This place improves w sites and events every time we are here. Great hosts and super location for…read morejumping off to other sites in the area

Had an amazing stay! Our site was very spacious and well kept. Owners were very nice. Would…read moredefinitely recommend the spots beside the outdoor theater!

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!

Our families favorite camp ground in Michigan!…read more What a gem and the lake is so clean and beautiful

A very pleasant little State Park located on if course Ostego Lake. The view is spectacular. When…read moreyou drive in the beach is in front of you and is very nice. However what you can't see right away is there are no dogs allowed on that beach. Which we were told off by the staff. However it turns out they do have a Dog Beach. The bad news is, it is horribly labeled. Signs don't cost that much how about a little help! Anyways you follow the path North from the parking lot, starting behind the Bathrooms. You'll walk about a half mile and finally see the one sign Dog Beach with an arrow down the stairs. Once you get down the stairs you immediately see a sign that says no dogs on Beach, that's it. So you continue going North and about a quarter to a third of a mile down you'll see a dog baggy station, so I guess at that point you've arrived. Anyways the view here is also spectacular and they have benches. This us always a big plus to me and I wish all beaches had benches! The Dog loved it and thought everything smelled intriguing. Overall a 4 star review. Needs better signage, but a great place to spend some time. Would I return? Absolutely!

We made reservations months ago. It was highest rated campground in area…read more It's has really mature trees & lots of shade. It's great destination if you had kids. The manager is a very awesome dude.He went beyond call of duty to assist us. They have really good WiFi ( great for streaming tv) This place is open year around for skiers & snow activity. They said lots visitors come for wineries in winter.

I first came here for tent camping 9 years ago and had a good experience with friends. We decided…read morewe would come back with our kids and it was worth it! Booking was tricky. I knew they booked up for summer in January but I called in December to ask for a specific date and they didn't have an answer. Booking was over the phone, which seems outdated. We booked 3 nights and would have easily booked a 4th if anyone had told our group (3 separate families) that the fun activities like a glow parade and foam party happen on Saturday night. We'll definitely keep that in mind for the future! We were one of very, very few tent campers. There are no reduced costs for tents. All sites are gravel. We stayed at 2 locations - site #7 which had a bright streetlight on all night,, and site #122 which was darkness. A con of #122 was that the fire ring was next to the wall so you couldn't place chairs completely around it. Overall, there were so many wonderful activities that really made this place awesome for kids! The man made lake included inflatable trampoline, slide, and climbing tower, the pools had basketball hoops, there was a jump pad, pickleball courts, bike trails, Cornhole (BYOB - bring your own bags), sandpit dodgeball, a playground and scheduled activities/crafts. There are a few on-your-own-time activities like a scavenger hunt that took a decent amount of time because the campground is huge! They have coin-operated showers (10 minutes for 1.00) but all 3 times I tried, at different times of day, it was still a not-warm shower. The lodge had a decent selection of food. My kids enjoyed corn dogs and I loved the crispy chicken tenders! Ice cream is naturally delicious. Overall, great experience! Maybe their next enhancement will be mini golf...

We camped there with 15 other RV's to do a Club Rally. New owners Josh and Cameo have made this an…read moreenjoyable campground. Clean and manicured lawns, great little party store with fair prices, Hot showers and very clean. All our electric services worked as expected. They have Santa Claus in July for the kids and let's not forget Bigfoot's prowling around at night. Great location at 30 minutes from Traverse city, 8 minutes from a quaint city with shopping and Eateries called Alden. About 15 minutes from the small neat town of Bellaire. Bring your Golf clubs as there are numerous Golfing resorts near by. Fine dining ? No problem try the Pelican Nest or Blue Pelican. .Both within 15-20 minutes. Cajun? We'll go about 30 minutes to Pearls Louisiana restaurant In Elkhart. Got a boat then drop it in Torch lake which is again within the small town of Alden . Oh, did I mention the beautiful ocean Blue Pool as you first pull in. Easy left or right dump station on your way out. Cabins galore and tent camping too! Nice walk around camping areas , a Pavilion that is about 50 x 80 feet and has a fire place. Firewood can be delivered to your sight and a Ice cream truck has been known to roam around too or just drop in the store for goodies! We are R.V. campers and this is one of the nicest ones we have visited in Michigan , Ohio, and Indiana. We will be back and Probably this year .thank you for such an enjoyable campground!

