Searching for a tent campsite near Sand Lake? Find the best information on tent camping near Sand Lake, including sites, reviews, and tips for getting the most out of your camping experience. From remote to easy-to-reach, these Sand Lake campsites are perfect for tent campers.
Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. Learn more: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79134_79210---,00.html
This is a popular campground during fishing season. Recreation opportunities include hunting, picnicking, mushroom gathering and berry picking. The picnic shelter is a Civilian Conservation Corps construction from the mid 1940's.
This property is nestled between West Branch and East Tawas with a 90-acre private lake! There are multiple tent sites as well as renovated cabins situated on or off the lake. Several amenities are included such as firepits and BBQ grills. The main lodge has a men's and women's restroom with showers. There is also a commercial kitchen available to cook your favorite meals. There are two docks for fishing as well as kayaks, row boats and a peddle boat to enjoy the beautiful lake.
$50 - $300 / night
Recreation areas located near Hoist and Reid Lakes, north of the Au Sable River in the northeast corner of the Huron National Forest.
Reid Lake The Reid Lake Area is a little over 3,000 acres in size. The forest in the area is primarily hardwoods and creates a small, remote, lake environment. The lake is a small, 13-acres, with a variety of fish. Twelve miles of gently rolling trail will lead you around Reid lake. The trails are open for back-country skiing in the winter, and are not groomed. Difficulty on the trails ranges from easy to more difficult. Flickr Photo Album
Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. Learn more: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79134_79210---,00.html
$15 / night
29.9 beautiful acres Features three electric hook ups for rv.15 minutes from lake Hubbard,trask lake,lake Huron great for the hunting season or for summer fishing or camping don't have to deal with tons of campers this is secluded some what private site
$38 - $48 / night
Legend
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).
Legend
This county park (open May 15– October 15) has a mix of no hookup, electric only, and full hookup sites. We stayed here with friends in their 43-foot Class A in an electric site facing Lake Huron and the view was phenomenal! It would be a bummer if you had a site behind a large class A blocking your view of the lake. The full hookup sites were completely full mid-week in June.
The sites are on grass and very close together with no separation/privacy between them, but the view of the lake makes it worth it. It rained all day the second day of our stay and the dirt road and grassy areas accumulated quite a few puddles.
The bath/shower house was reasonably clean, but it took a few minutes for the motion light to go on (I thought it wouldn’t). Didn’t use the shower so cannot comment on that.
There is a playground, boat launch (separate fee), and reasonably priced firewood ($5/bundle). You can tour the lighthouse for which the park is named for $5 per adult or $3 per child (but you can only climb to the top on select– usually holiday– weekends. The volunteers are very passionate about their knowledge of the lighthouse.
We would definitely stay here again as long as we could get a water view site (and the price was reasonable).
Scout
Went later September on a Saturday and it was perfect. Good mix of tents and rv’s. Everyone was respectful and the whole campground was pretty quiet despite being essentially full. Bathrooms were clean, stocked, with plenty of hot water. Didn’t shower there but there is a ton of showers. Beach was a crazy close walk and really impressive. Even a pet friendly beach too. Camp host had fun activities for the kids (my kids claim this was the best time of the trip) as well as tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Staff was incredibly friendly
Guide
Only stayed one night but it was a very nice stay. Private but not secluded. Encountered a bear in the night but it retreated back into the woods. Did have my dog with me. I would definitely go back.
Traveler
Alright camp ground, it’s a members only. Few grouchy people that seem more miserable than into relaxing. It’s definitely an interesting atmosphere compared to other campgrounds. Staff are hit or miss, seems like the pleasant ones take layoff and move on. Small improvements are made year over year, which is nice.
Guide
nice campground with plenty of woods and water. rustic sites could be a little more leveled off but not awfully bad. they have full, semi and rustic sites. camped here 4 times and enjoyed my time. PRO'S- great fishing, playgrounds for kids, great for riding bikes, sites are clean and many have good space for larger campers, staff is friendly and reliable. CONS- showers need more pressure, roads can get extremely dusty when it's dry, "beach" is small and rocky and on a slop which is difficult to walk on due to too many rocks in what little sand there is however the whole lakeshore is rocks so wear water shoes, while it didn't bother me, it can get a little loud at nite, after 10pm "quite time" but nothing really serious, some rustic sites could use some dirt to level them up but manageable, rustic sites, IMO, are a little expensive at $20 a night but I've camped at others that were $40! summing my review up, I enjoyed every time I camped here! caught lots of fish from walleye to crappie, even a 6.3lb small mouth bass!! very nice campground that I will continue to camp at and recommend!!
