Best Glamping near Sand Lake, MI

Great campground at the top of Michigan's thumb. Close to fishing, kayaking and a great beach.

This here is one of my favorite campgrounds in Michigan. The facilities are clean and kept up. All access to trails, lakes and the river are close and easy to get to. Great location to bring family and pets.

Port Crescent is a clean and comfortable campground with great lake views even from sites not on the water. It's also an extremely busy campground so not a place to find silence and solitude, nevertheless with Michigan's state park booking system it's a great option!

East Tawas is a place I've visited most of my adult life. There's some walking trails here, the lighthouse is a close walk/bike from anywhere in the park. Getting to town is a few minute drive, or a very long bike ride on the road.

Like most Michigan State Parks, your site has electric (30/50) only. Water spigots are located in various spots throughout the park. I advise you fill your freshwater tank at home, or when you arrive, at the dump station.

There's a few ADA sites with concrete pads, all others are grass. Comfort stations are in good shape.

Beaches are, like most in Michigan, eroded due to high water levels, but still useable.

You can watch sunrise on the Lake Huron side, sunsets over Tawas Bay.

I've never really interacted with staff here, but never needed to. Park is clean. There can be lineups at the dump station.

A few sites are pull thru. Most back-in.

If you have a vehicle, there's many places to see in the area, like Lumberman's Monument. Tawas has a nice farmers market, worth a visit for fresh veg and other items.

Probably one of the most popular state parks in Michigan, and for good reason. Most of the park is located on the water and the views are pretty gorgeous. The sites are small, so we usually book two. The grounds offer bathrooms and showers, as well as electric and water for RVs. No rustic options available, so all sites are $35 per night. The campground is located only a few short minutes from the launch site for Turnip Rock, so it’s become very popular for weekend trips.

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

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.

This is one of the worst campgrounds I have ever been to. The bathrooms and showers close at 10pm, and the restrooms themselves are nasty, the showers cost $2 (in quarters) for 6 minutes of lukewarm water, the locals are hostile to unfamiliar faces, and to top it off, the rental ATVs and dirt track to ride them on is o ly separated from the campsites by a board fence, so expect to hear all kinds of small engines zipping by at all hours. The RV trailers for rental are all used trailers circa 1995 and "refurbished", which entails a quick coat of interior paint and laminate flooring screwed to the floors with drywall screws. Guests who have rented the RV trailers are instructed to not use the showers in their trailers. Absolutely not worth the money, would rate 0 stars if I could. If you are looking for a camping experience that puts you in the heart of upper Michigan redneck territory, this is the place for you. If you want a good experience, look elsewhere.

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).

You can climb a lighthouse and look out 30+ miles. Two swimming beaches. Dog beach. A few trails to walk on, not many to ride bikes.

The campsites themselves are sadly devoid of much shade, and only a few even have a water view.  But the dog beach, a bit of a walk down the trail towards the lighthouse, surely exceeded our expectations.  Most places designate barely usable waterfront areas to dog beach. At first glance, the dog beach doesn't appear to be inviting, as the beach itself is narrow and rooty. But once you start to go in the water, it becomes clear that this beach is quite simply lovely, even for human use.  The shallows go out quite far, and is pleasantly sandy.  The water is warmer than on the Huron side of the point, too.  While campground itself is a bit blah, the dog beach gives it an extra star for me.  My only suggestion would be to add dispensers for poop bags, like other state parks have, in case of an unfortunate moment of being unprepared, and more trash barrels. (turned out we were near the end of our roll of bags, so our trip was cut short.

It is very nice and extremely clean. However it is kind of cramped. Sites feel close and everyone was very nosey. Pet beach is nice. Water is beautiful. Convenient location. People didn't listen to rules such as quiet hour and let their badly behaved dogs run loose. Bath house is extremely nice! All in all, I would camp here on an off day/season.

Nice park. Can feel a little tight on some spaces, especially if your neighbor sprawls over the lines. Restrooms could use a little improvement (like replacing the crappy doors leading into the building) and some maintenance, but are clean. Being on a point between Lake Huron & Tawas Bay, there's almost always some breeze. There's beaches on both sides of the point. Staff friendly. Like most MI State Park sites, it's electric only. Tawas has no (as of this review) FHU sites. There's the Tawas Point Lighthouse here, which you can climb for a few bucks. Nice little gift shop next to it. It can get really packed here on weekends, and the day use gets closed because of being too full.

Big rigs, note that the roads can be tight, especially when inconsiderate campers crowd the road, cause you know... It's all about them.

All in all, it's one of our favorite state parks.

Hit Klenow's Market in town. They do great sandwiches!

My husband and I camp at Tawas Point State Park several times a summer. We love lighthouses and the campground is within walking distance to the campground. The campground is well maintained and you can hear the waves of the water at night! The lighthouse is beautiful and you have to see it at night! The beach area is great and there is a snack shack to get awesome food from! You have to try the chicken nachos.

This is a nice big campground within a short walk of lake huron and a beautiful light house. Camp sites are all very close together providing very little privacy. Bathrooms were clean with private individual shower stalls and hot water. Lots of big RVs and family campers here. Overall nice place.

It was a short stay but we had a great site that had a little path to a fairly private beach which made it so much fun! It was a very packed campground due to the great location, which made backing in and then hooking up a little tricky so bring your patience during that time. Very nice staff. Super long lines for the dump station on a Sunday (we opted to just wait it out until our next campground)

We had a family reunion here and it was amazing. The campground itself was a bit packed but still worth every minute. The Lighthouse was awesome and the trail from it was beautiful. Saw plenty of wildlife and had great views. There is great access to the beach and the lil snack shack on the pier had excellent burgers. There is a beach right off the bay side of the campground, and another on the Lake Huron side. They even have a dog-friendly beach, which is unusual for state parks I've been to. Looking forward to going back again.

We went on a family trip to the Tawas Pointe State Park. It is an important stopping point for the migratory pattern of warblers in the spring, and has a very nice nature walk. The nature walk leads out to the lighthouse by the bay, and comes up to the beach. The camp grounds have electrical and water access for RVs and campers, but people also camp out in their tents, and everything in between. There is a small playground that my daughter enjoyed, and a paved pathway through the grounds to Rollerblade/bike on. Most sites come with a fire pit. There is also a large dumpster near the entrance for waster disposal.

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.

We enjoy the water and the lighthouse. Lots of room to ride your bike. We also like to hit up the public beach. Sites are meh.

Always packed, very little cover, but surrounded by memorable beaches, walking trails, and not far from town (if you feel the need to be a tourist).

The park is very clean. Some sites are small, some are larger. Have visited many times. Fun interpretive programs for adults and kids. Beautiful beach to spend the day on. Located close to town. Lots of areas to walk as well. Not pet friendly though, they are allowed at the sites, but not on the beach.

This campground is as about crowded as Yosemite floor campgrounds. you are right up on top of every one and their mammoth 5th wheels. everyone is super friendly. Dog beach is NOT a beach but a wood walk way out to an area where your swimming dogs can swim. birding trails are great. Bring a repellent for biting flies. watch for many kids bombing around on their bikes & bike trails.

We got at this site late, and it was completely crowded! Campers were almost touching! Way too close!