Best Campgrounds near Stanwood, MI

Wow, what a great, quiet, beautiful rustic campground this was at one point and could be again. Unfortunately, a band of Deliverance locals has taken over this camp as their personal fifedom and runs it their way. That's a more and more common issue you'll unfortunately read about at many other State Forest Campgrounds. So the ruling group often trades prime sites from person to person, so sites never really open to the public for several weeks in a row. The boys have also decided they like having electricity available 24x7. Really, multiple large frame generators run all day and then all night -- ALL NIGHT. If one of the gang is anywhere near your site, you'll listen to gas engines 24 hours a day. If you mention to the boys that the posted quiet hours are 10 PM to 8 AM, they just laugh, tell you how many years they've been coming to this campground and camping this way, and who are you to tell them what to do? You get the idea. After the first night, we called the DNR and the field supervisor and new enforcement agent were genuine, caring, professional, responsive, fabulous people. The locals, however, know exactly how to game the system. The enforcement officer showed at 4 to tell one of the cabal boys to shut off his generator at 10. He ran it all night again and yelled to us while doing so, That loud enough for you, want to call the DNR on me again? They all know no officer is coming back after 10 and he can't write any tickets without witnessing the violation. All you can do is call 911 and tell the Sheriff your emergency is the guy at the next camp site won't shut off his generator. Good luck with that. It's sad this happens more and more across the state. I grew up camping at pretty much every state forest camp in the lower and upper peninsulas. There was always a spirt of cooperation, mutual respect, concern for others and humility that has mostly disappeared. If you want to run your own generator 24x7, listen to loud country or rock music after dark and drain a couple cases of Old Style with the boys, knock yourself out.

We stayed there 3 years ago and I wish I had seen this site sooner. The morning of July 4th we were woke up by people yelling at 7:15 am. Them at 8:15 someone in a riding lawn mower came within 2 ft of out pop up and woke us up again. Then a sprinkler was started and it was getting our canvas wet, so I turned it down a little. The guy on the mower yelled at me to keep my hands off of the sprinkler! My family were staying one more night so I left them our easy up. Later that evening we came back to watch the fireworks. Afterwards my husband, who is a disabled vet, could not out to our car due to neuropathy in both legs. I decided to go in to pick him up. I waited until v the gate opened and drove in. The speed limit is 10 miles per hour, which I did follow. Then a man come flying up the road and started yelling at my family! I tried to explain that my husband was having a hard time walking out to the parking lot. He cursed at us and then said we would not be allowed back to this campground. This had been the 4 th year we had stayed there over the July 4th holiday. Sad that he treated not only a disabled vet but also a 90 year old woman. Would recommend.