I went here for a quick day hike after kayaking to Turnip Rock. There's actually two trailheads-…read moreone official one with campgrounds and bathrooms, and one with a bridge over the river. I parked at the trailhead with the bridge, which does not have any amenities. If you're nervous about trying to find it, it's right next to the Dark Sky Lodge and Tavern so you can plug that into your navigation system. It's also well marked with a small gravel lot. When I went, the trailhead lot was full so I parked at a grassy lot across the street. The trail runs though the beach and forest ecosystem and it's pretty well maintained and well marked. It's impossible to get lost. As you go near the beach there's plenty of offshoot trails leading to the beach. Just watch out for ticks!

Absolutely breathtaking shoreline!…read more The only reason I didn't give 5 stars was because we only noticed one trash receptacle during our trip, and it wasn't near the parking lot but instead was appropriately placed next to a (closed) pavilion. It was overflowing, and I'll give them a pass because of the pandemic, but I was disappointed by the lack of trash cans and only one (closed) bathroom. The dunes were great though! A nice adventure and great place for a picnic! Also, heads up, there are signs that clearly state no glass or animals on the beach but plenty of people brought their dogs. Thankfully we saw owners cleaning up after their pups.

This county park was a good last minute option when the waters of Huron were too rough for our…read moreplanned kayaking trip. It is very well maintained with a nice play area for smaller kiddos. The beach is fairly small due to high lake levels. You can find a plethora of perfect skipping rocks on the shoreline to pass the time. If fishing is your thing, you can fish from the shoreline, the wooden pier or the land between the park and the marina. Bathrooms were nearby and well maintained.

A beach, boat launch, play scape, campground, rev park, cabins, and ball field at this county owned…read morepark.

It is one of the most beautiful views of Lake Huron and the beach shoreline…read more Visiting this park on numerous occasions makes returning one more adventure to enjoy year around.

Not ideal for tent camping. This is the first state campground that I have stayed at, so I don't…read morehave anything to compare it to. We usually stay at more rustic campgrounds. The spaces were close together and there were lot of flies everywhere. There was a poop smell throughout the campground and the beach. With the campsites being so close together you could hear everyone "yelling at their kids" or partying until 2:00 AM. The bathrooms had dirty floors and the shower was gross. The beach was a nice short walk just across the bridge and to the other side of the road. There were lots of campers and many of them had lights on at night or hung lights outside their camper which created light pollution so you could not see the stars. Maybe you want to hang out with a bunch of strangers and listen to their business or their partying until the wee hours of the morning. If that sounds like fun then you should definitely come here. If you came for an outdoor experience, wanted to see the stars or hear nature then I would avoid this campground.

Really nice nature area with walking and bike trails, a bridge, picnic areas with barbecue pits, a…read morepet friendly area, and gorgeous waterfalls. We go here a few times each summer to enjoy the weather, tranquility and scenic sights.. it's a very family-oriented gathering spot, perfect for picnics, biking, hiking, jogging, relaxing, and photo opps. I really enjoy it - it's off the beaten path, nestled in a wooded area, very clean and tranquil... it's quiet and beautiful- we have taken many gorgeous photos here. There's plenty of parking, public restrooms and nice trails.. however, bring the insect repellent/ you'll want it!!

I appreciate having places to walk around. When I went to Huckleberry Railroad last year I did not…read morerealize this was an extension on the other side, so that makes the area even better if you are interested in outdoor adventures. Where we parked there was a path to get to the falls. They are not really falls, just a man made dam with concrete steps on several levels to check out the water. I could see people were able to have canoes on the lake and there was a beach and playground off to the distance on the other side. Another part of the park maybe? A lot of people were walking around with their kids or come go fishing. So it was a nice family area. I realize I am more of a resort pool with a lazy river girly, so I am not in love with the many swarms of gnats but that is me. If you are outdoorsy, this is a nice place to visit. Paired with Huckleberry railroad would be perfect.

if there was a "projects" of campgrounds this would be it…read more Your neighbors shit hose I'd outside your door/window The asshole living over the store yelled at me when I sat my old handicapped ass down retuning from the beach because I had my dog... I am certain I asked about dog friendly. I'm not ever returning here!

