Best Cabin Camping near Vanderbilt, MI

Cabins near Vanderbilt provide overnight accommodations with varying amenities at several campgrounds in northern Michigan. Otsego Lake State Park Campground and Sturgeon Valley Campground offer cabin options with electricity, refrigerators, and bunk beds for sleeping arrangements. "One nite stay in cabin. Cabin had electricity, mini fridge, electricity and bunk beds. Only complaint was cabin was close to fairly busy road," noted a camper about their experience. Additional cabin facilities are available at Gaylord KOA, Petoskey KOA, and Elkwood Campground, all within driving distance of Vanderbilt, featuring more developed amenities than traditional tent sites.

Rustic and deluxe cabins are both available, depending on the location. Petoskey KOA provides standard cabin rentals along with more spacious options, while Young State Park Campground features simpler cabin accommodations. Reservations are recommended, especially during summer months when availability becomes limited. Most cabins permit pets but may require additional fees. A visitor commented, "This is a smaller wooded campground at the very northern tip of Leelanau Peninsula. It is rustic, with no electricity or modern bathrooms. There are a couple small cabins with bunks, electricity and grills." Rental rates typically range from $30-100 per night depending on the season and amenity level.

Most cabins include beds but require visitors to bring their own linens, towels, and toiletries. Basic furnishings typically include tables, chairs, and bunk beds, while kitchen facilities vary significantly between locations. Camp Petosega cabins include electricity but guests should bring cooking equipment for use at exterior fire rings. Refrigerators are common in KOA cabins but not universal in state park accommodations. Camp stores at KOA locations stock essential supplies, while Otsego Lake County Park offers a small market for basic provisions. Heating options are important considerations for fall and spring visits when temperatures can drop significantly at night.

Best Cabin Sites Near Vanderbilt, Michigan (44)

    1. Otsego Lake State Park Campground

    24 Reviews
    Gaylord, MI
    15 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 732-5485

    "Got into the park late (around 1030) but it was a great clear night. Spacious campsites with both a bench and picnic table. Bathroom with showers was clean."

    "One complaint we had was that most of the electrical outlets are shared between 2 or 3 sites."

    2. Petoskey State Park Campground

    28 Reviews
    Conway, MI
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 347-2311

    "We were here two days and fell in love with the town, the surrounding area, and never got tired of beautiful views of Lake Michigan. "

    "Be sure to check out sites before hand, some are far better than others. Well shaded. Stones get picked over early. $31-37/night. Vast bike trail. Bike rental available."

    3. Gaylord KOA

    10 Reviews
    Gaylord, MI
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 939-8723

    $61 - $95 / night

    "While it was pricey at $65 night, we had a very spacious full hookup site within easy walking distance of pool. Shower house was very nice and modern, with 4 shower stalls."

    "Large sites, amazing hosts, does charge for a band for kids to do activities like jumping pad etc. this includes a bike rental and golf but was an added charge."

    4. Young State Park Campground

    19 Reviews
    Boyne City, MI
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 582-7523

    "Very friendly staff and clean park. Family friendly and pet friendly, beach was close by and clean. Reservations were very easy to make online and allows you to pick your site."

    "This campground has so much to offer, some of those things include a nice Beach, small store, fishing, paths, great location with a nice bike ride to downtown Boyne city."

    5. Elkwood Campground

    3 Reviews
    Wolverine, MI
    8 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 445-0801

    $40 - $50 / night

    6. Sturgeon Valley Campground

    2 Reviews
    Wolverine, MI
    7 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 525-8301

    "Island lake/Huron River Hudson Mills, Sturgeon River, Pine River MI. Also, Hiawasse River, TN"

    7. Petoskey KOA

    15 Reviews
    Conway, MI
    20 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 347-0005

    "The KOA campground is close to Petoskey, but outside town enough to be a bit quiet.  A short drive to breweries, wineries, and dinner. "

    "We’ve chosen to rent a cabin. Simple yet clean. I’m a bit fussy about having a firm mattress; no problem, I brought a firm air mattress to put over their marine covered like mattress."

