Best Tent Camping near St. Johns, MI

Recent Tent Reviews near St. Johns, MI

303 Reviews of 15 St. Johns Campgrounds

• R

  Roger V.

  Scout

  

  May. 30, 2019

  Whispering Waters Campground

  info on this site incorrect - go to www.whisperingwatersonline.com for corr

  no overnight stays or tent sites. 7 night minimum stay.

• j

  jaimie

  Scout

  

  May. 24, 2019

  Coldwater Lake Family Park

  Great place to camp

  This was a great place to camp! Spot was on the lake, had plenty of spots to park an RV or tent camp, and had a playground for kids. Would recommend!

• 

  Valerie D.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 22, 2018

  Waterloo Portage Lake Modern — Waterloo Recreation Area

  Camping & Disc Golf

  Nice mix of camping & Disc golf. The course is mowed down and easy to navigate. Picnic tables,fire ring, primitive tent sites available!

• G

  Gabrielle S.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 20, 2021

  Snow Lake Kampground

  Family centered

  Each rv/trailer site is full hookup! Has both 50&30 amp. Tent sites also have water and electric. Has a pool, hot tub, mini golf, shuffleboard, and so much more! A quiet, relaxing place to get away from city noise.

• 

  Mary T.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 10, 2022

  Lansing Cottonwood Campground

  Cottonwood Campground only campground in Lansing MI

  A nice little campground. Great location if staying in the Lansing Area. Has full hook ups, and electric water, also tent sites with nnothing. Great pool area. Softball diamond that has tournaments on weekends a little early start for the full hook up sites. A couple ponds for fishing. People are very friendly.

• 

  Janine P.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 24, 2017

  Waterloo Portage Lake Modern — Waterloo Recreation Area

  Sites Small & Close, Dogs Welcome

  I was very satisfied with this campground. Each site gets its own picnic table and fire pit, and there are also cabins available. The camp is dog-friendly, and has a variety of shade or sun spots, even if most of them are not level. RV's and tent-camping allowed. You can bring in your own firewood - the wood that they have for sale is not good, don't buy it; when we were there, a local family very close to the campground was selling much better wood that was older and burned better. The bathrooms are clean (well-water) and the staff is friendly. There are "host" activities for kids and adults also, the schedules are posted in the showers. The lake is clean enough to swim in, also. The sites are on the small side and grouped together; there are plenty of trees close enough together to hang a hammock but nothing I would call a forest. Good community camping; not for those who like isolation.

• B

  Bill R.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 9, 2020

  Wabasis Lake County Park

  Large sites; nice amenities; but lots of people!!

  I stayed in a friend's camper with my son for several nights in late September. The campground is very nice! The sites were large enough that it could hold a large camper and two vehicles easily.  Some of the sites are a little uneven (the camper needed wood blocks underneath it so that the wheels weren't off the ground after leveling.

  There are nice firepits and the firewood is cheap! 8 large pieces for $6, a wheelbarrow full of tinder for another $6. Bring a hatchet or axe because the wood pieces are huge!

  There is a large beach with playground equipment, kayak and boat rentals (although those were closed due to COVID.

  Modern bathrooms with showers, but honestly I never needed to use them (we had the trailer).

  There are a few downsides:

  1. Because it's so close to Grand Rapids and some other cities, it typically is full on the weekends. Booking a site can be troublesome. Our friends booked the site from Tuesday through Monday and it was totally full on Friday and Saturday night.

  2. The lake is effectively a plate, so don't expect to do much fishing from shore. The water is incredibly shallow. (But that makes for a very nice beach!)

  Overall, I wouldn't tent camp here simply because of the crowds on the weekend, but I'm glad I went. If you have a trailer and like the camping community, you would like this. If you're looking to get away from people for a while, keep looking. This isn't for you.

• 

  Mary T.

