Maybe you’ve been craving dropping a line or hitting a trail (camping), good ole bonfires and s’mores (camping), and spending some laid-back time outdoors with the ones you love… going camping!
Read on to peruse where to park your RVs & pop up your tents when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Michigan — and discover nearby summertime favorites that’ll round out the experience when you & yours go camping.
Named one of “The 20 Best State Parks in Michigan” by U.S. News & World Report in 2019, Bay City State Park on the shores of Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay is open year-round with sites for everything from motorcoaches to tents, cabins, and even pop-up camper rentals — with Wi-Fi and 50-amp service available.
Enjoy nearly a mile of sandy beachfront, a boat launch & picnic areas, volleyball & basketball courts, on-site kayak & paddleboard rentals, a splash park & playscape, and exploring the breathtaking wetland haven of wildlife that is Tobico Marsh.
Set deep in a 206-acre hardwood forest nature preserve, Bay County Pinconning Park includes 62 modern/semi-modern sites with varying amenities, log cabin rentals, and maintained bathhouses.
Enjoy a sandy beach, kayak rentals, two playground areas, a boat launch, and miles of boardwalks & trails. Explore the nature preserve with a floating fishing dock, two observation decks, and three observation towers — one being the only lookout of the entire Saginaw Bay!
At Linwood Beach Marina & Campground, choose from 135 sites suited for tents or RV campers — complete with water, sewer, and electric hook-up. Enjoy the new bathhouse & showers, fish cleaning station, fishing pond for kids, and access to unbeatable walleye fishing on Saginaw Bay. (Plenty of our top Saginaw Bay fishing charters launch from Linwood Beach Marina, so consider setting up camp here if you want to be near all the world-class walleye action!)
At Finn Road Park Campground, trailers are welcome to 56 campsites with water, sewer, electricity, fire pits, a playground, a modern bathhouse — and a boat launch with direct access to Saginaw Bay. This RV campground offers free Wi-Fi, too.
Want to up the ante this year? You are, after all, camping near Saginaw Bay, renowned for its world-class walleye fishing! Consider chartering an expedition with The Michigan Experience or Adventure 1 Charters — or any from this ample list of expert Saginaw Bay charter fishing guides. You’ll get the kind of fishing tales where you don’t have to stretch the truth!
Read More +Camp in Frankenmuth year-round with Yogi Bear at Frankenmuth’s only full-service campground, Frankenmuth Jellystone Park Camp-Resort! This mecca of family fun offers a playground, an indoor & outdoor pool, game room, daily activities, exciting themed weekends, and outdoor mini-golf! Choose from standard, deluxe, and premium sites — or cabins, cottages, and even a vintage trailer rental.
With Downtown Frankenmuth mere minutes away from your campground, enjoy 200 tree-shaded sites — all full hook-up with water, electrical, and sewer — at Pine Ridge R.V. Campground in Birch Run. Add the perks of modern restrooms, a bathhouse with pay showers, Wi-Fi, and a laundry room, and enjoy this seasonal spot each time you return.
Heads up (way up): Frankenmuth Jellystone Park Camp-Resort is less than 400 feet from Frankenmuth Aerial Park, where you’ll zoom through treetops on ziplines and high-five one another through obstacle courses & rope challenges!
Read More +Camp at the family-friendly Lake of Dreams Campground in Merrill in your RV, pop-up, or tent — or rent a rustic cabin! With 253 modern campsites set on 77 acres, experience clean restrooms & hot showers.
Enjoy the four-acre lake & sandy beach, complete with paddleboating and a mini-waterpark where kids can conquer “The Summit” and bounce “The Blob” in the water! There’s also hiking, biking, beach volleyball, mini-golf, and two ponds with free catch-and-release fishing.
Inside Chesaning's Showboat Park — or 68 acres along the Shiawassee River — you’ll also find the 70-lot Tom Graham Memorial Campground. With electrical hookups & primitive sites (and a bathhouse with hot showers), the park is also home to basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, a new playground area, 18-hole disc golf course, over 6,000 feet of riverfront, a boat launch, and a fishing pier!
If seclusion is more your style, the 186-acre Price Nature Center just south of Saginaw is generally peaceful & quiet, with nearly three miles of hiking & biking trails. Enjoy a large playground, pavilion, and a few rustic campsites available.
Price Nature Center is just 15 minutes from the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge that’s ripe for exploration! Home to deer, bald eagles, swans, American white pelicans, and more — look to the seasonal, 6.5-mile Wildlife Drive that allows you to drive right through on a pre-set route. Or, take your experience to the next level with Johnny Panther Quests Adventure Trips, where you’ll boat through the beauty while wildlife spotting alongside your expert, one-of-a-kind guide!
Read More +Located just south of Saginaw is a 10,000-acre respite where you can walk for miles without seeing another human being. The only chatter to be heard is that exchanged between the birds and the squirrels. And the scenery in every direction looks like something from a Monet painting. Welcome to the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge.
Read More +"Take a hike!" was once a phrase used to send someone on their way. Today, when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Michigan, it's a friendly invitation.
Read More +There’s real satisfaction in providing your own power, amid a rich soundscape of paddles' splashes and birdsong. You seem to float out of your own world and worries and into a wider, maybe even wiser, one. That’s Great Lakes Bay Region paddling.
Read More +By: Jen W. O'Deay | Updates: Go Great Lakes Bay | Jen is a Saginaw native and owner of Feel These Words, an independent copywriting studio & home to the free "5 Day Website MiniBoost". Jen specializes in writing that connects, delivered through website copy, branded content articles, and WingWoman writing services. You'll find Jen camping with her family, laughing, and at feelthesewords.com