Opinions on great Michigan Campgrounds For Young Children

[busterbrown73]

I just purchased a brand new Bullet travel trailer for the family. I thought THAT was the hard part. I'm realizing now that what's even more challenging is planning the many trips we have in store for our young family. For this first season, we'd like to limit travel to the lower peninsula of Michigan as we live in the Detroit area. Northern Ohio has potential though.

So here's the big question for active Michigan members? What campgrounds, state or private, are youth friendly in terms of organized activities, sight seeing, nature walks, beach/pool accessibility, and full of exciting adventures for over-active 6 and under children? We've booked several short trips already, including Ludington SP, Monroe KOA, Port Huron KOA, and South Higgins Lake SP.

Again, campgrounds that cater to 1st graders, kindergartners, and preschoolers are top priority. Clean and safe for obvious reasons. We'd like full hooks ups if possible but could easily do electric only as long as we had a close water source.

Any opinions of where large YOUNG families are venturing out to would be greatly appreciated.

[busterbrown73]

Based on advice of colleagues, friends, family and forum members, I'm excited to have a solid itinerary for late spring/summer and early fall. Camping trips included are:

1. KOA of Port Huron (two trips)
2. KOA of Monroe (Halloween)
3. Haas Lake Park / New Hudson (our first shake down cruise 2 weeks ago)
4. Duggans Family CG Port Austin
5. Grand Haven SP, Ludington SP, and YB Jellystone Silver Lake (July trip)
6. Tawas SP
7. Yogi Bear Barton Lake, IN
8. Pictured Rocks (Munising Tourist Park CG) and Tahquamenon Falls SP
9. Groveland Oaks for Halloween(Oakland County Parks)
10. Platte River / Sleepy Bear Dunes
11. Cedar point Lighhouse CG (Sandusky); 1 day at the water park
12. A tentative trip to Disney's Fort Wilderness first week of December.

What better way to break in the new trailer while it's under the factory warranty. 🙂 With all the miles we'll be racking up this year, I'm now trying to determine if I should upgrade the cheap Chinese tires that came on my Keystone trailer.

[jacko147]

Frankenmuth Jellystone is nice, but you're not allowed to have campfires unless you bring your own raised fire pit, city ordinance... It's also pricey, we usually do some cold weather camping there for the indoor pool.

If you decide to go Halloween camping somewhere, I would strongly suggest reserving now, campgrounds fill up fast, both koa's near port Huron are popular as is Algonac st park. We typically go to port Huron koa, they have 5 Halloween weekends there.

Another place you might want to try is outdoor adventure in Davidson, huge campground with tons to do for kids, although it's a membership type campground, but you can probably get some free camping for going through their sales pitch, we are buying a new camper this year and I think we're getting some free nights there, we plan to use them if we do.

[michigansandzil]

busterbrown73 wrote:
I need to narrow down a 4 day July 4th campground. Most of the state parks are full now. Suggestions are appreciated.

Yes, to get the best sites you have to plan at least 6 months in advance. If you delay, you generally have to go farther north. Looks like there are a few that are still open if you're looking for a state park.

We've been to Algonac. Nice campground, but probably not the best for small kids. We had a site overlooking the river and it was great to see the freighters go by, but those sites fill quickly and there's no place to swim, plus you have to cross a very busy road to fish. It is close to a nice town however, and I do feel it would have been nice to check that out, but we did not have a chance.

Brighton is a very pretty park. Nice beach. My son got a tick on his neck while there, it could happen anywhere, but we haven't been back.

Pontiac Lake is a nice park for hiking or hoseback riding. Great wooded sites. The beach is a LONG walk (2 miles) or a drive from the campground.

I probably wouldn't bother with Proud Lake until they're older. There's a great swimming beach and fantastic opportunities to canoe there, but canoeing is really difficult with three small kids. Plus there's not much in the area to do.

I've heard good things about Waterloo, but I've never tried it myself. There's a beach there that would be warm for little kids.

