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Submission
Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into state parks and recreation areas, state boat launches, state forest campgrounds and state trail parking lots. The Michigan Recreation Passport does not cover local, county, municipal, or metropolitan parks or recreation areas. Learn more: https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/buy-and-apply/rec-pp
Park entrance is located on US-12; 7 miles west of M-52 or 5 miles east of M-50; 25 miles east of Jackson; 70 miles southwest of Detroit.
What a great time....again! Awesome lake within walking/biking distance for swimming. Clean showers and restroom facilities within a very short walk. Dollar General and and a Gas Station/Convenience store just outside the park. 15 and 30 amp hook up at site 107 with a water nozzle right there. Site specific info: 107's back is to the east. Since sites 181 and 183 are right behind you, there isn't any shade. All the sites are pretty much the same size. We use a 10X10 screen tent and 14X10 sleeping tent. We also use a sun shade that's 6X3. There is a picnic table at every site and a fire pit. Even with all our gear, there's room for a few chairs and another 14X10 tent. There's a cement pad at 107 that can find a Ram and Jetta. 181 can fit a Ram and Tahoe. We've never experienced negative folks here! Everyone is friendly and we've made friends on a few occasions. I grew up camping and this state park rivals any private park I've been to. No pool or putt-putt but I can find that at home!
Had a great time camping. Sites are close and open. Everyone has a dog, and everyone is wonderfully friendly and nice. Take your bike great place to go for a ride.
Probably the best local place to swim. Can get crowded on them warm days but the swim area is very large! The food stand has some pretty dang good bbq sandwiches and warm pretzels! Definitely good place to spend your summer days. Also love that they have actual bathrooms! Huge plus!
Great State Park. The beach area is huge, so there is plenty of room for families to swim, picnic, or just look at the scenery. Lots of mature trees around that make it feel like you are in a forest. The grounds and restroom areas are very well maintained. There are plenty of picnic tables and grills to go around for everybody. It's nice that there are picnic areas that are away from all of the hustle and bustle of the beach and boat launch. There is lots of truck and trailer parking for those who bring boats as well. Hayes is also a nice place for people who like to hike. Another nice feature of the beach area is that they have a concessions stand and a place to rent beach floats and other items. You can purchase sunscreen, snacks, and drinks at the concessions stand, too. It's definitely worth the trip to go out there. It's one of the nicest state parks in Michigan that we've been to.
Me and my family have been coming to this beach for years. And a couple of days ago, I camped at this state park for the first time since I was a child, about 25 years ago.
The beach area is very nice. There are concessions with general finger food, like fries and pretzel bites. There is also BBQ on weekends and holidays I believe.
The swimming area is exceptional. The water always seems to be clean and refreshing. You can swim quite far out before reaching the swim area boundaries as well. There is a LOT of room to swim. The water is all quite shallow also.
The campground is okay. While the spots were pretty close to one another, they certainly were not the smallest I've ever camped in. There are also over 100 camping spots.
There are also 2 nice hiking trails; one a 1/2 mile and one a full mile. Both go in a circle.
One thing that's kind of a bummer though is that the camping area is not that close to the beach. So driving to the beach is most likely your best bet if camping here.
The bathrooms in the campsite did not have soap either.
Overall, decent state park with an excellent swimming area and a campsite that's nice but with a few minor flaws.
