Best Cabin Camping near Traverse City, MI

The location of this campground is great and it's best feature in my opinion! This park is just two miles to downtown Traverse City (one of Michigan’s most popular resort towns), a quarter mile from a pretty beach and the beautiful blue waters of Lake Michigan, and it sits along the TART Trail which is a 10.5-mile bicycle trail running through the city.

While the park is small at just 47 acres, it holds pretty many campsites – approximately 350 (and two cabins). Campsites are set among tall pine trees so there is a bit of shade but that also means that they are sandy with little grass. Roads are paved and narrow if you are trying to maneuver with a large (40+ RV) and you may have difficulty backing into your site with the numerous trees lining the road. All sites are back-in with electric. Sites and patios are sandy with varying degrees of levelness. There is a dump station and water spigots are scattered throughout the campground. Picnic tables and fire pits are at each site. Sites are $31/night ($49/night for the cabins) and reserveable online.

This park is right on US-31/M-72 which means there is easy access in and out but it can be noisy if your campsite is close to the road. Expect the campground to be very busy on weekends and in the summer and tightly packed.

Amenities include: picnic area, beach, fishing, hiking/bicycling trail, three bathhouses, playground area, camp store, pet walk (no off-leash dog park).

Outside of the park there is a lot to do in Traverse City. Early July is the ever-popular Cherry Festival which lasts for a week. But you better book your campsite early if you want to enjoy all the festivities (which happen to be close to the park). The summer farmers market is great and held every Wednesday and Saturday. Early in the season, asparagus is plentiful and locally-grown asparagus is the best you will ever have being super sweet, tender, and inexpensive. For beer drinkers, consider paddling the beer trail that takes you from Boardman Lake to Lake Michigan and past numerous breweries where you pull over for a pint. If it's ice cream you want, you have come to the right place. There are multiple creameries with Moomer's being our favorite and for some reason eating it right at the farm stand was the best.

Friendliest people. Amazing staff. Beautiful little campground. Honestly everyone is so friendly. Bathrooms are always clean as are the showers. There's wood and ice on the property. A great little cafet. A small general store. We have so much fun here. Tge owners are amazing. Honestly I hate writing such a great review simply because I don't want to loose my camping site. Lol people find a great place like this it'll always be booked. But honestly you can't go wrong here. The place is sandwiched between the betsie river and a paved bike path. Your 2 mile from a great beach and lake michigan. 20 min from the dunes. 35 or 40 min from Traverse city and it's gorgeous views and fun stuuf to do. Did I mention wine. Wineries are plentiful in this region too. Plus some micro brew. Just awesome. There's a small playground for the kids in this park. It's so safe the kids ride bikes and walk all over the campground with out much concern.

Campground Review: This very popular campground is a few miles from downtown Traverse City, on the edge of Grand Traverse East Bay, Lake Michigan and fills up very quickly during the summer months. It is open year-round though and the fall is gorgeous in Michigan. As a city-based campground, it has many amenities and makes for a great alternative to paying much higher prices for the hotels, motels, and B&B’s in the area. This is a nicely wooded campground, and though the sites are spacious, they are rather close to each other, so not much privacy. But, given that this campground provides direct access to the TART Bike Trail (which can use to get to Traverse City, the Leelanau Wine Trail, or many other points north) and there is a safe, over-the-road walking bridge that takes you to the beach on the bay, we didn’t spend much time IN the campground itself. The various sites accommodate everything from small tents to large RV’s and all come with electricity. There are even two small camping cabins available for rent. The immaculately clean bathrooms and showers are free to campers. Firewood and ice are available onsite by the office. The only major drawbacks are that you can hear the road (which is pretty busy most days) and there are railroad tracks next to the campground (though we never heard a train and were told that it was infrequent).

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWrZLOItQc

Product Review: As a Ranger for the Dyrt, I get gear to review from time to time. On this excursion, we took the Saris Freedom SuperClamp 2-Bike Rack for a test spin while camping and wine tasting via the Leelanau Bike Path, which is accessible from Traverse City State Park in Traverse City, MI. We were in the market for another bike rack and had researched various racks just before this one arrived. We think this is a pretty good option for the price point.

