Waterloo State Recreation Area — Attraction in Waterloo Township

We camped for 2 nights at the Mill Lake Rustic cabins inside Waterloo State Recreation Area. The area was really natural, lots of trees, dirt roads. You definitely need to make sure that you are prepared. There was a water pump within walking distance of the cabin. There was a vault toilet, which I found was not cleaned, lots of flies and spiderwebs everywhere. I sprayed for bugs, lysol wiped, and swept in there myself to make sure that it was clean enough for my family. The cabin was clean, had lots if screened windows, and the beds were actually pretty comfortable. We brought an air mattress that we ended up not even using. There are lots of electric heaters built in and we stayed warm at night. Plenty of outlets conveniently placed. We brought a mini fridge and were able to power up all our phones (which we did have good service on there), and electronic cookers. The cabin was well lit, with plenty of room to accommodate our family of 6. Mill lake was accessible on foot via a short trail walk. The cabins didn't have a view of the lake though. The Discovery center was a short drive away and the kids loved it. There were no showers at the Mill Lake cabins, you can go to the Sugarloaf campground to shower at a cost of $5 per person. There were lots of trails to walk. If you have a boat there is a boat access for Mill lake. We let the kids fish from the shore. They enjoyed watching the little minnows and butterflies around the marshy shoreline. I think if we camp at Waterloo again I would like to be near modern bathrooms and a shower, because we have 4 kids. Ii did like the natural wooded area that were at though. It didn't feel like we were too close to lots of other people, or like it was a parking lot. The local DNR was friendly and helpful, and didn't bother us. It was a good experience overall; we will be camping at Waterloo again next year in a different...

The largest campground in lower Michigan with 13 lakes so we were super excited to go. Maybe that skewed our expectations but we definitely were let down. First of all, the GPS took us down this very long gravel road that was full of steep hills and we were towing a fifth wheel! We called the campground to make sure it was the right road as there were no signs and they seemed confused as well. We eventually talked to a passing car who knowingly looked at us and knew where we were headed. The road to the cg is about 3 miles long but it is MUCH easier to go around the "long" way. That's not so much the campgrounds fault but still an issue. Also the GPS originally said to turn left down a road that says "private drive no turnarounds" im guessing because of the frequency of this occurring. They should fix the directional address to accommodate the GPS or vice versa. We checked in and initially loved it. We had a handicapped site which consisted of a cement pad and was directly across from the bathrooms. We had an easy time setting up but noticed right away that there are no garbage cans outside or in the restrooms with the exception of the one when leaving. There is a nice beach there and trails. There are signs not to take dogs to the beach which made me sad as I wanted to take our westie down there. We did notice other dogs there though. There are several trails nearby. If you need anything from a store there isn't one here or nearby. The closest is the gas station in town which is about 10 miles back. They do sell wood though at the office. Oh and when they say quiet time at 10, they mean it. Literally everyone turns off their music even (not even have it really low) and are done for the night. That was a...

When I was looking for a spot to meet with a friend, I came across Waterloo Recreation Area ( which was between our two locations) and made a plan to meet at the address given on Mc Clure Rd. It took me to a riding stable with no park-like Area nearby that I could see. It turns out this "recreation area" is made up of multiple separate locations over a large area and isn't like a contained park area of what I had envisioned. I called the phone # on the website and explained I was looking for a picnic area. They were very helpful and I was directed to the Portage Lake "Unit" which had a beach and a nice picnic area that I ended up meeting my friend at. My suggestion for anyone looking to access this recreation area, is to call and explain what you're looking to experience so you can be directed to the proper area. Otherwise, you may end up driving all over the place and not find what you're looking for. I guess I should have done more research, but expected something more like a metropark setting with everything in one place. We did end up having a nice time at...