I like the location; very secluded in the State Forest but only a half hour from downtown Traverse City. This facility meets the recreation need of a diverse cross section of Michigan residents. It’s a great home base or overnight camp for canoeists and kayakers (my particular interest). The camp is also used by mountain bikers & gravel riders, ATV riders, anglers, and equestrians (separate camp area). Large wooded sites. Primitive means vault toilets, no power and hand pump water. No reservations — FCFS.

Negatives: can be noisy at times with the ATVs and also large camping groups. But for the most part I’ve found ppl to be respectful. A couple of the sites flooded after an unusually heavy rain today, so I would avoid any site that looks low if rain is expected.

Site 16 is good. High and dry after the rain.

If your trip takes you down I-70, there are not many camping spots between KC and the Rockies. This is a good stop-over, less than a mile off the interstate. The facilities are clean and well maintained, plus a pool and playground if you want. nice gardens out front.

We stayed here overnight while in-transit from Michigan to Utah. (May 2018) It’s about 8 miles off I-80, so it worked out pretty well. The route from the interstate is not well-signed, so dial up your GPS. Cheap - $11 per site (without power).

The campground was clean and quiet, and seems quite popular with the locals. For sites with electricity, there is a high density of fifth wheels and the like. Quite a high occupancy rate considering it’s two weeks before Memorial Day.

If you don’t need electricity to enhance your camping experience, there were dozens of sites available.

A previous reviewer mentioned the possibility of Spring flooding. This was not a problem. The campground is a series of terraces up the side of a hill and would not flood, in my opinion.