RV Campground South Lake Michigan

[duck_eater]

My family is thinking of camping on the south end of Lake Michigan and have never been there before. We are looking for recommendations for a campground reasonably close to the beach, that will accommodate a 18' hybrid. We sold our pop-up 2 years ago and are renting a hybrid to give it a go, this will also be a chance to catch up some with our 2 twenty something sons. So playgrounds are not necessary. Bike trails or roads that are bike friendly would be good. Trees for an amateur antenna would be a plus. We choose this area for the beach and it's a hard days drive from our home in KC without any significant stop overs. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[duck_eater]

I would like to thank everyone for their comments. We are going to review all and make an executive decision this weekend so we can line up the RV rental.

[ericosmith]

tbred wrote:

ericosmith wrote:

tbred wrote:
I haven't been there but my Sister gives Kal-Haven RV Park in South Haven MI. good reviews. It is on the bike trails and very close to the beach and downtown. Most of the State parks will be booked at this point.

There's a Kal Haven Trail but no such RV park. Sunny Brook RV Resort is closest to both the trail and to downtown. Very upscale park with only newer units allowed.

Well, Kal Haven RV Park has a website. Don't have to take my word for it.

I stand corrected, it must be fairly new.

[tbred]

ericosmith wrote:

tbred wrote:
I haven't been there but my Sister gives Kal-Haven RV Park in South Haven MI. good reviews. It is on the bike trails and very close to the beach and downtown. Most of the State parks will be booked at this point.

There's a Kal Haven Trail but no such RV park. Sunny Brook RV Resort is closest to both the trail and to downtown. Very upscale park with only newer units allowed.

Well, Kal Haven RV Park has a website. Don't have to take my word for it.

[ericosmith]

tbred wrote:
I haven't been there but my Sister gives Kal-Haven RV Park in South Haven MI. good reviews. It is on the bike trails and very close to the beach and downtown. Most of the State parks will be booked at this point.

There's a Kal Haven Trail but no such RV park. Sunny Brook RV Resort is closest to both the trail and to downtown. Very upscale park with only newer units allowed.

[Parrothead_Mike]

I will second (or third) Van Buren State Park just south of South Haven, MI. We will be there the second week of July and again in September. Nice beach!

Below is the reservation site for Michigan state parks. Most Lake Michigan state parks fill up fast, but last I checked you might be able to get a spot at Van Buren SP. Good Luck!

https://www.midnrreservations.com/

[travelnutz]

dewey02,

Geeze, Detroit is over 180 miles from Lake Michigan and a whole different world. Much more like the Gary Indiana area and type of city. Don't forget about the nearly constant stench and very polluted air quality blowing eastward by the prevailing westerly winds from the steel mills, factories, and refineries as the largest oil refinery in the Midwest is by Gary. The 3 times we've been to Indiana Dunes State Park you could hardly breath the smokey sinky air that hung like a fog. I could never suggest something like that to a fellow RV'er!

True that the special golden quartz sand doesn't totally end at the state line but there's very little in Indiana as compared to in Michigan. The geography books and encyclopedias say that 94% of the pure pristine golden singing sand is in the State Of Michigan. That leaves only 6% for all the surrounding states. Who said anything about the OP wanting to go 500 miles north to the Apostle Islands and it's NOT a Seashore as there is no salt water. It's: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Which has mainly stoney and rocky shores and layered rock cliffs as we've boated there several times and around most of the 22 islands.

Not disparaging any other state but when someone posts the "South end of Lake Michigan", that's Gary Indiana area and that location/area is not very nice at all nor safe and why try to defend the obvious?

It makes no difference to me at all where the OP goes but shouldn't he be given the truth and real facts so he can enjoy his camping/RV'ing experience per the little information he's given us?

BTW, Warren Dunes State Park is in the State of Michigan also a little south of Benton Harbor and St Joesph.

[golfknut]

Depending on how far up the Lake Michigan coast you wanted to drive the Warren Dunes State Park campground in Michigan is nice.

I checked availability online and they have several campsites available during July for a 3 to 5 night stay.....most being Sunday thru Thursday nights.

Also, I believe motorcycle Jack was referring to Markin Glen Park in northern Kalamazoo County.

[motorcycle_jack]

Morton Glenn County Park in Kalamazoo is worth staying if you are in the area. A very nice county park. Then visit the "Air Zoo" an off shot of the Smithsonian Air Museum. Had a great time in this area.

[dewey02]

travelnutz wrote:
camperpaul,

The Michigan (West Michigan) side of Lake Michigan where the OP is asking about has no rock and is pure clean golden quartz sand and wide beaches and lake bottom plus so many large sandunes with several hundreds of feet high. This sand only occurs in 2 places on the planet Earth, mainly in Michigan and is found in a few places in Australia. It sings when you walk on it and that's why is called "singing sand". The West Michigan sand never breaks down into a powder like rock does which then becomes slippery murky clay. It doesn't stick like glue to you like salt water beach sand does.

Well, yes, except that such dunes and singing sand also occur all along the many beaches in Indiana,(along with sand dunes over 125 high in some places) and the singing sands also occur on the beaches of Apostle Island National Seashore in northern Wisconsin (on Lake Superior). And probably several other places around the Great Lakes.

And on your other post, there are many beautiful, rural and suburban places along the Lake Michigan shoreline that are east of Gary,IN. and do not have such problems. Using your logic, others might say "Stay out of Michigan, because Detroit is located there."

Michigan is a beautiful state and well worth visiting and vacationing there. You need not disparage other places to try to make Michigan more attractive.

[travelnutz]

Ahhh yes, That be Gary Indiana and I wouldn't send an enemy to there! There's so many much better places and they aren't on the south end of Lake Michigan or even 50 miles north of the south end of the lake. I'll bet he really wants a very pleasant memorable experience while being at the southern 1/8th end of the lake. DUH!

[camperpaul]

Travelnutz,

Go back and reread the OP's post.

Nowhere did he say he wanted to camp in Michigan.

He only said he wanted to camp on the "South end of Lake Michigan".

[travelnutz]

One of many web sites that each give some of the info but none have all of it at just the one site.

http://www.visitgrandhaven.com/

Spotlessly clean downtown flowered and trees with a few thousand free parking places with 100% of the well kept stores open for business and ZERO vacant or boarded up. A water front staduim with venues and free concerts in Central Park weekly 5 blocks up the main street (Washington). 29 city pristine parks and 8 of them the board walk from the end of the south pier thru downtown goes thru. More after crossing the boardwalk bridge over the Grand River and over the entrance to Spring Lake and the town of Spring Lake.

That's some of the reasons why so many people come here year after year for all over the USA and Canada + and then their kids do also with their families.

[travelnutz]

camperpaul,

The Michigan (West Michigan) side of Lake Michigan where the OP is asking about has no rock and is pure clean golden quartz sand and wide beaches and lake bottom plus so many large sandunes with several hundreds of feet high. This sand only occurs in 2 places on the planet Earth, mainly in Michigan and is found in a few places in Australia. It sings when you walk on it and that's why is called "singing sand". The West Michigan sand never breaks down into a powder like rock does which then becomes slippery murky clay. It doesn't stick like glue to you like salt water beach sand does.

Note, copied and pasted:

In March of 2012, Grand Haven was named as one of Travel + Leisure Magazine's Best Secret Beaches on Earth along side exotic destinations like Turkey, Australia, France, and Thailand

[tbred]

I haven't been there but my Sister gives Kal-Haven RV Park in South Haven MI. good reviews. It is on the bike trails and very close to the beach and downtown. Most of the State parks will be booked at this point.