The best DISPERSED camping near
Onekama , MICHIGAN

This is a fantastic state park. Playgrounds are nice and entertaining, offers kayak launches and handicap accessible areas. Lots of fishing opportunities on both lakes and has a boat launch. The sites aren’t too terribly close to one another, but relatively close. There’s pavement for biking and trails for hiking. Interlochen is a nice little get away from Traverse City, but near enough to head into town for a day.

What I liked best about this park was that my children were not caked in dirt. While I understand that comes with the territory of camping, this campground provides a bit more of a grassy setting and offers a nice playground. The bathrooms were redone and are very nice! The thing I didn’t particularly like is how close you are to other sites. You are practically on top of each other. There are trails and a beach area as well as equine camping.

Although it's been a couple of years, I've lost track of how many times we visited the National Lake Shore and camped at Platte River. It has been a family favorite because the campground is good and being near the lake and the Platte River makes summer visits great. We have always found the campground to be well-maintained, clean, and available to many kinds of campers. There are rustic sites, pull-through sites, and walk-in sites. We really love kayaking or tubing on the river and icecream cones are only a short drive or bike ride away at the livery. The area is very popular for good reason so expect steep competition for camping and parking during the summer.

We loved staying here b/c you are near all these cute towns, yet in a remote wilderness spot (Platte River Campground).

We were able to take a trail from the campground and go on the trail for the dunes.  Challenging walk!

We took a river trip with our own boats, and enjoyed the spectacular surroundings.  The water is crystal clear and you end at the lake.  Epic ending and very picturesque.

Crystal clear, beautiful water.  Nice!  The campground itself had some wonderful trails and was great.

It's a small rustic campground along the national scenic Pine River.

It gets  busy on the weekends with hikers and kayaks,  but quits down during the week. I was here 5 days for the Indian Summer and it was fantastic to witness here. Beautiful hiking trail and river.

Loved it.

This was our first time boondocking in this area. It was beautiful, especially in the fall. Roads are great until you get to the road to camp. There are very large holes and dips, thankfully we found a spot right away before we got in far. Had a 19 foot trailer with high clearance (only trailer brave enough to camp here!). Very peaceful off the grid camping. Even had cell service!

We were able to score a last minute site here on an early October weekend. You must make reservations at recreation.gov. They do not accept walk-ins. The trees were a magnificent display of color. Considerable tree cover (no stargazing from the campsite. Very nice bathrooms. Quiet.

All up and down green Rd. there’s a ton of quiet pull offs, some with fire pits some without. We don’t have 4wd and it was fine (we went in October). And if it’s not what you’re looking for there’s also a more traditional campsite, $27 per night right up the road with facilities. The free spots were perfect for us tho!

This state park is huge.  There are a lot of hiking and biking trails. There is access to Hamlin Lake and Lake Michigan.  The sites are not huge, but not too bad.  You can also kayak and tube down the river. There is a light house that you can hike to and tour.

This private campground is the cleanest campground I have ever stayed at.  The bathrooms are cleaned frequently and the grounds are well taken care of.  The campground is only a few years old.  There is a nice pool, ice cream shop and camp store.  There is a nice lake for fishing and kayaking. This is campground is part of a Christian camp near by and is a dry campground.  This is probably the closest campground to the entrance to Silver Lake sand dunes.  There are a lot of planned activities for kids and families.  The driveway through the campground is gravel, but each site has a cement pad for the picnic table area.  Sites are large and grassy. There are also some tent sites available and cabins to rent.