  Legend

  

  Jun. 26, 2019

  Sleepy Hollow State Park Campground

  I know another great Michigan State Park

  What can I say, I love the Michigan State Parks.  I find they are the best, Sleepy Hollow is not different and it has so many things to do.  I would advise if you want to camp there on a weekend to make reservations well in advance.  We stay here because there are only 2 campgrounds in the Lansing East Lansing Area this being one of them and the other does not have all full hook ups and charges more.  When we visit our daughter at Michigan State University this is the place we stay,  20 - 30 minutes into the University depending upon the traffic.

  It has large wooded sites only electric but you can fill up the water at the dump station.  Each site has a picnic table and Fire ring.  Each campsite has a asphalt pad. They sell fire wood at the campground office. Bring what you need or you can go into St. johns to the Kroger or Walmart.  they have 2 main camping loops with 2 loops in each of the main loops and a shower restroom in each main loop.  The restrooms are very clean and kept up.  I love the showers  hot water and for me that is hot and great pressure, I could shower all day.  Sure beats our shower in the RV.

  The State Park is on Ovid Lake and it is a beautiful lake, great for fishing, canoeing, paddle boards, kayak, and swimming. they have a shelter for you if you have a big party.

  They also have a group campsite and a picnic area for large groups. d You can also bring your horses go to the Equestrian area and unload and get on the trail.  

  You can rent canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and paddle boards.  They also have a great play ground for the kids and a fishing pier. Bring Bikes or just hike on the trails and head down to the beach.

• J

  Julia H.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 29, 2024

  Frankenmuth Jellystone Park

  Fun RV park and very close to downtown

  Our site was averaged out to $82.71 a night with the weekly rate discount.

  We were in Site# 306 (a deluxe plus RV site - be aware that some of these are back-ins and not clearly labeled on the site map - we had to change sites to a pull-thru). We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through.
  We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep.
  The site was easy to level.

  Our site was not shaded with zero trees. We weren’t able to sit outside because of the direct sun until after 8:30pm.
  This was a smaller lot with our neighbors fairly close.

  The deluxe plus lot comes without a concrete patio but with a picnic table and fire ring. They do sell firewood and will deliver to your site.

  There is free WiFi. They do not offer Cable TV but there are quite a few channel options.

  There is not a community outdoor kitchen or community fire pit.

  They do not provide garbage service at your site so you must walk to garbage dumpster.

  You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They also allow you to rent pedal bikes. They do not provide golf cart rentals.

  They do have a heated indoor and heated outdoor Swimming pool and one hot tub.

  There is a Playground. They also offer Gaga ball, basketball sport court, and volleyball courts. There is a Game room for kids. They have a Putt putt course and Jumping pad.

  They have a great general store. There is a separate Activity Center for kids.
  There are tons of scheduled activities for kids like wagon rides, arts & crafts, scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, etc. Activities are scheduled all day from 9am to 8pm.

  There is a snack bar on site from 4pm-9:30pm where you can get hot dogs, brats, pretzels, nachos, ice cream, etc.

  The streets are mostly paved and good for riding bikes.

  This is an RV park with cabins to rent also. Tent camping is also allowed.

  They have two shower houses. The shower house has the typical stalls. There is a great area to hang clothes and store your toiletries in the shower stall. These are kept very clean.

  There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility, but they have a change machine in the arcade room. There are approximately 4washers and 4 dryers. It is approximately $2.75 to wash and $0.75 to dry a load.

  They do not have a fenced in dog park. There are areas to walk dogs though.

  Flies were an issue and bug spray was needed.

  There were no trails to hike off of the campground.

  Some fun things to do outside of the campground are Frankenmuth FunShips (chocolate & wine tasting), the Golden Ticket Trolley, the Bavarian Belle (popcorn & sodas) River Place Shops, wineries, and Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland store. This RV park is less than a mile to downtown/River Place Shops where there is tons of shopping.

• 

  Ryan F.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 20, 2021

  Brighton Recreation Area

  Lake Murray Rustic Sites

  This was our first camping experience in Michigan, so we weren’t exactly prepared. My rating takes this into consideration.

  First of all, if it’s rainy or muddy, you might want to think twice about entering the rustic camping area. We have a 4Runner, so it was no problem but a few little cars did slide around and have trouble on the hill by our site.

