Newport State Park Campground

This has been our favorite yearly destination. We go to campsite 12 as it is ON Lake Michigan with a small private pebble beach. (Water shoes are a must!) The water depth is about waist deep for as far as you can go out so it is great for kids and snorkling. My husband likes to put his hammock between the two trees at the shoreline. The hike in is about 1.8 miles and can be pretty bumpy! A cart could probably get pulled in if you were patient. We backpack with out 8 and 4 year old and they do just fine with the hike. There is fresh water at the ranger station and clean bathrooms.

With rugged shorelines and over 26 miles of gorgeous trails to explore, I can't wait to go back to Newport State Park. I opted to stay in Campsite 10, which is roughly 1.7 miles from Parking Lot 1 by the Park Office. 

If you're backpacking on foot, combining both Poetry and Rowleys Bay trails make for a nice hike to the campsite. If you're hauling your gear with a wagon or bike, however, you may want to take an alternate route due to Poetry's rocky terrain. As of August 13, there was one tree down across that segment of Rowleys Bay Trail.

Campsite 10 offered plenty of space to pitch a tent or two. This site also had a food locker, campfire ring, and a bench. Located right on the waterfront, Lake Michigan served as a scenic centerpiece. While I was there, I had that stone beach cove all to myself. As such, this was an especially lovely location for solo backpacking.

Of note, the park does not offer firewood for sale. So, you'll want to forage from dead and downed trees. I had no issue finding plenty of firewood near this campsite. Potable water is only offered at the Park Office and over near Parking lot 3. Be prepared to haul in your water, or bring a filter and grab your water right from Lake Michigan.

Finally, you'll see in the photos that there is a pit toilet shared by sites 8, 9, and 10. Unlike some of the pictures you may have seen, this one is a fully enclosed and private pit toilet. It's no frills. Bring your own toilet paper and hand sanitizer!

We stayed here for 2 nights. The site is nice, close to the lake and quiet. Beautiful morning view down by the water! There isn't a lot of open space for tents, but it was just us and our dog so we had plenty of room. The trees are not very close together to put up hammocks, but worked great for our dog's tie out zipline. The outhouse is a short walk down the path but it's kinda gross. (Spiders, flies, stinky - I know, it's an outhouse lol But I kind of prefer the pit toilets at 14 & 15 to the shared outhouse)