My friends and I were supposed to go to a music festival out of the state last fall but of course plans changed, so we decided to book a camping weekend at Orchard Beach State Park instead. Located in Manistee, there is plenty to do nearby but unfortunately the weather was pretty rainy for most of the weekend we were there. The access to the beach was closed due to erosion but there are other beaches available. Checking in was easy and there is onsite ice and firewood for sale. The host site was awesome with lots of books for use and a whiteboard with local info. Our site had water and electric hookup, so we were tucked in amongst several RVs and motor homes. The campground was very quiet, which was nice! The restroom facilities were clean and functional, although one had a small set of stairs leading into the actual bathroom area which made it not so accessible. We were on spot 95, which is right near the highway. We knew this going in and could see from the photos that it didn't look that close. Well, it was pretty close, and very loud with road noise. This wasn't a big deal for us but if noise bothers you I'd skip this part of the campground. Another thing to note is that some of the sites hold water when it's been raining, so maybe not the best for tent camping. Our site seemed ok but it was mostly dirt so it did get a little muddy. Nothing too terrible, though. Overall we enjoyed our stay but this definitely wasn't my favorite of the state parks we've visited or camped at. There is a nice lookout point over the lake that made for some nice photos, and getting into town was easy. read more

Small compared to other state parks across Michigan, but a stunning state park nonetheless located on bluffs above Lake Michigan! The campground is wonderful and we really loved that it was one that was more underrated and less trafficked. We had a prime camping spot with an uninterrupted view of the lake and even though the weather we had during this weekend wasn't the best, we made do with cozy time in the tent, did a hike through the state park that was lovely and well maintained, and explored the nearby downtown of Manistee, of which Orchard Beach State Park is located just 5-10 minutes north! A wonderful weekend and state park in my books! read more

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For camping this place is amazing. Husband, 13 year old and 11 year old came here for the first time. Had site #120. The bathrooms are clean, showers clean. Nice site plot. Beautiful views. Not over crowded. Electricity. Nice and friendly staff. Close to so much hiking, fishing and kayaking. Inexpensive. It does NOT have beach access but the views are amazing and your close to amazing fishing and kayaking. The beaches are 10 minutes away. Some of the beach camp sites get over crowded, stay loud all night at other places. We just found our new camp home! read more

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Great campground. No beach only downside. Stayed at the mini cabin. Had a great time with the kids and local beach very close drive.

I camped with my wife and two kids in a pop-up camper. We stayed in site 85 which is a full hookup. The lot was huge (I am not sure that is typical of a MI state park site??? This is our 1st time at a state campground) There is some road noise from Lakeshore Rd at this site. The sunsets are an event at this campground. You can check out the scenery from up on the bluff or down on the beach. The beach area is smallish but seemed adequate for the number of campers. I had a good time exploring along the shoreline. Be prepared for those steps. The bathrooms and showers were better than average with little to no humidity build-up. The folks at the ranger station were friendly and helpful. read more

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Pretty disappointed in the stay here. No one told us that the entrance to the beach was closed; has been since April( herd locals saying since last year. Which if you google it shows the beautiful picture of the beach, so kinda expected it ya know. Also that is the only place from this campground to get to the actual beach when the map makes it look like it's right there. Very close camping, no privacy. Super scenic sunset tho.. read more

Orchard Beach State Park - Parks Near Me - Manistee, Michigan

What a nice campground! Let's start with the beginning of our stay. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon after it had rained. The camp was without power so the ranger told us to just go to the site we had reserved. We pull up and realize the site is really muddy. Understandable because of the rain. We decide to go check out the campground. We come back to the site and as we are deciding where to put the tent the ranger comes by to give us our reservation paper. He comments on the muddy site and the fact we are tenting. He asks if we would rather switch sites to one that is higher groung with less mud. He then proceeds to give us the park map with the sites highlighted that are available for the time we would be there. He says go pick out a different one. We got to hand pick our own site! The campground itself is right on Lake Michigan. Beautiful views with gorgeous sunsets. There are many benches along the coast to watch the water. As for the beach, there are stairs down to it and it isn't very big. Might be a deal breaker for some. We didn't mind. The bathrooms and showers were adequate. They cleaned them everyday. The showers had good water pressure and the water was nice and warm. And there were no bugs in them. Lots of hiking trails and it is not far from town. Maybe a couple miles. Orchard Beach is towards the top of the list of the state parks we have camped at. read more

