Pinckney Recreation Area is a paradise for backpackers, mountain bikers, anglers, and other recreation enthusiasts. Pinckney is known for its extensive trail system and chain of excellent fishing lakes. Over forty miles of multi-use trail with remote campsites afford a backcountry experience.

Bruin Lake Campground — Pinckney Recreation Area

Nice clean modern Campground with a few rustic sites. Lake is very clean on a small chain.

Family friendly 

We took advantage of one of the hike in only areas along the waterloo trail. Trails were not very clearly marked and part of the hike was on the road. No facilities at the site. Our hike out we shared the trail with horses which was not ideal as our backpacks often scared the horses so needed to always talk so they knew we were just humans. There is a Horse camp not too far from the hike-in campground which is reported to have running water. The trails were not very easy to follow to locate the horse camp, so we didn't end up making it over there and instead collected water from a nearby pond and filtered it.

Hike-in campsite option 

We loved the trails for Mountain Bikes that are close to the Campsite! They are super fun!! 🚴🏼‍♀️🤙🏻

Perfect campasite to explore surroundings with your Mountain Bike! 

This is a small rustic campground within the Pinckney Recreation Area. On Crooked Lake, it has 25 sites, two of which are right on the water; #7 is full sun, larger, and 20 is sun/shade and tucked away in the back of the campground. Basic boat launch, though I didn't have canoe or anything. Two out houses, hand pump for water and the usual fire ring and picnic table.

Lit's of hiking and biking trails and if you do like being on the water, apparently this lake connects with the river and other lakes in the area.

I had site 2, camped recently, so, I don't know if it gets crowded in warmer months. Ranger station sells wood and civilization is not far away.

Crooked Lake Campground

The camp was small, but lovely.  I enjoyed the setting and hiking, but swimming did not keep the kids (ages 1.5, 3, 5 &amp;6) entertained for long.  It's my ideal location for a quiet solo camp, maybe next time.

Lovely . . . . . Or would have been without the kids ;)

Nice campground on Bruin Lake. Connected to several lakes, nice to kayak and motor boat  through.


Bruin Lake 

Very clean! Newer restrooms two separate bath houses.  Water was clean at the beach but no sand just a  grassy area though I saw kids playing in the sand of the volleyball court.  There is a new large playground structure and nice but short paved path for kids to bike or scooter around.  Start balm mile mown hiking path by the boat dock For hikers or mountain bikers this site is 2 miles from the Waterloo/Pinckney Rec trails and you can get there by the main roads.  It's also within 20 min Drive of the new DTE mountain bike trails in Chelsea.  For Kayakers and boaters there is a long stretch of tie ups near the lower Lake edge sites.  Also a really nice long fishing dock. ADA friendly sites and access to all water spigots and restrooms. We spent the weekend here with some friends for a weekend of running adventures on the trails and had a great time.  We plan on coming back with kayaks and getting a lower or outside loop site by the lake on our next trip.  The sites can be weird sizes, some are larger some are smaller  and slanted.  We saw a couple campers with larger rigs getting into arguments over the boundaries of the sites. So pay attention to the yellow boundary markers and check the dimensions when booking. Bryin Lake is 30 min from home for us so a great quick weekend getaway.

Beautiful fall 🍁🏕🍂campground. It is between 10 to 20 min to the DTE mountain biking trails. The campground is very clean and I got two bars of Verizon cell phone service. The showers and bathrooms were already closed for the season when I camped there. The campsites have different sizes so pay attention to your boundaries. I enjoyed overlooking the lake and I will definitely be back again.

Bruin Lake

The beach was a very nice place to spend the day. The lake was very warm and the swimming area had a nice depth gradient to satisfy good and not-so-good swimmers. The water was clean and the texture of the lake floor was comfortable for wading. There are flush toilets at the beach with a concession stand. Picnic tables are scattered across the grassy area overlooking the beach. From the parking lot, there are trails to hike and a beach volleyball court. 

  

The campground was decent. The sites were spaced and wooded for shade and privacy. The only downside was that there were only pit toilets. They were cleaned regularly and were not by any means gross. It just meant a bit of a smell and a line to go.