Best Places to Go Camping in the Great Lakes Bay
Maybe you’ve been craving dropping a line or hitting a trail (camping), good ole bonfires and s’mores (camping), and spending some laid-back time outdoors with the ones you love… going camping!
Read on to peruse where to park your RVs and pop up your tents when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Pure Michigan — and discover nearby summertime favorites that’ll round out the experience when you and yours go camping.
Bay City State Park | @mi_playground
Bay City State Park | @mi_playground
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Camping in
+ Around Bay City
+ Around Bay City
Bay City
Named one of “The 20 Best State Parks in Michigan” by U.S. News & World Report in 2019, this Michigan state park campground on the shores of Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay is open year-round with sites for everything from tents to motorcoaches, cabins, and even pop-up camper rentals — with Wi-Fi and 50-amp service available. Enjoy nearly a mile of sandy beachfront, a boat launch and picnic areas, volleyball and basketball courts, on-site kayak and paddleboard rentals, a splash park and playscape, and exploring the breathtaking wetland haven of wildlife that is Tobico Marsh.
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Linwood
At Linwood Beach Marina & Campground, choose from 135 sites suited for tents or RV campers — complete with water, sewer, and electric hook-up. Enjoy the new bathhouse and showers, fish cleaning station, fishing pond for kids, and access to unbeatable walleye fishing on Saginaw Bay. (Plenty of our top Saginaw Bay fishing charters launch from Linwood Beach Marina, so consider setting up camp here if you want to be near all the world-class walleye action!)
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Pinconning
Set deep in a 206-acre hardwood forest nature preserve, this “Gateway to The North” campground includes 62 modern/semi-modern sites with varying amenities, log cabin rentals, and maintained bathhouses. Enjoy a sandy beach, kayak rentals, two playground areas, a boat launch, and miles of boardwalks and trails. Explore the nature preserve with a floating fishing dock, two observation decks, and three observation towers — one being the only lookout of the entire Saginaw Bay!
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Essexville
At Finn Road Park Campground, trailers are welcome to 56 campsites with water, sewer, electricity, fire pits, a playground, a modern bathhouse — and a boat launch with direct access to Saginaw Bay. This RV campground offers free Wi-Fi, too.
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Bay City Camping Bonus
Want to up the ante this year? You are, after all, camping near Saginaw Bay, renowned for its world-class walleye fishing! Consider chartering an expedition with The Michigan Experience or Adventure 1 Charters — or any from this ample list of expert Saginaw Bay charter fishing guides. You’ll get the kind of fishing tales where you don’t have to stretch the truth!
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Frankenmuth
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Camping in
+ Around Frankenmuth
+ Around Frankenmuth
Frankenmuth Jellystone Park Camp-Resort
Camp in Frankenmuth year-round with Yogi Bear at Frankenmuth’s only full-service campground! This mecca of family fun offers a playground, an indoor and outdoor pool, game room, daily activities, exciting themed weekends, and outdoor mini-golf! Choose from standard, deluxe, and premium sites — or cabins, cottages, and even a vintage trailer rental — when you camp here.
Pine Ridge R.V. Campground
With Downtown Frankenmuth mere minutes away from your campground, enjoy 200 tree-shaded sites — all full hook-up with water, electrical, and sewer — at Pine Ridge R.V. Campground in Birch Run. Add the perks of modern restrooms, a bathhouse with pay showers, Wi-Fi, and a laundry room, and enjoy this seasonal spot each time you return.
Frankenmuth Camping Bonus
Heads up (way up): Frankenmuth Jellystone Park Camp-Resort is less than 400 feet from Frankenmuth Aerial Park, where you’ll zoom through treetops on ziplines and high-five one another through obstacle courses and rope challenges!
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Shiawassee NWR | @ninaneuschuetz
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Camping in
+ Around Saginaw
+ Around Saginaw
Lake of Dreams Campground
Camp at the family-friendly Lake of Dreams Campground in Merrill in your RV, pop-up, or tent — or rent a rustic cabin! With 253 modern campsites set on 77 acres, experience clean restrooms and hot showers. Enjoy the four-acre lake and sandy beach, complete with paddleboating and a mini waterpark where kids can conquer “The Summit” and bounce “The Blob” in the water! There’s also hiking, biking, beach volleyball, mini-golf, and two ponds with free catch-and-release fishing.
Tom Graham Memorial Campground
Inside Chesaning's Showboat Park — or 68 acres along the Shiawassee River — you’ll also find the 70-lot Tom Graham Memorial Campground. With electrical hookups and primitive sites (and a bathhouse with hot showers), the park is also home to basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, a new playground area, 18-hole disc golf course, over 6,000 feet of riverfront, a boat launch, and a fishing pier!
Price Nature Center
If seclusion is more your style, the 186-acre Price Nature Center just south of Saginaw is generally peaceful and quiet, with nearly three miles of hiking and biking trails. Enjoy a large playground, pavilion, and a few rustic campsites available.
Saginaw Camping Bonus
Price Nature Center is just 15 minutes from the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge that’s ripe for exploration! Home to deer, bald eagles, swans, American white pelicans, and more — look to the seasonal, 6.5-mile Wildlife Drive that allows you to drive right through on a pre-set route. Or, take your experience to the next level with Johnny Panther Quests Adventure Trips, where you’ll boat through the beauty while wildlife spotting alongside your expert, one-of-a-kind guide!
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Things To Do
"Take a hike!" was once a phrase used to send someone on their way. Today, when you Go Great Lakes Bay in Pure Michigan, it's a friendly invitation.
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Summer Trip Ideas
There’s real satisfaction in providing your own power, amid a rich soundscape of paddles' splashes and birdsong. You seem to float out of your own world and worries and into a wider, maybe even wiser, one. That’s Great Lakes Bay Region paddling.
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Things To Do
Summertime is primetime for walleye anglers visiting the Great Lakes Bay Region. Not only is the weather stellar, a world-class walleye bite occurs on Saginaw Bay through June, July and August.
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Author
Jen W. O'Deay + Go Great Lakes Bay
By: Jen W. O'Deay | Updates: Go Great Lakes Bay | Jen is a Saginaw native and owner of Feel These Words, an independent copywriting studio & home to the free "5 Day Website MiniBoost". Jen specializes in writing that connects, delivered through website copy, branded content articles, and WingWoman writing services. You'll find Jen camping with her family, laughing, and at feelthesewords.com
