Young State Park. located on Lake Charlevoix, was my first campground of the season this year! We had a great time here and this state park has a solid campground. You don't get too many views and the campgrounds are all open and organized into 3-4 loops that you can easily see and access from wherever you are by foot or car within the campgrounds and to one side they are all bordered by a line of trees that have walkways cutting through them at each loop to the beach and shore of Lake Charlevoix! Because of this, you can typically see the lake through the trees, but no campsite has direct access or prime views of the lake all that much, so no stress about there being a better campsite closer to the lake over a different one. Given that I camped here in early June, the weather was still a bit rainy, so we didn't get to spend too much time on the beach given that every time we did, it would start sprinkling. We tried a couple of the hikes, but they were all pretty muddy and one in particular was boggy and my friend's foot sank in deep past her knee! So just a few things to watch out for if you've gotten some rain leading up to your camping trip here. Other than that, there is plenty of great beaches here for laying out if the weather allows, plus Lake Charlevoix is wonderful for taking the boats out and they have a boat launch at a different spot within the park. It's wonderful for all the activities with the whole family and the furry family members as well! We had a great time even with the rain! read more

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Review 1 for State Park 1 on the Circle Tour. This State Park is 5 stars all the way. Reason it ranks high is location, location, location. Nestled on Lake Charlevoix this state park was a toss-up when we were choosing. Sleeping Bear Dunes was packed and we were in search of accommodations to reserve so we didn't have to mess around. We opted to come to Young State Park. It turned out to be a diamond in the rough and a perfect place for us to spend our first nights on the escape! Our campsite was spot on, especially having chosen the site without having been there before. It wasn't secluded but it was perfect considering it was the Fourth of July weekend.It was also dog friendly and had some really cool well marked and unmarked trails. Some of the trails were a bit muddy and some were just perfect. There was one trail though that was the best and led us to the perfect view of Lake Charlevoix. There we enjoyed a day of chilling on the beach and watching our mutt romp around. This was truly the biggest highlight and I'd come back for this access alone, time and again. The sunset, the fires and the hustle and bustle of the Charlevoix area all made for a great time. We ventured into town and perused the scene with our pup as well as ventured around the surrounding area to soak up the sites. This State Park was clean and an enjoyable stay for us! Get here, relax and enjoy! Nuff' said! read more

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I've only been camping for 4-5 years now but have never been more disappointed in a park as I was in this Park. We were in the "Spruce" section which was horrible, we did walk over to the "Oak" section which was much better and would deserve a 3-4 rating. In "Spruce" the roads are basically dirt and dust was a problem whenever a car would pass, so bad in fact that we could not leave the door or windows open but had to remain in the RV with the air-conditioning running. The toilets were disgusting to the point we could not use them. The campsites were not laid out in a coherent pattern with our fire pit being only feet from the dusty road and far away from our RV spot. Privacy was non existent as the spots were close together wit no foliage. We shortened our vacation and left this park early. read more

Young State Park is an incredible place to camp. It has EVERYthing you'd ever want to do on a camping trip. Swimming, biking, sailing, hiking, a recreation area, decent sized campsites, bathrooms with electricity and clean water... Also, Lake Charlevoix has recently been chosen as the #2 best lake in the United States (second to Lake Taho in California) AND, it is only a few miles from the quaint town, Boyne City. I have been camping here since I was a little kid, and it is one of my favorite places in the world. read more

Young State Park - Storm coming during sunset on Lake Charlevoix on July 30, 2012 - Campgrounds Near Me - Boyne City, Michigan

Went here for a beach day a while ago and still remember what an awesome time we had. The lake is great for swimming and has a large roped off area to swim in. There is a nice current that moves you around a bit, especially is you are using some kind of floaty. There are a lot of other facilities in this park:, a play ground, camping sites, picnic sites, and restrooms to name a few, but the lake is the best part in my opinion. I went to the beach pretty early on a July day and it wasn't very crowed at all, but became more so by the time I left around noon. read more

