Best Tent Camping near Oscoda, MI

Recent Tent Reviews near Oscoda, Michigan

303 Reviews of 22 Oscoda Campgrounds

• N

  Nicole

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 22, 2023

  Monument Campground

  Lovely rustic camping

  Quiet and spacious sites. Near a lot of recreation, including Lumbermans Monument, the paddlers memorial, and the lovely Ausable River. Minutes away from Oscoda and Lake Huron.

• 

  Mary H.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 25, 2019

  Alpena County Fairground

  Refreshing overnight stay

  Enjoyed our overnight stay at this clean fairground. It had everything we needed for tent camping. The cool northern Michigan air felt refreshing as well as watching the seagulls & Canadian geese. Adequate showers & restroom. Will stay here again.

• 

  Sawyer L.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 17, 2019

  Stafford County Park Campground

  Good Park

  Overall a good campground right on Lake Huron. Well taken care of and the bathrooms were clean. Has everything from full hookup sites to cabins and rustic tent site.

• 

  Amber A.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 1, 2016

  Jewell Lake Campground

  Nice Huron-Manistee National Forest lake

  The lake has an island in the middle and is great to explore by boat. Not sure how much there is to do without watercraft, as there’s just a really short trail. A friend snowmobile camps here in winter, that’d be beautiful to try. Nice basic primitive state park tent camping. Clean and simple. Shady.

• M

  Michael G.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 12, 2018

  Au Sable River Primitive Camping

  Drive in Capsite perfect for the fall

  We visited this campsite for a long weekend in October, looking for that autumn experience. Our site was right on the lake, and had a great view of the river and the trees changing. Our site was very large, especially for tent camping, and that seemed to be the trend. Others were camping with campers and tents, but there was pretty of room to spread out in the late fall.

• 

  Mary H.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 1, 2018

  Ossineke State Forest Campground

  Beautifully located on Lake Huron

  Lovely rustic campground, with several sites fronting Lake Huron. We tent-camped in August and swam twice a day in that beautiful crystal clear water. Our site was not particularly private (a medium-sized RV came in part-way through the week and its generator ruined our serene quiet), but its location on the water was priceless. We enjoyed touring the area, and especially loved Presque Isle. Some gorgeous farmlands to drive around, too, and we serendipitously came across an amazing sunflower farm. We'd love to return to this campground.

• 

  Mark H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 22, 2016

  Riverbend Campground & Canoe Rental

  Cheap sites, lots of extras!

  The campsites are purely for tent camping and are around 20'x40'. We went with a group and fit four tents on one site with a picnic table and fire pit for less than $10 each. There is a large bath house with showers, a pavilion/picnic area, where they sometimes have a DJ at night. And there's a really nice open area and playground for the kids. The front store /check-in desk has some supplies for while you're there, and they also offer canoe/tubing/kayak trips with transport, directly from the grounds. We had a great time and plan on going back again.

• 

  Kitty B.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 27, 2020

  Outdoor Adventures Rifle River Resort Campground

  Terrible Excuse for a “Resort”

  They charge per person, so I paid $75 for my boyfriend and I to tent camp on the river for the 2 night minimum required. They are money grubbers who charge per person then put multiple parties on one site. Firewood available on site is soaking wet so had a lot of issues getting a fire started. Not much to do at the campground unless you want to pay an arm and a leg to rent one of their watercraft. Staff is incredibly rude and unhelpful. Everything they offer is an extra charge. Will not be returning here ever again.

• J

  John S.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 2, 2022

  Stafford County Park Campground

  Small quiet park on Lake Huron

  Small county park. Stayed at lakeside site. Lakeside sites $36 electric only. Full hookup $41 across a small dirt road, no traffic. Also electric only non-lakeside $35. Tent sites as well as nice looking rental cabins lake side.

  Friendly staff. Older bathhouse with newly painted interior. 2 showers each men and women. Park looks newly renovated. Most pads are gravel newly refreshed. Fire rings are new. Electric boxes are new 20-50 amp.

  Stayed overnight on a weekday early June. Very few here now suspect more crowded later. Sites relatively close no real shade.

