Ludington State Park Campground

The weekends here are crazy, and I imagine all summer would be too. This is Michigan's most popular state park. We stayed in the Beechwood campground which had more trees than the other two. Not as spaced out as I'd like, but it wasn't terrible. There is a lot to do from kayaking, floating the river, swimming in Lake Michigan, and hiking to the lighthouse.

The most popular stat park in Michigan. Reserve your site weeks in advance. Sites are $33 + $5 reservation fee + $9 if you don’t have the state park passport. Tons of trails lots to do. Friendly staff, clean with many dump stations. Four separate camping sites one tents only. We stayed in Pines 300 yards to Lake Michigan.

Beautiful location. Very busy camping, lots to do with the kids. Ample bathroom & shower buildings. Perfect park for all water sports, hiking and fishing. I would stay again maybe in a less busy season or stay during the week vs a weekend.

This was the only state park we stayed at with a dog beach. Every where else was strictly no dogs, which blows. There was a river you could float on tubes but it was super slow so bring a paddle. There are an abundance of trails, but mosquitoes made them inaccessible. We did ride our bikes to the lighthouse which was neat but closed.

The staff weren’t particularly friendly and the town was very very unfriendly. We got kicked out of a restaurant for not wearing a mask walking 5 feet from the door to the table. We got kicked out of a park by police for having our dogs with us (golden retrievers calm and leashed). So we spent no money in town and a lot of time on the beach getting fabulous tans.

Every single park we’ve stayed at was tight for our trailer and required really good driving skills. This one was no exception. The spot itself was meh. Lots of mosquitoes and pretty dirty.

No cell service on T-Mobile or Verizon.

I have camped at dozens of Michigan State Parks and Ludington State Park is my favorite mainly for the hiking, natural sand dunes, variety of water activities, and Lake Michigan. Some mentioned bug issues when camping in July, but natives know that this is the case with most Michigan State parks in mid-summer (especially the UP). Last trip was in September 2020 and it was outstanding with little to no insects, great trail hiking and near perfect conditions. So if you try this park, maybe skip mid summer. Some of the sites are small and close to neighbors, so plan accordingly - try and grab a parimeter site early on (you can book sites 6 months in advance). In my experience, only the Beechwood area has workable AT&T and Verizon bandwidth if you plan to do any work while there.

Has potential.... great location. But it is very crowded... luckily my site was on the outer perimeter and we had lots of room, and a lake behind us. But most of the sites are on top of each other. The bathhouse is need of major renovations; the stall doors are falling off, the place was a bit dirty/unkempt, it was really underwhelming. I would not ever stay here again.

Extremely cramped campground with seemingly more vehicles than RVs. Surprisingly quiet though. Water and sewer dump 2 miles before entering campground actually quite ideal. In spot 279 the electrical box was more than 70’ from our camper and we had to run off battery instead. Wouldn’t stay here again, but the dunes and beach are fantastic. A 2 out of 10 on our Snobby Camper Scale.

Ludington State Park (LSP) has been one of our favorite destinations for many years. It was always a wonderful place to relax, hike, swim or bike.

One of the primary reasons LSP was so enjoyable was that the rules were enforced for the enjoyment of all campers. Loud music, excessive drinking and "quiet time" violations were quashed by Park Rangers who got out of their vehicles and walked the camping areas.

But that was in years past.

Now, the Rangers are all kids who drive around , but seldom get out of the vehicle and actually do anything. So late night noise goes on unchecked.

We had our grandchildren with us this trip. Getting them to sleep befor midnight was nearly impossible because of the noise from any one of 4 or 5 nearby sites. The Rangers drove through during these times, but took no action.

Considering how difficult it is to secure a site at LSP, its just not worth the effort - to get into the park only to be assailed by loud, late night partying that goes on unchecked.

With level sites, great hiking and biking trails productive fishing, kayak launch, camp store this is one of our favorite CGs. The sites are a bit close. If you go hiking, I suggest you take a trail map. the trails a numerous, but well marked.

We stayed in the Pines campground spot #59. The site was packed sand/grass and needed minor leveling. I would suggest the paved pull thru sites in this campground. The sites are pretty close to one another. We had to use a booster to get a Verizon signal good enough for our hotspot to stream. From talking to people, the other campgrounds have better cell service. This campground is closest to the only dog beach which is near the beach house. The 1.5 mile gravel/sand path to the lighthouse is also at this campground. This is a pretty easy bike ride for kids with only a few spots of deeper sand. We saw people catching fish at the lake (near the dam) and on the beach at the mouth of the river. Plenty to do at this park.