Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park
Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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Spent yesterday in TC with some family 🤍 got to stop at the state park playground too!! Wouldve been 10/10 without the 50mph winds 🤣🤍🌊🌲☀️ #traversecity #traversecitystatepark #lakemichigan
maggiewekwert
310
Stayed here for two nights over the 4th of July holiday weekend. The park was packed to the gills, but didn't cause us any issues at all. We tent camped with just a few items while most people here have large trailers and big camping setups. The bathrooms were surprisingly very clean (i usually don't expect much when I'm going camping anywhere!) and at night the campground was also surprisingly quiet for a holiday weekend. If you're wanting a rustic, secluded campground, this place is not for you. But it's a great spot for some low-key camping close to town that's MUCH cheaper than a hotel. The gate to the bike trail is awesome. The ride to town is not bad at all and it's worth having bikes. Although it's for safety, the only bummer is that the gate that opens to the bike trail closes at 10pm and once it's closed, you have to bike on the busy street around to the front entrance. It's worth hustling back to beat the gate! :) Staff was very friendly and helpful. Got some great suggestions of areas to visit.
Kimi Robertson
20
My family and I just returned from a weekend at this state park and campground. There is some noise from the main road. However the location is very hard to beat. My folks rented a campsite for two weeks and my partner and I joined them for the weekend. The campground itself is excellent. The shower and bathroom facilities are well-maintained. The campground is well-maintained and the DNR staff are very helpful at directing when it is high traffic times. I would highly recommend a stay here. You will need to book the campsite months in advance as they fill up fast, especially in the summer months around the holidays. You will have access to the state maintained public beach via walkway that connects to the campground. You will need a recreation passport to enter the park. I purchased one with my license plate tab renewal, but you may purchase one at the entry from the DNR staff if you don’t have one or if you are traveling from out of state.
Jessica Shantz
00
First off here are the pros: good level sites (gravel/dirt, not paved) newer picnic tables and fire rings, plenty of clean restrooms and showers, not so busy during the week, kind and helpful staff, access to beach is just a walk over the bridge, good location to get to attractions, plenty of dogs and kids biking. Cons: busy especially closer to the weekends- it’s a highly visited park, the last loop is right on Munson Ave and sirens/engine noise went all night long, it’s also adjacent to the airport and helicopters were flying around/planes taking off all day and night ITS SO LOUD, dog beach is not dog friendly. Please consider my review in terms of what my family looks for in a site when camping- quiet, reclusive, a little dirty and beautiful. We have toddlers and dogs and a pop up. We will head back to northport for our favorite campground- leelanau state park. *The sites have electricity plug in but no water. There was also a long line for the dump when we left on a Friday.
Britt Miller
10
A lot of downsides to this State Park. It’s best feature though is a big one - it’s location. It’s just a mile or so into downtown, and right across the street is a big beautiful beach right on the bay. But the park is so packed with sites (over 400 sites) it has problems... the sites are small and really crammed together, the roads are very tight with sharp turns, no play equipment or other entertainment, showers often had lines (and they’re old), and the park’s electrical system gets overloaded. The electric issue was really bad since it was a hot weekend. Because all the big rigs with their 3 air conditioners were running, it tripped the breaker so we couldn’t run the two small fans in our pop up.
Brandon Simmons
00
Bathrooms are disgustingly dirty, this park is near. Homeless encampment that city allows to exist, there were multiple homeless using bathrooms and showers. One defiantly wiped human feces all over the walls in a stall. The smell was horrendous. I alerted park ranger, my concern fell on deaf ears it seemed as this remained for four days this way ? I’m filing complaint with health department. Worst state park, previous summer we stayed here, one night after returning to campsite homeless persons living in their car were illegally in our reserved spot. Not a confrontation I was looking or paying money to have on vacation. WORST STATE PARK WE HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MICHIGAN!!
Robert York
00
Nearby Attractions Of Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park
Pirate's Cove Adventure Park
Parkshore Resort
Sugar Beach Resort Hotel
Grand Beach Resort Hotel
The Baywatch Resort
Hampton Inn Traverse City
Pinestead Reef Resort
The Beach Haus Resort
Traverse City Bear Company
Traverse City State Park Beach

Pirate's Cove Adventure Park
4.6
(875)
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Parkshore Resort
4.2
(650)
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Sugar Beach Resort Hotel
4.4
(575)
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Grand Beach Resort Hotel
4.3
(538)
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Nearby Restaurants Of Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park
Red Mesa Grill-Traverse City
Smoke and Porter Public House
Denny's
Culver’s
Good & Ugly Snacks

Red Mesa Grill-Traverse City
4.2
(1.2K)
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Smoke and Porter Public House
4.3
(458)
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Denny's
3.7
(1.1K)
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Culver’s
4.5
(1.1K)
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Basic Info
Address
1132 US-31, Traverse City, MI 49686
Map
Phone
(231) 922-5270
Call
Website
dnr.state.mi.us
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.5
(1.4K reviews)
Ratings & Description
outdoor
adventure
family friendly
accessibility
Description
Traverse City State Park, officially named Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park, is a 47-acre state park in East Bay Township just east of Traverse City in the U.S. state of Michigan.
attractions: Pirate's Cove Adventure Park, Parkshore Resort, Sugar Beach Resort Hotel, Grand Beach Resort Hotel, The Baywatch Resort, Hampton Inn Traverse City, Pinestead Reef Resort, The Beach Haus Resort, Traverse City Bear Company, Traverse City State Park Beach, restaurants: Red Mesa Grill-Traverse City, Smoke and Porter Public House, Denny's, Culver’s, Good & Ugly Snacks

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