    8. Otsego Lake County Park

    5 Reviews
    Gaylord, MI
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (989) 731-6448

    "This is a great campground South of Gaylord on Otsego Lake. I believe all sites have electric. The park is beautiful with a many sites having lake views."

    "Nice for a state park campground. Lots of trees, sandy beach, updated playground and good boat launch."

    9. Camp Petosega

    8 Reviews
    Alanson, MI
    17 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 347-6536

    "This park is operated by Emmet County and offers a very remote feel yet it is only 15-20 minutes from Petoskey, Michigan. "

    "Pickerel lake views are the best. The houses and cabins have beach views. The campground is off the water a small walk but very nice sites with different hookup options."

    10. Magnus Park Campground

    16 Reviews
    Petoskey, MI
    22 miles
    Website
    +1 (231) 347-1027

    "The park is run by the City of Petoskey and sits on 21 acres in downtown Petoskey overlooking Lake Michigan.  "

    "It is a municipal campground so we didn't expect much but the access to the Little Traverse Wheelway and views of Lake Michigan were awesome - and full hook ups for the price was great. "

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Cabin Reviews near Vanderbilt, MI

465 Reviews of 44 Vanderbilt Campgrounds


  • Kathie M.
    Jun. 20, 2020

    North Higgins Lake State Park Campground

    Overnite stay in cabin

    One nite stay in cabin. Cabin had electricity, mini fridge, electricity and bunk beds. Only complaint was cabin was close to fairly busy road.

  • Allison H.
    Mar. 1, 2021

    Leelanau State Park Campground

    beautiful, small rustic campground.

    This is a smaller wooded campground at the very northern tip of Leelanau Peninsula.  It is rustic, with no electricity or modern bathrooms (pit toilet). Most of the sites are wooded and some are a little smaller. Perfect for tent camping and smaller popups.  Since it's at the end of the land mass, the waves are stronger and always in the back ground.  It's a wonderful way to fall asleep!  There is a lighthouse you can tour and a small maritime museum on the property.  The beach is a fair size but all rocks (no sand).  There are a couple small cabins with bunks, electricity and grills.

  • Nancy W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 24, 2017

    Magnus Park Campground

    Great Location to Downtown and Lake Michigan

    This park has some strong positives that outweigh the negatives so depending on what really annoys you about a campground determines whether you may or may not like this place. The park is run by the City of Petoskey and sits on 21 acres in downtown Petoskey overlooking Lake Michigan.  Petoskey has a really cool downtown with great restaurants (we liked Beard’s Brewery, Palette Bistro, and Grand Traverse Pie Company), shopping, a free art center (Crooked Tree), parks, and a pretty marina with a scenic breakwater lighthouse. If you have never been to this part of Michigan, you should definitely come for a visit. 

    The campground is very popular because of the price and location with about 1/3 of the park occupied by seasonal or monthly rentals of people that have been coming for many years.  There are 71 sites which can be used for RVs or tents.  Roads are paved and sites are grass/sand. There are fire pits and picnic tables at each site and a nice large grassy area in the front of the park near Lake Michigan with multiple picnic tables in a common space. 

    There are many positive attributes of this park. The location of this park could not be better and the price of $30/night (water, sewer, 30 amp electric; $28 for electric and water only) is a great deal. (Especially because other private campgrounds in the area are easily $60+/night in the summer season.) They have free wifi that worked well and we were able to get over-the-air antenna television channels. You are really in a prime location with Lake Michigan in front of you. Many of the sites in this park have a great view of the lake (especially sites 1-16). Running through the park is the Little Traverse Wheelway which is a paved bike path spanning from the cute towns of Charlevoix to Harbor Springs. (If you don’t have a bike with you there are plenty of rental places nearby.)  