• D

  DonW

  Guide

  

  Aug. 14, 2022

  Ossineke State Forest Campground

  Rustic campground on Lake Huron

  I have camped here a few times over the last decade. I have tent camped in the past and now with a travel trailer. The sites are large, and some humongous. The campground is quiet, and the lake is right behind the campground. A nice sandy shoreline and shallow water makes for a relaxing day. There needs to be some maintenance done at this campground, at least two water pumps are without handles, one was with out a handle three years ago as well, so the missing handles may be part of the campground management plan. There are a few vault toilets placed in various areas in pairs. Of each pair, one is closed, presumably to reduce costs associated with maintenance.

  The fire rings in some sites are brand new, so it is obvious that maintenance is underway.

  Overall this campground is still on a list of favorites that we return to once or twice a year.

• 

  Rachael D.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 15, 2019

  Harrisville State Park Campground

  Modern camping with a good view

  If you are looking for decent modern campsite Harrisville offers that. There is a bike trail that goes into town. Friendly host that offer books. There is wood on site to purchase through a vending machine. Only takes exact amount. Sites are pretty close together which makes getting to know your neighbors from the get go. The bathroom was very nice. Extremely clean and well kept. Staff was there several times even this late in the season cleaning at 6:30 am. The view of the lake was lovely. I happened to have site 74 which has a great view of the lake. Though the traffic of bathroom goers is annoying. The bathroom offered such bright beam of light I never used any of my flashlights. Depends on how you feel about that. If you’re looking for nice weekend to sleep outside this is nice. If you’re looking to get away from it all and have peace and quite. This is not it. Even in September. Staff was super friendly. I originally booked 82 and it was extremely tiny for a tent site more suited for a RV. Be mindful when picking your site. Majority on the water side are tiny and are more suited for RV not a tent. I mean tiny!

• 

  Meghan M.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 25, 2019

  Lighthouse Park (Huron County Park)

  Nice campground, but no trees?!

  We chose this campground because it had rustic/tent sites left and because it is right on the water. I chose the last of the rustic sites because they appeared on the maps to be on the edge of the property, and we hoped that would allow our crew some privacy/quiet. Unfortunately we ended up between 2 roads so we heard a lot of cars, more in the mornings because folks also come to use the boat launch. There aren’t any trees on the lots, which we found disappointing.

  Wood was easily accessible - drop $5.00 and grab a bundle - and clean water was available. The bathhouse was clean and easy to get to. The sites were nice and grassy and the fire pits were cleaned out. Each site had a picnic table, which were in good condition. Loved that we were close to the lighthouse and to Port Austin (we went to the farmers market and t PAK) and Port Crescent State Park for hiking.

  We would camp here again but try to get a site on the water, so as to have some nature views.

• 

  Lee D.

  Legend

  

  Jan. 28, 2025

  Stafford County Park Campground

  Waterfront county park

  General: One of six Huron County parks in Michigan’s “thumb”. This park is open from May 1– October 15. Three different types of campsites (Lake view, FHU, and two rustic areas) plus six cabins. Like other county parks, day use and camping areas are next to each other. The sunrises are beautiful!

  Site Quality: All sites are level with gravel pads. There is zero privacy between sites. Sites 1-4 in the Lakeview section are pull-through. All other sites are back in. Both rustic sites are truly tent-only; it was not clear where cars would park, and only one of these sites (in the back of the campground) was occupied when we were there. 

  Bath/Shower house: Located directly across the road from the Lakeview sites and at the end of the FHU sites. They were reasonably clean. For some unknown reason, the bugs tend to congregate in the women’s bathhouse but not in the men's. This was confirmed by the park host and my husband, who could not understand why I mentioned how many bugs there were! Did not use the shower. 

  Activities: Small beach– not clear if it allowed swimming but it appeared to. Older plus a newer playground. Saw some boys with fishing poles. Horseshoe courts, tennis courts plus ball field. The tennis courts looked a bit sad, however. 

