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Love love love this campground! Been coming here for years and we come twice a year.
Was just camping a week ago, while we were there they put up a new streetlight near the front of the park halfway to the first bathroom. It’s too bright and shines into nearby campsites all night long. It’s very annoying, I wish they would make it so it shines down onto the street and not out into all the surrounding sites….
Beach does NOT allow dogs BUT there are nearby beaches that do allow dogs so we just go to those. If Barnes park allowed dogs on the beach(and I understand why they don’t, some people just ruin it for everyone) this campground would be 100/100!!!
Inspection of sites after people have checked out is a joke. Thankfully we haven’t run into any issues left behind by previous campers but I imagine anything would get overlooked by their post checkout “inspection.”
Our most recent stay was 8 nights. During that time we heard other campers’ dogs barking constantly. I wish this would be taken care of by campground staff.. it seriously disturbed the peace and was extremely frustrating to listen to. Thankfully these campers were not near us but I feel bad for their neighboring campers.
We don’t know how often the showers are cleaned but I doubt it’s daily. The showers in the bath house closest to the beach were less than desirable each time I used them. Other people’s hair, bugs all over the walls, benches covered with sand and water. Regardless, I am grateful they provide showers in the first place. 50cents for 5 mins of hot water.
I am extremely thankful they no longer require campers/rvs to book electric sites.
Mosquitos aren’t terrible, biting flies are worse. Raccoons are hardly afraid of humans so make sure you lock up your food and garbage and not in your tent!
The spiders move in quick and cover all your belongings within a few hours. When we broke down our tent after a week there were hundreds of spiders and webs covered 99% of the tent. Not a deal breaker, just a fair warning to prospective campers. We will bring some form of repellent next time.
Ice cream truck visits on weekend evenings which is awesome!
Campground beach is beautiful and great for rockhounding.
Nothing beats a Lake...
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Barnes Park on Lake Michigan is one of the best-kept public campgrounds in northern Michigan. The park sits directly on Grand Traverse Bay, offering a wide sandy beach, clear water, and some of the most scenic sunsets on the lake.
The campground is clean, well-maintained, and family-friendly. Sites are spacious with plenty of trees for shade and privacy. There are modern restrooms, hot showers, and convenient access to both RV and tent camping. The staff is professional and keeps the grounds in great shape throughout the season.
Highlights include the large playground for kids, walking trails, and the easy access to the shoreline — ideal for swimming, kayaking, and morning coffee by the water. It’s close to Elk Rapids and Torch Lake but far enough to stay quiet and peaceful.
Highly recommend booking early during summer or fall colors season. A perfect blend of rustic charm and comfort for campers who value clean facilities and...
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Pros: We have stayed here twice. For context we are rustic campers, and have stayed at many campgrounds and are impressed by the scenery and sites here.
-We love the campground itself. The sites are nice and surrounded by trees with lots of places to hang hammocks or clotheslines.
Cons: -the bathrooms could use more regular upkeep as only one shower was working in the mens forest bathhouse. And the womens beach bathhouse has only 2/3 toilets working. Bathrooms need a true deep cleaning. Workers seem to clean them every morning but the showers had hair all over and were quite stinky. I think the quality of cleanliness definitely needs to be improved especially since you pay for showers.
-Quiet hours are not enforced at the park. There were many people who would completely disregard other campsites and sleeping times.
-Additionally there are not as many clean water spigots as we would like. I think there was only 2 for...
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