Best Glamping near Traverse City, MI

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.

This is a very busy and large campground that is typically full in the summertime. It’s great for elementary and middle grade kids, with a ton of activities available. They have a pool, small lake/beach, jumping pillow, bike trails, dodgeball, etc. it’s right next to a dirt bike/atv trail. They have tc and tent fires along with yurts and all kinds of cabins. There is a nice mix of about 1/3 seasonal, rest short term. Definitely not a natural/rustic experience, but fun for active families. Also, it’s a good base fir exploring the traverse city area.

This is a very large campground that is usually full during the summer. There is no shortage of activities here: a small pond/beach, pool, jumping pillow, dodgeball, bike trails, ATV trails, crafts, parades, etc.  It's great for the active family, particularly those with elementary & middle school age kids.  It can be rather loud at times.  There are some seasonal sites, a small "village" of tiny houses, yurts, and a lot of RV/tent sites.  The location is good, as it can be a good jumping off point to explore Traverse City and the surrounding area.  This definitely isn't a campground for people who like quiet and solitude, but if this is your style of camping, it's a great place.

The park is beginning to look its age. Stayed 4 nights while visiting the Traverse City area. Crowded with families making use of the last couple weeks before schools return. Rained well one night and our grass less site turned nasty. Good Verizon signal and has water available at several stations around each camping loop. Great location, however, to visit Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Nice quiet township park between Traverse City and Charlevoix. Clean restrooms and spacious lake view sites,

This is a quiet campground near Traverse City and Sleeping Bear Dunes with amazing views of Lake Michigan. We stayed at site 42 right across the dirt camp road from the lake. Not many RVs so the nights were quiet. Vault toilets needed to be pumped empty when we visited near the end of the season in August but they were cleaned everyday. Great location for our family to visit Suttons Bay and Sleeping Bear Dunes with plenty of bike trails and beaches in the area. Closest town is Northport with a full grocery store. Campground has firewood and ice on site plus some basic supplies at the gift shop.

We stayed July 2021 for an RV rally. We had no building of shelter for community gatherings. But, weather cooperated and we had a great time.

Power 50/30 were fine. Water is a shared spigot on most sites, but some sites have water. There is a good dump station. Sites are level. No landscaping.

Lots of restaurants and attractions in Traverse City.

We would stay again.

Nice bathrooms. This park is situated up on a hill on beautiful Elk Lake. Elk Lake can easily access Torch River and into Torch Lake. It has a fantastic boat launch which we have used. There are hiking trails nearby and the campground is about 15 minutes away from the quaint town of Elk Rapids and a very touristy Traverse City. The playground isn’t much, but offers the kids a place to go.

I like the location; very secluded in the State Forest but only a half hour from downtown Traverse City. This facility meets the recreation need of a diverse cross section of Michigan residents. It’s a great home base or overnight camp for canoeists and kayakers (my particular interest). The camp is also used by mountain bikers & gravel riders, ATV riders, anglers, and equestrians (separate camp area). Large wooded sites. Primitive means vault toilets, no power and hand pump water. No reservations — FCFS.

Negatives: can be noisy at times with the ATVs and also large camping groups. But for the most part I’ve found ppl to be respectful. A couple of the sites flooded after an unusually heavy rain today, so I would avoid any site that looks low if rain is expected.

Site 16 is good. High and dry after the rain.

This resort is great if you are wanting a bustling campground full of activities. There is a pool, jump pad, miles and miles of mountain biking trails and hiking trails, a man made lake which has some inflatable water toys. The campground also has a pool, hammock area, bikes and other rental toys, a mountain bike training course (rather technical) paved roads, volleyball courts, basketball courts, dodgeball games that take place along with themed weeks. There is always something going on. You are about 15 minutes away from downtown Traverse City which has great food and a fun downtown area. Gorgeous views!

We were searching for a super last minute campground near Traverse City for Memorial Weekend and everything within a quick drive seemed booked. I called up Timber Ridge to check if anything came available and they offered an RV site that we could use for our tents. It was a miracle!

The campgrounds were easy to navigate and even with all the activities available it never seemed too busy or too crowded or too loud. our campsite (although surrounded by RVs was perfect size and spot for 4 of us camping with 2 tents and an SUV loaded down with kayaks.

The RV spot had electric and water so we were able to take advantage of that to keep portable devices charged and clean dishes we’d brought along. and the campsite comes with a fire ring (with attached grill) and picnic table.

Would definitely come back here next time we’re in the area!

Campground Review: Leelanau State Park is a gorgeous campground on the very tip of the Leelanau Peninsula which is surrounded on 3 sides by the crystal clear waters and sandy beaches of Lake Michigan. Though only 15 minutes outside of the village of Northport, it feels very remote. The wooded campsites are relatively spacious, some with a great amount of privacy, others very open and right on the water. All have firepits and picnic tables, but we were not able to find water spigots near the sites on the lower level, those closest to the lake. They can accommodate everything from small tents to large campers and even have a couple of small camping cabins for rent. There are pit toilets scattered throughout the campground (which are rather stinky compared to other campgrounds we’ve stayed in, but this seems to be how all Michigan State Park pit toilets smell), and no showers. Showers are available for $2 at Traverse City State Park, which is about an hour south of this campground. TC is the major city on the peninsula and the one you must drive through to leave the peninsula. In addition to opportunities to swim, kayak, sail, paddle board, etc., this park has gorgeous hiking trails located a few miles south on the peninsula, a playground for the kids, a fully restored 19th century lighthouse, and a cool museum dedicated to the use of Lake Michigan during WWII. As the fog rolled off the water and in and out of the campground during our visit, we realized the importance of this historic lighthouse for the area surrounding the peninsula.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27J0AgpsbEU

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I was able to test the new Roanline market place at roanline.com. They carry a number of different brands and I selected the United by Blue 25L Rift Backpack to test out while camping at the Leelanau State Park campground in Michigan. We used this pack while hiking on the beautiful trails within this state park. This pack fits in as well on the trail as it will in the boardroom, or commuter train. It has a sleek profile and clean, tight lines which give it all the class of a briefcase while offering the versatility of a backpack. I expect it to last many years of regular use.

What I like most about this pack:

1. Quality construction with a compact, efficient use of space.

2. The specialty pockets hold everything for which they are intended: laptop, smartphone, water bottle / travel mug, etc, while still allowing space for plenty of extra layers, lunch/snacks, etc. It has more volume than it looks like from the outside.

3. It is super comfortable and stays in place even on the bike.

4. The single carrying handle is well-placed, strong, and very comfortable – nice one!

Some things I wish this pack had:

1. A hydration hose “slit. This seems like an oversight, because the main pouch easily holds a large water bladder.

2. A waist-belt, making it more comfortable with the pack weighed down.

3. An integrated rain fly. I am afraid to get this pack dirty – it looks too nice!

Product Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNbzM_-q2EU&t=2s

Product Link: https://journal.roanline.com/2017/01/06/3-pieces-of-gear-to-help-you-weather-winter-in-the-east/

We had a chilly Memorial Day weekend but were very impressed with the campground. Great mix of activities for the kids. Big park but felt small, no problems with traffic and golf carts like we have experienced at other “resort” style campgrounds. All sites are full hookup and there are just enough cabins, cottages, and yurts for our non-camping family to tag along! Staff was very friendly.