    Now for the negatives. The bathroom/shower houses are old and tired but were clean. The park sits between a hospital and water treatment plant, one of which can be smelly on warm days the other of which has a very loud HVAC system generating lots of noise. The park is located close to the busy road M-31 so there is a bit of road noise. The sites are very close together so there is not much privacy. The park is open to day-use and has a heavily used bike path running right through it so there are lots of people coming and going.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 3, 2022

    Magnus Park Campground

    Convenient to Petoskey

    General: Nestled in between Lake Michigan, a waste-water treatment plant and a hospital is Magnus Park, a public city park and campground. 77 sites, 36 with full hookups, and the remainder with electric hookups. There is also one cabin. 

    Site Quality/Facilities: The campground is laid out in typical RV park fashion with zero privacy between sites. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring. Although some of the sites have somewhat of a gravel or dirt driveway, mostly it seems like areas where the grass has just worn away. IMO, if you are not able to get Sites 3-16 or Sites A-C which face Lake Michigan, then the best sites would be the ones that back up to the trees. When we reserved many months ago, we were lucky to get one of two available sites, and ours did back up to the trees. Be aware that sites 61-68 back up directly to the hospital. Other than it being imposing and detracting from the feeling of camping, the only thing I found objectionable was more frequent loud sirens of ambulances arriving. On the other end of the campground, there are nine lettered sites (A-I) that are larger but are on a grassy area with no driveways or defined separation. These sites (as well as 18,19, 20, 22) are close to the wastewater treatment plant. When I walked by, I did not notice any offending odor, but other reviewers have said they did. I did, however, hear a humming noise emanating from the plant. By luck of the draw, the site NEXT to ours (51) flooded significantly with heavy rains overnight. Ours did not puddle up too badly.

    Bathhouse: Was generally clean considering it is part of a public-use city park. Rarely did I see anyone in there as most of the campers were in RVs and on our second day, it rained so no one was at the beach. The showers were warm with somewhat wimpy but adequate water pressure. They were on the small side, however, and are only available to campers with a code to access (although there was one shower in the restroom that could be used by all). 

    Activities/Amenities: There is a centrally located playground. Easy access to the bike trail, however, it was closed just south of the campground due to erosion (north is not a problem and a short walk into the town of Petoskey). WiFi is available and you are given the access code upon check-in, although I did not use it so cannot comment on how reliable it was. 

    Our first thought upon arrival was “yikes, why in the world did we decide to stay here?!” but the proximity to the town of Petoskey (less than a mile walk), and views of Lake Michigan outweigh some of the negatives.

  • J
    Jul. 13, 2024

    Mackinaw City / Mackinac Island KOA

    Great park near Mackinac Island ferries

    Our site was $99.89 night.

    We were in Site# 98. We had Full hook- up with a gravel pull-through.
    We travel towing a 14 foot trailer and were able to fit both in our pull through site along with my jeep. The site was easy to level.

    Our site was not shaded with limited trees (many were shaded though). This was a smaller lot with our neighbors fairly close.

    This lot (a premium lot) comes with a concrete patio with a round table with four chairs, two Adirondack chairs and a fire pit and a charcoal box grill.

    It is an easy access to the campground from highway -(approximately 1 mile from highway).

    There is free WiFi. They offer Cable TV and there are many channels.

    There is not a community outdoor kitchen or community fire pit.
    They sell wood for $7 a bundle.

    They pickup your garbage at your site daily.

    You are allowed to ride personal golf carts. They also allow you to rent regular bicycles and e-bikes. They do not provide golf cart rentals. There is really not a need to have a Golf cart because it is a smaller campground.

    They do have a Swimming pool. There is a Playground. They also offer Gaga ball,horseshoe, and corn hole. There is a Reading lending library and board games to borrow.

    They have a great general store. There is an electric car charging station. They sell propane.

    There is not a snack bar/restaurant on site.

    The streets are gravel so not great for riding bikes.

    There are great places to ride bikes outside of campground. From the campground, there is a nature trail that you can take your bike that leads you to the. North Western State Trail.

    They have cabins for rent and tent areas.

