Wayne County Fairgrounds & RV Park — Attraction in Van Buren Charter Township

We stayed here for a week. We picked this campground because of its proximity to the Detroit Metro airport and to some relatives. The fairgrounds are located about a half-mile north of I-94. Regardless of what your GPS might say, take the entrance to the fairgrounds with the sign: the other roads into the campground are usually shut with gates. That road will take you right to the office.

There are two sections to the campground. The larger section starts just past the office, and consists of three rows of sites: a row of back-to-back back-in water and electric sites, a row of pull-through sites (some FHU, some W/E), and a row of deep back-to-back back-in FHU sites suitable for longer rigs. The other section of campsites consists of two rows of pull-through sites at the back of the fairgrounds.

All of the sites have grass pads and grass yards. The hard-packed soil and gravel roads between sites are wide and there are no trees in or along the rows, so it's easy to maneuver into your site. The electric and water hookups for the back-in sites are located at the back (the sewer connections are further forward), and each post has the connections for two sites. The pull-through sites are also set up to share power and water connections, so RVs sharing a power pole are pointed in opposite directions. We were in site 42, in one of the deeper back-in sites, and had plenty of room to park our 21-foot truck in front of our 37-foot fifth wheel. Some sites had fire rings and picnic tables, while others (like ours) did not. But I saw a staff member deliver a picnic table to a site using a tractor, so they're available upon request.

Since this is a fairground, there's not a lot In terms of amenities, but the office does sell firewood and propane refills. On the east end of the larger camping section is the dump station and a bathhouse with a very small laundry room. You have to get a special debit card from the office to operate the machines, but they promise to refund any money you don't use on the card. There is a large gravel parking lot on the west end of the campground behind the office, where you could potentially park your RV if you arrive before check-in time. You're allowed to receive visitors (no visitor check-in required) as long as they don't stay overnight.

There is one huge dog park in the northwest corner of the fairgrounds (near the larger section of campsites). It has picnic tables for seating, a trash can for disposing of poop bags, and some trees for shade, but it has no lighting for late-night walks and has a single entrance gate. When the dog park is busy, you can walk your dog in the grass along the outskirts of the campground: the rules say you are not allowed to walk dogs within the camping area itself. On the other hand, the rules also say that quiet hours start at 10pm, but the first night of our stay campers associated with the rodeo event hosted by the fairgrounds played their music until well after midnight.

In terms of cell service, the best speed I got on my Verizon Jetpack with MIMO antenna was 48 Mbps down and 14 up, and we had no trouble streaming video. The best speed test I ran on my 5G AT&T smartphone showed 65 Mbps down and 3 up.

We would stay here again if we were...

We visited here for a fair. I will say the grounds themselves were good. Clean and well maintained.

A problem we had that I cannot blame the fairgrounds about is that we waited 40 minutes in line to get food but had to leave because the demolition derby we were there for was starting.

A problem I think I can blame the fairgrounds for is the lack of appropriate lighting on the event. The "grandstand" was filled so we had to sit on the other side. All the lights were on that other side and we could not see very well. When the whole event was over and you walked around past the grandstand to leave that is when we realized how much better the lighting was. You could actually see the car's paint jobs and numbers! So I would suggest more lighting so the other side could see. There was probably even more people on that side so if anything that side should have had the better lighting.

Finally I have a major suggestion for the fair grounds. I think you should have someone running a bottled water stand or something or that nature. Heck! I am sure there are some organizations that would do it to make money for their charities. (Such as American Legions or things of that nature) Even if you sold bottles of water for $1 you would be making so much. The food line was so long, we were dying in the stands being baked by the sun and no real way to get a drink except wait 40 minutes. I know next time we are just going to bring our own drinks. But It would really be a money maker to sell water. I would assume $2 each or 6 for $10. Walk around the stands! You would sell out...

Warning to all Van Lifer's, DIYer's and van campers, they do not rent to anyone that has a different type of camper other than a expensive lot bought camper. I stayed there in 2020 in my campervan and had no problems and enjoyed my stay. July of 2021 while in town to visit my mother I called and asked for a spot. The woman on the phone questioned me about my camper and I told her I had my camper van and my cargo trailer with my motorcycle in it. I was told that the new owners did not allow campervans or DIY built campers. I told her I had stayed in 2020 and it was not a problem again I was denied. She went on to explain that due to covid they had people staying in camper vans and it was a problem for them. I guess when people are down then its okay to kick them. Just out of curiosity I took a drive by to see what was going on. There was only one camper there under 70 grand and plenty of spots open, looks like they are just catering to the glampers not people on a budget or hard hit by covid. I found a spot at the KOA that had no problem renting a campervan traveler a spot. The people KOA where very nice and I felt very welcomed. Good thing they are there so us riff-raff has a place to stay when...