Best RV Parks & Resorts near Shelby, MI

When you first enter the campground you pass by the Pere Marquette River which is a big draw because it is known for great salmon and trout fishing. The park is located in Scottville which is a tiny town but you are only 15 minutes from the Lake Michigan beach town of Ludington. The campground is fairly small (50 sites) but well laid out and will fit any camping unit from tents to large RVs. There are primitive sites and those with electric, water, cable, picnic tables & fire pits. There is a nice, new bathroom that was kept clean. The campground has a very open feel to it with trees on the outskirts. The openness and warm sunshine was appreciated when we were there in late October and experiencing cooler weather. Campsites are on grass and most were in pretty good shape and not too muddy even though we were there at the end of the camping season. 

For a little park, this place has a lot of amenities including swimming pools, convenience store (with ice cream treats for $1), playground, basketball, volleyball, horseshoe pits, fishing, paddling, disc golf, shuffle board, laundry rooms, and clean restrooms.  The best part for us was the access to the river for kayaking. There are many nearby rental and livery companies for those that do not have their own watercraft. If you are looking for good hiking trails check out Ludington State Park and the Huron-Manistee National Forest – both of which also have camping. Overall, we really liked this little park. There were just a handful of sites occupied during our stay which made it nice and quiet.

This campground is peaceful. Nice sites, even a place for rustic camping. Rustic camping you hike up the road, no cars are allowed to sites. Perfect!!! Full hook ups, 3 50 amp sites. Others are 30 amp.
Tent camping has platforms, so your tent is off the ground. Cabins are available for rent.
There is a playground, for the young ones. Rental of bikes, tubing, row boats and canoes are right at the campground. Beach access across street.
The campground is the older type, but the quiet, and professional care you get is awesome!!! This place is a must visit campground. Family feeling here. Vet friendly. Bathroom house is cleaned perfectly every day. Always clean. Day excursions, to see are, sand dunes, ludington, etc. then after the fun, come back to a peaceful evening, beside the fire. Each site has a fire ring.
Peaceful!!!
Just FYI. No drinking of alcohol is allowed. Perfect for my family, but just FYI.
Camp peacefully!!!

The campground is rustic with sites 1 - 30 being well spaced with vegetation between most sites and quite spacious.   Sites above 30 are on another loop and are much closer together with less privacy between sites.  There are paved pads for each site although some are sloped.  Also, the orientation of the paving for a lot of site is not correct for a travel trailer, i.e. the door to the trailer is not facing the fire pit and picnic table.  See photo.  

Site 30 is close to the restroom and showers (although we didn't use them).  Also, the trash gondolas.

There is little internet access with Verizon service.

You could buy wood and ice from the campground host.  

Our neighbor in site 29 had put his generator under the trailer and locked it with a steel cable.   It was visible from the road.   At some point during the day someone cut the cable and stole the generator.

Great family campground - Paired with the area offers many options! 

With mostly modern sites situated in hardwoods, pines, or a mixture, we stayed in the hardwoods area; however, my kids would have enjoyed the pines better for it appeared to have hammock hanging at almost every site. Well-maintained and clean restrooms had soda vending machines. 

Children's play area with equipment and activity field, where several kites were hoisted high into the air, were great. Gillette Visitor Center in the State Park area about 1/4 mile away offers Explorer and interpretive programs Tuesday through Saturday, with topics ranging from nature history/preservation to information on wildlife. We enjoyed the spider and bear presentations most, but maybe that is because I have all boys! The campground beach, only a 5 - 10 minute walk from any site, was awesome! While there wasn't a lifeguard, I appreciated the "flag system" advising how safe the water is each day. Unfortunately, a red flag was flying on our visit, so we only waded at the water's edge- but - still cool to lay out on the sugar-like sand and walk its 3 mile length! I do regret not making it back to the beach for sunset as our camping neighbors RAVED about it the following morning! 

