Best Cabin Camping near Port Austin, MI

We rented their pet-friendly cabin.  It consists of a single room, two bunk beds, a table mounted to the wall, two chairs, a mini fridge, a microwave, coffee pot, a wall heater and a wall-mounted fan.  Nothing fancy, but serviceable.  There's a site with a picnic table, grill, and fire pit, connected to the cabin, as well as a decent sized front porch.  Also nearby the dumping station, but this isn't as bad as it could be, at least during our midweek stays ((We've done two weekday stays.)  There's a patch of grass across the drive, where puppy potty bags are dispensed, for easy bathroom breaks with the dogs, and it is also close to the campground host site and firewood vending machine.  The firewood is really decent quality, and the machine accepts cards, which is nice, compared to other parks.  The bathrooms/showers are a short walk away, and are really a lot nicer than most state park facilities.  Several accessible/family restrooms are available, offering shower seats, benches, a dual height showerhead, sink, and toilet with grab bars, all in one lockable room.  Several campsites are one the waterfront.  As other's have mentioned, the beach is seeing some significant changes, due to historically high lake levels, which has forced several campsites to close, and the designated dog beach to be inaccessible.  They have alleviated this by shifting the pet-friendly beach area to the site of the closed campsites.  It is still an amazingly beautiful place to just sit in awe of the beauty of Lake Huron.  There is a two mile nature trail that winds through the outer part of the park, and it supplied a great hike with our dogs.  The park itself is within a reasonable walk to the local grocery store, utilizing a paved path that leads from the campground to the town.  We just love it there.  The only thing holding back from a five star is the beach area's struggles.  But that doesn't even feel fair, because there's little that humans can do at this point, to change that.

This Park is on our list of favorite parks to visit each year. With it being on the eastern part of the Saginaw Bay you have a great beach for swimming and sunbathing. We were noticing that this park seems to be in an overused state and what we mean by this is the bathhouses not so clean and not updated, sites littered with debris from previous campers and vegetation does not have the opportunity to replenish in between campers. The service roads although black top were in rough shape and hard to read the lot numbers. The State needs to send this park some love! 

The town of Port Austin does provide some tourist type things to do but mainly a quiet little harbor town. Port Austin does hold a Farmers Market during the summer months which has lots of local vendors. tour the Port Austin Reef Lighthouse, canoeing, kayaking, and hiking are all close by.

Never have been to Port Austin, wanted to check it out for myself. My boyfriend and I had our first date traveling there. I had heard there was an old ghost town around there, check it out. We put up a tent, talked under the stars it was absolutely gorgeous. Can not wait to come back and stay again for our anniversary! Camp ground is quiet, very large spots, from what I remember they have bathrooms! Very cheap!

This park is in a great location—The Thumb felt quite isolated. There are some pretty rad sites right on Lake Huron—unfortunately, we were on site 41 which buts right up against a main road and it got quite loud at times (especially on the weekends). Bathrooms were good for a state park. The beach was a little small, but water levels are high this year. DNR staff were pleasant, helpful and good at being present. Firewood is for sale at the gate for $5 a bundle. This campground is close to Caseville, Bad Axe and Port Austin where I would recommend renting a kayak and checking out Turnip Rock (only accessible by H2O). This park didn’t get a full 5 stars because of the proximity to the road (which wasn’t really that bad…). Great Park!

We arrived at the campground and it’s right across the street from the beach in their day use area. You are also not far from many other beaches if you are looking for options. There is an awesome farmers market in Port Austin on Saturdays which is within 15 mins of the campground. The park ran into issues with their water on our half of the park to the point they had to fully shutdown the restrooms/showers and water spigots. Our side(to the west) had the nicer bathrooms and showers setup individually outside the restrooms which were recently upgraded. We got diverted to the other end where bathrooms were dated and had only two showers for each sex inside their specific bathrooms. It was disappointing for sure. Our specific site was tight for a larger trailer because of a large tree right next to the road at the corner making it hard to maneuver around and place trailer away from the fire pit.

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.

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.

