Best Equestrian Camping in Michigan

Ely Lake Campground is a County campground in Allegan Michigan. All of the sites are rustic. Here are the bullet points:

• There are no bathrooms, just pit toilets. 
• There is no electricity. 
• There is a hand pump for water, although I would recommend bringing your own drinking water because the water from the hand pump is very discolored.
• Each site has a fire pit and a picnic table.
• They don't sell firewood, but you can by some in town on your way in.
• There is a beach.
• You can make reservations online ahead of time, or show up and find an empty site (but bring cash or check to pay because its a drop box).
• They have equestrian trails and sites.

First the positives: It is a beautiful rustic campground. We stayed on the side with sites 49-73 (specifically site 50) which has larger more secluded sites than the other side of the Lake. The Lake is for non-motorized recreational use so it is mostly used for kayaking and canoeing and fishing. There is about a 1 mile trail that you can walk around the exterior of the Lake, however it is ill defined in some places so just keep your eyes peeled for yellow markers on the trees (which are everywhere so you wont get lost).

This place also attracts a lot of equestrian campers and they have trails specifically for horseback riding. So if you have kids that love horses, you may see some on the weekends. 

The negatives: It is a wonderful experience until about 10:30 PM on Friday and Saturday night. This place attracts a rowdy crowd and in the evenings (apparently there is no where else for the locals to have a rager). There is loud music , people yelling, fireworks going off and… not very much sleep. And I am not just talking about a few people with their music on -- it was someone blasting their sub-woofer with electronic dance music until 4:45 AM. It was really disappointing because otherwise the experience was positive. Luckily my kids are all deep sleepers so I was the only one who had to sit up all night.

They clean the bathrooms daily from what I can tell, but otherwise the campground is not maintained. There was trash around our site, and when you walk the trail about the lake you will see cigarette packets and beer bottles occasionally. Also along the trail were two massive hornet nests that really should have been removed by park management - but it's clear they don't ever maintain the trail. 

If you're willing to overlook some garbage, and if the party people stay away you could have a wonderful camping trip. Allegan County has a beautiful natural resource here, but sadly it seems like it is being squandered, and wont last.

I only spent a night here while passing through, but it's a very nice campground that's specifically suited to equestrians. This established and well maintained campground is free, and you can stay up to two weeks. There's a well kept pit toilet, 21 established campsites w/ firerings, and even a water pump (meant for horses.) Only a few other campers on a Wednesday night, including some people with horses, and all have been friendly. The campsites are all flat and quite large, being that they are meant to accommodate people with a horse trailer, and there are numerous hitching posts throughout the campground. A great place overall.

This place is awesome. It's 8 miles down an old logging trail but it's worth the drive. There is no electricity but they have a fresh water spigot. There are 14 campsites, half of which have horse pens, most of the sites are river front on the Cedar River, and 2 sets a trails,one which is an equestrian trail that doubles as ski trails in winter. There is a kayak launch and the river is a great place for catching bass. Every site has at least one handicap accessible picnic table and a small fire pit. Most of the sites are big enough to fit a camper. There is a set of mudding trails across the river with easy access, the sounds are not too loud. The campground is usually empty or close to it. The mudders do come visit the grounds for the bathrooms, otherwise it's pretty quiet. There is a bunch of wildlife, you can hear birds and squirrels chattering, coyotes call to each other in the early in the morning across the river, and lots of little critters scurrying about. Dogs are welcome. There is a gas station/Mart on the highway before the turnoff that sells fire wood and other items you may need while camping

Quietly tucked into Clinton co Michigan. Sleepy is easily accessible. Its close to Lansing. There are shopping centers nearby. Country party store is closer!! Very large lake....Ovid is her name! Offers many species of fish for catching!! There are fishing docks, ONE IS NOT VERY ACCESSIBLE TO NON AMBULATORY PERSONS !!! THIS ONE'S IN THE CAMP AREA! The path is nicely groomed. The bea h is a long way from the parking lot a d there is no beach access from camp. The park is usually a clean family place...but for really young children or elderly persons it may. Ot be your first choice. I live nearby and have camped there zillions of times. I love it and shower bouses in camp are clean! Friendly staff a d they ate SERIOUS about quiet time! Bug spray required !!

What can I say, I love the Michigan State Parks.  I find they are the best, Sleepy Hollow is not different and it has so many things to do.  I would advise if you want to camp there on a weekend to make reservations well in advance.  We stay here because there are only 2 campgrounds in the Lansing East Lansing Area this being one of them and the other does not have all full hook ups and charges more.  When we visit our daughter at Michigan State University this is the place we stay,  20 - 30 minutes into the University depending upon the traffic.

It has large wooded sites only electric but you can fill up the water at the dump station.  Each site has a picnic table and Fire ring.  Each campsite has a asphalt pad. They sell fire wood at the campground office. Bring what you need or you can go into St. johns to the Kroger or Walmart.  they have 2 main camping loops with 2 loops in each of the main loops and a shower restroom in each main loop.  The restrooms are very clean and kept up.  I love the showers  hot water and for me that is hot and great pressure, I could shower all day.  Sure beats our shower in the RV.

The State Park is on Ovid Lake and it is a beautiful lake, great for fishing, canoeing, paddle boards, kayak, and swimming. they have a shelter for you if you have a big party.

They also have a group campsite and a picnic area for large groups. d You can also bring your horses go to the Equestrian area and unload and get on the trail.  

You can rent canoes, kayaks, paddle boats and paddle boards.  They also have a great play ground for the kids and a fishing pier. Bring Bikes or just hike on the trails and head down to the beach.