Best Tent Camping: Michigan

As a native of Michigan, Matt Forster has camped all over the Great Lake State. He’s carried his gear in backpacks, Duluth packs, saddlebags, and car trunks and slept in tents, pop-ups, camper vans, and RVs. He and his wife live in Michigan with their two young children, who are both just experiencing camping for the first time. These days, camping trips often come down to tossing the tent in the back of the car, loading up way too much equipment, and praying for good weather (a necessity with two kids in tow). As a freelance writer, Matt is the author of Backroads & Byways of Michigan (The Countryman Press), Backroads & Byways of Ohio (The Countryman Press), Colorado: An Explorer’s Guide (The Countryman Press), Best Hikes Near Detroit and Ann Arbor (FalconGuides), and a travel app for Michigan’s Grand Traverse region called Up North! Grand Traverse (available on iOS and Android devices).

• Michigan Campground Locator Map Map Legend Acknowledgments Preface Best Campgrounds Introduction Southeast Michigan Holly Recreation Area: McGinnis Lake CampgroundLake Hudson Recreation Area CampgroundPinckney Recreation Area: Crooked Lake and Blind Lake CampgroundsPort Crescent State Park CampgroundWaterloo Recreation Area: Green Lake CampgroundSouthwest Michigan Fort Custer State Recreation Area Campground Highbank Lake National Forest CampgroundMuskegon State Park: South Channel CampgroundPines Point National Forest CampgroundP. J. Hoffmaster State Park CampgroundTubbs Lake State Forest CampgroundsWarren Dunes State Park: Rustic CampgroundYankee Springs State Recreation Area: Deep Lake Rustic CampgroundNorthwest Michigan Arbutus Lake No. 4 State Forest CampgroundCCC Bridge State Forest CampgroundFisherman’s Island State Park CampgroundsGraves Crossing State Forest CampgroundLake Dubonnet State Forest CampgroundLudington State Park: Jack Pine Walk-In CampgroundNordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area: Dispersed CampgroundPeterson Bridge South National Forest CampgroundSilver Creek State Forest CampgroundSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: D. H. Day CampgroundSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore: South Manitou Island, Weather Station CampgroundWilderness State Park: Lakeshore CampgroundNortheast Michigan Canoe Harbor State Forest CampgroundJones Lake State Forest CampgroundOcqueoc Falls State Forest CampgroundOssineke State Forest CampgroundPigeon River State Forest CampgroundRifle River State Recreation Area: Spruce CampgroundSawmill Point Primitive CampsitesTomahawk Creek Flooding State Forest CampgroundUpper Peninsula Bay View National Forest CampgroundBewabic State Park CampgroundBig Knob State Forest CampgroundBlack River Harbor National Forest CampgroundBond Falls Flowage CampgroundBrevoort Lake National Forest CampgroundCarney Lake State Forest CampgroundCourtney Lake National Forest CampgroundHenry Lake National Forest CampgroundMonocle Lake National Forest CampgroundPetes Lake National Forest CampgroundPictured Rocks National Lakeshore: Twelvemile Beach CampgroundPorcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park: Presque Isle CampgroundPortage Bay State Forest CampgroundPretty Lake State Forest CampgroundSylvania Wilderness and Recreation Area: Clark Lake CampgroundTahquamenon Falls State Park: Rivermouth Pines Campground Appendix A: Camping Equipment ChecklistAppendix B: Sources of InformationIndexAbout the Author