Beach camping on Lake Michigan

Indiana Dunes State Park also has a campground so you might check that out, too.

http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2980.htm

There's also Indiana Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore but it doesn't accept reservations. It would be a nice place just for a day trip to the beautiful beach if you can find a RV park more inland.

ericosmith,

One private CG would be The Christian Conference Grounds Campground just south of Grand Haven, MI. 118 sites with 30 or 50 amp electric right on Lake Michigan with a very nice pure golden sand beach. Another could be the small Elks Club (BPOE) CG just north of PJ Hoffmaster State Park between Grand Haven and Muskegon on Lake Harbor Rd. I'm familiar with these 2 private CGs. Another one is down south of St. Joseph called The house of David CG. A few more private CG's on the Lake Michigan lakeshore in the northern half of the Lower Peninsula.

You won't find many private CG's on the West Michigan Shoreline south of about Whitehall, MI because the land is worth/sells for so much money. Usually a min of $6,000/front foot on Lake Michigan if it's perhaps 50' above the lake to even $15,000/front foot if it's pristene beach land. That's just for the bare land large enough to build a home on (100' wide X 250+ deep) as there's min setback requirements from the highwater mark. That's if you can find some bare land privately owned that you'd like to purchase. That's why most CG's right on the the shoreline are State Parks or County Parks etc and have been so for over 50 years plus. Several Michigan State Parks date back to 1921. Grand Haven State Park dates back to the 1920's. Not much of the lakeshore real estate was owned back then and the state has been buying up stretches of lakeshore land ever since and making it into state parks so everyone has access to the beaches.

You can just imagine how much they'd have to charge per night on a site to having to buy the land and build a CG there. In the northern half of the West Michigan shoreline, the land sells for less but is still very expensive.

Just looked up the Grand Haven Christian Conference Grounds and there's now 140 sites in section A,B,and C. Section A (101 campsites) are full hookup $35/day. B & C are electric and water and are $30/day. Yup, it does fill up fast and reservations are free, almost necessary! Must be made a min of 48 prior to date wanted. Handicapped accessible, clean restrooms and individual showers, small restaurant and an ice cream store, has laundry facilities and a beautiful beach.

Curious what the two private campgrounds are that are on the beach?

I just went to Lake Michigan for the first time and had a great time at Van Buren in South Haven. Also, South Haven and Saugatuck are great little towns to visit- many good places to eat. We ran around the area on a motorcycle and camped in our 5th wheel.

I'd like to try the fishing sometime.

Also camped In Dunes (National Park Campground) area around Mich City. Nice views of Chicago from lake but the towns and roads aren't so nice to visit. You can take the train to Chicago and eat at Bartletts.

I don't think you can go wrong but I prefer Van Buren. The Kettle Morraine in WI is nice too.

KD4UPL,

Might be wise for this trip since you will be in Michigan the last of July. However, plan on coming back again with your family (you'll be very happy you did) and feel free to PM me so I can help you with your needs and questions. We know the area extremely well as we've lived here for over 73 years. Yes, it's a very big crowd during the Coast Guard Festival but a very friendly bunch always and the events are very spreadout around the local area so it's not a zoo of traffic other than the last 2 days (Friday and Saturday in August) as there's a few hundred thousand in town those days alone. Lots of school busses are used also to shuttle visitors to and from the large parking areas not right in downtown area. Also there's 4 open air trolleys and 32 Harbor Transit busses that are very cheap to ride. The city/area has been having this festival for 91 years now and they are fantastic with handling so many people efficiently. Takes over 1100 people and volunteers plus the State Police, sheriffs, city police to make it clean fun for all who come to the festival and the same people come back year after year so they must really like it!


Not a problem for us at all as we always rent the same 3 parking spaces (the last 27 years) right on the waterfront across Harbor Ave from the Municipal Marina and we have the "best seats in the house" for the final thurs/Fri/Sat and stay right there in our Lance TC. One space for the truck/TC, one for our carpeted patio, and one for a place to park our SUV so we can go places without moving the RV. Used to take one of our 5th wheels down there but don't need that much room for just 3 days and we're only in it at night mainly. About 30 some RV's rent spaces where we are and some rent for the whole 10 days. One HUGE Party and for all ages!

It's a fantastic time with a huge carnival stretching down the main street, a 2 to 2-1/2 hour parade within 3 blocks, a big street dance with a very good name band with music from the 1960's all the way to today's music, several programs/events and dancing also at the waterfront stadium only a block away, The Worlds Largest Musical Fountain since 1962 - the same size as a football field built on the face of the big hill/dune across the river with brilliant nightly programs/performances, several Coast Gurad ships are here and have free tours for the public and the kids just love it, free concerts in Central Park and other parks too, 7 large "beer tents" with live bands/dancing to enjoy right in the area, and the Saturday night finale gigantic fireworks show shot up directly across the river from the hillside below the musical fountain so we are nearly right under them when they explode. They cover the sky with brilliant displays for over a quarter mile wide, lots of other things too. Only part of what goes on just during the last 5 days alone.

