Sandy Shores Campground — Hotel in Golden Township

Absolutely terrible! The owners are unbelievably rude!! We had our campground literally right next door to the office at the front gate, as were pulling into our campsite before we had our jeep in park someone from the office came over to yell at us for speeding through the campsite. First off, we're in a jeep with aired down tired because we were on the dunes. We can't speed with aired down tires. And second were right next door to the front gate we didn't have far to go to gain too much speed. Then later that afternoon and I mean like 4:00pm we decided to play cornhole/bags. Well if you're staying at this campground expect to have ZERO fun. The owner came over and yelled at us and threatened to kick us out for being loud saying our neighbors complained about us. Ok so it's 4:00 pm it's not like it was after hours and quiet time. And all our surrounding campers joined in on our fun and we became friends with all the people surrounding us so I know no one complained about us. And we're playing a game my goodness were out of town having a camping trip and were not allowed to have fun playing a game. Then we were sitting around the fire pit that night and just chatting amongst ourselves, not loud by any means what so ever we weren't crazy or partying just relaxing staying warm by the fire. Well owners come by again and threaten to kick us out yet again saying we were 'hootin and Hollerin' also threatened to call the police on us. And ironically our whole group of people are the police. Absolutely the worst campsite I have ever been to! The owners are so rude and if you want a weekend away you will have no fun what so ever staying at this place! We left our campsite at sandy shores and booked a place across the street at the state park camp ground and they were absolutely wonderful there! Beautiful view and so friendly! Do not stay at sandy shores!!! You'll be treated like garbage! Stay at the...

We recently stayed at this campground after it was advertised as “family friendly,” but unfortunately, our experience didn’t live up to that claim.

To start with the positives: the bathrooms are clean, and the playground was actually quite nice — our kids enjoyed it and it was one of the few genuinely family-friendly features.

However, several things made our stay frustrating:

The only handicap-accessible bathroom stall was locked, and you have to go to the office to request a key. This is not clearly communicated and is very inconvenient — especially for those who actually need accessible facilities. There is no family locker room or changing area, which makes showering and changing with young kids a real challenge.

The pool has a long list of strict rules that seem aimed at eliminating fun: no pool noodles, no floating toys, no music, and there were no chairs at the pool to relax in. It felt more like a quiet adult swim area than a place where families could enjoy time together. A “park store” is advertised, but it’s really just the main office with no actual store to speak of. Don’t expect to grab any last-minute essentials or snacks — you'll need to leave the campground for anything like that. The campground is largely filled with seasonal guests, who take up most of the full hook-up sites. As short-term visitors, it felt like we were outsiders in a space primarily designed for long-term stays. The vibe wasn’t particularly welcoming. Overall, while the campground is clean and the playground is a plus, it falls short of being truly family-friendly or accessible. If you're traveling with kids or anyone with special needs, I’d recommend...

When camping there, I felt as though I was a sardine in a can. The sites are TINY with ZERO privacy between sites. In fact, if I were to rate this place on the campsites alone, I would give it 1 or 2 stars. However, I realize that many folks are used to this type of camping, so if you don't mind small campsites, then you just might find this place to be a 4 or 5 star campground. Let me explain:

This place is CLEAN and WELL managed. For this, I give them 5 stars. The bathrooms and pool were VERY clean, which is hard to find in nearly any public facility. From the moment I walked into the office I could tell that they keep a very orderly campground. Very nice folks too.

The place was also much quieter than what you might find elsewhere.

But for me, I need some SPACE to camp without feeling as though I was in an outdoor prison. If you enjoy being close to some other campers, then look no further, this place will be tough to beat for it's cleanliness. But if you are like me and you don't care for that state park campground feel, you may want to consider an alternative plan.

But again, I want to stress the positive here: This place is CLEAN, quiet, and well-managed. Just too small for me.

Note: The size of a campsite is very important to me when considering a rating for a campground. If it is not a big deal to you, then I HIGHLY...