  Our site wasn’t level, so we were rolling around a bit. If I went there again I’d try to find a spot towards the end of the loop by the exit. These sites were higher and some of them were private. I’d examine the map carefully because some of the sites were horrendously open and basically on the road. Maybe good for a vehicle with a rooftop tent or a trailer of some sort, but it would have been annoying for us. Site M22 was big and far enough away from other campers, but again not level. Probably a good location for a group of hammock campers.

  All that aside, the biggest problem was mosquito activity. The camping area sits on an inaccessible lake with a marsh area.

  When we rolled in the first thing we noticed was that everyone had screen houses set up.

  We didn’t have anything but our tent and a hammock with a big net so everyone got bitten up while cooking and hanging out by the fire. It was pretty miserable. Yes, I realize this is mostly our fault.

  I’ve since purchased a thermacell backpacker and some bug net hats and stuff. I’m looking into constructing an ultralight screen house that can be suspended from trees.

  The last problem was drunk campers hooting and hollering all night but that isn’t the camping areas fault.

  This place is super close to where we are living so I’ll probably schedule it next spring and come prepared. There are lots of nearby lakes and recreational trails so it’s a fun place to be with family.

• m

  malachi

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 30, 2021

  Holts RV Sites and Mobile Home Court

  Lovely campsite

  Lovely tent and more

• 

  Tammy P.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 18, 2020

  Myers Lake Campground

  Can’t wait til they open under new ownership

  Met the new owners as we were driving by and they gave us a brief description of what they were doing to the grounds to make it more cozy but comfortable as before sites were pretty tight. Adding cabins to their already 8’ish to accommodate additional “glampers” as some of us enjoy a bit more than a tent and or camper OR don’t have a tent/camper. Lake looks big n clean along with activities laid out for the kids outside already can’t wait to see what they put in place next year/ season!

• 

  Nora M.

  Scout

  

  May. 16, 2021

  Wabasis Lake County Park

  Good time

  We stayed in tents. At night it was peaceful, during the day it was very busy. The lake access was very busy.

• 

  Stacee B.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 8, 2018

  Welcome Woods Family Campground

  Family oriented ,

  Grest family run campground. Friendly staff, nice sites, tent and RV. Dog friendly, kid friendly, quite relaxing fun tim.. cant wait to go back

• 

  The H.

  Scout

  

  May. 28, 2023

  Rivergate Family Campground

  Fun Time

  We were the only tents on site. Very little shade, with no river access at all. No amenities, but there is a nice bathroom.

• 

  Shawn Z.

  Traveler

  

  May. 8, 2021

  Sleepy Hollow State Park Campground

  Great destination

  Great spot. Friend rented out two plots in the rustic campsites. The walk from the parking lot to the site was a bit of a hike but it was nice to be near the lake and not a bunch of cars. Great fire pit and place to place tents.

• 

  Nathan V.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 9, 2018

  Sleepy Hollow State Park Campground

  Beautiful Park

  Rangers working the area are very friendly. Many options to choose from in terms of camping, from rustic, tent to fully functional cabin lodging. The park is very large, so it is always good to have a vehicle able to drive to the trails and beach. Campsites are decent sized, can fit probably 3 four person tents per site, which includes a concrete firepit and picnic table. In the north campsites there is a lot of tree covering, and there are a lot of walnut trees that were shedding a lot this time of the year. Bathrooms are well spaced between the campsites you, and have showers along with some vending machines outside of them. Spigots are scattered throughout and are very accessible. Be sure to bring at least 100 feet of extension chord if you want electricity, because the power ports are not as accessible from some areas. Overall very pleasant campground.

• 

  Mike W.

  Scout

  

  May. 16, 2017

  Sleepy Hollow State Park Campground

  Normally pretty nice

  We go to sleepy hollow about every other year. Normally we go closer to the fall and it is a great park. This time, however, we could tell that the staff does not keep up on it as much. The firepit was surrounded by water, and our site (142) really only had dry space for one tent.

• 

  Nora M.

