I kind of randomly picked this campsite, I was headed somewhere else when I saw the sign and…read moredecided to take a chance. It really paid off. The campground was clean, the spaces are not cramped together and more than a few have lake views. There is running water, pit toilets, and steps down to the lake, and each campsite has a picnic table, fire ring, and parking spot. A few are against the forest, some are in the middle of the site, and the others kind of by the lake (these were my favorite, nothing like waking up in the morning and looking out on a clear blue body of water). Overall I was very happy with this campground, it seemed underused, which was kind of surprising given the beauty and quietude of the area. My only complain was that it had a lot of yellow jackets that wanted to eat my lunch more than I did. Bring spray or something, you're probably going to want it. Or maybe it was just my site, who knows. You can fish in the lake, it's stocked with trout. The water also seemed very clean, I almost went for a swim (it wasn't that cold either). There is also a day-use area, so you can just picnic or fish if you feel like it. To get here you have to drive down S Stephan Bridge Rd and will then take a left - keep your eyes peeled for the sign. There is also a sign on MI-72 which will point you in the right direction.

As long as you know how to swim, it's a great lake.not much shallow. Long set of steps.read more

I've been going here for as long as I can remember. Apparently, it's one of the most popular…read moretourist places in Michigan... mainly just so your kids can jump off the dam and go swimming. The campground itself is very rustic: no electricity, hand water pump, outhouse toilets. The park is free to enter and is a popular fishing spot. The dammed side of the river is very rocky and strong current, and the water level fluctuates from flooding into the forest to a bunch of rocks depending on the season. It certainly offers a rewarding fishing challenge if you can fight off the crayfish, snags, and kids jumping in the way to splash in the water. For a better fishing experience, go to the lake side. Shore fishing is met with blobs of grass and minimal catches, but if you take a small boat out into the reservoir, it's filled with sizeable bluegill, smallmouth bass, and the elusive northern pike. I go to this area several times a year for fishing, photographs, and nostalgia.

We have been seasonals at GC for 8 years and we love it! Many groups come in and camp outback in…read morethe extra large rustic sites. There is a cabin for rent and RV sites for rent. We have a nice large spot with large trees, we are a mile or so from South Higgins Lake State Park where we launch our boat. Higgins Lake is the prettiest lake and the Flag Point sand bar is our favorite. We have made lifelong friends at the great circle and Bob and Linda the owners are the best!

If I could give a 0 rating, I would. We were there 19 years. Sadly the original owners sold and…read morethe new owners took over. At first, they seemed ok, except for the husband. He said several times he didn't even want to be there. Then after a couple years things changed. Prices started getting out of hand and the atmosphere, got very tense. The Husband started ranting with the "F" words at campers and in front of kids too. The bathrooms were locked, except two, one woman's and one man's and not cleaned regularly. The porta potties in the back were locked. The happy faces in the pictures of the campground are from the campers who used to be there, not now. Also, they have a mean dog that does not like other dogs. I witnessed their dog attacking other dogs, then they blame it on the campers. Take your business somewhere else you will have a better experience.

I came here to camp (car camping/tents) for the first camp of the summer and what a great kickoff…read moreto camping season it was for me and my group! Everything here was top notch and well maintained, probably above average from the many state park campgrounds that I have camped at through the years! What that tells me is that this is probably one of the more highly trafficked campgrounds, so there is a lot of maintenance done on it! This campground had the most "modern" bathrooms. Everything was automatic, the toilets, the sinks, the hand dryers. This is by main indicator that the bathrooms are the latest and greatest update! We also loved our campsite. We had a few of Higgins Lake peeking out from around other campsites from ours and were able to enjoy the lake breeze and sunset view from our campsite alone. It was also an easy walk to the lake, where there was a little playground/swing set AND a dog-friendly beach just right off of that playground area as well! Super dog-friendly, which was great because I brought my dog along! Lots of trailers/RVs at all the neighboring campsites, which is to be expected, especially of a more popular campground! This campground also had the most campsites that I've seen as of late (minus Ludington, I'd say)! South Higgins Lake State Park also had some great hiking trails that we took advantage of! Marl Lake Trail is a trail that is very customizable for any of your time/energy level needs - 1, 3, or 5 mile loops can be done on this trail! Other than the hiking and the camping (spent 3 days and 2 nights here), we didn't do much else at the state park, opting instead to rent a boat (from the South Higgins Lake State Park Store - see my review there for details on boat rentals and our experience!) to spend a whole day on the actual lake, so I can't attest to the other amenities this state park has to offer. But for our purposes on this wonderful weekend, it was darn near perfect and we really enjoyed our time!! Hope to be back soon! :)

I've been coming to South Higgins Lake Campground (west side) for years and if it weren't for the…read morebeautiful Higgins lake, I'd go somewhere else. Each year I stay at a different site, and they are all the same: nearly all dirt, lousy facilities and crummy water issues. The water spickets that are located on each street were recently updated to include an on/off valve which sounds great, but when you turn it on it sprays outward, not downward, so you get water sprayed all over you. How hard is it to put in a proper faucet end?! And the bathrooms are similar where the faucets to wash your hands and the shower heads, are all "misting" water flows. I'm sure it's to save water but this is not helping me in cleaning my hands and body. Not to mention the water is ice cold each time (I've tried many different times of the day with no luck). As a taxpayer, we are paying for these parks and deserve top notch, simple amenities such as smooth waterflow, larger hot water tanks and a little grass on the sites. Other than this, the lake is gorgeous and great to spend time on it!

