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    Straits State Park

    3.9 (35 reviews)
    Closed 8:00 am - 10:00 pm

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    Laura S.

    We tent-camped at this state park's seasonal campground for two nights in early June, 2023, and recommend it. It's open from May 15-October 15, weather permitting. As Straits State Park is one of Michigan's most popular state parks, you'll need to make your reservation early. We made our reservation online, and received our confirmation almost immediately. Our tent site without electricity would be in the Lower West Campground. The fee was $27 per night, plus a reservation fee of $8 -- so $62 for two nights. Michigan also requires a Recreation Passport for all Michigan state parks, trails, historic sites, and more. As non-residents of Michigan, the daily fee is $11 for entry and re-entry to any state park for the day. An annual pass is $39 (June, 2023). Our site (82-A) was amazing. It was almost directly on the beach, with access to Lake Huron. One minor downside was that it was next to a path to access the beach so there was some campground pedestrian traffic past our site. We had a good view of the Mackinac Bridge, which was magical at night with its twinkling lights. We were also surprised one night by fireworks being set off from Mackinaw City (across the lake). One bigger distraction, obviously not the fault of the state park, is that we were there at the same time as what seemed to be a million midges (insects). They look like big mosquitoes but don't bite. We wore head/face netting which made it somewhat more bearable. The park has a short hiking trail which connects two bridge overlooks. We drove up to one of the overlooks to the observation tower with views of the Mackinac Bridge and the Straits of Mackinac. The trail there is also part of the North Country Hiking Trail (which stretches 4,800 miles across eight states). There are also two playgrounds on site and a picnic area. The campground is in St. Ignace, "a small quaint city with a small charming small town atmosphere." Within a few minutes drive are the city's lighthouse and the terminals for ferries going over to Mackinac Island, a major tourist attraction. A rating of 4.5 would probably be better for this campground. Taking off from a perfect score for a few reasons. (1) the bathrooms, and especially the showers, while good, were insufficient for the number of campers. There was often a queue for the showers; (2) sites were fairly close together with little privacy between them; and (3) the grass was quite long at our site so we were worried about the possibility of ticks.

    Brandon M.

    I just went here for some good pics of the Mighty Mac with the woods in the foreground. I wish I would have known about the spot that is lined up head on with the bridge. They have a lower and upper campground. Driving through the sites seemed sort of close. Pretty busy when I was there the second Sunday in June.

    Carey C.

    Great park with lots of trails, and a great spot to get you pic with the Mighty Mac thru a sliver I'm the trees.

    Marin C.

    Amazing views of the bridge. Bummed I forgot my camping chair. Bathrooms were fine. I worked at a state of MI campground over summer. I can't compare the two, but not having to cross a busy highway to get to the beach was great. Set up hammocks in the trees, but then people set up next to us, so we took the hammocks down. I loved the walking trail to the visitor center just across the bridge on the st. Ignace side. North country trail ftw! Also, found two geocaches. Any time spent looking for caches is time well-spent. Cheers mate.

    Taken from the bridge view of the upper campground
    Brent M.

    Really dug this campground. Went for Memorial Day weekend, had two adjoining tent campsites (196, 198). Lot 196 was mostly grassy and spacious. 198 had a little bit of an incline and was more "forest floor" type of ground. The hiking trails to the bridge views were nice, expect some stairs and a decent hill, along with protruding roots. There was no camp store but there was a shed selling campfire wood and at that time they were only open from 6pm-8pm. There's a Family Fare right down the road to pickup any essential needs you may have forgotten. They also sell firewood. We were unlucky with the firewood from both the shed and family fare, as it seemed to be too wet and was struggling to stay lit. The park had a couple small playgrounds and the bathrooms/showers were clean and in good shape. Would certainly camp here again.

    Zoomed pic of the bridge and fireworks.
    P. B.

    Super nice campground. We stayed in the lower part with beach access. It's woodsier and it's much more roomy and private. Higher part, the trailers were kinda on top of each other. Nice Clean bathrooms. Will definitely stay again. Friday nights they do fireworks on the other side of Mackinaw bridge. But you can see them from the beach area.

    View of the Mackinac Bridge!
    Rhonda L.

