Fisherman's Island State Park — Attraction in Charlevoix Township

Seems like all I do anymore is leave negative reviews. And that’s so sad. Here’s the story.

My wife, son, and I were driving from Oklahoma to the UP and back for the Fourth of July week. We stopped at every state park we could find as I just can’t get enough of that western Michigan coast. Every state park we visited let us in without purchasing the state pass because I’m a retired combat veteran with a 100% disability rating. I went to war, got blown up, shot, and wounded to a point that I needed almost 5 years of rehabilitation therapy.

This park has two parking lots “OUTSIDE” of the gate. Apparently one of those is “inside” the state park. But there is not one single sign that states that.

My family and I parked in one of the only spots left, that didn’t say “15 min parking only” and proceeded to walk down to the shoreline for a few minutes of walking just to stretch our legs.

When we returned we found a parking violation on our window and an off-duty cop who threatened my out of state license because of the ticket saying they will find me and issue me a citation against my drivers license because I parked in an spot he claimed was state park land, yet outside of the security gate and again, no signage.

The same off duty cop who was threatening us then laughed at my status as a retired, disabled, combat veteran and quote “they don’t give me any of that for being a cop (laughs at me)”

I probably wouldn’t have even bothered to write this review had it not been for that guy with a job comparing himself to a person who went to war as a young adult and got blown up. Yea because he deserves the same for having a job.

This to me is an absolute racket. They set you up to get a ticket then have a cop sitting there threatening you.

Is this really the treatment we as citizens deserve? Is this the same treatment we want for our war veterans who risked their lives as young men? This guy deserves to be fired and sent packing for treating people like this.

Also, for clarity. We have offered to buy the season pass at every park we’ve been too and literally EVERY SINGLE gate attendant has said, no. We appreciate your service enjoy your day.

Every single one, except this Karen who thinks he’s as deserving as anyone. Cops are entitled and shouldn’t be security guards.

I bet an infantryman could do that job with civility...

When my family and I started coming here, we were specifically told that if you book a campsite on the beach, then that section of the beach is private to be used for the according camp site. The public beach is for day users. We've come to this campground for this reason. So we can enjoy a small stretch to ourselves. We've come for years, and we've never had issues with it until recently when I camped here with my parents. A couple came from the public beach and set their stuff directly in front of our site. I wouldn't have had an issue if the man didn't make me, and my parents extremely uncomfortable by the way he was openly gawking. The beach is known for the rocks, so of course, I'm bending over to pick them up. It was so bad that I left the beach upset and sat in our tent while my mom politely asked them to move back to the public beach. They refused, so my mom made it aware that we were all uncomfortable by how he was continuously acting towards me, and she was met by the couples insults. My mom complained to 2 different workers, the one that was actually in charge said rules either changed or we were told wrong. He talked to the man but didn't make him move even after I expressed how uncomfortable and objectified I felt. Absolutely nothing was done. I went back to the beach for a minute but spent the rest of the day in the tent once i saw his behavior didn't change, and didn't want him watching me walk around my own damn campsite. We canceled the week long camp trip and left the next morning. We won't be coming back. Even if rules changed or we were told wrong, that doesn't matter. What matters is that staff was made aware of creepy behavior, and nothing was done about it🤷‍♀️ It's not hard to ask creepy men to leave the beach if they're behaving that way, especially when they purposefully plant themselves RIGHT in front of your site. I can't imagine any other campground that I go to that WOULDN'T do that!

On top of that, we could smell the bathroom from our site to the point where we were literally gagging in our tent. I wish i was being dramatic. The beach was disappointing and mostly just sand this trip. It's just not worth it anymore. It was fun while it...

Secluded area and beaches. They have roughing it style camp sites. But you can park and walk easily to the beach thru a wooded trail. There is an area near entrance where parking is free. That's small and normally crowded. But still you can walk into the area from a public parking that is very small, easy access to the beach (albeit thru wooded rough trails). Otherwise if you have the Michigan park pass, "free" entry to all state parks but... That's small if you think ahead ($) that goes on your tabs when you buy or renew them for Michiganders. The out of State people or those without the Recreation pass will need to stop at the DNRs Visitor / Ranger Station at Entrance and pay the fee for passes (possibly upwards of $25 but it might be a yearly pass for all sites in Michigan) don't quote me on that. The DNR Parks and Rec will always update their fees based on various factors over the years. Just visit online and see their fees based on year if you do plan on traveling far. Many people will find it well worth the money on their yearly tabs vs dealing with it at the ranger station. The rocks for rock hounds are amazing. But you do have to pull some from the water and not just happen upon them at times. Early spring is better for Petoskey or the lesser known Charlevoix stones. The kids will love it. My children loved the areas of water and rocks that formed a basin at bottom of a natural spring. The only thing is if anyone needs assistance, I would stop at ranger station before going too far. I know the paths are rough but worth the privacy on the beach....