Awesome for those who love to camp and hike
South Manitou island is part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake shore. The island does have drinking water but you have to hike from your sites ot get it our you can get water from Lake Michigan and make it drinkable. There is no electricity at any of the camp sites, there is a charger station at the docks you can use. There is a Ranger station and a small museum along with old houses that the staff use who stay on the island. The Island has a Light house that has daily tours, a ship wreck and old growth ceder trees you can hike to along with the dunes. There are three campgrounds on the island all sites are first come first pick. Bay Campground is located the closest to the docks about a 1/2 mile walk with your gear, we did not camp here during our trip but we did stop to check out the sites available. These's sites are located along the cove of the island so they are on soft sand felt good to site or lay on without mats. These sites have awesome views of the sun rise in the morning. Popple Campground is the furthest away from the dock, and has the more sever hiking terrain, but is well worth the 7.4 mile round trip hike to get to it. Very secluded, all sites are close to the water's edge. Our site had it's own access trail to the beach, some area's on this side are sandy beach and some is rocky. On the other side of the island and only a 2.7 mile round trip hike from the dock is Weather Station Campground which seems to be the most popular. It is on the South side of the island and has sites on the cliff side and other sites scattered into the forest in the Campground. We were lucky enough to get a site on the cliff over the water and we could watch the waves from inside our tent. Some water side sites have their own trail down to the beach below. There are other trails along the beaches that lead back up to the camp sites. The island has plenty of hiking trails and attractions to see. The only bathroom is located by the docs. Most hiking trails are full shade. There are lots of mosquitoes so be prepared. We can't wait for our next trip to the island.