  We were lucky to snag Site 1 on the day before the Labor Day weekend started; this site has no neighbors on one side. This is hands down the best site for RVs or campers but if you are tent camping, I’d recommend the waterfront rustic sites (1-10) would be the best sites. Besides the rustic sites, the campground was completely full on the Thursday before Labor Day weekend. It was just a pass-through for us on our way to Canada, but I am glad I made reservations a few months in advance!

• 

  Cynthia K.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 8, 2021

  Oscoda-Tawas KOA

  Very nice campground!

  Very nice campground off the beaten path. Oscoda is on the East side of Michigan off Lake Huron. Northern lower pennisula. This campground is a good base camp for the area.

     We had site 53, which is a 30 amp back in site. These sites are by the marsh. Unfortunately, we had no clear view of the marsh due to summer foliage. Bugs were buggy, but it's summer. There's a train track by the campground, but we only heard it at night two times. It didn't run on the weekend. The campground was full over the weekend, but everyone was very polite & quiet hours were enforced. Bathrooms & showers were great. Very clean. They have a small pool, playground for the kids. The jumping pillow was down- covid precautions. If we're in the area, we'll stay again. We camped at Oscoda/ Tawas KOA Holiday in a Travel Trailer.

• 

  Aaron H.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 6, 2016

  Oscoda County Park

  Love Oscoda

  I love the Oscoda Koa campground.... Such a laid back place..and I love the Au Sable River.

• 

  Melissa G.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 19, 2020

  Harrisville State Park Campground

  On the Shores of Huron

  A lovely state park right on the lake. Our site was two ones in, and we still fell asleep to the sound of the waves at night. Backing in was tight but doable. We loved walking to the beach and rock hunting every day, and ice cream in town is just a short ride away. Stock up on groceries in Oscoda, though — most everything in the town of Harrisville has gone out of business.

• G

  Gerard

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 9, 2022

  Oscoda-Tawas KOA

  Great Campground

  My wife and I stayed at the Oscoda/Tawas KOA for 7 nights in the first part of Sept 2021 at RV site # 10.  The site was level and adequately spacious.  The campground has a fabulous rec room for kids, although we had none with us, and an outside playground with a jungle gym and other amenities.  There are also cabins that we did not see inside but that appear to be well appointed.  The park staff are friendly and were very helpful at check in time and in giving us information about long term stays.  They also provide accommodation for storing RVs for those who book for the season.

• L

  Linda H.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 24, 2018

  Old Orchard Park Campground

  Old orchard is beautiful

  First off, old orchard is on property that is owned by Consumers Powers Energy. They allow certain numbers of reservable sites and are slowly opening up more land to create more camping sites and standing Yurts. I love old orchard. We had our camper on one site for three months but had to pay for 3 weeks at a time. Our site was very large and it was very quiet on the fill hookup did of the park. Most of the staff is helpful and some even will teach the RV newbies how to care for their camper.

  The area around the park has several areas of interest including Lumbermans monument, iargo springs, and downtown Oscoda on lake Huron. It is on the banks of the Ausable river. Kayaking, boating, pontooning, fishing-all beautiful. There is just North of the park an off shoot road that goes to Champagne Hill where people have large homemade slip and slide mats to slide down the steep sand dunes into the water. People bring their pontoons, boats and watercraft and all meet up at different locations and have a great time. The campground has a small beach but it has not been allowed to be fully developed due to consumers energy wanting a natural rustic feel to the park. Yes it is hard to get in, on a first come first serve basis, but that is because it is a great place to stay.... I give this place 5 stars. I love it there

• R

  Raven

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 28, 2022

  Old Orchard Park Campground

  Don’t allow car camping & no Verizon cell service

  I stayed here a few times in September 2022.  The weather was really rainy but the lake is pretty and Oscoda has a lot of hiking and places to hang up a hammock and relax.  (The campsite is about 10 minutes from town.)

  Labor Day weekend was crazy and my neighbors had a really difficult time staying in their designated site - one family next to me really liked to put their trash on a tree within my site.  People just seemed a little unfriendly and territorial - it seemed like they didn’t know what to do with a younger solo woman camper.  Unrelated, a guy was shouting a song about cocaine around 11pm, drinking with his buddies.  Just kind of weird vibes even though there were a million kids.  It didn’t really feel like homey, family vibes.  