It saddens me to write such a poor review for a campground I once loved. I have been camping at…read moreForester Campground in Sanilac County since 2005. We camp with a very large group of over 20 people. This year Sanilac County Parks allowed one person to make group reservations then each party called in and paid. This seemed like a good solution for those of us who camp in large groups and want to be by each other. However, they did not send us individual emails of confirmations. They only sent it to the individual who made the reservation. This has been a stressful year, and I could not remember what my dates were. I called Forester Campground. They told me I was due in on June 27th. When I checked in, the office staff told me I was due until the following day. I was upset, as I was given the wrong information. I asked her if I needed to pay today for the day. She said she would adjust it, since it was her staff that made the error. As I was setting up, the park manager, Steven Pozsgay came and said he "adjusted" our stay, having us leave a day earlier. This would have us leaving a day before our friends. I was very upset. He was not aggressive, but extremely unfriendly. He said if we wanted to stay another day would need to pay for it. Which, I offered when I checked in. I found out he reprimanded his staff for offering to accommodate us since the staff made the error. After serious consideration, time with our friends was more important than his attitude. So we paid for the additional night. When we went to pay, we tried to discuss with the staff why we were upset. In the middle of the conversation, the manager, Steven Pozsgay took his phone out of his pocket, dialed his phone and left the room. Leaving his staff with my sister and myself. His staff told us in his presence that our friend would no longer be able to make group reservations due to this mix up. The entire conversation deflected any responsibility of the park's staff and management. Instead, they chose to attempt to manipulate me into feeling negatable about my handling of the situation. Last I checked, businesses were in the business of making business, not discouraging it. My sister asked what the penalty would be to cancel Labor Day and Halloween weekend. She responded that we would lose all of money we paid. Which is a lie. You are only penalized one day. However, this all could have been avoided had they sent us confirmation emails when we called in to pay. Or, Steven Pozsgay supported his employee's way of handling the situation. Even if he would have come to me and said, she made a mistake. But no, he chose to be abrasive and inflammatory. Every year since Steven Pozsgay has taken over as manager there has been an issue with him. He is abrasive and confrontational. His management skills are poor at best. For over a year, the dump station was not operable, and he refused for campers without full hook up to dump in the full hook up lots that were vacant. If it weren't for the location being on Lake Huron, he would lose considerable amount of business. We will finish our current reservations at Forester Campground but won't schedule any further vacations there. We will only return when Seven Pozsgay is no longer the manager.

We were here just after Labor Day so the beach was pretty much dead which was awesome for us as we…read morehad the whole place to ourselves. The wind made it a bit too chilly to do much outside from walk along the beach but had it been a bit warmer it would have been a great place to go swimming or wading. I hadn't realized that nearby is also a dark sky park so I imagine you'll have some dynamite night sky gazing if you're there after sunset. I'd love to come back and take some astrophotography shots with my camera this coming summer. Also worth noting, not sure if this is the case in peak season times but the park has a solid public restroom as well. Very clean!

2020-07-25. Oak Beach County Park, Port Austin, MI…read more In Michigan, everyone boasts of the beauty of the mitt; the scenic scapes of the UP (Upper Peninsula), the old world charm of Mackinaw and Mackinac Island, and the great outdoors of the Grand Traverse County. But there's another part to every mitten, and today my travels took me here, to Michigan's thumb. Well, to what I call the Thumbnail to be more precise. The thumbnail I refer to is the coastal areas of Michigan's thumb, from Bay Port to the West, to Harbor Beach to the east. One thing this area isn't lacking are beaches, beautiful sand beaches bordering Saginaw Bay or Lake Huron. While many a property here gets a piece of the water, there are many pubic beaches as well. The beaches are smaller and encompass only a few hundred feet of waterfront, but they make up for it in how many there are within close proximity to one another. Caseville has a decent size beach, but is often very crowded, and with COVID still looming around, we decided to go further north to Port Austin. Our day began at Bay Port to pick up some smoked fish, then to the Port Austin Farmer's Market. After that I had 3 beaches picked out. Oak County Park, Veteran's Park, and Bird Creek Park. Bird Creek Park is a 1000 foot expanse of beach to the immediate east of the Port Austin State Harbor. From here, you would be able to see personal boats come and go. The parking lot has enough space for about 70 vehicles, and spaces fill up by early afternoon. Not finding any spots within social distancing guidelines, we moved to the west side of the Port Austin State Harbor to Veteran's Waterfront Park. It's about half the size of Bird Creek with approximately 500 linear feet of beachfront. This side has the breakwater, so if you're in to boat spotting, it's not the optimal side to be on. While these two parks are adjacent to each other with only about 500 feet between them, there is no direct path to get there on foot. You will need to drive from one lot to the other. The parking lot is proportionally smaller here with about 40 parking spots. Not having any luck at Veteran's we moved to my original choice of Oak Beach. During our journey west, we passed by several other beaches. 4 miles away is Port Crescent State Park. Being a State Park, a Michigan Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry. We had ours, but if you don't have one, no worries, you can purchase one at the entrance. The cost is $12 for the year + $5 convenience fee for not purchasing it when you renew your License Plate tabs. This beach is the largest of them all by far, and spans about 2 miles. There's one central lot, and despite the price of parking, many come to enjoy this beach. This was my backup beach, so we pressed on westward. The next beach is at McGraw County Park. A small pubic park with no pavilions and only about 400 feet of beachfront. After this one is our destination, Oak Beach County Park. This park is much bigger compared to McGraw with two large pavilions, a playground, 2 horseshoe pits, and about 700 feet of beachfront. Here, we were lucky enough to find both a spot on the beach and in the parking lot. In addition to the pavilions, fixed charcoal barbecue grills are scattered throughout the park for public use. There are restrooms with one shower stall in each as well as a rinsing well to get the excess sand off your legs before heading home. Still on the Lake Huron side, the water is much cooler and the water remains shallow throughout the buoy markers for swimmers. At spots there are pockets where the water does get about 5 feet deep, so if you have little ones, take care to make sure they don't wander off to far on their own. If you venture past these deeper wells, it gets shallow again (about 3 feet). The bottom is sandy so muddy waters are kept to a minimum. Overall a nice beach with nice amenities. 4 stars. The great thing about this beach park is that there is a nature center about a half mile away. The Huron County Nature Center has many hiking trails that are well marked and pets are welcome. Overall, Michigan's Thumbnail Coast boasts many smaller beaches which is quite a nice change from the densely populated ones of Metro Park and Stony Creek. The water is cleaner and cooler, a bonus on those really hot days. There is one more beach if you continue on the Journey to the West. Thompson County Park is very similar to McGraw County Park, with about 400 feet of beachfront and no pavilions or playgrounds. So don't give up if you can't find a spot straight away. Our day trip was to conclude with a stop at Rybak's Ice Cream, but they were closed due to COVID, so we checked out The Grindstone General Store and Blue Moon Ice Cream Shoppe. If you would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!

