“situated on the shores of Lake Michigan”
Situated on the shores of Lake Michigan, Van Buren State Park has one mile of sandy beach and high dune formations. It’s the perfect place to lounge on the beach, walk through woodland trails and enjoy a picnic lunch. Located 3 miles south of South Haven, the campground is only minutes away from local shops and restaurants. Van Buren State Park is comprised of 400 acres of land located along the Lake Michigan shoreline in northern Van Buren County. The focal points of the park are its high dune formations and one mile of sandy beach. Van Buren became a state park in May of 1965 when the original 167-acre plot was purchased from the Harry LaBar Drake family. Since then two other land purchases have been made to form the current park. The campground has 220 modern campsites, located approximately 400 yards from Lake Michigan. While none of the campsites offer a view of the lake, there is a short walking path linking the campground to the day use area and the sidewalk down to the beach. Each site has electricity, a picnic table and a fire ring. Located within the campground are two modern restroom/shower buildings and a children’s play area. Reservations may be made up to six months in advance.
Reviews of Van Buren State Park
15 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on July 06, 2021AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 6 users | Last reported on July 06, 2021T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on October 24, 2019VanBuren State park is beautiful! Lake Michigan beach access within easy walk from campground on maintained trail; sites are quite large, campground is well-maintained and clean. Playgrounds for the kids, fire rings and picnic tables at all sites, many of which have mature trees for shade. Dogs are allowed, leashed, in campground and on trails, but not on beach. We have stayed here in late fall (beautiful autumn colors due to the forested areas of the park) but not during the height of summer season so cannot comment on noise factors during busy times.
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This is a very nice state park. I would camp here again. The showers are hot and very clean. Spacious sites. Quiet place to camp.
Nightly Rate: $33.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 195
I recall that the campground itself was nothing to write home about, but the trails leading out to the Lake was cool. Nothing wrong with the campground really, just 'average' in my opinion.. The town of Van Buren was cool.
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
First, we went to Holland and were put off by the lack of space at the Macatawa and Beach Campgrounds there. The Beach Campground was so packed that we would not have been able to put our awning out.
So, we backtracked to Van Buren State Park and we’re so happy that we did!
The Campground was spacious as compared to the ones in Holland. The showers were busy, but lean. There were well-equipped playgrounds for the kids as well as activities scheduled on certain mornings and evenings. There was a nice path to the beach as well as a nice bike path to South Haven.
South Haven was a charming town with a beautiful lighthouse and wharf as well as a nice sand beach and beautiful old houses. There was also great shopping and restaurants.
When we left, the camp hosts were directing traffic at the dump station. They were super organized and ran it like a track meet. We were out of there in no time!
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 211
What makes this park so special is the half-mile long area of dog-friendly beach on Lake Michigan. The dog beach is actually larger than the public beach. Imagine that! Bob the dog was able to get great walks in, the occasional swim, and plenty of sand to dig a hole to put his body in. The campground is the typical Michigan State Park, close neighbors, too many campfires, partial hookups, clean showers and restrooms, and no laundry facilities. But having the beach within walking distance is a huge plus. And the paved bike trail makes getting exercise easy and safe. The western side of Michigan is far too busy for my taste. The traffic fast and frenetic. Van Buren State Park is a haven within the center of madness. Venture out at your own peril.
Nightly Rate: $31.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 107
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Cell phone service is important to me and AT&T needs to up their game. Two bars was sufficient for the internet and watching a bit of news with the Amazon fire stick, but I prefer at least three to stop all the occasional buffering. I chose site #208, furthest away from the beach in the hope of escaping loud kids and campfires. Because the park was basically unpopulated for the first three nights and the weather initially turned rainy and cold there wasn’t much else to complain about. The red flag was up at the beach which warned of danger and no swimming allowed. A few long bike rides, a day trip to Saugatuck, lunch at The Curve, all helped to keep the spirits up. The end of summer felt like it was here, and this feeling I grew up with while being raised in northern Michigan. I did not like it then and I do not like it now. So heading back to Florida early may not be such a bad idea. I love endless summer.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 208
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
This is a large, busy park at the southern end of Michigan's Lake Michigan coastline. The sites are flat, grassy, reasonably well spaced and have electric hookups. The lakeshore is accessed by way of an easy walk through the dunes and is a popular spot for watching the sunset. At night although the campground occupants were quiet, you could definitely hear the traffic on nearby I-196 and a low hum from the nearby Palisades power plant to the south. If you are troubled by noise at night this might not be the place for you. For those out-of-staters who are not used to this process, Michigan (like other Midwest states) requires a use permit (recreation passport) for each vehicle (in addition to the camp fee) which can be purchased online ahead of time or at the park registration.
Nightly Rate: $28.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 92
We stayed here with two kids and planned to be here for them. It was loud and they had a blast. They were in love with the park and the number of kids. The site was large and perfect for our pop up camper. Fire pit was perfect for cooking in. The beach was small and not a place to sunbathe but great for rock hunting which we love. The bathrooms were clean and we enjoyed our stay. The campground was full the entire weekend.
Nightly Rate: $33.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 153
We stayed here at the end of the summer season and used this as a basecamp to visit South Haven and Saugatuck MI. Rate includes NR state parks annual permit. Campground roads are paved and sites are mostly sand & grass. As others have suggested, we unhitched our Toad at the registration office since some of the camp roads can be tight maneuvering . There were plenty of sites that can accommodate big rigs with no overhead or slideout issues. Some sites offer 50 amp service but ours was 30 amp only. Probably our biggest issue was 90% of the sites are not level so plan to use leveling blocks or boards under your levelers, or tires & stabilizers. We did not use the RR or shower facilities. It is a short walk to the beach however beach access was closed due to shoreline erosion. The facility is adequately maintained but in no way compares to the quality we typically see at COE parks for much less cost for an electric only campsite.
Nightly Rate: $37.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 125
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
We stayed mid week in August. It was quiet in our campsite. Walked to the lake each evening for the sunset. Would definitely come back. It was our first official trip in our trailer. The bathrooms were clean.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 3
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Van Buren State Park
Hours
- Sun: 8:00 am - 10:00 pm
- Mon: 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
- Thu: 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm
- Fri: 11:00 am - 6:00 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
- 35.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 38.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 28.0
- Max Length
- 45 ft
- Max Stay
- 15
- Season End
- November
- Season Start
- April
- Sites Count
- 220
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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, Restrooms
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