Wherever you want to go, you should make plans now. It's only going to get more packed.

[ga80486]

I would try Silver Lake. Not that far and lots to do.

http://www.silverlakejellystone.com

[fil564]

Last year we spent time at the Traverse City KOA and they have a train they pull through the campground a couple of times a day and they really have a nice play area for young children. You can rent RC controlled cars there and drive on their dirt track and they have a large chess and checkers set outside also.

[the_happiestcam]

The great thing about state and federal parks is they are cheaper and usually have some body of water and hiking trails. Kids love water - whether it be a river, lake, or ocean. Swimming, tubing, and fishing along with some hikes will keep them entertained all day (and sleep through the night).

[GordonThree]

busterbrown73 wrote:
Thanks so much for all your suggestions! The Yogi Bear near Barton Lake, IN is a definite later this summer. You're the 3rd person to suggest it.

I need to narrow down a 4 day July 4th campground. Most of the state parks are full now. Suggestions are appreciated.

Many National Forest campgrounds are first-come first-serve, no reservations accepted.

[rockhillmanor]

busterbrown73 wrote:
Thanks so much for all your suggestions! The Yogi Bear near Barton Lake, IN is a definite later this summer. You're the 3rd person to suggest it.

I need to narrow down a 4 day July 4th campground. Most of the state parks are full now. Suggestions are appreciated.

Keep calling periodically. There are ALWAYS cancellations. Some will even put you on the waiting list for a cancellation.

Sadly some RV'ers put their reservations in at multiple CG's and decide which one they will ultimately go to at a later date.

[busterbrown73]

Thanks so much for all your suggestions! The Yogi Bear near Barton Lake, IN is a definite later this summer. You're the 3rd person to suggest it.

I need to narrow down a 4 day July 4th campground. Most of the state parks are full now. Suggestions are appreciated.

michigansandzilla wrote:
Hi. We've been camping for 6 years now and we live in southeastern Michigan. Our kids are currently 13, 11 and 6.

Some of my favorite places to take small children in Michigan would be:
-Tawas Point State park. In addition to the large open water of Lake Huron, there's a bay side where little ones can swim and play in warmer, shallow water without huge waves. There's a lighthouse to tour and a playground and dog beach. You can go into town for ice cream.

-Fremont Indiana Yogi Bear. Only 2 hours from my house, this place is an rv resort in the middle of nowhere. It has it all, golf carts, 4 pools, splash pad and water slides for both big and little kids, organized activities. If you ask my first grader, this is her favorite campground of all time.

-Covenant Hills in Otisville. Full hook up available. This is a church campground. We are not a religious family but I heard about this place at the camper show a few years ago and had to try it. They have a "come check us out weekend" the weekend before Memorial and it has a ton of free activities for families: horse drawn wagon rides, boating, bounce houses, face painting, crafts, etc. It's all free! Little kids love it and religion was never solicited. The kids are disappointed we can't go back this year due to schedule conflicts.

-Groveland Oaks in Holly. This is a local campground for us but it's worth the drive if you don't live close. Beach, concession stand, paddle boat rentals, paved biking/walking path in the woods, creek where all the kids gather. Some full hook up is available. The Halloween weekends in September are fantastic.

-Akron KOA in Ohio to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Bring bikes to Cuyahoga and you can ride the train back to where you started from. We also spent a fun day in Cleveland, (yes, really, Cleveland was fun) by going to tour the USS COD, Mather freighter and then the Great Lakes Science Center. The campground was installing a pool when we visited two years ago. They have a swimming beach and fishing ponds.

-Brimley state park in the UP. I have great memories of going to this campground with kids that were 2, 6, and 8. We had a site that backed up to the tree line and the kids ran through the sand trials with walkie talkies. We found a creek full of tadpoles. It was a hot summer and they actually swam in Lake Superior; the water is shallow there and it's the warmest spot on the Lake. If you want to go that far north, it's a great middle spot to have day trips out to tour Pictured Rocks, Sault St Marie, and Tahquamenon Falls.