  Scout

  

  May. 16, 2021

  Wabasis Lake County Park

  Okay

  I stayed in a tent with my family. It was nice at night very quiet, during the day it was very busy, the site was very big. The lake access was extremely busy , there is options to rent a tube and boat

• 

  Melissa M.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 31, 2020

  Appleton Lake Campground

  Rustic tent camping

  Appleton has a few sites, very rustic and perfect for tents.

  Not for RVs and no hook ups.

  Appleton lake is perfect for kayaking or very small fishing boats. No real beach area at this lake but Brighton rec is minutes away

• 

  Northstorm T.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 10, 2022

  Eaton County Fairgrounds

  Only $20 nightly, full hookup, nice wooded sites

  This is a fairgrounds RV and tent park. Very peaceful when there are no ongoing events. Large bath house with Showers. No office in park, so find a space and park. The manager will stop by to collect your $20. Confidently located a mile outside of Charlotte, with all the conviences of restraunts, walmart, Meijer etc.

• 

  Jason F.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 22, 2018

  Hell Creek Ranch & Campground

  Great, clean private campground with easy access to the state parks.

  This was our first time staying here. Great private campground with rustic, elec, water/elec (30 amp), and concrete pad sites. Very clean campground with nice shower house. Owners are very friendly. Direct connections to the Waterloo Pinckney trail system. Near Hell, Michigan and Chelsea, Michigan. Large pool in season. Priced reasonably.

• 

  Mike B.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 3, 2018

  Appleton Lake Campground

  Quiet, private rustic campground

  I liked that this campground had sites that were fairly secluded from each other. Each site has a fire ring and ample space to park your vehicle and set up a tent or small trailer.

  My only complaint is the vault toilets were not clean and very full.

• D

  Dawn W.

  Traveler

  

  May. 20, 2024

  Pine Ridge RV Campground

  Great location to Frankenmouth

  We love this campground. It’s quiet and well maintained. The owners are friendly and willing to help. Wood bundles are available for purchase and they deliver to your site. No tents allowed but pop-up are welcome. The bathrooms are key for me and are very clean. There shower are private and are quarter operated. This is our go-to when in the area.

• J

  Julie B.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 18, 2020

  Hell Creek Ranch & Campground

  Awesome place!

  Coolest place in Hell:) the staff is very helpful and wonderful if you need something. They either get it for you or point you in the correct direction. Mostly RV however tents are allowed. Pool, showers, restrooms are very clean, they have full hook ups at most sites or at least your electric and water. If you stay around awhile they treat you like family! This is an awesome place

• J

  Jenna M.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 31, 2019

  Ionia State Recreation Area — Ionia Recreation Area

  Chill, comfortable, beautiful and would definitely come back!

  5 friends and I drove out from Chicago to this campground and were pleasantly surprised by how great the campground and site were. I booked this site a month in advance during the summer so I must have just gotten really lucky! The site was cozy, not crazy spacious but enough for two tents and two cars. 

  The campground had a lot of motorhomes, families, and larger groups around us but it was still very quiet and peaceful. The rangers were really nice and you could buy ice and firewood at the campground. 

  There was a great 3.5 mile hike around the lake with really beautiful lake views and a great beach for swimming. We had an awesome time and would definitely come back here.

• N

  Nick W.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 18, 2019

  Sleepy Hollow State Park Campground

  Disappointing

  This was our last stop on a trip where we camped in 6 different Michigan State Parks. This may be an older camp or the DNR was trying to save money when it was built. Most electrical posts are designed to accommodate at least 2 adjoining lots, and as many as 4. This in itself is not a concern until you realize the posts are way too far away to reach without an extension. We tried several lots and couldn’t reach any of the outlets. We finally met a couple who saId they had extensions at the office. So, we finally got set up with an extension cord from the camp office and decided to walk to the beach. Our site was adjacent to the path leading to the beach so we figured we could use a little walk. The path led to another path that led to a parking lot for the beach. After crossing the parking lot we still had to cross a large yard/park that finally opened onto the beach on this small lake. It was all very scenic, but we weren’t expecting a major hike to get to the beach. Showers are nice. They also have a neat ice cream vending machine that I had to check out for scientific purposes only. For a Michigan state park we were quite disappointed.