“a 50-acre state park in Pentwater, Oceana County, Michigan”
Charles Mears State Park is located in the quaint village of Pentwater along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Paved campsite lots are surrounded by fine sand, with a swimming beach adjacent to the harbor pier. Shore fishing is very popular at Pentwater Lake in the fall. Fishing from piers adjacent to the park is also a popular year-round activity. During the winter, Pentwater Lake provides excellent ice fishing. There is an interpretive trail about one mile in length for hiking. It winds around to the tip of Old Baldy, a wooded and sand-blown dune that provides an excellent view of Lake Michigan's shoreline, and the town of Pentwater and the boat harbor. Snowmobiles are not allowed on the hiking/cross-country trails, but the activity is supported in the park. It also has a metal detecting area. Pet friendly shoreline.
Reviews of Mears State Park
8 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on August 22, 2021AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on May 02, 2021T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on August 22, 2021Reviews
Loved this park. Neighbors are close but proximity to Lake Michigan was awesome. Happy I went post-Labor day to avoid a full occupancy (was perfect at about 75%). Verizon coverage was good enough to watch MNF via YouTube TV on ipad. No water at sites but spigots in each row should you need to fill rig upon arrival.
Nightly Rate: $35.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 157
RV Length: 25 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
A lot to like about this campground. Close to Lake Michigan, Pentwater, and your camping neighbors. Some sites the picnic tables and fire pits were about 10-12ft apart. Not a big deal if everyone is friendly. But it is a tightly packed campground. Be sure to verify size of sites.
Backing into sites was also a big challenge. Very tight with not much room to maneuver. So Be patient.
Small dumping station lanes (1 in each direction).
Our perception is this is one of the older state campgrounds developed when small RVs were the norm. But it’s still a great campground experience once you get setup. We will definitely come back again—probably in the fall (less crowded)
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 173
RV Length: 30 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
There is only one access to the beach (through the parking lot) unless you have a site that backs up to the lake.
The campground is in a very nice location close to the beautiful beach and town.
It’s a quiet campground and the sunset was amazing. Don’t forget to clap with the crowd once the sun sets.
Nightly Rate: $33.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 82
RV Type: Van
Campground on the beach. Very quiet and easy in and out for us for one night. Very close to town and easy walk to bars and restaurants too. We will be back for an extended stay for sure!
Nightly Rate: $41.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 96
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile
We have visited this little summer town for many years; however, this is the first year we camped in the state park in our new 23 foot travel trailer. Campers are packed in like sardines in the campground, and there is sand everywhere, but this is probably pretty common for beach campgrounds. It was a challenge to get backed into the site; however, folks are happy to move their cars, if needed. The upside is the campground is very close to the Lake Michigan and beach area, and it is also very close to the charming town of Pentwater. You can walk or ride a bike almost everywhere.
There are no full hookups, but a pump out service from Ludington comes on Tuesday and Thursday. It costs $25 cash. We only needed to use this service once, and we were very glad it was offered. In addition, the campground hosts have 2 very, very long hoses that can be rolled to your site to fill up your potable water. This also was very convenient and appreciated. The shower house was clean. Even though the campground was full several nights, we never had to wait for a shower room.
While we miss full hookups, we would definitely camp here again as we love this area. Nothing beats a short walk to the beach in the early morning where one can sit watching the waves and seagulls. In the evening, you can't beat the magnificent sunsets while enjoying an ice cream cone.
Nightly Rate: $38.00
Days Stayed: 10
Site Number: 152
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Very quiet at night at our end of the park across from the camp host. Until Monday at 7:30 am when the garbage truck showed up. Sites are asphalt and sand. And very close together. We had a little difficulty getting backed in to our site because the road was narrow and the sites are not very deep. Nice fire pit. One bathroom in the middle of the park for the whole park.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 80
RV Length: 25 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We arrived on Labor Day hoping to avoid crowds leaving the campground and we did. Check-in was very smooth, positioning the camper was interesting. We had a pull-through site, which by pulling through on the one-way road, left us with the front of our camper pointing the wrong way. Easily fixed but a bit of a time-waster. The sites are close together but we did not feel crowded as our site was a bit bigger and the other campers were positioned in a way to give privacy. We really loved the campground and do plan on trying to make reservations next summer. Unfortunately, we had a bit of rain, but sometimes that is just how it goes. Everything was very clean, friendly staff, and the proximity to Pentwater is fantastic.
For the negatives, the camper pad could have been just a bit wider. To leave our camper and to get to the road or our truck, we did have to walk through the sand. Not a huge deal, but a few more inches would have been nice. I was not expecting wi-fi at the park, and there was a note that the wi-fi had been shut down due to budget costs. We did have our hot spots to use. Fruit flies..crazy issue. Never run into that issue before camping. When we go back, I will have something to catch them outside before they enter the camper.
Loved the water hose for filling the tank, very handy. Had an excellent time walking the trail, the stairs were a surprise but a good one. For our phones and hot spot, the strongest single we consistently got was 2 bars. An occasional 3, and sometimes 1 but for the most part 2 bars on Verizon.
Nightly Rate: $34.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 120
RV Length: 21 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Gorgeous stretch of beach with powder white sand. Parking is adjacent, especially accessible for disabled. Restrooms with outside showers.
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Mears State Park
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 40
- Last Nightly Rate
- 41.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 30 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 33.0
- Max Length
- 40 ft
- Max Stay
- 15
- Sites Count
- 175
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Parking, Restrooms
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