Best Tent Camping near Grosse Ile, MI

We went tent camping for the weekend and really enjoyed it! Many tent sites available and rather spacious sites. The beach was full since it was Labor Day weekend, but clean and shallow for kids to easily play. Clean bathrooms and shower houses and lots of places to ride our bikes. A nice place to stay if you want to take advantage of the lake, Sandusky or the Lake Erie islands.

I had fond memories of this place as I would come here as a child. Lots of lakes, beaches, play structures, and more open field space than you can imagine. Most of the campground is run down and in need of improvements. The tennis courts & basketball courts are nearly unusable. The pads are so weathered the lines are gone and vegetation has started growing in all the cracks. Tent camping is difficult as all the sites have large concrete pads in the middle of the site. So a tent has to be pitched next to the road or right on the line of your neighbors site. If you are in a RV this isn’t a problem. For tents, site 191 is the best. On top of a hill which overlooks the campground and lake. It’s an end site so you can spread out a bit into the adjacent field. The bath houses restrooms are in need of renovations or at least a severe cleaning. Very smelly. Showers are nearly pointless, warm water at best. For tent campers this campground is best for day use in my opinion. While the Village of Milford is a bike ride away and has lots to do, there are better places to spend a weekend.

no tent camping

Well kept, quiet and fun. Bike rental was easy and did not cost too much. We had a tent site and the yurt site. Water was cold due to it being early June as expected.

Nice little campground, offers both places for tent camping and RV camping. Lots to do, bike trails, walking paths, jet ski rentals, etc. Check-in people at the pavilion were nice and helpful. They also sell firewood at the pavillion. Most campsites have electric hook up and there is a dump station for RV's.

Don’t let the secret get too big but this place is great. Stayed there at the state park for a week tent camping and it’s wonderful. It’s clean and quiet. The facilities are close and clean. The whole island is fun with plenty of hikes and hidden beaches. Make sure to stop by the local restaurants and get some unique drinks and food. The Brandy Alexander is a must have drink,

We will definitely be going back! Campground is on the lake and is beautiful! So many things to do! The camp is clean, has a playground, and movie night. Bath house is a typical campground bath house. We had a tent site and it was huge! Sites come with fire pit and picnic table. Beach is within walking distance of campsite.

Ditto Rebecca’s and Sarah’s reviews below. Tent camped for 5 nights. Brought the dog and bicycles-easy island to bicycle on/around. Camp office now had WiFi in/near the office building. Loved being able to hear the waves on the beach even though our spot wasn’t on the beach. Lots of families and retirees. No issues with rowdy folks-quit time was quiet. Had a problem with our car and lots of folks offered assistance.

I recently camped here at South Bass Island State Park. Because of current Covid-19 restrictions, the campground was pretty empty (which I hear is very unusual for summertime). I camped in a tent-only site on the edge of the 25 foot cliff. Great for adults, but no safety barrier for young children.  Campsite #97 and#99 have fire rings right on the cliff. (I camped at #99.)

The facilities at the campground are clean and well maintained and the people who work at the camp store are friendly.

The campground is well shaded with mature trees throughout and it over looks Lake Erie to the West making for great views of the sunset. Some sites are right on top of each other and others are well spread out.

Staff/owner are so kind and accommodating. I can’t say enough about them. I had reservations at a different campground, but once I got there had to leave, I called crystal rock and the lady was so so kind, got me a site and gave me directions .Bathroom/shower house very clean. Lots of family activities. I stayed in a tent site and had ample space. Close proximity to cedar point and other attractions. I absolutely love this place and am so glad I called. Can’t wait to go back!

We stayed at one of the primitive tent sites at South Bass Island State Park and had the most enjoyable time. The site was on a cliff overlooking Lake Erie. The campground was very well kept and clean. The park staff was friendly and helpful, and the park office was stocked with necessities at a decent price. If I had any complaint at all, it would be that the sites are really close together, which could be a problem at busy times. Fortunately we only had one neighbor directly beside us, and they were very nice folks. Would highly recommend this campground!

We tent-camped in well-shaded loop D, which is a non-electric tent area. Loop D is much smaller and more private than the larger non-electric area (loop A). If you're in a camper, then the area next to loop A (loop B)  is your best bet for shade. We loved our stay here. It's a great base camp for exploring the area and the beach is just a short drive. I wish the bathrooms in the non-electric loop were updated,  but they were cleaned on a daily basis. Daily nature programs for kids at the campground 's excellent nature center were great. Take the ferry to Put-in-Bay while you're at East Harbor, or take a road trip to the Mad River & NKP train museum in Bellevue.

This is a cozy spot with the a laid back atmosphere and very clean shower house. It's was also cool to see a campground where tent camping is thriving!

