Shawnee State Park Campground — Hotel in Napier Township

My first time at Shawnee at site 182, and it’s pleasant, but not without issues. The good: There is ice and wood available at all hours, but you need cash for the ice ($2). The wood is in some kind of vending machine that takes cards and $5 and $1 bills only (no change). You can’t buy kindling, so you have to walk around and find sticks. It’s pretty quiet throughout the week (not sure about the weekend). Bathrooms and showers are clean and have a sink to do dishes, but the bathroom locations are sparse throughout the campground. It’s pretty big, which is cool for folks who wants to ride bikes or skate in the campground. The lake isn’t too far away and there is a beach with a swimming area and an inexpensive place to rent boats. The beach, however, has bizarre fencing a where the sand meets the water with gates to go through to enter the water. Why? I cannot find a single reason this is needed.

The not so great: If you’re camping in a tent, well, it’s rough. Most sites are on an incline, so you don’t have a flat space to put your tent. Also, the ground is full of jagged and sharp rocks, so sleeping on the ground is perilous. Bring a cot and not a blowup mattress. I think whomever created the sites did not have tent campers in mind. Many folks have mentioned the smell, and they are correct. It’s a sewagey smell, but it’s not constant. Many sites do not have electricity. Many sites do not have much shade or trees to hang hammocks. The park rangers wear bulletproof vests. I’ve never seen a park ranger wear those in any of the state parks I’ve visited across the country. It makes me feel unsafe. If the park rangers need to wear them, what is going on here? There’s no camp store to get last minute needs. If you like hiking and are looking for good trails, they are not here. If you like taking a pleasant walk, you can walk around the lake, which is paved (I think the whole loop), so it’s accessible for folks in wheelchairs and with difficulty walking. The campground map is not very helpful and the signage around the camp is also not helpful. It was difficult to find the Lost Antler trail because the map wasn’t clear and the one sign was off the road behind a campsite. At the lake, there are maps to the hospital. A curious choice, considering most people have a phone which will tell them where the hospital is and how to get there.

In conclusion, I will not come back unless I have a...

Large campground very NEAR a lake..... But NOT ON IT, and there are no lake views. It is also very near an interstate. You don't see it but you sure do hear it. This state Campground is NOT inexpensive. Few sites are level. The campground is divided between pet friendly and non-pet friendly sections. And from the looks of it, they're trying to discourage people with pets from returning. The pet friendly sites seem to me to be inferior to the non-pet areas. There are flush toilets and bathrooms with showers, they are somewhat outdated and dark, but basically clean. There is a sewage type odor that we occasionally smelled. Positives: I feel safe, and there are areas that are attractively wooded. We've been camping for 6 weeks, and this is, hands down, our least favorite...

Easy check in. Nice rangers helped us find out site. The sites have trees and shade! Larger sized lots too from what I can tell. Most lots like easy to back into with a camper. A few of the tent sites look like they are slanted, but there are over 300 sites to choose from. There is a playground, a beach, and trails. They had activities planned every weekend. The bathrooms were clean. We are staying in one of the cabins. Mattress seems fine. Will be sleeping in it tonight. The cabin was well made and had a ceiling fan. The cabin had a porch with a nice table. There is also a nice wooden table inside. The cabin had heat, but we won’t be using it unless it drops too low at night. So far a...