Ludington State Park Michigan

regalroute66 wrote:
Hello Everyone,
I`m looking for some feedback, good or bad on Ludington S P in Michigan. My wife and I are planning on going there this Sept. for a week or so. We are camping in a 24ft Class C MH. Are the sites small,private,wide open etc. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you in advance ;)

We spent a few days there in Sept. 2011. The area is beautiful! We were in the campground where the store is located and were not impressed. The sites are very close together with no privacy in-between. You will have electric hookup but nothing else. You have to fill your water tank from a spigot in the parking lot where the check in facility is located, which is quite a distance from the campgrounds.

We enjoyed riding our bikes there and exploring the surrounding area but we couldn't figure out what the popularity of the state park campgrounds was about. Perhaps we were confused because our Missouri state parks are so much nicer. :)

Peg

Verry, Verry popular destination. Were there many years back. Remember, Michigan folks camp in there State. Reservation are a MUST today. You can view maps of the sites, and view where they are in conjunction with the lake on the internet. I know there camping fees have changed over the last few years, but being there in September, most if not all of the kids will be back in school, but they will be back for the weekends. Not knocking the kids, as that is what camping is, BUT quiet days and nights are nice too.

Our favorite Michigan State Park....but not because of the campsites.
The park was built in the 1930's so you can imagine the type of camping units they were planning for. Most of the campsites are average and some, in my opinion, should not even be campsites.

All but about a dozen or so of the sites are dirt or sand. There are several grass sites in the Cedar Campground, which is also where the campground store is located.
The Pines Campground has the most sandy sites and also has 3 paved pull-through sites.
Beechwood campground is the largest and most shady...overall, with some sites along Lost Lake.

There is no privacy between campsites. There are all sizes of campsites.

If you can get a decent campsite you will really enjoy the 5,300 acres in the park. Miles of great beach on Lake Michigan, miles of nice hiking trails, fishing and boating on Hamlin Lake and fishing and tubing/floating on the Big Sable River, great sunsets over Lake Michigan, and nice fall colors in October.

We've enjoyed going there annually for several decades.

Oh, and you can fill your water tank at the dump station (located at the campground entrance) as well as the parking lot at the check-in station.

golfknut wrote:
Oh, and you can fill your water tank at the dump station (located at the campground entrance) as well as the parking lot at the check-in station.

A little off subject but...we would never use a hose next to a damp station for filling our water tank! Even those marked as potable water. We've seen what people do with those hoses at dump stations. Since they're usually leaving they don't seem to care that they're contaminating the potable water hose.

No thanks. ;)

PegLW wrote:

We were in the campground where the store is located and were not impressed. The sites are very close together with no privacy in-between. You will have electric hookup but nothing else. You have to fill your water tank from a spigot in the parking lot where the check in facility is located, which is quite a distance from the campgrounds.

It all depends what you're looking for. Ludington SP is our absolute favorite. Note that staying there isn't about plumbing or pavement at your campsite. It's about 5300 acres of lakes, dunes, trails, woods, beaches, and wildlife.

There's so much to do there you can stay for a week and never have to leave the park. Immerse yourself in the hardwood canopy. Walk the numerous trails. Watch the swans and the great blue herons. Climb the decks of the Skyline Trail and look out over the incredible horizon. Bike out to the lighthouse and climb to the top for a breathtaking panoramic view of Lake Michigan and the dunes. Check out a concert at the ampitheater. Paddle the canoe trail along the edge of Hamlin Lake. Bike along the Sable River, and stop to let the deer cross the path in front of you. Picnic there the next day. Then grab a tube and float the river all the way into Lake Michigan. Take off your shoes and walk through the incredibly soft sand along the 6-mile long Lake Michigan beach. Pick out an uncrowded spot and swim anywhere along it, there are no weeds or rocks. Look down and see your toes through the crystal clear water. Then wait until dusk to watch some of the most beautiful sunsets you'll ever see.

We're heading there in 3 weeks. Can you tell I'm looking forward to it?

-- Rob

PegLW wrote:

we would never use a hose next to a damp station for filling our water tank! Even those marked as potable water. We've seen what people do with those hoses at dump stations. Since they're usually leaving they don't seem to care that they're contaminating the potable water hose.

Although possible, the MI state parks make this difficult. Each dump station has separate towers for potable and non-potable water. The non-potable towers are painted red and located right next to the dump drains. The potable water towers are green and located some distance away. You'd have to go out of your way to use green for dumping.

Do you ever use full-hookup campsites? They make it trivially easy to use the water spigot for dumping.

-- Rob

Just to let you all know, My wife and I did go to Ludington S.P. right after the Labour day weekend for 6 days. I would like to thank all of you for your input.But I would especially like to thank bimber84 and golfknut for there positive input.The state park is a real gem in so many ways.We will definitely go back there again, sure, most of the campsites are tight together but there is so much to do there, you aren't at your campsite a whole lot.It is also really nice to see that the park puts money back into the park, for example, a brand new filling and dumping station with 4 lanes to eliminate long line ups and a totally restored beach house on lake Michigan etc.
So for those who would like to visit this park, I strongly suggest reservations.

Regards,
regalroute66

We were just there a few weeks back. Great park with nice trails. We weren't impressed with the Cedars campground... a bit crowded and open for us. We stayed in the Beechwood campground which is more to our liking, especially if you can score one of the sites that back up on to Lost Lake. Definitely worth the trip, and worth a return trip. On a side note, if you're a golfer, do a round on the Lincoln Hills golf course. Beautifully manicured, with some holes on the back nine carved out of the dunes. A bit pricey during the on season, but a good value after Labor Day at $35.00 for 18 and a cart.

Looks like this is an old thread, but I am responding for those that read this in the future.

We went to Ludington SP for 5 days in August of 2013. The beaches were amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed the bike trail, dam, tubing down the river, and walking/fishing the wooden bridges. The park was amazing.

Our site backed up to the dunes on the beach. It was spectacular to walk out of our camper, up a dune, and to the lake. A bit of a hike, but wonderful.

Now the bad.........the campsites were absolutely horrible. Small and all dirt. We have 3 kids and 2 dogs and I was beside myself with the mess. We had planned on leaving the SP and going to Silver Lake to an RV park and it was a huge relief to have a cement pad and grass.

Also, in the summer it is nearly impossible to get in to. I tried for 2 weeks then had to bribe a friend to get me in. IF you get into the park in the summer, you don't have a choice of locations of sites in the park, you take what's available and it might not be anything at all. If you want to go in the summer, I would have a plan "B" in place just in case you don't get in.

michigansandzilla wrote:

IF you get into the park in the summer, you don't have a choice of locations of sites in the park, you take what's available and it might not be anything at all.

Reservations are an absolute must, but we've always had a choice of campsites. Yes, there are small, crowded sites, just like any other park, but we don't book those. We book the larger, uncrowded ones. We prefer the Beechwood campground because of the towering hardwoods. All the trees mean there's not much grass, but we also have a camp mat so dirt in the trailer isn't much of an issue. Cedars campground has a lot less shade so it's more grassy. There are some very large sites in Cedars, but rest assured they're among the first to get booked. The Pines campground is closest to Lake Michigan, but it also has the smallest sites. There are few in there that would hold our rig.

-- Rob