    They have one shower house. The shower house has individual showers. Toilets with sinks are in a shared bathroom. These are kept very clean.

    There is a laundry facility. It is a cash only facility. There are approximately 5 washers and 5 dryers. It is approximately $2.50 to wash and $1.50 to dry a load.

    They have a fenced in dog park.

    Bugs (mosquitoes/flies)did not seem to be an issue.

    There were trails to hike off of the campground.

    Some fun things to do outside of the campground are go to the beach (1 mile away); visit Mackinac Island (both major ferries will transport you for free - this KOA provides you information for Shepler’s Ferry). Both ferries offer packages that include horse drawn carriage rides, Fort Mackinac admission, Island Hotel Admission, Butterfly House admission, Mystery Town admission, and Parking options). There is a Jack Pine Lumberjack show.

  • Nancy W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 1, 2017

    Young State Park Campground

    Young State Park.

    Here’s what we really liked about this park … it sits on beautiful Lake Charlevoix, is just a few miles away from the super cute town of Boyne City, some campsites with access to water right out of their back door, and the park has lots of beach to enjoy. Young State Park has a typical rustic campground feel. The park covers 560 acres which encompasses a campground, hiking trails, a large beach area with concessions, boat launch (located in the Terrace Campground loop), picnic area, playground, baseball diamond, basketball courts, and fishing pier. 

    Reservations can be made on-line via the Michigan DNR site. The advantage of making reservations online is that you get a really good description of the site which includes length, width, hook-ups, amount of shade, length of site, distance to restrooms, and best of all - pictures.  We visited Young State Park in the summer but in talking to locals this place is wonderful in the winter and great for cross-country skiing with trails that wind through wooded areas. The price ranges from $20 to $33 per night depending on the season and electric hook-ups.  

    There are three camping loops – Terrace, Spruce, and Oak.  Campsites in the Spruce loop don’t have a designated “pad” so you can arrange your RV or tent any way you like. This was the case with groups of friends who had two or three sites and arranged them so they faced each other with a common area in the center. The Terrace and Oak loops have less sites and seem a little quieter. The other plus of these loops is the easy access to water (some of which have great water views). All campsites are a mix of 20/30/50 amp or 20/30 amp with water spigots scattered throughout the loop. Each site has a picnic table and fire pit (firewood is for sale in the campground on the honor system with the nice thing being that you have access any time of day to purchase it).

    The pros about this park are the easy access to Lake Charlevoix and being just a few miles from Boyne City (which has a great weekly farmers market, delicious food and beer at 7 Monks Tap Room, and a weekly Friday “Stroll the Streets” with live music). The park has a large beach area with a camp store/concession stand that has food and items for rent. It is really convenient that you can rent beach chairs/umbrellas/watercraft instead of having to bring them. Behind the concession stand is a fishing pier that was really popular with the kids. 

    The cons are that the roads in the campground are pretty narrow and when someone was backing into their site it caused a traffic jam.  Sites are close together and the park has a very crowded feel. The bath/showers are not large enough for the amount of campers in the park and despite being cleaned daily they got lots of use and were always busy and by the end of the day, they were pretty dirty.  

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-NzcOOzCSk

  • Amanda L.
    Jul. 10, 2018

    Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park & Resort at Grayling

    Themed Weekends!

    I love going to the Halloween themed weekends with trick-or-treating at the campground. People decorate their sites, dress up, and hand out candy. Great campground filled with wonderful staff, a cute camp store, hiking and biking trails, wild berries, mini golf, a pool, and plenty of activities! Afforable, easy to find, and I’ll definitely be back.

    One of my favorite parts is the outdoor cartoon theater. You sit on logs, blankets or camp chairs if you're in the back and watch cartoons on the big screen. It reminds me of the drive-in movie theaters. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll even run into Yogi Bear himself!

    Tent, RV, Camper, Cabins and Cottage sites/rentals are available with bathrooms, showers, and a dump station.

