J.W. Wells State Park

A little expensive for a state park plus you need a state permit $9 daily or $32 yearly ( calendar year) for out of state ( $11 for instate) only electric. Dump in park. Sites are large but it was crowed. ( I think mostly locals) so not much privacy. Seemed to be a lot of family’s. It was pretty quiet but we had our windows closed. Didn’t walk to beach right on Lake Michigan.

This is a late review for my stay over Memorial Day weekend 2019 while finishing up a Lake Michigan Circle Tour. It didn't register that a holiday weekend would guarantee the park being super busy, plus it was also the first nice weekend weather-wise. The only thing that moderated it somewhat was the fact that all the rain had flooded out a number of sites, but nearly every available site was taken. Lots and lots of kids playing, biking and having a great time. The campground has sporadic trees but is otherwise quite open. The sites are not limited to a specific driveway so people were able to set up any direction they wanted since they were a good size. The trails were great, the staff nice and facilities clean. the beach was limited due to high water. My rate of $26 was for 50 amp (can save a few bucks if you only need 30 amp) and the reservation fee, so my total was $34. And of course, the Passport which I already had.

We love going to Wells! We make a stop here at least once a summer. Sites are grass or concrete and mostly level. The bathhouse is well maintained and is easily accessed from anywhere in the modern campground (rustic sites are about a mile north of the modern campground, but those sites are nice too and can accommodate larger trailers also). We don't have kids, but the playground is HUGE and when we camp with friends with kids, they spend hours there. Beach is nice too; short walk from the campground. Dump station has two lanes, making checkout much quicker. Overall, we love this park!

This park is right on the water. You can see why this would be a favourite park for families. It has very clean washrooms and showers. The camp hosts were lovely and very pleasant.
There is a large modern playground. Some of the lots are wet. We had lot 18, which backs onto the lake. It has no neighbours to the left hand side. The lots are very decent sized. No sewer or water hook ups only electricity. Voltage does fluctuate, so be careful.

Although some sites were wet, ours was not. Large, grassy sites. Lots of kids. Great trails for kids to ride bikes.squeaky clean washrooms and showers. It was a bit dicey maneuvering our 30 ft unit to a level spot on our site. Lots of big trailers.

Late Sept, working on erosion issues with big equipment right next to our campsite, not a problem for us because we were just there overnight. They work all day so I would not choose this campsite if you are enjoying daytime looking for peace and quiet.
No one at office at 4:30 when we arrived, no camp host so make sure you have your campsite printed out or access to your email. 4G Verizon coverage good. No way to tell which campsites are reserved.
We thought this campground was beautiful and well kept. We had a nice quiet stay and listened to the lake / wind, very peaceful.

Pros:
-almost every site can see the lake
-some are right on the lake
-they keep some sites for FCFS or locals
-quite a few services and programs each day
-modern bathrooms and showers
-east trails to hike along the lake
-easy saved right off the highway

Cons:
-could probably be a bit crowded on weekends but was pleasant on a Wednesday

Overall:
A really fantastic campground with something for everyone.

Easy checkin, nice dump station to fill the water tank. Sites 8 was very level. Great view of the bay. Nice big sites grassy site. Grass not mowed weeds. Big fire pit. We camped at Wells State Park in a Motorhome.

Beautiful grassy park. Nicely spaced campsites and you can see the lake from almost all of them. The showers were heated and the bathrooms are clean. The staff are friendly and the camp hosts serve hot chocolate and coffee in the morning. The Hosts are very knowledgeable about the area as well. We had two bars through Verizon for our cell coverage. We extended our stay here because it is just so beautiful.