We did stay in a Travel Trailer next to seasonal campers and they were very kind and helpful. The lot size was ok...not spacious but not as small as I've experienced. They are grass sites so in the summer months you will need insect repellent at night.

The shower house is older but very well maintained and regularly clean. You can tell the owners care about the campers experience.

Lots of cool activities for kids: putt-putt, ping pong, foosball, playground, etc.

Close to so much in Sandusky and worth a stay.

Had a great camping trip! Miller’s Ferry to the island. Completely Shaded. Mostly level. Some are narrow-ish. Our site 32, was long back into the open wooded area behind us. Everyone was respectful. Shower houses decent. Older and clean. Private shower stalls. Plenty of drinking water stations and grey water dump too. We were there with the mayflies 😂 harmless but plentiful! Wifi worked. Office open after 3pm-ice. Lake is beautiful. Tent sites-no electric-on the lake and are picturesque. We rented a golf cart to get around the island, which was a lot of fun. Sunsets near Perry’s Memorial are magnificent. Goat Soup and Whiskey-best restaurant! Second best-Upper Deck.

This is a quiet campground near Lake Erie. The campground seems like it’s mainly seasonal but they did have some transient camping and tent sites. We stayed at site 156. The site was large with a large grassy area right on the lagoon. There was a large flock of geese that stayed near the lagoon which meant goose poop around our site. It was also very buggy in the evenings. The electric is 50 amp. They have connectors you can use for a $25 deposit and then get your money back when you return the cord. They accept check and cash, no credit cards. The roads are paved and they have a nice outdoor pool, small playground, and small miniature golf course.

The good - The staff was very friendly and helpful. The price - we were just staying the night as we were traveling so the price for a primitive tent site was far better than a hotel or Airbnb

The not so good- Bugs were persistent but the smoke from the fire seemed to keep them at bay. The bathrooms were pretty far (compared to other campsites) from the tent area.

The bad - NOISE!!!! If you are looking for a quiet getaway go somewhere else. The campground is right on a heavily traveled roadway and seemed to be on a major ATV trail as well. The ATV’s were racing up and down the trail as well as just sitting and reving their engines.
Around 8pm someone started shooting a gun VERY CLOSE to the campground. This continued for quite some time. At around 5am some hunting dogs that I assume live on the adjoining property began incessantly howling to the point we packed up and left immediately.

Overall - we weren’t camping for an extended time so this was ok for the price and our purpose. Given the same circumstances, we would not stay here again and would gladly pay more for a reduction in the noise.

Although we camp in a motor home, this is one of the best tent camping spots I’ve seen. About twenty of the tent spots overlook the cliffs with great views of the water. Sites 97 and 114 sit on the edge of the cliff. This makes these two spots really unique. However, families with young children, unstable adults, and those who like to party would find these sites profoundly dangerous. The tents are two feet from the edge of the cliff.

There are no electric RV sites with a cliff-edge view. We stayed in Site 46, which was next to the restroom and just fair. The flattest RV sites with fair to good locations are Sites 57 and 44 (although even these will require a little leveling).

The campground includes very clean flush toilets and even cleaner showers (no cost for the showers). Wood and ice are available at the check-in building. In the summer there are kayak rentals.

If you haven’t been to this island everyone uses golf carts and bikes (90% golf carts). Golf cart rental shops are everywhere. We used bikes and saw the entire island. The restaurants and shops are at the other end of the island from the campground. Getting there took about twenty minutes by bike (probably seven minutes by golf cart).

We loved it here and extended our stay. The people are wonderful and the town is filled with things to do. The campground is quiet and tranquil. Rates for an RV site with electricity were $39.00 in September of 2021.

I’m sitting here waiting for a flight after about 9 weeks of living in hotels. Fugured it would be a good time to write this review I’ve been holding off on. Anyway, let’s get started.

Campground Review

My buddy Stone and I didn’t really have plans for Memorial Day Weekend like everyone else, so naturally we had to make some. We decided to stay a little closer and avoid flying because that gets expensive over holiday weekends… instead we opted to go camping at Crystal Rock Campground for its proximity to Cedar Point Amusement Park! Seriously only took us like 30 min to get from camp to park.

The campground was $30/night for a tent site with no electric hookups. I understand it was Memorial Day Weekend and just happened to be Ohio Bike Week (I think) but we were packed in like sardines! Their were tent sites right next to RV sites which From what I’ve seen isn’t usually the norm. There are about 120 or so sites in the lower section of the camp all sharing one bathroom. The men’s restroom had 5 or so showers, one urinal, and one toilet. A sign on the door indicates it’s closed from 12-1 (if I remember correctly) for cleaning. I don’t know about you, but I think that one urinal and one toilet is not enough to adequately service 120 campsites. Especially at capacity, which they were when I was there. Our site literally butted right next to three other sites and it just felt very cramped. We were also the furthest from the bathroom you could be, which was quite a hike to do dishes. For these reasons, I give it a 3 out of 5.