  • A
    Jun. 24, 2019

    Hoeft State Park Campground

    Clean ,breathtakingly beautiful and peaceful

    Make reservations early! This is a beautiful state park with the best of pure Michigan woods and Lake Huron sandy dunes and beaches . Very family and pet friendly but also quiet and peaceful for couples who just wanna get away . Only drawback is low signal cell service but hey getting off the grid is what’s its all about. Unplug and recharge yourself.  Electric hook up availability  20/30 amp . Hiking and biking paths , a cute play ground , sandy beach with volleyball area all walking distance from campsites!  Friendly staff , we love this park !

  • Melissa M.
    Jun. 9, 2021

    Leelanau State Park Campground

    Beautiful trails and scenic sites

    Unfortunately this campground is one we don’t see a need to return to. It’s worth a one time visit but is missing several key things we enjoy about camping.

    Pros: Campground shares a common area with the light house, walking over to the lighthouse was a fun experience. The new playground was a hit for the kids, one of the best playgrounds we have experienced at a state park.

    Park provided several out houses, they do a very good job keeping them clean.

    Lighthouse provided an area to sit and watch sunset, beautiful sunset! Walk past the fog building and follow the trail to the water :)

    The views and trails are beautiful, local towns are super cute and easy to get to.

    Site 4 is shaped weird but beautiful small view of the water and sits up high so you overlook it.

    Site 3 is a long site, level and straight back. Nice site for campers

    Site 2 fits a pop up nice and has a path to site 3 good for group camping

    Cons: raccoons are insane! They are not afraid of anything. We were very good about putting everything away so we only had them visit our site a few times but the dumpster is full of them. They will walk right up to you. Not enjoyable at all! Bugs are pretty bad as well, mainly at night!

    No shower house for those who would need one. Lake was lined of film so you couldn’t even rinse off.

    There is no beach, you have water front which is beautiful but no beach. The water front is very rocky, and full off a brown sticky film that smelled bad, if you went over to the lighthouse it got better but still nasty. Nearest beach was a 5 minute drive and a 2 mile hike, it was fun but not ideal with tons of little kids.

    We have been camping for years, tent, RV, hammock. Doesn’t matter what you are in as long as you are having a good time. Unfortunately the camp host ruined it for us, we did have our RV on this trip, 100 degrees and we have two littles. We were on a two week camping trip, spending the first 5 at this site and then heading to another, we left after 3. We notified neighbors if we needed to turn our generator on and tried not to since we have solar, with the high temps we needed to a few hours at a time. Quiet hours are after 10pm- 8 am so technically we could run it all day, understanding the desire for the nature noises we limited it. The campground host told us at 8pm our inverter generator needed to be turned off, at this time our littlest was finishing her breathing machine so we couldn’t and she got an attitude, we felt we were very respectful the entire time about this, the DNR notified us that we were okay and it was not a problem at all but we were over it by then. (this bad experience toward the end was due to our choice to bring an RV over tent.) If tenting you would not run into this issue.

    If we take away our issue with the camp host inability to communicate respectfully we still would have left early. Maybe it was a bad year for the water, I should have looked into the beach area prior to going. Not enough pros to go again.


Guide to Vanderbilt

Cabins near Vanderbilt, Michigan sit in the heart of northern Michigan's Pigeon River Country State Forest region, where elevations range from 900-1,200 feet. Winter temperatures regularly drop below freezing from November through March, with snowfall averaging 120 inches annually. Most rental cabins in this area maintain year-round accessibility, though winter visitors should expect seasonal road closures on secondary forest routes.

What to do

Fishing at Pickerel Lake: Camp Petosega offers excellent fishing opportunities with multiple species available. "Fishing is popular in the lake with game species like largemouth bass, walleye, pike and trout being favorite target species," notes a visitor to Camp Petosega.

Biking the Little Traverse Wheelway: Access the 23.5-mile paved trail from Magnus Park Campground for day trips to nearby towns. A reviewer observed, "The town has a great bikeway path for pedaling to Charlevoix in one direction and Harbor Springs to the other direction." Another camper at Magnus Park Campground adds, "Very convenient to North country Trail to ride or run up and down the Lakeshore on a paved path!"