  The second time I was there I was told I could not car camp.  The lady who was working didn’t seem to care but my last night an older male worker waited at the entrance until I returned and loudly announced my site number and said I wasn’t allowed to car camp (I usually don’t get frustrated with older people when they yell because I assume they may be hard of hearing, but it seemed a little unsafe to announce where I would be sleeping.) I asked if hammock camping was ok and he became gruffer and told me his boss wanted to kick me off the campground - which seemed to imply a possible punishment if I kept asking questions.  Ironically, I was asking these questions because I didn’t have a tent but was still trying to comply.  I just felt uncomfortable after that and left, spending my last night somewhere else.

  Showers are ok - they’re coin operated and cleaned every few days.  

  The scenery is pretty but it doesn’t work for me if I can’t car camp and if there’s no cell service to work. As mentioned, weird vibes as a solo female camper too.  Adult activities - like a dance party or movies - take place after dark.  I can’t imagine how being in a dark forest with strangers would feel safe, let alone fun, when there is alcohol and it seems likely there are other substances too.  No really where my interests lie.

  But if you have an RV you might have a different experience - or if you’re looking for a party during a holiday weekend.  It might also be worth a try if you’re camping as a group.

• 

  Margaret W.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 9, 2019

  Negwegon State Park Campground

  Negwegon State Park site 3, Pewabic

  Sand, pine trees, vault toilet, fire ring, gorgeous views, serenity, bear pole - my family adores this place. It is possibly the nicest camping we've done in Michigan. Water filter is a MUST unless you want to walk to the parking lot every time you need potable water. None of us ever got sick drinking the filtered lake water. Kayaking and canoeing in is easy. We have walked in, too. Having a wheeled cart is nice for bringing in large family-sized tents and other heavier items.

• M

  MJA

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 13, 2022

  Tawas Point State Park Campground

  Tale of Two Campgrounds

  Location is excellent.  This is a well maintained park, fantastic beaches and nice trails.  I arrived on a Thursday and left Sunday.  The sites are on the small side without any barriers, which was fine midweek.  On the weekend, overcrowding was the norm.  This was my first experience at a Michigan state park, and I do not know if others have designated spaces based on the size of the RV or tent.  This would make a more pleasant experience for campers.  My guess is the park was designed long before people hauled around a 30 foot camper.  No park rangers facilitated parking that I could see, and clearly you should book your spot as early as possible.

  Midweek 5 stars, Weekend 1

• 

  julie S.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 26, 2023

  Port Crescent State Park Campground

  We got lucky

  We got lucky for a spur of the moment weekend get away and scored the perfect site at a campground we had never been to before. It's a busy campground.. but this site made us feel like we were in our own little world. The lake was only a few yards from our tent. There is also a dark sky preserve there which worked out perfectly for the meteor shower that was going on that weekend. One of my favorite camping trips ever... it was just gorgeous. I booked online through the michigan parks website. There must have been a cancelation that I got lucky and grabbed. It really was the perfect camp site.

• 

  Gary D.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 20, 2022

  Ogemaw County Park West Branch RV Park

  Pulled off road for a quick overnight

  Needed a tent sight for 3 pup tents motorcycle camping. Nice quiet secluded campground in the woods. Nice clean baths and showers. $25 for tent $35 RVs pull threw.

• b

  bailey

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 5, 2022

  Harrisville State Park Campground

  Loved it!

  We tented at this campground and enjoyed it so much! Loved being right by the water, and bathrooms were so clean. Would go back!

• b

  bailey

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 5, 2022

  Oscoda KOA

  Enjoyed our time

  We tented here. Our location was right behind the general store so at night the lights were very bright. This KOA has so many activities for kids and we enjoyed ourselves here!

• 

  David B.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 13, 2020

  Port Crescent State Park Campground

  Tight

  Narrow and tight, lots of tents, pop ups and sand. Nicely treed area though and of course next to the lake

• 

  Arron P.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 26, 2020

  Harrisville State Park Campground

  Beautiful!

  Nice open area big enough to put our 8 person tent. Picnic table and power! The Lake Huron is a stones throw to the East. Great place, we will be back soon!!