Best Tent Camping near Harbor Springs, MI

Tent camping on the water, it does not get any more beautiful than this!

Close to town Fire pits No hook up at the tent sites

We camped here two nights in July. The campground is very easy to find and is an incredible location if you want to ferry over to Mackinac Island. It is convenient to groceries, restaurants and other amenities if interested. The park appears well maintained with three separate camping areas. We tent camp, and had one of the best sites in the park (in my opinion). Site 1A is in the lower East section of the campground. The site is only a tent site & it is HUGE! It was much more private than the other sites, located on the shore of Lake Huron & has a fantastic view of the Mackinac Bridge. There is a small beach area within the park, a one mile trail to a viewing platform of the bridge, and a playground. The bathrooms were clean. Our campsite had a standard picnic table and fire ring. Campsites were moderately priced, but a Michigan Recreation Pass is also required, as in all MI state parks, so it gets a little more pricey. If I was returning to the area, I would camp here again.

If you have not been to Petoskey, Michigan you really should make a point to visit this area. We were here two days and fell in love with the town, the surrounding area, and never got tired of beautiful views of Lake Michigan. The park is situated between Petoskey and Harbor Springs – both of which have good restaurants, shopping, marinas (with boat launches as there are none in the state park), and lots of outdoor summer activities. 

This state park is in a great location for biking, hanging out at the beach, hiking, kayaking, swimming, and enjoying all that the upper west side of Michigan has to offer. When you camp here, you are never far from the beach or pretty scenery. Plenty of boardwalks transfer you from the campground over the pristine dunes to the sandy beaches and beautiful blue Lake Michigan waters. Or, you can drive to the beach where volleyball games and water activities are the ideal. 

This campground is super busy in the summer months. Campsites are set in a wooded setting with a mix of 50/30 amp or 30/20 amp in the Tannery Creek section (which has paved sites) and 20 amp in the Dunes section (with sandy/dirt sites). Both sections have pathways that lead to the beach. There are no sewer or water hook-ups at individual sites but there is a dump station and potable water spigots spread throughout the campground.  Each site has a fire pit and picnic table.  This park is great for small RVs or tents. Due to the small length of campsites, narrow roads in the park, and low hanging trees this park is not well-suited for large RVs.  

Just outside of the park is the Little Traverse Wheelway. The Wheelway is a 26-mile paved biking/hiking path that spans from Harbor Springs south to Charleviox. If you don’t have bicycles with you there are plenty of places in town that rent them and will deliver them to your site.  On that note, you can rent watercraft of all types in the area too. For those that like white water kayaking the Bear River is set up for that. 

The park has just a few short trails but if you are looking for more hiking check out the Offield Nature Preserve about five miles north of the park. There are multiple paths that connect so you can make your hike as long or as short as you want. Another fun place to visit is the nearby Michigan Fisheries Visitor Center. They offer free guided tours daily or you are welcome to walk around the grounds on your own. Put some quarters in your pocket and stop at the pond overlook where you can feed the brown and rainbow trout. 

Almost directly across from the park entrance is Freshwater Grill which has delicious fish tacos on Tuesday. In the same shopping area is Toski Sands, a grocery/specialty/liquor store that has much of what you need and Crooked Tree Bakery that has the most wonderful breads. A quarter mile south is the Petoskey Brewing Company that has great burgers and beer.

This area has so much to do and see and this campground is in a perfect location.

I stayed at one of the new tent sites over Labor Day and this quickly became one of my favorite Michigan parks! The tent sites are large and very private and right on the water. Don’t be freaked out that they are called hike in sites because the walk wasn’t any longer than from any other site to the car. The best thing for me is that these sites are so removed from the rest of the park that it didn’t even feel like a holiday weekend. It was very calm and quiet and I recommend the tent sites to anyone who enjoys unplugging in camp!

Great staff. Clean facilities. Quiet tent site.

Wilderness was great, not what you are looking for if you are tent camping more of an RV park. Beautiful views though

This is our favorite rustic campground, Surrounded by woods and on the water edge.

Tent camping - rustic waterfront, fire pit

RV camping - electric/ water, fire pit

Open your door and you are on the water!