My favorite part of this campground was the trails. In addition to several trails within the campground (the one along the creek was especially loved!), many more can be accessed in the state park, which contains over ten miles of trails in its 1,200 acres. Trails to dunes, beach, and other parks as well as dune preserve: all well-marked and vary in difficulty, weaving through pine and hardwood forests nestled among dunes. Plus, the adjoining North Ottawa Dune Preserve offers an additional ten miles of trails! OMG - what a phenomenal place for a walk in the woods or trail running! One of our walks was up a 5-story staircase near the nature center, leading to an observation platform with expansive views of majestic dunes and Lake Michigan. I was impressed that a portion was barrier-free. 

Some family ventured into nearby towns of Muskegon, Spring Lake, and Grand Haven to experience what they had to offer: shops, museums, World War II boats, piers to walk, and several craft breweries - all 15 minutes away! Our dogs enjoyed the visit to the unleashed dog park at Coast Guard Park that is a ten-minute drive or a five-mile walk through the trails. 

Logistics to note: Campground sells ice - $2/7# bag and wood/$5.50 a bundle. We quickly realized that residences outside the park sold it at $5 for larger bundles. Area grocery stores include a Meijer superstore and Leppinks grocery. We preferred Leppinks for the quick trip and Meijer for items beyond groceries, such as that forgotten bathing suit or a propane tank for the grill. While we don't have a big rig, I did notice the backup of campers at the two campground dump stations Sunday before 1pm checkout. Being a state park, Hoffmaster requires vehicles have a recreation passport to enter ($11/year -residents and $32/year -non-residents or a daily rate of $9). No alcoholic beverages between April 15 and Labor Day. 

I talked to a ranger about coming back later this year, and he told me it is best to book months ahead for weekends because they fill up at the beginning of summer; however, cancellations are not uncommon, so watch the DNR site for openings. Weekdays usually have availability, especially the first half of the summer. He added that a great time to visit would be the weekend before Halloween as they encourage people to decorate their sites, wear costumes, and participate in trick or treating on Saturday night.

We had a large family camp weekend at Stony Haven. We had 5 sites (21-25) pack to capacity with 32 people.  They owners allowed use to squeeze in a few extra bodies more than their policies specify.

They offer so much at the campground!! We rented bikes and tubes, but they also rent canoes & kayaks (including launch & pickup), pedal cars, yard games and wifi hotspots.  They have a nice playground with swings, a sandbox, slide and climbers.  Adjacent to the playground is a large pavilion with charcoal grills and a volleyball quart.

The tent sites were very nice. Well maintained, each with their own fire ring, a picnic table,  water spickets and electric.  They also have full hookup sites for RVs, rustic sites and mini cabins.

There is a walking path around the back of the campground. It cuts through the woods and past a pond.  My kids (ages 1.5, 3, 5,& 6) spent hours at the pond catching frogs.

The bathrooms were clean and checked several times a day. There were public bathrooms with a few stalls and a shower, but there were also 2 private bathrooms with showers, one of which was handicap/family.  There were 2 additional private shower rooms.  They also have a laundry facility ON SITE!!!!  This came in very handy when I opened up my canvas hammock and found mold.

There is access to Stony Lake across the street and that connects to Lake Michigan.  There was an awesome county beach 5 min down the road on Lake Michigan.  It was right where the big lake meets the outlet for Stony Lake, Benona County Park. When they weren't at the pond my kids were playing in the sand and swimming at the beach.  I love little outlets like this because they are usually shallower and warmer than the big lake and are great for my littles.

They offer a short worship service on Sunday mornings for all that wish to participate. 

They owners were so sweet and easy going. We called several times to adjust our reservation right up to the day before and they gracefully tolerated our shuffling and were able to accommodate us. They even allowed us to leave our packed trailer at the site while we spent the afternoon at the beach after checkout.  We came back to the site ate, used the bathroom, hooked up the trailer and took off for home.