Extremely handy for us as my wife is disabled but not wheelchair bound and she can use her electric 3 wheel scooter to whiz around the downtown events as they are mainly there the last 5 days.

Travelnutz,
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
That is some very valuable information. While that festival does have some appeal I'm not one for crowds. It looks like I need to restrict my area way down near Michigan City then.

KD4UPL,

Some info:

In going back and re-reading your original post, I see you are planning to be on the West Michigan shoreline about the end of July. Just to advise you that the National U.S. Coast Guard Festival is always held in Grand Haven (the original "Coast Guard City USA" by act of the U.S. Congress) during the 10 day period of the last week of July until the first Saturday in August each year for the last 91 years. Always 350,000 to 500,000+ attend yearly so virtually every CG site, motel or hotel or B&B room etc is booked solid for about 50 miles and any direction for that time period.

37 different events going on during the festival and so much fun for families and all but you need to beaware of this happening so be advised. Usually, the accomodations relax a somewhat prior to and after the festival but the lakeshore CG's are alway buzy all summer long with occasional 1 or 2 day possible gaps in site openings. You will need to reserve basically anywhere along the lakeshore CG's for even a 1-2 day CG site on a CG beach. Incredibly popular always and the same people return year after year and more added every year! Locally, within about 18 miles, there's 12 CG's presently and they are building another nice large one presently but there really is a need for at least 4-5 more. 7 of them are right on the Lake Michigan shoreline presently with 2 being private owned and 4 more being on the very large Grand River as also is the new one presently being built. CG's Inland a few miles, some openings for CG sites can usually be found most of the summer months but they tend to be very busy also so you'd have to contact them to be sure or reserve a site.

The huge long shoreline beachfront areas are public and can be used by all whether arriving by vehicle or RV or no matter where you live or are staying. In a lakefront CG site, motel, hotel, or just driving thru, etc or anywhere else We also have out TC on our truck for summer use and at least once a week take our made dinner or get a takeout and go to the state Park here with our TC and back into a parking spot and eat/enjoy/the beach-people-boats-harbor-the view even though we live right on the shores and have for 0ver 73 years and we see it everyday. Never tiring or gets old! Lots of people do it and many with their RV's including our neighbors. On google maps, you can see how huge the parking lot is and there are 3 of them right there. Over 2 million visitors each year to this state park area alone and 7 million plus to just the local community area as it's so popular, people oriented, clean and safe for all ages and for so many other reasons. It's also very easy on the wallet with having so much to do for all ages and about eveything is fee free. Traffic is very well planned and handled as there are so many feeder streets/roads serving the area as it's been going on for over 100 years now.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've got plenty to look into now.
My boys are ages 4 and 2 so that's why I don't want to be taking long walks across highways. We'll probably only stay 1 or 2 nights so hopefully I can fit it in somewhere.

wing_zealot,

Since you have mentioned it and it's true as we know because we've lived on the lake Michigan Shoreline for over 73 years. Many days in a row in one state park CG site on the shoreline are very close to impossible to be had unless reserved in very early January and we virtually never reserve sites. Only twice in our 51 years of RV'ing.

We're very flexible and truly enjoy a day or two in one CG and then move to another CG and then still another as it gives us more new stuff to enjoy constantly and more places to visit rather than the same thing for a week or two weeks straight. We already live very close to the most popular West Michigan shoreline State Park and can go there anytime even without one of our RV's so maybe we are just spoiled! Per our logs, we have camped in 66 Michigan State Parks and many over a dozen times and have been in 93 of them so we are no strangers to the state park system here.

We actually enjoy moving around from CG to CG every day or so as it's far from boring or a hassle and have always found a CG site to be had in one of the close to where we are State Parks or National Parks or even county CG's/township CG's/or even a private park. Meet/met lots of different people, RV'ers, etc from all 50 states and Canada. Several are and have been very long time friends still and we'll meet up somewhere around the USA, Canada, and even one time in Alaska on one of our RV/various trips up there.

RV's have heat, cooking arrangements, refrigerators, beds, toilets and showers, freshwater, gray and black holding tanks, most have A/C, most RV's are self-contained, and under most all of them there's wheels that turn so it's really a "home" on wheels just waiting to go somewhere or anywhere, so why not? Even truck campers and tents will have some wheels carrying them to wherever.

That's what RV's are for! Others just pay thru the nose for a motel, hotel, etc and still have to eat somewhere with even more costs.

You didn't say how long you will be staying, but if it is more than two days you can pretty much forget it at a State Park. Reservations for that area, for the end of July, were pretty well locked up by January. You will be extremely lucky to get more than a day or two in a State Park in that area at this time. Other areas of the state you will probably find sites, Lake Michigan area - not so much.