WARNING - Bed Bugs in Duplex 10 at Jacks Landing…read more I want to start by saying I have stayed at Jacks every year for the past 22 years and have always enjoyed our vacations until this year. We mostly stayed in Duplex 10 but have also stayed at the waterfront cabins and Anglers Hideaway. This year we stayed the week of July 6th in Duplex 10. We discovered a bed bug issue towards the end of the week. We started getting red bite marks and waking up to find blood on the sheets. Upon further inspection we discovered live bed bugs and a lot of black/red stains on the box springs of all three beds and evidence on the futon. We immediately notified the management and were extremely disappointed in the response. They said they always clean the rooms and have never seen evidence of bed bugs. The offered us a $150 gift certificate for next year and told us one of the managers was going to the store to get "stuff" to clean it up right away. When we pushed for a full refund they said "they don't know where they came from" insinuating that we brought them with us. This is a very big infestation and not hard to find once we looked closer. All four people who stayed in the cabin had upwards of 50+ bites appear once we were home and started looking closer. We kick ourselves for not inspecting the bed upon arrival but after 22 years you tend to trust a place. I understand that these things happen but the response from the manager was the worst part. She said she had them before and it was not a big deal to get rid of them. They insinuated we brought them. Worst of all I believe they are going to try to "clean" it themselves. From what I read (and I have not read a lot) bed bugs are difficult to eliminate, and my guess is they will continue to be a problem at Jacks. I want to raise awareness to all potential guests at Jack that bed bugs were in Duplex 10 to be very cautious if staying at Jacks Landing

Nothing fancy or pretentious, but great people and great location. We love coming here during the…read moresummer and appreciate feeling at ease and at home. Very relaxed and low key.

Hartwick Pines State Park is hands down one of the best state parks this beautiful state has to…read moreoffer, no question about it! It's almost a bit of a hidden gem just because it's not along any lakeshore, so I feel like it isn't as highly trafficked as you might think. Basically, the low traffic levels just feel very disproportionate to how stunningly beautiful this park is and all it has to offer! I don't think I saw a single person here throughout my entire hike, which was sad because it was a beautiful, winter day, early evening & the sun was still shining! If you like pines and old growth forests, well then...you clearly have to come here! It's so beautiful, so interesting, the views are endless and constantly changing, there's almost like too much to look at and appreciate and it kept me fully engaged throughout the entire hike. The hike was absolutely beautiful and almost leisurely, with a big hill at the end of the trail I was on to really spice things up a bit before the hike was over. It was truly perfect. I had a great time here and so did my dog and I am consciously planning when I can come back here again because it was just that incredible!

Just spent a week at the campground. Very clean facility and good staff. The restrooms need a…read morerefresh but the showers were good!

HIGHLY RECOMMED! The owners are very nice and very accommodating. We've been to Paddle Brave 3x's,…read morewe tent the first time and rented Cabin #3 last two times HIGHLY recommend! We rented it again for this Memorial Holiday weekend 5/2026.

Had a lot of fun kayaking, awesome place to enjoy a peaceful Sunday morning! Owners were very…read morefriendly and the prices are great!!

Have an annual camping weekend for 3 years and always enjoy this campground. They have water and…read moreelectrical at the campsite for a reasonable price and there is plumbed restrooms and showers that are walking distance. They maintain the facilities and always clean. It's really nice to have a campsite along the river and really nice they shuttle you to the starting point and provide usually good quality tubes and also offer tubes for your cooler if you pay per cooler tube.

This campground has lots of fun sites for both tent and RV camping. I have camped here a few times…read morewith mixed experiences. I would not recommend this place for tent campers looking for a quiet and relaxing space it's much more geared towards partying. The campground includes tubing or kayaking on the river which is a fun time for those looking to party. The rifle river is not the best when water levels are low very rocky. The tubes provided by the campground are pretty dirty and under inflated for the cost. I'd say if you plan on a weekend of partying and drinking this place is good but wouldn't recommend for families or those looking to unwind in nature.

Great campground. Ben, the owner, is very accommodating and personable. Great communication. Clean…read moregrounds and bath house. Pat, campground host and maintenance guru, was very helpful with questions and site needs. Close to Higgins Lake. Staying for a couple months and so glad we chose Northern Nights.

From the owner: RV & Tent Camping. Seasonal and occasional campers welcome.read more