The museum, gift shop, and lighthouse were closed when I visited. I checked the website and the…read moremuseum will open next week on May 23rd. There is a campground by the lighthouse and a nice view of the lake. It is worth stopping by if traveling along Lake Shore Road.

This is a nice lighthouse to stop at and at least walk around. Unfortunately that's all we could do…read moretoday as it's closed due to COVID restrictions. There is a museum that can normally be toured and the lighthouse itself. The parking lot is right next to the lighthouse so there isn't much walking involved. It's also wheelchair accessible by ramp. Unlike some lighthouses that are on a pier this one is right on the shore. It is very well keep from the outside and there are lots of signs to read about the history of the lighthouse. I found a beach to sit on by the water, which was nice. I would stop here again if visiting this area. Easy in and out, parking, and walking.

Great Park located in Lexington, Mi. The entire area is built for fun in the sun. Super clean…read morewater, nice accommodations for the restroom, picnic area, and an awesome area to walk the shoreline of Lake Huron. Just within walking distance is shopping and restaurants. I like to pack a cooler and spend the day relaxing on the beach. It's only an hour from my house, BONUS!!!

Very nice park close to home spacious you can get lots of exercise worthy of putting in your travel…read morejournal

It's alright,,, one of the reviews are pretty correct, but I just want to be fair and say, that…read morethere are pros and cons. It wouldn't just because it wasn't my ideal type of set up, doesn't mean I'm going to one star a joint. Let's start shall we. Pros: Very clean, very quiet, close to the water, there's a dock to launch a boat, kayaks or paddleboards, a light house and it's an actual park. The facilities are well maintained. Showers are dialed in the to the perfect amount of heat. Firewood is well stocked every night as well. Cons: It's very open, no trees so it's excruciatingly hot in the afternoon, the rustic sites are right next to a canal which is a bit insulting. Rustic sites are also by bright road lamps, which is a bit bright specially when sleeping under opaque tents. The spigot for water felt like it was in one of the sites, so it felt like you were pretty much walking into someone's space when you're fetching drinking water or cleaning your food eating equipment. A friend of our brung a pop-up camper, so we got to get the best of both worlds. This camp area is more for "Glampers" not real campers. Don't get me wrong, we totally had a pretty good time here. Yes we had a real good time here, but it just doesn't quite check all the boxes. Strong suggestions on the trees, I would've loved to hang my hammock somewhere. Thank you so much for reading my review. I hope this helps with your decision making experience. Enjoy your awesome yelptastic day!

This is a lovely campground near the water, perfect for those who like a getaway or a longer…read morevacation. Located in the upper part of Michigan's beautiful thumb, this campground is one of many affiliated campgrounds in the region that I would highly recommend. The lighthouse is historical with a cute little gift shop in the friendly shop clerk. This is our first time at this campground but not our first time camping in the thumb.