What I like about this rack:

1. It secures to the vehicle trailer hitch via a threaded bolt rather than a pin; this holds the rack securely and minimizes swaying of the bikes as we go down the road. A locking attachment to this bolt discourages theft of the entire rack.

1. The bikes are held securely by clamping to the wheels and don’t contact the frame. Our previous bike rack was a hanging rack which did some damage to the paint job on our frames --NOT an issue with this rack.
2. The rack is very easy to use, simple to set up, and holds the bikes securely.
3. It comes with a lifetime warranty. When our first rack arrived, one of the plastic wheel cups was cracked, but one quick call to the company and we had a whole new rack within a few days. Nice!

Room for improvement:

1. The integrated locking cables stow away within the frame of the rack, which is cool; but they aren’t long enough to thread through the high-clearance frame of my husband’s mountain bike – so we can only lock down his back wheel not the frame. The cable will accommodate most traditional bike frames, but they aren’t thick enough to really secure the bikes for anything longer than a run into the grocery store anyway, so we’re adding another lock when necessary.
2. The straps which secure the wheels are a little awkward to use, both securing and releasing. You have to use two hands to do this, and reaching the straps for the bike closest to the vehicle is a bit tricky.
3. When the bikes are off the rack and it is folded into its storage configuration, we have no problem opening the tailgate of our truck; but, with both bikes on the rack, getting into the back of the truck is difficult. If you have a hatchback, make sure the bikes are the last thing you load up!

Product Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpgajt1V1Yc

Product Link: https://www.saris.com/product/superclamp-2

If you are looking for a camping getaway, this may not be the place for you. It is always bustling with action, but can be lots of fun! I would definitely say this is geared more towards children and families than an escape into nature. There is a camp store, turbo bikes, a variety of family activities, a pool, playground, bike park, equipment and rentals, laundry facility, cabins, cottages, and yurts for rent. This is also a pet friendly campground, so there are many dogs. Probably one of my favorite parts was dodgeball... and the multiple bike trails that connect to the VASA trail system.

This KOA is just south of Traverse City and very centrally located to all that makes this area so awesome! Wineries, Sleep Bear Dunes, golf courses, and of course downtown Traverse City. This campground is very well laid out and easy to maneuver any size rig. The front part of the campground is very well shaded, however, many sites are only a few feet away from M37, which can get noisy from the traffic. The back half of the campground is a little more open, but most sites are still partially shaded. The owners and staff are very friendly and accommodating. Fire wood and ice are available and they will deliver right to your site. As the caption says, great family campground. If you have kids, this is the place for you! With that being said, here is why I gave a four star rating.....we were asked promptly at 10pm to turn our music off, which wasn’t loud at all. Beyond our campsite it could not be heard at all. They have what they call a strict 10pm-8am quiet hours. At 7am there were at least 8-10 kids riding bikes and scooters all over the campground and nothing was said. I appreciate a them having policies and creating a place for families to make memories, but please enforce those policies for everyone. Oh, and one last thing....they are very pet friendly! I have never seen a campground with so many dogs! Ours had a blast!

While I typically prefer more rustic camping, this was a fantastic and easy way to enjoy Traverse City. The campground was very family oriented and offered plenty of amenities - power outlets, bathrooms (including showers). The camp sites were large and spacious (we fit 3 tents on one) with a picnic table and fire pit. While we didn't have time, the campground is located directly across the street from Lake Michigan. There is a pedestrian bridge for easy crossing. 

I'd highly suggesting bringing your bicycles. There is a paved path right from the campground into downtown TC (about 20-30 min ride). You avoid parking and have access to the fantastic food and breweries in town. 

If you're looking to for more of a more rustic, nature-oriented camping experience this may not be the best option for you. You could hears the cars from the road and the airplanes started flying overhead at 7am sharp.