Grand Haven State Park is great for families, and those who want a camping experience minus the seclusion of being in the woods. The camping area is a large parking be lot where most camp in trailers and RVs. The beach and pier is within short walking distance and amenities are well kept for. Plenty of great restaurants and breweries in downtown Grand Haven, again, only walking distance away. All in all, Grand Haven State Park is the place to go when your main camping goal is getting rid of those tan lines.

This site turned out to be a diamond in the rough. Due to our lack of planning and seeking reservations, Newaygo State Park was one of the few campsites with short notice availability. As we entered we were greeted by spacious plots with enough treeline between them to cover up even the loudest of snorers. We took the next few minutes mapping out our perfect hammock setup. With so many options, we settled on our spots and built up the rest of camp. Nestled in and ready to explore, we walked to the edge of our site to the head of the beach trail to check out what we had gotten ourselves into. Less than a mile hike later and we made it to the 'beach front'. It wasn't much. The shallow buoyed off swim area was sandy, yet immediately upon passing the buoys we were met by very thick seaweed. Nonetheless, the view was breathtaking, there are plenty of lookout points over the lake to spend quiet time posted up in a hammock reading or whatever else you do in a hammock. Nighttime came and we were around the fire. We read that quiet hours start at 10:00 so being conscious of the expectations we kept our conversation at a low level and had light music playing from a phone. Around 11:10 a park ranger stopped by asking us to turn off the music, no big. But it seemed to us that no music after quiet hours should also be a part of the rules. All in all, we had an amazing weekend and we're all looking forward to our next weekend spent here. Thanks, Newaygo State Park!