds. The tent pad is very compacted ground, definitely need a hammer or decent sized rock to pound in the tent stakes, and also definitely bring a sleeping pad or air mat. Tent sites are only $20/night, but you also need a National Park Pass, which is $20/1 week or $40/ 1 year, so be aware of that! Stayed at site 88, seemed to be a slightly more “roomy” site than others, as there were no neighbors behind us. PLUS thIs Is located very near to thw sleepIng bear dunes and natIonal lake shore!

Great access to dunes, beautiful state and national park. Sites are leveled, cleared and overall very well kept. I liked the tent sites best. Wooded in between most sites.

We stayed here in June of 2020 and it was definitely my favorite campground, we will be returning in 2021. We tent camped and loved how our site was surrounded by trees. The owners were wonderful as well!

This is a good campground. To me, it didn’t stand out that much from others I have been to, but they have a bathhouse with showers and toilets, which is nice. It’s also right next to a nice lake with sand volleyball pits. Good area for hammocking and tent camping.

I love driving down M22 to this state park. It’s rustic with beautiful views of Lake Michigan. There are a few sites which are right on the sand which I recommend if you don’t mind a little sand in your tent. definitely check out all of the quaint little towns in the area, especially Glen Arbor and Sutton’s Bay!

Enjoyed the D H Day Campground. Really liked the elevated boxes for tent placement and the site was clean. Pretty close to your neighbors, but our site still had some good tree cover. Easy walk to Lake Michigan through the campground. Vaulted toilets, community water and trash. Make sure you have bug spray. Great proximity to Glen Arbor and Empire. Short drive to the dunes for hiking and cannot over recommend Empire Beach to watch a sunset.

Tent sites are right on the river, they have a boat launch with rentals for boats, kayaks, and even a little fishing charter type deal if you'd like. Manistee river is very nice to kayak and go fishing. Great atmosphere, relaxed, everyone seemed to be on the same page while camping there. I look forward to going back here for sure!!!

I love that this camp ground is right on Lake Michigan, with a sandy beach. It's rustic enough, but close to Glen Arbor if you need anything. Also on the Heritage Trail, which is an added bonus.

Great access to the Platte River for canoeing and other water activities as well as the Dunes. Friend had to come here for work at the nearby Fish Hatchery so I joined him. You can visit the hatchery (self-guided free tours), which supplies fish for lots of the popular fishing sites here. Lots of different site options, some of the tent sites are really spread out and private.

Great site for first time campers or when you want to just get away quickly without having to take lots of equipment and supplies. Nice little camp store and pizza restaurant on site. Great playground, evening activities. Nice mix of electric hook up, R.V. and tent sites. Boat rentals, etc. Great place for a group of families to come camp together. Staff at the campground are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful.

Overall great campground! Beautiful scenery and well kept. Tent sites had plenty of room on them and lots of privacy. Small walk to your site from where you park but that makes it feel a lot more wild and secluded. They provide a lock box to store food in due to bears in the area. Restroom and shower facility by where you park and those are very nice and well kept to! Plenty outdoor activities to do in the surrounding areas.

We booked three neighboring sites on the interior of the loop for some group tent camping. The sites were generous, clean, grassy, with moderate tree cover. Theres an awesome grass avenue that runs down the middle of the sites in the inner loop, marked off so there are no tents in the area, but it gives you great removal from the campers behind you, and allows for all manner of games (KanJam, cornhole, ladders, etc).

The bathrooms are kept beautifully, there are great pavilions to gather under when it rains (which it did for an entire day of our trip), and the beach is stunning (small, but stunning).