Sleeping Bear Dunes is a national park located along the shores of Lake Michigan. This area of the lake is referred to as Sleeping Bear Bay, and the Dunes park runs the length of the shore along this bay and into the forest extending from it. The entire park is located just minutes north of downtown Glen Arbor, and it offers excellent camping options. Two separate campgrounds are located within Sleeping Bear Dunes. Platte River Campground is almost exclusively for RV camping. Sites offer full electric hookups and are pull-through for RVs and trailers of all sizes. Tent camping is still available in this campground, but all tent sites are walk-in, meaning supplies will have to be backpacked into the sites from a farther away parking area. Bathroom facilities in the campground offer full showers and restrooms. Elsewhere in Sleeping Bear Dunes, the D.H. Day Campground offers more primitive style camping for those with tents. RVs and trailers are still welcome here, but a lack of electric hookups at the sites makes it more tent friendly. Bathrooms are primitive, with no actual showers and only primitive toilets. Both campgrounds within the park offer stunning views of the lake, as well as plenty of outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing along the shore.
Sleeping Bear Dunes
9922 Front St.
Empire, MI 49630
231-326-5134
Located just south of Glen Arbor on the northeastern edge of the Traverse City State Forest, Empire Township Campground is a small and rustic camping experience in the heart of the area's woodlands. The campground is mostly primitive, with the bulk of the sites offering no utilities or electric hookups. About eight of the sites, however, do include electricity, but that is the extent of the services offered at the sites themselves. A few modern toilet facilities are scattered throughout the campground within walking distance of the sites, however. Sites are relatively cleared for tents of all sizes, and even smaller trailers will fit into the sites. Even though most of the surrounding area is gorgeous at any time of year and even the deep cold of winter brings opportunities for spotting wildlife on a ski trip, the campground itself is not open year-round. The campground operates from May through the middle of September each year.
Empire Township Campground
7264 W. Osborn Road
Empire, MI 49630
231-326-5285
Billing itself as an "upscale camping resort" and resting on the shores of Lake Leelanau just east of Glen Arbor, this campground is a sprawling lakeside retreat for both RV and tent campers. The entire campground runs along the shores of the lake and provides both excellent scenery and easy access to the activities available, including fishing, boating and swimming. While the bulk of the campground is designed for RV use, tents are still more than welcome in the rustic sites set back into the woods. RV campers will find fully furnished sites featuring electric hookup, picnic tables and fire rings. Along the shores of the lake, the campground features a beach, as well as boat ramps and fishing docks, making for plenty of daytime activities throughout the area.
Lake Leelanau RV Park
3101 S. Lake Shore Drive
Lake Leelanau, MI 49653
231-256-7236
lakeleelanaurvpark.com