We stayed in one of the "deluxe" cabins which are 1 bedroom cabins with a full bathroom and a sleeping loft. The layout of the cabin is great and it includes a screened in porch. The cabin was pretty grimy though. The floors hadn't been moped in weeks, the bathroom needed to be scrubbed not just wiped down, etc. We encountered lots of maintenance issues - burned out lightbulbs, malfunctioning toilets, TV remotes missing or not working, A/C units broken. These are things that I might expect at a "typical" campground, but at $265 per night for midweek, I expected better.

The campground amenities are numerous but we found the hours to be limited and a lot of the amenities were additional costs which we thought was excessive given the price we were paying for the cabin.

Nice small campground on the shore of Lake Huron in Port Hope Michigan. Back in Full hook up and water/electric sites. Also cabins to rent. Marina in the campground. Most sites are gravel.

This is a very nice county Park, I have been here numerous times and have had a great experience each and every time, I come back every year for our families annual pig roast..The first year I came, I rented a rustic tent site and it was great we all had a great time, however the last three years, I have rented a cabin and there amish style cabins are absolutely amazing..Keep in mind they only have two cabins so if you want one better reserve is as soon as you know you want it...

Beautiful wooded sights. Fishing ,boat ramp, beach, wagon rides, hearts, cabins great place

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.

Very very busy campground. I don’t think there was an open site while we were there. Our site was right near the playground, and although we have no kids it was not bothersome AT ALL surprisingly. They have a few cabins to rent that have decent privacy. As well as bathrooms and showers —not the nicest but definitely bearable. Hiked to the water that was clean and easy to swim in and walk in with bare feet, too!

What’s not to like if you have kids or grandkids. Great shallow pool, splash pad, water slides, mini-golf, trampoline area, sandy beachfront, close to Lake Huron, ice cream, pizza, stocked general store, arcade, peddle cars. I mean this place is great. For the adults the sites are large, most have water, electric AND SEWER. You can have firewood delivered to your site. The place is very well designed and laid out for easy access to everything. Slightly expensive but so worth it for families that want a low cost vacation. For those that don’t have a trailer you can bring a tent but there are beautiful small and also larger deluxe cabins.

The negatives - bad WiFi but what campground has good WiFi? Limited showers. They are nice but just not enough of them for the number of people that are here.

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.

Port Crescent is a really amazing campground to visit. The campground contains cabins, tent, and RV sites. Our site (95) was an electric only site but water was nearby.

Our site was on the sand but large enough to park the camper parallel to the campsite. we were well off the road there were no worries concerning passing vehicles.

The nature and wild life there are simply amazing and the sunsets on the beach were incredible. They were even more amazing because wildfire activity enhanced the fading rays of the sun.

We did buy the yearly MI recreation pass, not only for this but for some other stays we had planned in MI. The pass was $35 which was affordable.

For Astronomers this is a certified dark sky park the IDA. This is a Bortle 3 site with an SQM reading of 21.79 mag./arc sec2. I did not get to observe here due to smoke from wild fires.

Saginaw Bay is nearby and its a beautiful place to visit.

to Make sure you know where your gas stations are as they are a long way away from Each other. Also the water spigots in the park don't have hose connectors to either fill up with potable water at the dump station or bring water canisters with you.

Otherwise have a great time, we did!

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!

Sleeper State Park Campground is located a few miles north of Caseville, MI. This is a modern campground, and has 226 camp sites, and 1 mini cabin. The campground sits right off of M25, so I recommend getting a site towards the back. We unfortunately were only able to get sites at the front and the road noise was obnoxious, 3 a.m. cars and trucks flying by. Campground, bathrooms, and showers were all kept very clean. Most sites are set up for trailers, and RV’s, and tents. There are a few sites that are tent only sites. Each site has a picnic table, fire pit and electric hook up. There is firewood available at the park office for $5 a bundle, they also rent kayaks $10 for 2 hours or $40 for the day. The campgrounds host site has coffee, tea, and hot chocolate available in the mornings. They also offer activities in the afternoon. Across M25 and part of Sleeper State Park is the beach, and picnic area. There is a walkway overpass that goes over M25 making for a safe walk from camp to the beach. The beach area has a bathroom and drinking water. There are charcoal grills, and picnic tables in the picnic area around the parking lot. The beach is a lovely stretch of shoreline along the Saginaw bay.