The new owners have really turned this place around! They have slowly renovated everything! Family…read morefriendly and very accommodating. Their rules are necessary to be respectful of everyone. Great location, we are coming back every summer!

Spent a delightful week at the Betsie Riverside Resort with hosts Chris and Misti. I was…read moreresearching places to stay in the area - and found a reference to kayak rentals at the BRR. This led me to check for availability of a cabin. So glad I did. We were able to reserve Cabin #9 one week before our arrival day. Their website - https://betsieriversideresort.com/ - is chock full of information about the resort and amenities and area attractions. Their online reservation system is easy to navigate - and the follow up emails are detailed and very well done. Our cabin had dishes, cutlery and drink ware for four people, a coffee pot with filters, (bring your own coffee grounds), hot pads, cooking and baking materials - all the basics for a kitchen. Full size refrigerator with a top door freezer complete with two ice cube trays. If you don't see what you need - just ask - they have many of the less common kitchen items - like a crock pot - available in the office. We appreciated having our bedroom separate from the living area - so one of us could be up reading while the other slept. The sheets and towels are institutional - aka - sturdy - but soft. Our cabin had a small ironing board and iron along with a fan and two extra blankets. I am guessing those are standard in all the cabins. We were there during the height of the Canadian Wildfire Air Quality Alerts in June of 2023 - so we did not take advantage of the community fire pit (our choice). The one thing we did not bring with us - and was not included in our cabin - was hot dog/marshmallow roasting sticks. We didn't ask if they had them to borrow - since we opted out of building a fire. But for next time - I'm throwing those in the car. We chose this area primarily for the Betsie Valley and the Sleeping Bear bike trails, driving to the trailheads for our excursions. We also kayaked one day on the Betsie River - which as Chris and Misti will explain, is not a managed river - has lots of twists and turns and a fairly strong current. It's a beautiful river - but challenging. What wasn't challenging was the pickup experience. Kayaking starts from the dock at the resort - and when you get to the pick up point - you give them a call and Chris comes to pick you up. Easy. When Chris and Misti say they want you to enjoy your stay - they truly mean it. They love their place and want you to love it as well. Use the reservation system from their website up to 11 months in advance to pick your spot. If we can coordinate schedules, we will be renting Cabins 7 and 8 with friends or family for our next trip. And if no one will join us - then you'll see us on the porch of Cabin 9 as you walk by to the pool. Be sure to say hello!

Stayed here in July with my two kids. Friendly front desk, comfy beds, nice strong AC in Cabin 9…read more I've stayed in lots of cabin places like this, in this price range, and this was by FAR the cleanest. It was small and basic but had everything we needed. Towels were actually fluffy! The pool was an excellent bonus. Seriously though, the cabin was so spotless I think they must have done updates recently. And the location was convenient to a few places to eat and an easy drive to Sleeping Bear Dunes. I don't fish but they seemed to have a nice set up and it's right on the river.