So where to begin? My wife and her parents started to camp here back in the mid 70's. They went every summer for 2 weeks. They all made life long friends and great memories. Fast forward to 2006. We all start coming to Boyne and Charlevoix for the summer again (condo rentals this time). We always end up on young state park beach most of the days. So one day we decided to camp the next year. So in the Summer of 2014 we spent 7 wonderful days camping there. We set up in site 49. Nice and deep site with plenty of trees and a view of the sunset over Lake Charlevoix. This is the oak loop and it's the only one with the newer bath house. Easy walk too the camp store and beach. What a beach it is. Wide, deep with plenty of room. I don't think I have ever seen it more than half full. Tons of kids around. My son had a blast making friends and just being a kid. One night we forgot we left out some cherries we picked up at the Boyne farmers market. The next morning every single one had been eaten and the pits left behind. Cherry paw prints everywhere. I think they even took as bath in our dish washing tubs. Also came across a skunk one early morning while out running. Easy 5 minute drive to Boyne City, 20 min to either Petoskey or Charlevoix. We will be back again this summer. Here's to more memories. read more

Young State Park - Site 49. Sunset over Lake Charlevoix. - Campgrounds Near Me - Boyne City, Michigan

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I'd give this place a zero if possible. Just camped here last week all week and was totally turned off. 1: bathrooms horrible filthy disgusting needing severe update. 2: lake was filled with algae worried my kids would contract the E-Coli 3:campsite barley big enough to put a tent on and by the way the breaker on the electric box was continuing to pop all weekend 4: camp community was terrible in this park despite my complaints nothing was done to stop the 2 drunks behind my tent from partying all night literally till sunup nightly 5:not dog friendly at all was asked to keep dog quite at ALL times or immediate evacuation of campsite would be required In short do yourself a favor never ever camp at young state park go to Petosky State Park instead you'll thank me later. read more

This is a great park and it gives you access to some of the best smallmouth fishing in the country.. Campsites are reasonably spread out and alot of them are shaded... The state does need to invest more here..This campground is usually pretty full so any investments would be a value to alot of citizens.. Yes it does cost to just come for the day..but so does every other state park...11 bucks when you buy your plate gives you access to all the state parks, recreation areas, State forest trailheads and boat launches....11 bucks...How can anyone complain about that..??? read more

One of our favorite state parks in Michigan. It is popular and usually very busy. We camp there usually once a year and still would like to see the state spend some money on the bathrooms and showers in some of the areas. They are a bit rundown and are showing their age. The park itself has enough to do so you don't have to leave and Lake Charlevoix has some of the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets that can be viewed from the beach. The beach was in excellent shape this year and lake is one of the cleanest of the inland lakes I think there is in Michigan. If you just don't want to camp and stay in the park, Mackinaw City, Petoskey, Charlevoix and Traverse City all within an hours drive of the park. Petoskey is one of the neatest little (well not so little anymore) in Michigan. The park is a great jumping off point for all of them. read more

Well I was in the area today on a non camping weekend. I wanted to take a quick drive through the campground just to take a look at campsites for a future camping trip. They wanted me to pay $9 for a 5 minute drive through. Well that to me was "Pure Michigan" poor hospitality right at the gate. Since I only saw the driveway and gate, I can't evaluate anything else, and certainly won't be driving my camper 7 hours to get here. read more

Ol' KM camped here earliar in tha year and it was a good time. park is easy to git around and they do seem to have a problem with playing hip hop or rap on your bike radio too loud. that kinda put me off a lil bit. after parking Ole Gangreen and turning off tha tunes i took a dip in the worter. that when it happened. one of thos accursed crocs floated away and left me with anxiety and vertical in the middle of the small ocean a few doses of fetzima and ol KM wasback on track read more

I camped here over the Labor Day weekend. The campground is well situated for access to other parts of the park, and to the beautiful surrounding area. The staff was extremely helpful and professional. I had made my reservation online on the DNR website, and check-in was seamless. The campground is nicely wooded, and even though the bathroom & showers are dated, they are convenient and clean. There's a lake, beach, and beautiful woods with rolling hills nearby. Best of all, it was quiet at night, and I slept like a log! I wholeheartedly recommend Young State Park! read more

Young State Park - Camping and biking to breweries in Petosky! - Campgrounds Near Me - Boyne City, Michigan