    My husband and I were coming home from a vacation that we took in the UP. We got tired of driving and decided to find a spot to sleep for the night. We pulled in and they had one spot left in the lower Campground. Since we were so close to Lake Michigan and was worried about being too cold sleeping in a tent. The ranger assured me that our site was heavily wooded and we should be fine. We drove to our site and were pleasantly surprised at how would it and leveled our site was. Once we were set up, we took a walk around, not realizing how close we were to Lake Michigan and what a spectacular view of the Mackinac Bridge we had!! The showers and restrooms very well maintained. It was a real pleasure staying here and if we ever make it back up, we would not hesitate to stay here again!

    View of Big Mac at night.
    Caitlin B.

    Came here over Labor Day weekend with my husband, and we really enjoyed the view from the park. We set out from Chicago later than intended so we didn't reach here until after dark, so we were not able to spend as much time here as we'd hoped, but it was a good experience and a great place to camp on the way to Tahquamenon Falls, our ultimate destination. The sites are pretty small, and most are close together. We're tent campers, so the size was not an issue for us, but if you're driving a huge motor home, choose your site carefully. We spent an hour walking the campground in the morning to scope out the best sites, and essentially any site hat is adjacent to a viewing area will have the best view. It won't be hugely private, but the main attraction of Straits laid the view of Big Mac, so it seems like the best choice. The bathrooms here were very clean but dated, and they are actually closing the lower campground to renovate them this year. I'd definitely return for the view of the bridge and the proximity to Mackinac Island, but with no hiking trails, I probably wouldn't stay here for more than a couple nights.

    Beth H.

    Fantastic state park campgrounds. Our spot wasn't exactly Level but we made it work with our 5er. Staying in the lower campgrounds, you are steps from the shore and lake that over looks the bridge. From the camp, you can watch two of the three coordinated fireworks displays that shoot off from Mackinac city, island and St.Ignace. We could watch all three if we biked into town, which is about a mile. Not far at all. Only bugger is the hill to get up out of the lower camp, but going back makes it all worth it. There is a good mix of tents and RVs. Very family friendly and even the full time camp host has loads of info for you and crafts for the kids. If you don't have bikes or a vehicle to get around, there is a trolly that will pick you up at the front of the park to take you into town. Forget something, there is a grocery store just off the grounds. It doesn't get better than this. Buy your firewood here when you arrive. So much more affordable than getting one of these expensive motels for the holiday weekend. We will definitely be back and bring friends.

    Campsite with view of the bridge
    Jayne B.

    This is a nice, well maintained, clean campground with a beautiful view of the Mackinaw Bridge. The only big downside is the sites are so close together, you are practically camping with strangers. Luckily everyone was friendly and quiet and followed quiet hours. At night you can hear some of the traffic from the bridge but also the lovely sounds of the water from the lake on the shore. All in all it was peaceful and we enjoyed it. Bathrooms were very clean with flush toilets and private showers that lock. I would enjoy staying here again.

    Stephanie H.

    Really enjoyed this campground next to the Lake. The wind can be chilly depending on which way you're facing and on this particular trip it was late in the season so the campground was a bit crowded. There are wonderful bathroom and shower facilities that were very clean and made the stay very comfortable. The park faces the bridge which is beautiful to behold at night. The only down side is hearing the traffic on the highway all night long. This was otherwise a wonderful campground and a comfortable experience.

    Amazing views, beautiful hikes!
    Lisa V.

    Great campground, well maintained, clean restrooms ( need hooks in showers)... We stayed in upper loop..very nice! Well be back for halfway stops between upper/ lower...convienant family fare around d the corner..

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    7 years ago

    It was so peaceful and serene here! The showers were warm and the views were amazing!

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    10 years ago

    Right next to Lake Huron. Nice sized sites with some trees. Restrooms and showers make this 5 stars.

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    Ask the Community - Straits State Park

    Review Highlights - Straits State Park

    This is a nice, well maintained, clean campground with a beautiful view of the Mackinaw Bridge.