In all honesty, there are very few campgrounds we've been to that the kids didn't like or couldn't find something to do even at a young age. Just bring glow sticks..they can instantly make friends anywhere by sharing glow sticks.

We've been to the Yogi in Frankenmuth and it's nice to have the indoor pool, but we tired of it after two years. Ludington was a great trip, but you have to remember that Lake Michigan is really cold for little ones and they might not last long in that water; but there's a ton of other stuff to do there.

Have a great summer.

[rockhillmanor]

Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park™ CG's are always a good place to start when RV'ing with children to spark/enhance their first time interest in RV'ing.

Once you all get a few miles of RV'ing under your belt the lesser expensive CG's will work just fine when the kids find out there will be other kids, playgrounds, pools to have fun at all the CG's you stop at.

http://www.campjellystone.com/find-park/

[INBellbuoy]

Camp Pet-o-segaWith young children I'd recommend Camp Pet-o-sega near Alanson

[michigansandzil]

Hi. We've been camping for 6 years now and we live in southeastern Michigan. Our kids are currently 13, 11 and 6.

Some of my favorite places to take small children in Michigan would be:
-Tawas Point State park. In addition to the large open water of Lake Huron, there's a bay side where little ones can swim and play in warmer, shallow water without huge waves. There's a lighthouse to tour and a playground and dog beach. You can go into town for ice cream.

-Fremont Indiana Yogi Bear. Only 2 hours from my house, this place is an rv resort in the middle of nowhere. It has it all, golf carts, 4 pools, splash pad and water slides for both big and little kids, organized activities. If you ask my first grader, this is her favorite campground of all time.

-Covenant Hills in Otisville. Full hook up available. This is a church campground. We are not a religious family but I heard about this place at the camper show a few years ago and had to try it. They have a "come check us out weekend" the weekend before Memorial and it has a ton of free activities for families: horse drawn wagon rides, boating, bounce houses, face painting, crafts, etc. It's all free! Little kids love it and religion was never solicited. The kids are disappointed we can't go back this year due to schedule conflicts.

-Groveland Oaks in Holly. This is a local campground for us but it's worth the drive if you don't live close. Beach, concession stand, paddle boat rentals, paved biking/walking path in the woods, creek where all the kids gather. Some full hook up is available. The Halloween weekends in September are fantastic.

-Akron KOA in Ohio to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Bring bikes to Cuyahoga and you can ride the train back to where you started from. We also spent a fun day in Cleveland, (yes, really, Cleveland was fun) by going to tour the USS COD, Mather freighter and then the Great Lakes Science Center. The campground was installing a pool when we visited two years ago. They have a swimming beach and fishing ponds.

-Brimley state park in the UP. I have great memories of going to this campground with kids that were 2, 6, and 8. We had a site that backed up to the tree line and the kids ran through the sand trials with walkie talkies. We found a creek full of tadpoles. It was a hot summer and they actually swam in Lake Superior; the water is shallow there and it's the warmest spot on the Lake. If you want to go that far north, it's a great middle spot to have day trips out to tour Pictured Rocks, Sault St Marie, and Tahquamenon Falls.

In all honesty, there are very few campgrounds we've been to that the kids didn't like or couldn't find something to do even at a young age. Just bring glow sticks..they can instantly make friends anywhere by sharing glow sticks.

We've been to the Yogi in Frankenmuth and it's nice to have the indoor pool, but we tired of it after two years. Ludington was a great trip, but you have to remember that Lake Michigan is really cold for little ones and they might not last long in that water; but there's a ton of other stuff to do there.

Have a great summer.

[Mr__Camper]

I'd suggest you stay clear of the Flint area.

[jim_isham]

Go to Youtube and enter 'Michigan State Parks'. Lots of information there may help you decide.

[bloomis2925]

We are from Northwest Ohio and second Frankenmuth Jellystone. Bronner's, the world's largest Christmas store is within walking distance as well. My kids love Frankenmuth and the Jellystone Campground.