I really can't improve upon Kaylee M's review. She pretty much nails it. The only reason I gave this 4 stars and not 5 is because the daily bathroom/shower cleaning needs to happen earlier. I'm an early riser so I always had lots of bugs to deal with in these areas. The lights are left on all night so this attracts the bugs so in the morning the sinks have lots of bugs as well as the showers. If they could get to these around 6 or 7 AM rather than 9 AM that would help a lot. Friendly staff and that always makes up for other shortcomings. read more

Another amazing campground. The staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and just kind. Some of the camp sites are on a slope but most are not. We managed to snag a great spot close to the bathrooms and backed by bushes so it was great. We had a view of the lake (nothing breathtaking) but Enough to bring a smile to my face. Close to town. The beach was not there. But the stairway down to the lake was breathtaking. This camp site will be on our stopping list again in the future. read more

Orchard Beach State Park - Parks Near Me - Manistee, Michigan

I give it a two only because of the view of Lake Michigan and the friendly staff. There's no beach access due to erosion. The bathrooms need to be cleaned more often. There's black mold. The shower heads are so close to the wall and don't adjust. It's tough to shower without touching the wall. The sites are small and so close together! It's crazy how close together they are! read more

Orchard Beach State Park - Parks Near Me - Manistee, Michigan

This is for the campground only. Located minutes from quaint downtown Manistee, this state park camp ground is small and quaint as well. I didn't make a reservation, but I had no problem securing a site the same day I wanted to camp. The grounds themselves are well-kept, with electric hook-ups and showers/modern plumbing. The people at this ground mostly kept to themselves, and it was very, very quiet at night. The bathrooms were tiny and not the cleanest...in the morning, one of the bathrooms were proof to someone's wine love affair and didn't get cleaned up til around ten am. Since the bathroom was so small, it made that experience unpleasant to say the least. The staff here were nice and were helpful when they were pointing out a public beach down the road. The campgrounds are located up the dunes and cliffs from the Lake Michigan beach and has beach access. There is a little bluff where you can look down to the beach and watch the lovely Lake Michigan sunset. Overall, these campgrounds are a-ok for a night. I probably wouldn't camp here more than one night or I might even check out other campgrounds in the area first if I was in the Manistee area again. read more

A wonder place to camp! We loved the clean park, friendly staff, and great hiking trail.

Beautiful beach and view of Lake Michigan. Campsites aren't real level for campers and a little close to each other. Showers are disgusting.

This campground was near perfection! It had an absolute gorgeous view of the sunset every evening. Very family friendly with campsites singing campfire songs loud for all to hear and having family parades with glow sticks haha. Trails to hike nearby. Beach access to Lake Michigan and the water is crystal clear. Decent bathrooms. The management people in charge were very friendly. Bike-able distance to downtown Manistee for entire family, my little 5 year old sister biked with us. Would love to come back here again! read more

Don't camp here...ever. You are packed like sardines in a small, unwelcoming parking lot-like area. It is expensive for how terrible it is, and the people in this campground are bottom of the barrel. My group was gawked at just because we were young and boisterous. If we were to stay there overnight, we would have been shushed by every last person in this awful place. So glad we left and found another campground with much better scenery, spacing, and ambiance. Beware. read more

NEVER CAMP HERE! My family & I felt like were were packed into a sardine can! The campground is like a huge parking lot and everyone is on top of each other. There were clothes line strung up everywhere and every site had like 3-4 cars/trucks plus tents/campers. Way over used that the grass can't even grow-your site is a huge dirt pit and watch out if it rains-mud everywhere! My son could not even ride is bike in fear he would be run over by a vehicle, there were so many. We stayed there 3 night (only because I pre-paid 6mos in advance) and it was the worse campground we have ever stayed at. The bathhouse was extremely dirty with hair and sand everywhere and NOT one time was I able to take a hot shower, not even luke-warm it was FREEZING - all 3 nights! Just a HORRIBLE campground to stay at with your family! read more