Best Tent Camping near Manistee, MI

Recent Tent Reviews near Manistee, Michigan

799 Reviews of 34 Manistee Campgrounds

• 

  Shawn M.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 22, 2018

  Matson's Big Manistee River Campground

  Had a blast!!!

  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!!!

• D

  Dezi T.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 23, 2024

  Lake Billings RV Park & Campground

  It was decent

  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.

• 

  Scott G.

  Scout

  

  Dec. 20, 2020

  Logmark Rest Stop

  Logmark

  Canoe in tent camping only. Nice spot to fish or take a cool dip.

• 

  Kristin G.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 16, 2018

  Buttersville Camp Ground

  Little privacy, amazing beach.

  This campground had a beautiful white sand Lake Michigan beach with turquoise water and very few people swimming. They let you have fires on the beach as well, but they don’t sell firewood. The tent sites were all quite open, but under a nice canopy of shade. You can hear the lake but you can’t see it. The bathrooms were clean and the showers were 25 cents for 5 minutes.

  The tent sites did not have electricity and had a soft dirt base that would have been trouble in rain. We didn’t get rain, we spent the majority of our time there at the beach and it’s a 90 minutes drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes which are spectacular.

• N

  Noah R.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 1, 2016

  Cedar Campground — Ludington State Park

  Ludington State Park Campground, MI

  Ludington offers sand dunes and several miles of beaches along Lake Michigan with many trails and forested areas. Most camp lots are large and sandy with electric and water hookups. There are also mini cabins for rent if you are not into tent camping. Very well maintained park considering how popular it is.

• J

  Joe F.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 19, 2020

  Lakeview Campsite

  Not the best

  Campground was privately owned and seemed to have a mix of weekend campers and full timers living in trailers. The only good part about this campground was how close it was to Ludington and Lake Michigan. Small tent site with water and electric was $35 a night. Small bath house with one shower per male/female.

• 

  Cheyann B.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 19, 2021

  Twin Oaks RV Campground and Cabins

  Absolutely LOVED it!

  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!

• 

  Sabrina D.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 1, 2023

  Bear Track Campground

  Absolute silence

  We tent camped here for a week, we are people who love the quiet the rustic and the simple when it comes to camping and this place checked those boxes. centrally located for hiking in the national forest or fishing and not far for a beach day, the $24 a night felt well spent.

  The little manistee river is down a small ridge along the backside of the campground, by the group site there is kayak and canoe launch. Vault toilets clean and serviced daily and seriously the silence at night when there was strangely no wind, no bugs, pure silence outside, was amazingly eerie. We also heard a wolf pack howling multiple nights.

  Absolutely would stay again. If you want to throw down and be loud or need a lot of amenities this isnt for you

• 

  Amanda L.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 7, 2018

  D.H. Day Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

  Sleeping Bear Bliss

  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!

• 

  Erin H.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 9, 2016

  D.H. Day Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

  D. H. Day Campground

  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.

• K

  Kenzie B.

  Scout

  

  May. 16, 2018

  Green Lake Rustic South — Interlochen State Park

  Good campground

  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.

• A

  Alyssa

  Guide

  

  Sep. 11, 2021

  Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness

  Great sites, short walk to beach

  Nice quiet campground when I was there (week after labor day). $27 per tent site. Sites are nice and clean. Bathrooms were basic and clean enough. Short walk to a beautiful beach that you could walk on for miles. There is free, dispersed camping off of different roads around here.

• 

  LE E.

  Traveler

  

  May. 14, 2022

  Rose Lake Park

  Nice park beautiful location

  Decent sized and private sites. Clean restrooms, cute camp store. Nice beach and boat ramp. We’ve stayed here several times(both with our 5th wheel and just tent camping) and enjoy it. Staff could use some improvements- can be rude, unprofessional. Nice dog run for my mutts and mini golf course(has basketball, baseball, volleyball courts too). Overall, beautiful park.

• 

  Alexandra O.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 2, 2022

  Dunes Harbor Family Camp

  Tons of Fun!

  I originally was a little bit wary of coming to this campground because I didn’t know if it would be great with our tent, but it was great! Our site was wooded for the most part and a decent size too, albeit on the smaller side. The tent sites and full-hookup camper sites are separate (but there were a couple campers and plenty of pop-ups in our area) and the tent sites are grassy/wooded and on the edge of the campground. All sites have electric and water. The campground itself is on a river/lake which was great for those who wanted to fish. There is an ice cream parlor, store, pool (so nice!), athletic field, activity/craft center, playground, and Gaga ball pit. This was great because everyone had something to do. From reading a book in a hammock to going down the water slide, no one was bored. I was a little disappointed that the hiking trail was not even a mile, but we took lots of walks around the campground. The silver lake sand dunes are nearby as well as a number of Lake Michigan beaches. The camp hosts were so friendly and the Christian environment was amazing! Very impressed with the cleanliness and modern facilities too (individual showers, brand new pool, etc.). Can’t wait to come back!