Hunting for Petoskey Stones: Lake Michigan beaches provide ideal conditions for finding these unique fossils. "The beach is really nice and looks like the ocean. The water is very clear and has lots of small colorful pebbles and Petoskey rocks. We enjoyed walking up and down the beach looking for these fossils," shares a visitor to Petoskey State Park.

What campers like

Spacious wooded sites: Many cabin rental locations offer substantial natural spacing between sites. "This is a bit older, so the campsites are quite large compared to modern campgrounds. There are huge trees throughout, easily navigable roads, etc," comments a reviewer about Otsego Lake State Park Campground.

Clean bathroom facilities: Newer campgrounds feature updated shower buildings that enhance the cabin camping experience. A camper at Camp Petosega mentioned, "The shower building in Loop E is new and one of the best showers I've had well camping, all concrete, nice vent fans, heater to keep you warm, detachable shower head and overhead one."

Family-friendly amenities: Many parks feature dedicated recreational facilities. "Nice paved path through the campground, great for kids riding bikes around camp. They also have a playground with a cool old fashion slide," notes a visitor to Otsego Lake State Park Campground. Another camper at Young State Park Campground adds, "Great place for the whole family. Park ranger, crafts, and beach area for the kids."

What you should know

Seasonal pricing variations: Cabin rental rates fluctuate throughout the year with peak rates during summer months. "The price was $22/night for Emmet County residents, $25/night for non-county residents, and $30/night for a full hook-up pull-thru. There is also a $10 reservation fee," explains a Camp Petosega visitor.

Site leveling challenges: Some cabin and RV sites require significant leveling. A camper at Otsego Lake State Park Campground warned, "Site 52 and sites in immediate area was over 12 inches out of level from front to back. Looked like our camper was doing a wheelie."

Advance reservations essential: Cabins book quickly during peak season at popular parks. "We have been camping here for many years and love it every time...During the summer months it is very busy (especially on weekends) and difficult to get a site unless you reserve well in advance," states a visitor to Otsego Lake State Park Campground.

Tips for camping with families

Beach activities: Several parks offer swimming areas with sandy beach access. "Otsego Lake provides a needed escape from the city while still being close enough to a happening town that one can camp and get into town for a nice dinner. The lake and campsite are clean," shares a reviewer.

Playground facilities: Many parks feature dedicated play areas for children. "A nice park that has a lot of amenities. Basketball court, volleyball net, fishing pier, and bike trails," notes a camper at Otsego Lake State Park.

Biking opportunities: Paved trails within campgrounds provide safe cycling for children. A visitor to Petoskey KOA mentioned, "We wanted to figure out the best scenic bike route to get into Petoskey and beyond toward Charlevoix to go along the shorelines as much as possible. Customer service is amazing and they printed of a map for us as well."

Tips from RVers

Site selection considerations: Review site descriptions carefully before booking. "Be sure to read the site descriptions as several can be uneven," advises an Otsego Lake State Park visitor. Another camper at Gaylord KOA added, "Sites not paved and entrance roads not paved!"

Seasonal utilities: Water hookups aren't available at all sites or during winter months. "There is no place for washing dishes and the camp sites do not have water hook up. Drinking water spouts are around the campground," notes a reviewer at Otsego Lake County Park.

Off-season advantages: Fall and spring visits offer lower rates and less crowding. "We went as kids and revisited a couple weeks after labor day. Quiet campsites, nice neighbors, mostly retirees, friendly staff," reports a visitor to Petoskey State Park Campground.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular cabin campsite near Vanderbilt, MI?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular cabin campground near Vanderbilt, MI is Otsego Lake State Park Campground with a 4-star rating from 24 reviews.

What is the best site to find cabin camping near Vanderbilt, MI?

TheDyrt.com has all 44 cabin camping locations near Vanderbilt, MI, with real photos and reviews from campers.