Best Tent Camping near Mackinac Island, MI

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.

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.

It is a municipal campground so we didn't expect much but the access to the Little Traverse Wheelway and views of Lake Michigan were awesome - and full hook ups for the price was great.  It has a small bathhouse and the sites are pull-though with back to back setup (so utilities are at the same post as one of your neighbors) but we scored that the 2 sites in front of us cancelled (it was wet, cold, windy and in general miserable weather but we lucked out day 2 and got a bike ride in to Petoskey State Park and a stop at Burnt Marshmallow Brewing before rain rolled back in) so we had a big open space for the kids to bike around on and allowed a view of the lake.

link on The Dyrt doesn't work - try this:

https://www.petoskey.us/departments/parks\_and\_recreation/campground.php

PROS: was really quiet, our neighbor is a regular and was extremely friendly and helpful.  The bike path to Petoskey State Park is right in front of the campground and takes you by the harbor and can branch off into town too.  Really close to downtown (which we did not explore but looks really nice).  We originally planned on staying at the state park but the campsite was half closed due to construction (so it will probably be really nice next year) but this worked out great.  Full hook ups on long pull thru sites for the price was great.  Firewood was available at the check-in kiosk and there is a playground on site.  Bathhouse with showers.  Less than 1 hour from Mackinac Island.  I read mentions of the hospital noise and while trucks unloading during the day was noticeable during the day, we didn't hear anything from there at night - the camp ground did have a transformer that was loud the first night but it was fixed by the next night.

CONS: it is no-frills and could be packed in during summer, but that should be acceptable for the price if you are looking for an easy base camp with access to everything in Petoskey.  The bathhouse was clean but dated.  The campsites look like they did not get a lot of cleanup - I filled a grocery bag full of trash from our site and the 3 open ones next to us.  

Ideal site would probably be as close to the lake as possible - the road in front is not travelled much since it dead ends at the campground.  There was a city facility at the end but it was not open on the weekend and we were told is pretty quiet when it is open.

NOTE: This was our first MI campground as part of out trip from GA to MN via TN-KY-IN-MI-WI-northern MN before staying in MSP for a week, then return via MN-IA-MO-IL-KY-TN-Home.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Great area with tons to do, but the campsites themselves aren’t exceptional. Bathrooms etc. are relatively modern. Tent sites kind of small. Definitely make reservations if you’re there in summer. Plan to spend most of your time off site as the park itself is small. Nice wooded area, sandy, waterfront. Go out to the bay itself for more activities. Oh and I could see Canada from my camp site.

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.

We had a nice tent site that the guy at the front help us pick out. The beach was nice and the sunset was very pretty. Squirrels took over our site in the morning, but not too buggy. The bathrooms were fine, but were constantly getting sandy and gross.

There were a number of hiking trails that take you into the woods and up the dunes. Some are more difficult than others, but nothing miserable. The campground also has a path that connects to the bike trail. If you catch the trail, you can bike on paved path all the way to Charlevoix. That was a nice ride and I recommend doing that.

The beach was beautiful and very wide. The water was calm and welcoming. There are lots of beautiful rocks along the shore (know any rules before you take them: it is illegal to take more 25Ibs of rocks from a Michigan State Park).

The campground is on the edge of town. There are lots of restaurants and even a grocery store nearby. Much of it is in biking and even walking distance. 

It was a nice stay, but nothing about it blew me away.