gary1958

According to Google Maps, this campground is permanently closed.

East & west Lakeshore loops are newly redone. Quite nice. Plenty of concrete ADA sites for those that need them. Most sites can see Lake Michigan from them. Constant breeze from lake. Has been pretty quiet. Be aware that MI DNR are being jerky and charging more for weekends. Only a few bucks, but still.. Also be aware that this park is VERY STRICT about the 3pm check in. VERY. Can't imagine why you can't check in earlier if your site is empty, but that's how they play. Makes for a big inrush of vehicles at 3pm. Never been to a MI state park that's this strict on check in time.

New rebuild added a three lane dump station with dumpster area, and for those with totes, at each loop's dumpster station, there's a dump there too with rinse water. (Again, NOT for RVs, just black waste totes.). Restrooms/showers were also updated. Clean, nice.

T-Mobile was like a dial-up modem here, .68Mbps down.

NO playground for kids. Very decent beach along both loops with enough access paths.

Note that the Pines loop was not updated. All sites there are asphalt pad with mainly dirt. It's *very* wooded, and a bit of a walk to the East/West loops and beach access. No water views from here. If you want a more rustic feeling, Pines is for you.

As with most MI state Parks, sites are electric only. There *is* a small loop that's full hookup, but we found it very underwhelming. We recommend Wilderness.

No real shopping nearby, and you have the very touristy (and overpriced) Mackinaw City a drive away with only a small grocery store. About 4 miles from the park is the "town" of Cecil, with a convenience store that sells firewood at a reasonable price.

Check out McGulpin Lighthouse. Not far, and vastly cheaper and quieter than the Mack City lighthouse.

Dusty. Had lots of rain last night and three sites under water.

Green whatever's review is *way* overblown, and includes lots that has nothing to do with St Ignace, but anyway...

Sites are ok. Fire pits below ground level, which is not optimal and the fill with water during hard rain. Wifi works... IF you're basically standing in front of the office. Forget about it Restrooms are not fancy, but clean. Showers same. Laundry is nothing special, standard commercial units, not large capacity. It's ok.

No one in office by late afternoon. Number to call, but whatever. LARGE parking area (dusty gravel) to stow trailers, etc.

Mostly quiet here. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad place, but it's absolutely NOT fancy. You get a place to park your unit, get whatever hookups you paid for, and that's basically it. Office allows you to get Amazon delivery here should you need it.

I'm getting full T-Mobile 5G here, which is good because their Wifi is a complete zero.

Got kids? Absolutely zero kid stuff here, but there's a park in St. Ignace to let them run.

Looked in 5 different fire pits, ALL had cigarette butts, so they must not clean them, or don't clean them well.

We've stayed here three times, and will again. I just want to let you know what you're getting.

If you stay in the full hookup area, it's small sites, more crowded. We stayed in a electric only site. It was HUGE. I have a 36' Winnebago, and I could have fit *three* of them on my site! Pretty peaceful, a little noise from the business on the south side, but enjoyable, and there's plenty to do in Marquette. Kids weren't bored here. We'll be back for sure.

Decent city park beach, campground & boat launch. Nice hosts. Rates are ok. Sites are sand/gravel/grass. Most are level. Roads are gravel & wood chips. Nice newer playground equipment for the kids. Floating platform about 40' from the beach, my kids loved that.

Cons: a *lot* of ATVs driving thru, and some really racing around fast. One kid kept flying thru repeatedly during the day.

There were easily 50 cigarette butts on my site, and I saw them on other sites too.

Fire rings not cleaned. Mine had cig butts, old wood, and was pretty full of ash, ring next to me had a lot of trash in it.

Showers are 50¢, which I kinda feel is meh.

NO dump station. If you didn't get a FHU site, you'll have to go to the gas station & pay $10 to dump.

Absolutely no OTA television signal.

Pros: Bathrooms are decently clean, grounds kept mowed. Seems to quiet down at night. Road noise from MN200 is minimal. Each site has its own (small) garbage can. City maintenance staff were friendly, even using caution not to mow my awning tie downs. Nice.

Would stay again for a night or two. Keep the ATVs from zooming through and it'd be a lot better.

Entire campground closed for all of 2023 for upgrades.

We thought we'd give Holly Recreation Area a try. Campground is in "loops", each fairly apart from each other. The closest "lake" was mostly lillypads and scum. No swimming there, but the lake with the beach (and overpriced lake inflatables, $20 for 60 minutes use!) was a drive (or looong walk) from my site. (We're in the Oak Loop).

Playground equipment leaves much to be desired. Old swings and slide here, down a ways it's a climbing dome and some other metal thing. I don't know what genius thought putting a basketball court right next to a camping area was a good idea, but the constant "blap blap blap" sound got tedious real quick. Speed limit is 10mph, people seem to add 10 to that, so watch the kiddos. I even saw an official State van zip by my site at at least 15 to 20mph. Not great.

Every site is paved, which is nice, but I've never seen SO many unlevel sites. Some slope back, some forward, or to the side. I mean virtually*every* site in this loop is unlevel. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Hard to believe they thought this was OK. I drove each loop, noting the level ones, which was only a handful total.

We're close enough that we *should* get all the Detroit TV stations, yet I can get none. T-Mobile only gets LTE, which is slow.

Vault toilets in the loops, modern restrooms/shower out on the main park road. Unless you like long walks, expect to bike or drive to them. The modern facility near me was ok, showers ok, but there were lots of spiders in the stall I used. What's a lot? I counted 15 on the walls. It IS camping though, so kind of expected.

It is pretty though, very wooded, but sites clear & well spaced. (though, again, mostly all unlevel to some degree.) Road and site pavement is in good condition, and sites clearly marked.

Note: someone says there's wifi here. There is NOT, and I don't think any Michigan State Parks do.

I doubt we'll return here.