• 

  Jessica V.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 20, 2019

  Gleasons Landing

  Gleasons Landing

  Tent camping only.  Four family sites and two group sites.  Hard to get a reservation on the weekends.  Campground is at the end of a canoe/kayak company's trip.  Can get loud during the day when the trips come in.  Other than that.. very quiet.  Vault toilet and pump water.  Can buy firewood at Bowman's campground. Good amount of trees around to hang hammocks.

• 

  Ryan L T.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 23, 2021

  Ludington East KOA

  Vacation camping

  This is a very well kept up, clean, family campground. It has cabins, RV sites, and tent sites. It’s right by the Pere Marquette River for great fishing, and the campground has a really nice pool if you’re not into swimming in the lakes or river. Very modern, good for parties, events, etc.

• A

  Alyssa

  Guide

  

  Sep. 11, 2021

  D.H. Day Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

  Great spots, close to beach

  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).

• 

  Chris W.

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 2, 2019

  Betsie River Campsite

  Great campground!

  Nice campground with well maintained restroom/shower facilities. The owners were really great hosts! Some tent sites have electric hookups, which is always a must for us. There is a paved trail that runs by the campground, and it's less than a 3 mile walk/bike ride to downtown Frankfort and the lakeshore, which has a ton of things to do.

• 

  Joshua C.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 7, 2024

  Empire Township Campground

  Great for tent camping!

  We have come to this campground every year since 2020 for a week with our travel trailer. We got lucky to find and opening at an electric site in their schedule and once you're in, you can reserve the same site on the same week the following year. We've had family members stay in tent sites nearby and they loved it.

• A

  Anne G.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 21, 2018

  Northern Exposure Campground & RV Park

  Easy first camping experience or when you want to low impact camp experienc

  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.

• 

  Amber A.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 31, 2016

  Platte River Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

  Lovely riverside camp site

  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.

• 

  Bryan T.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 27, 2019

  Peterson Bridge

  Peterson Bridge

  We stayed at the Peterson bridge as part of a kayak trip down the pine river. The tent sites near the river have pit toilets and a water pump available. Up near the camper sites there are flushing toilets and bathrooms with sinks but no showers. During our stay a bear wandered through the camp.

  I can’t speak into much about the RV campsite but they looked nice; they had concrete slabs to park on.

• 

  Bryce J.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 9, 2019

  Kibby Creek Campground

  Very pleasant!

  Went in 2017 with a large group of young people (18-22) and loved it. The campground seems to be geared towards families, but we didn’t feel out of place. Sites 65 and T1-5 were perfectly on the edge of the campground and secluded. Great location near downtown Ludington and the state park.

  Additionally, Kibby has fantastic showers and restrooms. This is really nice when tent camping. 👌🏽

  Bonus: We went in August and saw the greatest night sky I have ever seen for the Perseids meteor shower. Very low light pollution here!

• 

  Jennifer O.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 21, 2018

  Orchard Beach State Park Campground

  Excellent site for group trips

  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).

• 

  Amanda L.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 29, 2020

  Kibby Creek Campground

  A solid 10/10 One Stop Shop

  This campground has SO much to offer. There are rustic tent sites, tent sites with water/electric, water/electric for campers/RVs, and even a few cabins. There are plenty of activities for adults & children as well. There are two basketball courts (half courts), a volleyball court, shuffle board, mini golf, a pool, a train ride for kids, a private fishing pond, playgrounds, sand boxes, and various other planned activities. Our specific camp site, 26, was surrounded by pear trees. The campground is covered in pear and apple trees! There is a camp store and they sell sweet treats like Dip n Dots, and of course, camping necessities, Wood, and ice. If you download the campersAPP, you can even have things from the store or wood delivered to your site! It was incredible and convenient. The bathrooms are modern, updated, and so clean! There are two sets of bathrooms-one attached to the general store, which has 2 bathroom stalls and one small shower. The other bathroom further into the campground is larger, it has 4 bathroom stalls I believe, and 3 bigger sized showers. The location is great, too. There is a winery just up the road and a jam shop down the road a bit. Town isn’t far away, you can get to downtown or any of the beaches in just a short drive.

• 

  Alyssa A.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 22, 2019

  Cartier Park Campground

  You can find better.

  We tent camped and were able to park our car right at the site. There were few forested areas available, and it was also difficult to find a flatter piece of land. Felt pretty close to nearby neighbors, and the space was pretty open without any dividing trees to even set up hammocks. There is a nice trail walk through a residential area that empties you into downtown Ludington. However, I've camped in better places (Buttersville Campground) in Ludington, and since this place is pretty removed from the beach, I would say to seek out a better campground.

• 

  Jacob B.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 7, 2020

  Platte River Campground — Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

  One of my favorites

  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.