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    Great Turtle Park

    Great Turtle Park

    3.0(2 reviews)
    4.6 mi

    A hidden oasis with lots of potential! I recently visited on a weekday in late July and despite the…read morerain, there wasn't too much mud to wade through. We had been planning on playing the 9-basket disc golf course when we got to MI, knowing that it was a very low rating on DGCR, but were pleasantly surprised. I am happy to say I've been here, done that, but probably a one-time visit for me. From the pictures, you can see it's obviously a lush and clean park with dozens of activities available for children and adults. Most of these installments are a little run down, even in the middle of summer tourism, particularly the markers that tell you where the tee is (some are in pieces, some are plain missing). Luckily, we had enough service to search it up on a dedicated disc golf site and were well on our way. Main upsides include a clean bathroom, picnic and barbecue area, visible baskets, and beautiful landscaping. Downsides? The overgrowth around the edges of the park, where all 9 tees are situated. I lost my favorite disc in the 8ft shrubs, and some tees were completely in the shrubs. Also, this park was a little difficult to find as there aren't signs for it (unless you're coming up one particular path). So after an afternoon of walking the paths to Arch Rock and Fort Holmes, we struggled to get here without the help of a sometimes spotty Google Maps. Pro tip: download the Google Map of the island before you go walking.

    It's cool that mak island put a disc golf park on the island, I have to say that I was so totally…read morestoked to bring my discs. With Michigans wide range and disparate landscapes, I was sure I was gonna get some sweet terrain to challenge my disc golf savvy. What I got at great turtle park was a bit disappointing. This park is good for your mid range or putter but it is flat. I would say you could probably make all the shots without having to bust out the driver, with maybe the exception of one hole. The baskets are not cemented into the ground, there is no tee off sign for any of the pins, and there aren't platforms. Rather, kitchen tiles mark the starting points for all the holes. These disappointments for a serious disc golf fan, make the park a three. The park itself is gorgeous and in the middle to high park of the island away from most of the tourism and people, so that's worth a few stars. Overall, however, the disc golf part of the park really soured my experience as it seemed like an afterthought. I rated this park three stars because: 1star: bathroom on premises. Nice. 1star: park itself is a cool spot, away from tourists. Good family/community area. 1star: disc golf here. Something's better than nothing. 0star: disc golf course missing tee signs and platforms, baskets are free standing, showing the non-commital nature of whoever put them in. 0star: hole nine missing tile that tells you where to start, all disc golf baskets within sight of the starting point, no sweet Michigan terrain involved, flat course.

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    Great Turtle Park
    Great Turtle Park
    Great Turtle Park

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    Marquette Park - Playground

    Marquette Park

    5.0(3 reviews)
    5.0 mi

    This is a beautiful park, but be aware that geese run the show here. There is goose refuse…read moreeverywhere on the grass, so watch your step. But what's a little doo-doo between friends, right? It's worth overlooking dozens of turds to take in the view from the park. Marquette Park sits under Mackinac Fort, so every so often, you'll hear a loud boom coming from the general direction of the park. It sounds like something exploding. Is it something exploding?! No, not to worry: It's just the ammunitions demonstrations taking place right above the park at the fort. You'll probably, eventually, stumble upon a structure in the park that looks like a hut. This hut is actually a reproduction of a chapel that signifies the first European presence on Mackinac Island. Who knew! It's open during certain hours, so hopefully, when you visit it, it's open so you can peep inside. Like any good park, Marquette Park has a playground. The playground is pretty basic -- a couple of slides, some monkey bars, a few things to climb. But it's a playground, and kids will have fun. Kids tend to make the most out of everything! May we all be childlike in that way. There are some statues at this park, too. One of the main statues is the one depicting Father Jacques Marquette, a French priest who established Catholic missions in the Upper Peninsula. What else? Oh: One of the great things about this park is that it's centrally located. It's at the end of the main strip in downtown Mackinac Island. Just walk all the way down the street until you can't anymore, and you'll find Marquette Park. The park sits on a bit of a hill, so you'll see great views of the lake and the boats at the dock.

    One of the best two hours I've spent at Mackinac Island, Michigan is at Marquette Park. For some…read morereason, I was so tired when we arrived at Mackinac Island. So while the family rented bikes to ride and explore the island.....I just wanted to find a nice place to take a nap. I found the perfect place to rest, and that place was called Marquette Park. Marquette Park is located close to Fort Mackinac. The park is so green, and there are many shaded places to relax. I found a nice cool shaded grassy area, and I simply lied down & went to sleep. Maybe some folks thought I was just some homeless guy sleeping in the park, but I did not care cause I was exhausted. It was one of the best two hour naps that I've ever taken!! When I woke up, I chillaxed and people watched. There were many couples and families relaxing and walking around the park. Such a nice place to hangout while you are on Mackinac Island!

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    Marquette Park
    Marquette Park - Statue of Liberty

    Statue of Liberty

    Marquette Park

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    Straits State Park - campgrounds - Updated July 2026

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