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    Fort Custer State Recreation Area

    3.6 (9 reviews)

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    Tristan H.

    I was and will never be a camper. Modern man has not fought and scraped for so long in his history so he can sit in some field or forest around a campfire swatting mosquitoes and eating badly cooked food. Camping should be in the best hotel you can afford and there should be free breakfasts, a nice swimming pool that doesn't allow children, and a spa so hot that every tense muscle you have melts into goo. But I do have a couple of friends that swear by the campground facilities at Fort Custer. You will find them there every Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day. There are beautiful trails and a gorgeous lake nearby for them. One family likes to winter camp and enjoys snowshoeing. Fort Custer's website is very descriptive and quite helpful, and I recommend you access and peruse it. My youngest brother regularly accessed the mountain bike trails, and I and some friends routinely hit the area with our horses to enjoy the scenery. There is a rather simple dirt parking lot for trailering horses in. The nearby trails are shared with the mountain bikers but that is rarely a hassle. I would not say that the area is set up for a gait faster than trotting. I'd say the area is meant for looking. I've seen some wildflowers in the area that I have yet to see elsewhere. It's an amazing and beautiful area. The area requires a Recreational Passport, and the website can show you how to procure one if you're a resident or a non resident. Considering how many parks and recreational areas we have in Michigan, I think the money is well spent buying a Recreational Passport each year.

    Taylor G.

    There is a lot of things to do here, including camping, hiking, biking, equestrian trails, and swimming. My mom and I wanted to go for a walk on a local trail, so we decided to try one of the walking trails. The walk went through the woods, and we never saw anyone else during the walk. We were able to see some cool birds and butterflies. One thing I wish we did was bring bug spray. There were a lot of mosquitoes and other bugs that took away from the enjoyment from the walk, but that's what you get when walking in nature. The walk was easy with some hills, and easy to follow. I am looking forward to taking my bike for a ride on some of the other trails.

    Site 133. #camplife.

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    7 years ago

    horrible concessions at the beach i payed for a double scoop of icecream and barely got one scoop the lady was bit**!

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    Black River Trails Campground - Family is the best!

    Black River Trails Campground

    4.5(17 reviews)
    44.5 mi

    Best camping experience in a long time, maybe ever. Staff extremely friendly and helpful…read more(especially Brandon amd his grandfather). Clean facilities. Wood cheaper than at the gas-station (even if you have to buy it on the premesis). Canoe/Kayak rental and ride on the premises. Just a short distance from South Haven, breweries and wineries and a blueberry farm. Will definitely be back! Thank you for the experience. Chris S.

    Would highly recommend this place. My spouse and I are originally from the Pacific Northwest and…read morenow live in Chicago - so we are always looking for little nooks within 3 hours of the city. This is a little gem of a campground that's pleasantly filled with comforts and modern amenities. The campground itself is very small, but it's quiet, & has a steady body of water. I will be staying here again. I spent the weekend sitting in my hammock and enjoying hearing the water. 5/6 of the cabins face the water just as an fyi, so it's like a private paradise. The town of SoHa is really fun too and a great place to wine, dine, & explore. The cabins are basic and rustic with one plug in to charge your electronics. There is one light in there but it does get dark at night. Bring a nightlight. The queen bunk beds are great and comfortable. I would say more like 2-3 people could comfortably sleep in a cabin due to space and the cabins get hot at night! There's showers, there's toilets, there's cabins- oh my! The showers run on a unique token system. 1 token=$1=3 minutes of hot, private, shower. Tokens are purchased on site. the showers are game changers because they're open 24 hours with cameras outside so the owners monitor who goes in/out and your safety. As a queer person, I felt comfortable & safe at this campground.

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    Black River Trails Campground - Family camping weekend!

    Family camping weekend!

    Black River Trails Campground - Cousin crew!

    Cousin crew!

    Black River Trails Campground - Corn hole tournament with memorial weekend BQQ

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    Corn hole tournament with memorial weekend BQQ

    Oak Shores Resort Campground

    Oak Shores Resort Campground

    4.2(5 reviews)
    15.4 mi

    Can I please add another star? Visited with my husband and…read moredog. The folks here went above and way beyond to accommodate an unusual need I had. The grounds are meticulously maintained with level, shaded spots that provide great privacy. If you have kids, they will NEVER get bored here. Well-stocked store, clean laundry facility. If we are in the area again, this will be our go-to place!

