William C. Sterling State Park — Attraction in Frenchtown Charter Township

This was our fifth campground of six in our 2,500 mile, eight state summer trip. We were taken back by the lack of knowledge and unfriendly staff that were stationed at the two gates at the entrance to the campground. After prepaying online back in March about $250, we were hit at the second gate with an $11 per day park entrance fee. This was not known to us. Nothing on line stated this fact either. Plus their machines were down so they could only take cash. Opted for the $40 annual Michigan pass as it was a cheaper option. This is something the needs to be mentioned on the website. If you are paying these prices to camp here, entrance to access your camper should be free. The staff were not very knowledgeable, didn't offer any maps to tell you where you site is. This is a very large campground with several roads that are one way traffic. We had a pull through site but could not find access to the road behind the site to pull through. After several drives around the park, we just cut through an empty site close to ours to pull in. Not what I like to do, but maybe a map with assisted directions would of helped. The site had a bad 50 amp plug, so I used my 30 amp reducer for power. This site was perfectly level, which was a nice change. Grass was very overgrown through the park. That was rectified at 8;30 am this morning. Almost all sites are in the open with no shade throughout the day. Would recommend bringing a canopy of some sort. Nice view of Lake Erie and beach on the very far side of the park.

Of the dozens of campgrounds we have stayed at, this was one of the most expensive and overall the worst. Site upkeep, unfriendly and unknowledgeable staff, full sun exposure and lack of scenery in most of the RV park are the downfalls in our experience. We would not return here and would look elsewhere if we were to return to the area. I grew up 40 miles west of here and I have family still here. Just...

Returned today from Sterling state campground, and we loved it. We did tent camping. There were lot of RVs and very few tent campers. I would like to list what we loved: The ground were leveled and soil was soft to fix stakes in. Whole campground was lush green with grass and few weeds. You would be welcomed with nicely arranged swamp roses which were there in my campground too. Yes there are areas with native plants and milkweeds. Our camping area was near restrooms. Restrooms and shower were very clean. Outside restrooms were placed vending machines. Also separate trash cans were there for paper, waste and cans & bottles. Lake Erie view was pleasing. Lake made weather pleasant. There were activities for small kids like nature walk where the female staff was telling kids to write what they would observe while on their way to Lake Erie and they should write it downl. Provided kids with unlimited foam stickers and crayons to write. Today they had different type of clouds activities for kids. Lake Erie is so cool, water is cold and beach has no fishy smell. Yes few dead fishes were washed off but otherwise walking around beach and tree areas were refreshing. For tent camping, there is more than ample space. Campground has electric outlets. Common playground was there in campground and kids slides and play area was also there if you walk through beach where there was hotdog food truck too. Cottages are there.

Negatives that are not campground fault: Lot of mayflies or June flies were there which was sticking around us, tents and out canopy. Trees are small and hence canopy is required First day when we arrived, it was extremely windy that was making it very hard to set up the tent and rainfly over it. View of some power plant is visible. Not private campground.

Overall we all loved it, kids would not be bored and so...

I'm not going to complain about bugs or nature. That's a side effect of camping. Great lakes + outside in may/June = enough mayflies that you can't see or breathe through your mouth. What i will complain about was trash all over the ground of our site. I dont like starting my camping trip, cleaning someone else's mess. I was also upset by a surprise extra fee for entering the state park. Usually, camping in most other states, that fee is included. I was told it said there was a fee on the website, but at no time was it visible on the website that I booked the site through, which was incredibly not user-friendly in the first place. I double and triple checked. The fee was not clearly stated anywhere and wasn't even in the FAQ section. I was also told that it said it on the signs when entering the park. Except if you are from out of state, the wording on the signs make it sound like the fee is for special vehicles and such. Not sure why it's so hard for them to just say things straight forward and actually alert you to fees or incorporate them into the pricing of camping but there are so many better campsites across the country that I have no desire to go back to a state that is extra shady with their fees and can't even make sure the...