I do imagine it would get more stars had I chosen a less busy weekend. It did have a “game room” closer to the checkin as well as a playground. I didn’t use those, but they did look nice.

Product Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time. On this trip to the Crystal Rock, I tested out the Howler Brothers Aransas Shirt in Voltage Print that I got through Roanline. I give this shirt a 5/5. I’m actually wearing it right now. Here are some of my thoughts on this rad shirt:

1. It’s a rad shirt.
2. It’s comfortable and fits very well.
3. It looks phenomenal untucked, and I reckon it would look good tucked too.
4. It’s got a nifty glasses holding pocket with a microfiber lining to avoid scratches and on the fly cleaning.
5. Did I mention it’s rad?

So I got this shirt through Roanline and their packaging was super cool. I forgot to snag a pic of that but trust me. They even had a handwritten note in there that made it feel nice and personal.

Our site was $59.95 a night.

We were in Site# 504. We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through.
We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep. The site was easy to level. We were charged $25 additional for my jeep since we were towing the trailer. We also were charged $10 because we arrived at 1:25 PM and check-in is at 2 PM. The park was close to empty so arriving early was not an inconvenience. We drove ourselves to our spot (no escort).

Our site was shaded with lots of trees. This was a smaller lot with our neighbors fairly close.

The lot comes with a concrete patio with picnic table and fire ring. They sell wood for $6 a bundle.

There is free WiFi, although not strong. They offer Cable TV and there are many channels.

There is not a community outdoor kitchen or community fire pit.

They pickup your garbage at your site daily before noon.

You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

They do have a Swimming pool but it is currently closed due to maintenance (although it just looked closed- no signs of maintenance being done).

There is a Playground. They also offer horseshoes, corn hole, giant jinga.

They have a basic general store. There are not scheduled activities for kids.

There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site.

The streets are gravel so not great for riding bikes. This is an RV park with tent camping and cabins to rent.

They have one shower house. The shower house has individual bathrooms with your own sink, shower, toilet. These are kept very clean.

There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility, but they have a change machine. There are approximately 4 washers and 4 dryers. It is approximately $2.50 to wash and $2.50 to dry a load.

They have a small fenced in dog park.

There isn’t tons to doin the actual city of Perryville. But Toledo is a 20 minute drive.

Both tent camping and RV/Trailer camping. A few Yurts to rent also which are somewhat isolated from the other camping areas. Reservations can be made exactly 6 months in advance and only a few sites are kept open for walk ins anymore. The sites along the cliff overlooking the lake have fabulous views but are ONLY for tents and one should NOT camp there with small kids.

The RV camp sites and many of the other camp sites are inland from the cliff and while wooded are generally very close together and most do NOT have a lake view. The ONLY quiet areas in the campgrounds on the weekends are the cliff tent areas since it is a party island and the young people camping in the interior areas seem to never go to bed.  

The Park has a rocky beach (shoes NECESSARY) which is actually a nice swimming area if you aren't looking for sand under your feet or blanket.  That beach is the only free public place to swim on the island (some hotels do have pools). That beach area is a great area though to launch a kayak or sailboard to use in the cove. There is also a regular boat ramp for larger boats or jet skis.  NO overnight boat tie ups at this state park dock (some at the downtown state park, but those are hard to snag)

The town is about 1.5 miles down the road and easy to get to via bicycle or island taxi - vehicle parking very limited if you try to drive into town. and the town has numerous bars and restaurants with lots of live entertainment on the weekends. 

The town is definitely a"party" location on the weekends during the summer months. and there is a very pretty and active harbor there, usually with 100 to 200 boats including some in the 40 to 50 foot range in the harbor on the weekends. 

The slow ferry to the island (Miller) is the car ferry and it has free parking if you can leave your vehicle behind on the mainland and transport your stuff to the campgrounds via a bike trailer or some other way (about a mile+ from the ferry dock to the state park). If you do take your vehicle over note that the wait time to bring it back on a Sunday while usually 2 to 3 hours can also be up to 6 hours from when you get in line (beware the Miller ferry stops running about 8pm, ie: near sunset). Usually little or no wait time when bringing a vehicle or RV back mid week.

Pick when you want to go depending upon how much you enjoy noise and partying.  Mid week during the summer season is the best time for those who aren't into 24 hour partying and weren't able to snag a cliff side camp site.  Kelly's Island is quieter and has a nice natural sand beach, so better for weekend trips if going with a family, or if you definitely need a sand beach.  If bands, noise, drinking, and people watching are your desire, well this is the place to go on a summer weekend (ala Key West party atmosphere)