    Great family-friendly RV campground / resort…read more Our site was beautiful - it backed up against a forest and was close to the pond. It was a bit tight / cramped (my picnic table was virtually on top of the neighbor's sewer line), but the neighbors were friendly and everything was clean and well-kept. The restrooms and showers were spotless. Cute playground - we loved the pirate ship. The pond was a great place to walk our dog, and it seemed like most people (like us) were cleaning up after their pets because we didn't see dog piles everywhere like many other campgrounds in the area. One warning: This place is surrounded by a pond, a lake, and plenty of forest, and has a serious (but understandable) mosquito problem. We tried to sneak in eating 2 slices of pizza quickly upon arrival before putting on bug spray, and my youngest son got 14 bug bites on his legs in less than half an hour. Beware and plan accordingly! I'd highly recommend long sleeves, long pants, and shoes and socks, even if it's hot outside. Biggest qualm: my son was crying for the last 10 minutes of our drive because he was going to pee his pants and this is in the middle of nowhere - we hadn't seen a gas station or anywhere legal for him to go "number 1" since leaving I94. I'll admit I drove 15mph in a 10mph zone on the way in, because the map showed a bathroom next to the pool on the entrance road (before any of the campsites, before any pedestrian areas), and I wanted to avoid a pee-pee incident. After dropping them off, I stuck to the speed limit even when it dropped to 5mph. I was chastised (politely) upon check-in to watch my speed, which is completely reasonable. Separately, someone ran up to my wife and child (neither of whom were driving) as my 5-year-old came out of the bathroom and yelled at them, which is not okay. There are good ways to handle an admonition, and bad ways, and whoever yelled at my wife and son needs to learn a bit of tact. This is the only reason our stay wasn't a 5-star experience. It wasn't an isolated or stranger incident as the yeller was also the person who called the front desk to complain about it and I'm certain was a local / seasonal / permanent resident. There's "enforcing rules" and then there's "yelling at children for something they had no control over," and the management here was much closer to the latter.

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    Oak Shores Resort Campground - Halloween Party

    Halloween Party

    Oak Shores Resort Campground - Halloween Party

    Halloween Party

    Oak Shores Resort Campground - Halloween Party

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    Halloween Party

    Merrill Park

    Merrill Park

    4.0(2 reviews)
    8.8 mi

    The park is under some construction through September which is a bummer but from what they've dug…read moreup, it looks like there will be some great improvements. The ball field will go away but they're putting in new playground equipment, new pavilion, new basketball courts and updated restrooms. In the meanwhile, the parking lot is still there, the river is still there (note the warning about eating the fish) and it's a nice, peaceful spot. [Review 11208 overall, 984 of 2019.]

    This is our go-to putting-in point for kayaking to Arcadia Ales (it's round about an hour's paddle…read more-- longer if you're feeling leisurely and faster if you're going for a big workout). Plenty of parking, tons of covered picnic area. We staged about 75 kayaks/paddleboards/canoes there for a recent Kanoe the Kazoo event and it didn't feel too crowded on the riverbank, which was awesome. However, you've got to be pretty strategic about how you put in (fortunately we had seasoned paddlers leading our group who gave good advice about how to put in, but those who tried to enter the river closer to the woods/fence/parking lot got caught up in some wicked current. Be sure to put in farther out toward the picnic structure and park and paddle across the river then let the current drift you across the mini-rapids. Don't forget -- it's unsafe to eat the fish from the Kalamazoo River. We saw tons of people fishing on our recent excursion and really worried about their health. A few people were sad to see a small tent city on the river's edge -- personally it made me happy that some of the homeless had found a more pleasant haven than the city parks. Just a matter of perspective, I suppose. One of the "tent cities" was also a group of 5 matching, new-looking tents so I suspect that group was a group of people kayak-camping.

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    Merrill Park
    Merrill Park
    Merrill Park - Merrill Park, Comstock MI

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    Merrill Park, Comstock MI

    Fort Custer State Recreation Area - parks - Updated August 2026

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