GuideMy Family and Friends had a great time here. Very nice and quite if you like that. Good spacious spots. Many sites are wide so they lend themselves to good group camping so you can pull sideways and open up to all in your group. We had great spots with the others we were with.
Traveler
This place was fantastic. We stayed in the Lakeside cabins. Amazing views! We went kayaking, mountain biking, hiking and fishing. The wildlife is plentiful and the lake is full of fish. The staff are fantastic. If we needed anything, they were there in minutes. Always courteous and friendly. Will definitely be back
Traveler
Beach, trails and children's solace pad, just an easy walk across the road. Newer bathhouse. Shady sandy campsite. Be sure and visit downtown Bay City, lots of great restaurants, a Riverwalk on both sides of the river, concerts in the park. Great atmosphere.
GuideMost sites are good, though some have slopes to them. Choose carefully. Great newer playscape and splash pad (!) for the kids, across State Park Rd from the main campground. Nice newly opened visitor/nature center. Campground usually clean and patrolled. Showers/restrooms are good, cleaned twice a day. Friendly staff.
Some of the best campground hosts are here.
Groceries, restaurants & laundromats are a short drive away.
TV reception was ok, and T-Mobile worked well enough.
ScoutThis campground was disappointing to say the least. Bathrooms were nasty with fruit flies no toilet paper either. The dump station was in poor condition. The non potable water didn’t even work. Our electric box didn’t work we had to use the box next to us. The bugs were awful! There was raw sewage there as well. It smelled so bad. You’re also in a trailer park with condemned trailers! The park was in bad shape as well. The site we reserved wasn’t even vacant!
Guide
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!
Guide
Most campgrounds we have been to had lots of road noise but not this one! We stayed for 2 nights/3days and this campground was quite.
The vault toilets were well stocked with toilet paper, although one had a hornets nest inside and the other was extremely smelly.
Access to the river was good and the sites were a decent size with privacy in between.
We enjoyed walking some of the nearby trails
Guide
Good campground on a nice fishing lake. Large wooded sites but none that have lake access unfortunately
Scout
Great Campground. Great sites where you don’t feel like you are on top of other campers.
Scout
Nice sites. Though a few have the Shore to Shore trail going right through them. But there is access to the river. While I was there, it was peaceful, clean and easily accessible.
Traveler
The only complaint about the week I spent was they didn’t cut the grass, other than that I had an amazing birthday week at Rifle River Campground, we found amazing flowers blooming like yellow and pink lady slippers I even found Agates, fossils if you’re a rock hunter and when you climb up the tower there’s a extremely large eagles nest.
The fishing wasn’t very successful I only caught a small one but the water was warm and clear you could see the sand doons.
Traveler
We only stayed one night but it was very nice, right by the water. One other camper nearby but completely out of earshot.
ScoutI think jewel lake is pretty good because they have good campsites. I like the dog, they have an island, you can go on can't sleep on there, but you can go on it. They have a beach, they have a bridge, so you can fish on good water to go swimming, you can drive a boat, you can go on a kayaking on a jet ski, any type of water boats the camp site it's pet friendly perfect for campers or pull behinds tense, they're ok, for motorhome\ RV's but it's pretty good.
LegendA rustic state forest campground on Avery Lake. I had 3 bars of service here :)
Legend
A horse campground located directly on trails. Rustic campground with lots of trees. Non horse campers stay in lots 1-8
Legend
Jake from the Dyrt here! Beaver Trail Campground is new and bookable to the Dyrt. Check them out and share your trip on the Dyrt!
ScoutIt's quiet and just peaceful!
Legend
Ashley here with The Dyrt. We're happy to have this listing on our platform. Check them out and come back here to leave them some love!
Guide
Gorgeous sites with lots of privacy. Basic pit outhouses no other services.
Only complaint is that contrary to Dyrts listing, it's not actually free.
Scout
Pretty large lots, some have natural blocking from other sites but some do not.
Felt like I had the beach to myself for two of the four days of my visit.
RangerPort 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!
Tent camping near Sand Lake, Michigan, offers a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying a variety of outdoor activities. With several well-reviewed campgrounds in the area, campers can find the perfect spot to set up their tents and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Sand Lake, MI?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Sand Lake, MI is Spruce Rustic Campground — Rifle River Recreation Area with a 4.7-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Sand Lake, MI?
TheDyrt.com has all 32 tent camping locations near Sand Lake, MI, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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