By far this is our favorite park this year. Surrounded by water on all sides, sunrise and sunsets are gorgeous. Plenary of beach for everyone including a dog beach!!! Bathrooms are well kept and clean. Kayak rentals are available as well.

Great beach area with rental boats! My family of 5 stayed 2 nights. Flush toilets and shower were well maintained, fire rings provided and nicely kept grounds with observed quiet times made for a fantastic stay!!

My family and I have been here many times. The proximity to the water can't be beat. Canoe and kayak rental locations are a short way away, as are the town and local focal points. Save room for dessert at The Farm, a fine dining experience just a mile away from the campground with world class food.

Showers and bathrooms are 6/10 here, but functional. The water areas range from nice sandy beaches to more marshy but scenic beaches, great for dog walking and enjoying birdwatching and sunsets! The state park itself is near East Tawas which has all the comforts of a town and activities and rentals for the lake!

General: A real hodgepodge of options: paved sites, sandy sites, some with electric, hammock sites, several different types of cabins, and domes. Our stay was in 2023, and this review is based on that, but the campground was closed for the 2024 season for upgrades. 

Site Quality: Varies greatly. We were able to secure two different sites for our two-night stay. Upon arrival, however, we doubted we would be able to navigate our 18-foot camper van into Site 58– it was sandy, narrow with trees, and cars were parked alongside the narrow access road, making backing in very difficult to impossible. We were able to switch to Site 69 for the first night. The second night we were in site 56 and enjoyed listening to the waves lapping up against the shore. Not all sites are level. Little privacy/separation between sites but if you can score a waterfront site, then it’s all good. Sites 93, 95, 95A, 98, 99A, 101, 103, 105, and 107 back up to the old river channel and the water was very stagnant and green. The beachfront sites mostly have nice views of Saginaw Bay/Lake Huron but be cautious when selecting: some are sand and not level. You will hear road noise from M25 on the 19 sites that back up to the road (and also some of the sites opposite these). 

Bath/Shower: Two bathhouses (east and west) plus a couple of vault toilets. The East Bathhouse was very modern and clean. The West Bathhouse looked to be a bit older but still seemed fine. 

Activities/Amenities: Beach access, fishing, swimming, and an observation platform for bird watching or night sky viewing (the weather did not cooperate to check these out). There are nearby hiking trails, a playground, a basketball hoop, and a horseshoe pit. There is a dump station. Kudos to Michigan for extensive recycling! 

We arrived late at night, and I was able to get in a nice walk around the campground before the rain started, dampening our options for the rest of the day. Obviously, our stay here would have been better with better weather, but I caution you to be careful when reserving your sites based on your type of camping. Despite the abundance of mayflies (gross but not biting) and the muddy sand-covered road from all the rain, we’d stay here again if we could get a beachfront site. We enjoyed our time here and would love to see what improvements were made when the campground was closed (although I thought it was very nice before).

We stayed in the small cabin #186 which is right across from the park hosts.    The first night we were there we were sitting around our campfire - it was around 10:45 pm.    It was myself (grandma) my 24 year old son and my five year old grandson.   We were talking normally or slightly quieter because the campground has a 10 pm quiet curfew.   Out of nowhere, a guy comes storming up to our campfire with a flashlight in our faces - scared the crap out of all of us - I instinctively said who are you and why are you coming at us?!    He said we were way too loud and that he could hear us 4 or five sites down - I had to ask him if he was an employee because I was about ready to call for help.   He said he was an employee and again repeated he could hear us from “way down there” pointing in some direction I had no idea because it was so dark out.    I walked one site over and asked my son to say something and I absolutely could not hear him.    I was so mad we almost backed up and left.    The next day the Park Hosts who sit outside all day had another employee come warn us about chopping tree limbs down?    I was flabbergasted.    We collected some kindle/branches that were ON THE GROUND.    When I addressed with the Park Hosts they lied and said they had no idea why we were told this.    We saw the employee later and she said the park hosts told her we were cutting branches - and to come tell us to stop.   It was the most bizarre experience I have yet to have camping and I have camped a lot - I read a google review from 4 days before our visit that said the same exact thing.   Avoid this park - we left early needless to say.

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!