Tent camped in site 441 right on the lake. Wide open spots (mostly campers in this loop but was fine for 2 tents), fairly close together but the views, the beach/water, the nearby activities entirely make up for that. Nice, clean bathrooms. Surprisingly no issues with bugs at all in early June!

We’re tent camping this spot and it’s really nice, multiple trails and a private beach. I would advise to book a spot early because the bad spots are all in a line on an open lot which isn’t really ideal for my situation, but overall it’s a nice place.

Nice little metro park for tent camping. Most sites are dispersed. You can pull your car up to the site for unpacking.

Modern bathrooms and a snack shop on site.

Park offers kayak, canoe, and row boat rentals. Also paddle boards.

Disc golf and regular golf available.

Nice sandy beaches.

I tent camped here with my parents, and came back often with my own children. Far enough from Mackinaw City for peace and quiet, near enough to visit all the attractions during the day. Tall trees and a beautiful beach. It,s a great vacation destination. One of the best state park campgrounds in a state full of beauties.

Had a great time staying at this Campground! Well maintained/clean, 50 yards from the Lakeshore of Lake Michigan, and the staff are super friendly. The campground uses a service where you can digitally reserve your desired campground in real time! This can be found on the Campgrounds website and very intuitive to use. I was never planning to go to this Campground but after reading the reviews on the Dyrt App and realizing you can book digitally, it was a no brainer. The only downside of this campground is that it’s very expensive! I paid $36 a night to tent camp, and in my experienced opinion, that is absurd! Nevertheless had a great time here!

Great campground only about 15 minutes from mackinaw city. Vault toilets but they are kept clean. Front desk was very nice and helpful. The tent site we stayed at had a good view of the lake and passing ships. Just a short 30 second walk from our site to the beach. Other sites are fairly close by but there is pretty good tree coverage for privacy from other campers.

Great park out on a peninsula with sunset views. Hiking on the sand and boardwalks, lighthouse tours, perfect weekend spot---though not particularly close to much. Pretty “rustic” cabins and tent sites near lighthouses and the water---great listening to the shore in our sleeping bags. Most of the sites are pretty private, wooded/shrubby, and large. There’s a gift shop but it doesn’t feel overly touristy. Recommended.

This campground is one of the cleaner state parks that I have stayed at in Michigan. there are beautiful sites near the lake, although I remember staying here as a kid when the beach access was better. Now there is a lot of beach grass (probably due to the park trying to preserve the grasses/beach) and the beach isn’t as nice as it once was when I was young. This is a very family friendly park. Prime times are during the car show in St. Ignace. a great place to stay if you plan on checking out the island for a day or so. Good prices for sites. I highly recommend tent camping so you can hear the waves at night.

amazing views of the straits of Mackinac and the mighty Mac bridge! Absolutely loved camping here despite the nearly hurricane like wind and rain experienced overnight that ended up soaking all of my bedding. Bathroom and shower facility was nice and clean.

But seriously, the best thing this campground has to offer are the amazing views of the bridge from many of the campsites. I had a waterfront tent site with the best view and it was so inexpensive.

I have camped here many times over the years, it is tucked away right near the Mackinaw Bridge. There are tent sites right on the water and you can watch the lights come on at night. There is wood to buy and the camp hosts are always keeping you updated on the weather and have plenty of ideas of things to do. The St. Ignas Trolly comes through and picks people up to go to the ferry there as well.

This is a great location to camp if you are looking for proximity to Mackinac Island. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. They have electric and water but no sewer. There is a dump on the way out. The spots are very tight to navigate into and took some extra work for my fifth wheel. Tent camping or smaller campers would enjoy this site. The town nearby is cool, includes a nice bakery and a great RV/hardware store. Wifi is hit and miss. You can walk up to the water to get a nice view of the bridge.

The sites are decently sized and come equipped with a fire pit. The showers had decent shower heads and lots of pressure. There are some swings dow by the lake for adults and kids. Everything is nearby (not really walkable) and the shuttle for Mackinac Island ferries will come pick you up. They do not have full hookups, but we got by fine for a week since we have a composting toilet.

There is a small play scape feature by the lake. Plenty of folks tent camping as well as RVs. The campground has been here for quite a while and has mature trees. A small game room at the office features a pool table, air hockey, and a modern pinball machine.