Easy to find, good communication. Good amount of bathrooms and trash cans spread out. Campsite was…read moreclean. Personally prefer above ground campfires for ease of physicality and cooking

For any outdoor enthusiasts exploring around Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore...I highly…read morerecommend staying here at Empire Township Campground!! Yes...I discovered it through the trusty ole app on my phone called CAMPENDIUM! In fact, I've used Campendium to locate plenty of campsites, RV Trailer Parks and rest stops along my plenty of travels these last few years. Definitely...if you're an adventurer...download Campendium. And what's great about it is that you can find campsites at the last minute/spur of the moment. That's how I came upon this Empire Township Campground. After driving all day to Sleeping Bear Dunes...I knew I needed a place to camp out because there weren't many accommodations offered in the area. Campendium mentioned to just show up here and it's first come, first served. I visited back in late May of this year 2021. The camp host was very friendly. She mentioned had I visited over the weekend, the campsites would have been full. So fortunately, I showed up on a Tuesday evening and there were plenty of spaces available. There were 60 campsites for me to choose from. The host handed me a map and told me to pick a site that was unoccupied and then return to the entrance where she'd secure my reservation. I picked Site #6 located right near the shower house. It was $25 per night for primitive camping. Having already planned out my Sleeping Bear Dunes itinerary ahead of time...I booked for 2 nights here for $50. So...I'd spend the first night here, hang out all day at Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore the following day, return back here for my 2nd evening, and then finish up my explorations of the area the last day and eventually move onto my next destination. For being here for 2 nights...I surprisingly planned out everything perfectly! Here are some details about this Empire Township Campground... It's located 5 miles outside the Sleeping Bear Dunes Visitor Center and the quiet little town of Empire, Michigan. My cell phone reception worked perfectly so I was able to watch a movie inside my tent one night before going to sleep. They have 3 showers. But...bring quarters with you as they charge .50 cents for every 3 minutes of hot water use. I used $1.50 and took my time cleaning off for 9 minutes. Outside the shower house there were a few electrical outlets which allowed me to plug in my phone and generator to grab some power. They actually offered AMP Power at some sites. In fact, I probably should have paid extra (which I'm sure wouldn't have cost much) for the accessible AMP Power. Oh well, my bad. My campsite #6 featured plenty of space and room. I felt like I was in the heart of nature and far enough away from other campers to have some privacy. The whole setting here was really pleasant. The camp host does sell ice to keep drinks cold as well as firewood to ignite flames for chilly evenings. Each site has a fire pit and picnic table. Also, charcoal grills are allowed as well. One night I barbecued some hot dogs during a scenic sunset. There's also dump stations for RV's. For locating this Empire Township Campground...simply plug the name into Google Maps and you'll have no issues finding it. They have real toilets for when using the bathroom, not vault toilets or porta potties. That's always a nice aspect. I can't think of anything else to say other than my 2 night experience here was quite memorable for all the good reasons. For anyone interested in getting ready to explore the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan and heading north, I highly suggest making Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore a priority to visit and choosing this Empire Township Campground as a your place for enjoying nights in the great outdoors.

If I could give 6 stars I would. We stopped by without a reservation. Registration is DIY...you…read morecall and a lovely young lady named Amy will answer and talk you through making payment and filling out forms. Amy was great to work with...with a great sense of humor and was very adroit at suggesting places to get ice; a.bite to eat etc. She was like the magical hotel concierge you luck out and get when all.of your travel plans are falling apart. We loved the campground. It had direct access to the Betsie River, showers and bathrooms were very well.maintaimed a clean...hot water was never a problem. There's Frisbee golf and horseshoes available..firewood was a generous amount for the money. There's 400 acres of state land to the north directly abutting the property. Mostly trailer and tent camping ( we had hammocks and were allowed to choose the spot we liked with the best trees for setup). They do have a canoe and kayak livery that currently only operates on weekends. I rarely gush over a business that doesn't bring me hot delicious food and cocktails...this is an exception to the rule. Hands down one of the best camping experiences. I have been disperse camping the last few years in order to avoid people and some of the issues that come with group camping ( loud drunk ppl...fascist property managers etc) this was about as good as family camping will ever get and the location is incredible. There's a very clean Mobil gas w a pizza place about 2 miles from the campground...and plenty of activities in all direction. Thank you so much for helping make our fishing trip camping headache free and amazing.

it's got everything you need their website was a little confusing( booking wouldn't work) but when…read morewe got there amy figured it out with us. fire wood is a little expensive that's it.